Chapter 1: The Weight of “Only”
The crystal chandeliers in the Grand Aurora Ballroom glittered like frozen constellations above my younger sister’s engagement dinner. Everything shimmered—champagne flutes, silk gowns, polished marble floors. Every detail screamed wealth, precision, perfection.
Everything—except me.
I stood near the entrance, smoothing the front of my simple navy dress for the hundredth time. I had chosen it carefully: elegant, but quiet. My mother, Eleanor Hayes, had made it clear—twice—that I should “avoid drawing attention.” Tonight belonged to my sister, Lila Hayes. The golden child. The one who climbed effortlessly through society and landed a fiancé from one of the city’s most powerful families.
Guests drifted past me with polite smiles that never reached their eyes.
