I felt like a burden to them, a constant reminder of a mistake they could never erase. It was as if my existence had become their greatest source of suffering.
I clung to the last threads of delusion, staring at my reflection in the mirror, pulling at the corners of my lips to force a smile, practicing the etiquette and grace I thought would make me enough. I absorbed Shawn's cold stares and Nial's expectations, stretching myself to fit into the roles they wanted me to play. But no matter how hard I tried, I was always the invisible girl—overlooked, forgotten, drifting through life without purpose or direction.
As the night deepened, I found myself swallowed by an abyss of hopelessness, unable to struggle against the dark current that threatened to drown me. Just as my emotions began to calm, my phone rang. It was my father. Since returning to the Larsens, he had hardly made an effort to reach out, but now his voice was heavy with urgency.