Chapter 4

Eleanore POV:

Their outrage was almost comical, if it weren' t so pathetically predictable. They were furious, not because I suffered, but because my suffering wasn't aimed at their benefit. Their possessiveness, their ego-it was breathtaking in its audacity.

"Eleanore, you are being completely unreasonable!" my mother shrieked, her voice thin and high.

Before I could respond, Josie, ever the opportunist, stumbled. A delicate, graceful fall, engineered for maximum sympathy. "Oh! My ankle!" she gasped, clutching her leg.

Immediately, my parents and Colbert rushed to her side, their fury at me momentarily forgotten. "Josie, darling, are you alright?" My mother fretted. Colbert gently helped her to her feet.

Josie, ever the martyr, waved them away with a brave smile. "No, no, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy from the altitude. But... Eleanore, could you help me? I don't want to bother Mom and Dad." Her eyes, when they met mine, held a malicious glint. It was a dare. A trap.

I knew the game. I also knew it was my last one to play. I walked over, my head still throbbing from my fall down the stairs, and offered my arm. Josie leaned heavily on me, her weight disproportionate to her delicate frame. We moved a few steps away from the others, just out of earshot, or so she thought.

"You really think you're escaping, don't you?" Josie whispered, her sweet facade dropping instantly. Her voice was venomous. "Going to marry a vegetable? How pathetic. They'll forget you even faster then." She leaned in closer, her breath hot on my ear. "No one cares about you, Eleanore. Not really. Not like they care about me."

I simply stared straight ahead, my face a blank mask. I wouldn' t give her the satisfaction.

Her eyes narrowed. "What, no reaction? Are you finally broken?"

Then, before I could even process it, she swung her hand and slapped herself, hard, across the cheek. The sharp crack echoed in the mountain air. She let out a piercing scream, collapsing to the ground. "Eleanore! How could you?! You hit me! You pushed me!"

My parents and Colbert, already on high alert, spun around. "Josie!" my mother cried, rushing towards her.

Colbert' s eyes, filled with immediate rage, landed on me. He didn' t hesitate. He lunged, pushing me with a force that sent me stumbling backwards. My head, still tender from the previous fall, slammed against a jagged rock. A searing pain exploded behind my eyes, then a warm trickle down my temple. Blood. Again.

"Eleanore! What is wrong with you?" my father roared, his face purple with fury. "Hitting your sister?! After everything we've done for you? After all Josie has suffered?"

My mother rushed to Josie, cradling her. "Look at her! You monster! How could you be so cruel? Josie is so sensitive, she's fragile! She's had such a difficult life, Eleanore. Don't you have any empathy?"

The words, the accusations, the sheer injustice of it all, finally broke something inside me. A sob tore from my throat, raw and guttural. My entire body trembled. "She hit herself!" I choked out, tears mixing with the blood on my face. "She's lying! She always lies!"

Josie, sniffling dramatically from my mother's arms, looked up with wide, innocent eyes. "Sister, why... why are you saying such awful things? I just asked you about the wedding. About Kayson. I was just trying to understand." Her gaze, filled with feigned innocence, flickered to my parents. "You know, Eleanore was talking about delaying the wedding. She seemed so upset about it. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

My parents' attention immediately snapped back to the wedding, their fear of scandal overriding their temporary concern for Josie's 'injuries.' "Delay the wedding? Eleanore, what is this nonsense? You know this marriage is paramount!" My father glared at me. "After all the trouble we went through for Josie to take your place..." He trailed off, realizing his mistake.

My mother quickly interjected, "Never mind that! Eleanore, you are not delaying anything! Your reputation, our reputation, depends on this!" She pulled Josie closer, whispering reassurances.

I watched them, my heart a hollowed-out cavern in my chest. They walked away, comforting Josie, leaving me bleeding on the mountain. My head throbbed, the world spinning. I reached for the simple silver locket I always wore, a gift from my grandmother before she passed. She was the only one who truly saw me. I clutched it, a new, cold resolve hardening my gaze.

The blood from my head mixed with the tears on my cheeks. This wasn't a family; it was a performance, and I was done playing the villain.