Lydia's Point Of View
"I won't."
The words had come out of me before I even fully realized I was saying them. The room felt tight again, like the air itself had thickened. My father stared at me. His expression was unreadable for a moment, but my attention had already drifted inward, pulled into the storm inside my chest.
My breathing felt uneven.
My fingers trembled slightly at my sides. Young. Foolish. Naive. The words he had used echoed again in my head. The explanation sounded too simple. Too casual. Like everything that had just shattered inside me could be wrapped up with three harmless words.
My chest burned.
All my life I had believed something very clearly. Something I had never questioned. Something everyone around me had quietly reinforced. My voice came out slowly now. "All my life…" My father didn't interrupt. I swallowed. "I always believed I was better than Seraphina."
