Melissa.
I sank onto the edge of my bed, the mattress dipping beneath my weight as if it understood how heavy everything inside me felt. My hands clenched into the sheets while my mind replayed Cain’s order over and over again, each word sharper than the last. It wasn’t even the command itself that hurt the most, it was the way it was given. Cold. Dismissive. Like I was nothing more than an object that existed to be moved at his convenience.
I was so tired of them. Tired of their attitudes, their cruelty masked as authority, their ability to make me feel small without even trying. The bitterness curled in my chest as the truth hit me again, becoming Luna was worse than being my father’s daughter ever was. Back then, at least, I knew where I stood. I knew the limits of my pain.
Now, I ca
