I stared at this child I'd sacrificed everything for and felt something inside me finally give way. If he couldn't accept me after five years, perhaps it was time to stop trying.
That night, I called my grandmother.
"I'm coming home," I said firmly. "I'm ready to reclaim my position as the Alpha Queen."
When I left the next morning, I never expected they would come crawling back, begging for my forgiveness.
—-------
I sat on the cold bathroom floor, applying ice packs to my burned face where the wax had left angry red welts. Chunks of wax still clung to my newly dyed hair.
The door slammed open. Caleb stormed in with Theo hovering behind him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Caleb's eyes flashed with fury. "On the anniversary dinner of Olivia's death, you pull this stunt? Can't you behave for once?"
"It's also my birthday," I replied quietly. "The one day I thought I could finally be who I want to be."
"Your birthday?" He laughed cruelly. "Your only purpose here is to be Olivia. That's the arrangement we made."
"I never agreed to become her completely."