We followed them up the grand staircase, marble floors echoing like a museum nobody asked to visit.
Chandeliers dripped from vaulted ceilings like gaudy jewelry, turning this prison into one with better lighting.
My suitcase wheels clacked against the polished marble floors of the hallway, each echoing a reminder that I didn't belong here.
Mom opened a door to my room… next to Kai's, because of course it was.
"Does my room have to be next to his?" I snapped.
"Yes, Scarlett," Mom said, "you guys are stepsiblings now… it's usually what siblings do."
"We are not siblings until you marry," I snapped. "You're only engaged, so don't say it like you're already married."
My mom sighed. "Just unpack and settle in, Scar… we'll talk later."
I slammed the door behind me, the click echoing like a middle finger to their perfect little welcome committee.
I tossed my duffle bag onto the bed, the zipper's rasp cutting through the silence like a dare.
I scanned the room… marble floors, a four-poster bed bigger than my old apartment, gold-trimmed mirrors screaming "try-hard luxury" … and snorted. "Oh please, who needs a palace when a carboard box feels more like home?"
I kicked off my shoes and padded farther in, my eyes dragging over the chandelier, the floor-to-ceiling windows, the designer threw pillows lined up like they were waiting for a photoshoot instead of a girl who ruined everything she touched.
I grabbed one of those pretentious throw pillows and hurled it at the mirror, watching bounce and knock over a crystal vase that shattered my patience.
"Whoops," I muttered, kicking the shard aside with a smirk… message sent: this princess isn't staying.
With a growl, I yanked the perfectly tucked duffle bag onto the bed and ripped back the pristine duvet, balling it up and flinging it to the floor in a tangled heap.
I yanked open the closet doors, revealing rows of crisp uniforms… pleated skirts, starched blouses, the whole preppy nightmare… and scoffed. "No way am I stepping foot in some snooty new school here."
I snatched an armful and flung them to the floor, stomping on the pile to wrinkle the hell out of them.
I stepped back to admire the chaos… the trashed bed, shattered vase, wrinkled uniforms strewn like battle casualties… and nodded with a savage grin. "My work here is done." I strode out for the balcony, the warm evening air hitting my face like a promise of escape.
I leaned against the balcony railing, the city lights sprawling below like they didn't give a damn about my wreckage indoors. I didn't care what my mom would think or do…. She hadn't thought of me, hadn't cared how I felt, so why the hell should I care how she feels?
Then a voice called out form below, "Don't think about jumping either." It was Kai, of course it was… and he was always good at telling me what to do.
I glare down at him and yelled, "I'm not jumping, you fool… I'm merely looking out at the view!"
"Ok, whatever you say," Kai shot back, his tone dripping sarcasm. "Not sure if I trust you or not."
I leaned forward over the railing and yelled, "You don't have to."
"What in the world happened here?" my mom interrupted, her voice sharp as I turned back to face her, an almost-smile tugging at my lips.
"Do you realize what you've done?" she asked, her eyes locking onto mine, but I didn't respond… just held her gaze with defiant silence.
"Do you realize what you've done?" I shot back, talking back really, my voice slicing through the tension like a blade.
"I can't believe you would do such a thing," she said, her voice cracking with disbelief. "I don't even know what to say anymore or how to handle you."
"You don't need to," I snapped. "Just go back to your husband and leave me be."
"Why won't you give this a chance?" she asked, her voice softening with a plea that only fueled my fire.
"Because you don't hear me," I said, my voice raw and unyielding. "You don't listen to me or understand how I feel, so why should I?"
"I do understand," she said, her tone firming up like she'd rehearsed it. "It's just sometimes it's not up to you because you're the child. I'm the mother, and I make the decisions…. And this is what I choose for the both of us."
"For you," I corrected, my voice sharp as a shard from the vase still glittering on the floor.
"Well, even though we have maids," she said, her eyes narrowing, "you are to clean up this mess and not leave this room until it's spotless… to help you learn your lesson."
