Chapter 2: The Truth Behind Blackwood Estate
Chapter 2: The Truth Behind Blackwood Estate
Later that evening, Aiyana stood alone on the balcony overlooking the illuminated gardens.
The head of security approached.
"Miss Carter is refusing to leave the front gate."
Aiyana didn't even turn around.
"What does she want?"
"She says she deserves an explanation."
Aiyana gave a faint smile.
"Very well."
Five minutes later, Vivianne stood outside the estate's iron gates.
Mascara streaked beneath her eyes.
The confidence was gone.
"You lied to everyone," she said bitterly.
"No."
Aiyana faced her calmly.
"I simply never corrected their assumptions."
Vivianne clenched her fists.
"You let people believe you were ordinary."
"I let people reveal who they were."
The words struck harder than any insult.
Vivianne remembered every joke.
Every cruel remark.
Every dismissive glance.
No one had forced her to say them.
She had chosen every one.
"Why?" Vivianne asked quietly.
Aiyana looked toward the mansion.
"When my grandfather built Blackwood Estate, he taught me something."
"Wealth attracts admiration."
"Silence reveals character."
"So I stopped introducing myself years ago."
Vivianne lowered her head.
For the first time, she understood.
She hadn't been tested because of her money.
She had been tested because of her humanity.
May you like
And she had failed.
Completely.