"Well then," I shot back, "I might be in here all day, because I sure as hell am not doing work."
"We'll see," she said, her voice final. "Just when you're ready, have this room cleaned up and you'll join us for dinner when it's done." She left the room without saying anything else.
I flopped onto the edge of the bed, the mattress swallowing me like it knew I didn't belong and stared at the chaos I'd wrought… thinking hard about how to move forward without giving in, without letting her think I was okay being here.
Hours passed, the sun dipping low and painting the wrecked room in mocking golden hues, and I still hadn't cleaned a damn thing… stubbornness my only ally in this gilded cage.
My stomach growled like a caged beast, but I shoved the hunger down, arms crossed tight as I glared at the untouched disaster around me.
Maybe if I snuck to the fridge they wouldn't see me… maybe they're holed up in their room, doing whatever rich people do… and I could grab a snack, retreat, and be just fine in this room without dinner. That's all I needed.
I slipped out of bed and crept to the door, peeking through the crack to see if the coast was clear… and it was, the hallway silent as a tomb.
I tiptoed down the hall on the balls of my feet, holding my breath to stay as silent as a shadow, and reached the fridge without a single creak giving me away.
There was hardly anything in the fridge… just a few lonely condiments and a half-empty bottle of sparkling water… so much for the rich daddy fantasy, I thought.
I slammed the fridge door hard, the echo bouncing off the marble counters… only to freeze face-to-face with a huge dog snarling up at me, no longer alone, apparently.
I froze, not daring to move, and locked eyes with the beast, its growl rumbling low like a warning I couldn't ignore.
I wasn't sure if he was a bad dog who bit strangers on sight, or just a massive gentle giant who'd slobber me with licks instead… but part of me secretly wanted both, just to see if my mother would finally pack me up and take me home.
But without being aware, he lunged forward, sending me crashing to the cold kitchen floor as he pinned me down, jaws snapping while I threw my arms up to shield my face.
"Someone, help!" I yelled, panic shredding my voice… this time, I needed saving, not caring anymore about how I felt about this damn place.
It was Kai who burst in first, belt clutched in his fist like a whip.
"Hey, bad boy… get off her!" he yelled, cracking the leather threateningly, and the dog knew the sign, backing off willingly and leaving me half panicked, shocked, sprawling on the floor.
He offered a hand, but I slapped it away, scrambling to my feet on shaky legs.
"I can get up on my own… I didn't need your help."
"Clearly you did," Kai said, smirking as he coiled the belt back up. "You yelled for help… who did you think would come save you?"
"I'm not even supposed to be out here," I hissed, brushing off my clothes, "so you're gonna get me caught."
"How's that?" Kai asked, one eyebrow cocked like he owned the whole kitchen.
"Let's just say my room isn't how it was left for me," I said, crossing my arms like a shield against his smug stare.
"Oh?" he said, his smirk fading into something sharper, like he was piercing together the full picture of my rebellion.
"Let me see for myself then," he said, brushing past me toward the hallway… but I shot out my arm, stopping him dead with a fierce grip on his sleeve.
"No, you don't get to… not in this state," I said, my grip tightening on his sleeve like a vice.
"Who said you were in charge of where I go?" he shot back, eyes narrowing as he tested my hold.
"I didn't," I snapped, planting myself firmer in his path, still trying to block him like a human barricade. "It's my room, so I say who comes and goes."
He shook his head, a condescending edge to his voice.
"It's not your room… you're a guest here, so you're only borrowing it."
I gasped, outraged, flaring hot in my chest.
"Oh really? That's how you think of me? I thought we were going to be stepsiblings… like my mom said, as she claims we are now before they're even married."
"Yeah, well, don't even count on it," he said, trying to shoulder past me with that infuriating smirk locked back in place.
"Let me past," he said, his voice dropping low and dangerous, "or you will see to regret it."
"Oh, how's that?" I asked, chin jutting up defiantly as I held my ground, daring him to make good on his threat.
"You don't want to know," he said, still trying to shove past me, his shoulder brushing mine with a heat that made my pulse kick up a notch.
"I do too want to know," I said, planting my feet wider to block him completely. "You can't possibly be that bad."
He shook his head, and suddenly pinned me to the wall, his body blocking my path now, his breath hot against my face as the air between us crackled with something dangerous.
"Hey, what are you doing this for?" I yelled, my voice echoing off the walls. "Do you know my mom could enter at any moment… or your dad?"
He laughed, low and rough, his eyes darkening as he leaned closer.
"I'm not worried about that… I'm worried about your defiance and how you treat my dad after he let you in."
"Oh, really? Yeah, right," I shot back, twisting against his grip, trying to shove him off me with all my strength.
"What did you do to your room?" he asked, his grip tightening just enough to make my heart race. "And you need to answer me, or I won't let you go."
"And what happens when you don't let me go?" I asked, my voice a mix of challenge and thrill, my eyes locked on his as I refused to back down.
"We risk getting caught and them thinking otherwise what this is," he said, his voice a husky murmur that sent shivers down my spine, his body still pressed close enough to make my breath hitch.
"I thought you didn't care about that," I said, my voice laced with sarcasm as I pushed against his chest, feeling the heat of him under my palms.
"Well, I do," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous edge, "but I also care to know more about your room, and what you did, and why you're acting like this."
"What are you going to do about it, if I tell you?" I said, my heart pounding as I tilted my chin up defiantly, daring him with my eyes.
"Make you fix your mistake since you didn't listen to your mom," he said, his eyes narrowing with intensity. "Now, tell me."
I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to let me go if I didn't tell him, and we'd risk getting caught… my mother thinking it was something else, not how siblings usually act.
I wasn't even supposed to be here, and I'd risk getting into more trouble… I was supposed to just grab a snack and be back in my room.
"Well?" he asked, his gaze unwavering, waiting for my answer as the tension between us hung thick in the air.
"I crashed my room… it's messy," I said, the words tumbling out in a rush. "There, you happy now?"
He laughed, the sound rich and mocking as it vibrated through his chest.
"Wow, I shouldn't be surprised, but I am."
"Why wouldn't you be?" I asked, my voice sharply with defiance. "You don't know me."
"Well, now what you get to do is clean your room spotless, and I won't let you out of your room until you fix it," he said, his voice firm and unyielding.
"You're not my boss," I shot back, glaring up at him with all the fire I could muster.
"I'm not," he said, his jaw set with determination, "but I am helping your mother since she's not succeeding."
"You don't need to," I said, my voice steady despite the heat rising in my cheeks. "I can do this on my own."
"Well, why haven't you then?" he asked, his tone laced with challenge as held my gaze, refusing to back down.
"Because" I said, my voice dropping to a fierce whisper as I met his stare head-on, "I'm trying to get my mother to take me home. I don't want to be here, and if I keep acting like this, she'll eventually give in."
"Oh, you think so?" he asked, his smirk sharpening as he leaned in even closer, the challenge in his eyes daring me to keep pushing.
"How's that working out for you?" he asked, his smirk widening into something almost predatory as he watched me squirm under his hold.
"Well, to be honest, not so great," I admitted, my defiance flickering for a split second, "but I'm not giving up."
"You're stubborn, I'll give you that," he murmured, his grip easing just a fraction, but his eyes still burning into mine with unrelenting intensity.
His thumb brushed my jawline, a ghost of a touch that sent sparks racing through me.
"But maybe it's time you stop fighting the wrong battles."
"And how' that?" I asked, my breath catching as I searched his face, the air between us thick with unspoken tension.
His gaze dropped to my lips, the space between us shrinking to nothing.
"Then maybe," he whispered, voice rough like gravel, "you start fighting me instead."
Before I could snap back, footsteps echoed down the hall… he froze, eyes widening, but I didn't pull away. Not yet.