Chapter 1

For sixteen years, my step-brother Holden Wolf was my entire world. Every design I sketched, every dream I harbored, was a secret love letter to him.

Then he got engaged to a perfect social media influencer. When I finally showed him my heart in a portfolio of my life's work, he ripped it to shreds in a fit of rage.

"This is sick, Chelsea! I'm your brother!"

The humiliation didn't stop. He drunkenly forced himself on me while whispering his fiancée's name, only to blame me the next morning. "What were you doing in my bed? Your behavior is inappropriate."

My own mother called, not to comfort me, but to accuse me of trying to seduce him and ruin his perfect life.

After a lifetime of devotion, I was just a problem to be managed, a body to be mistaken in the dark. His love wasn't protection; it was a cage.

So I dyed my hair platinum blonde, accepted my estranged uncle's offer to study design in New York, and vanished without a word. This time, I was saving myself.

Chapter 1

Chelsea Hardy POV:

Eighteen days.

That' s how long it took for the last shred of my hope to shrivel up and die. Eighteen days after I finally gave up on Holden Wolf, my step-brother, I stared at my reflection in the salon mirror. My natural chestnut hair, the one he' d always praised, felt heavy, like a shroud of regret. Heavy with every unspoken word, every stolen glance, every foolish dream I' d harbored for him.

"Platinum blonde," I told the stylist, my voice surprisingly steady. "The defiantly bright kind."

The chemical smell filled my nostrils, a sharp, metallic bite that mirrored the taste in my mouth. It was a physical severing, each strand losing its color, becoming something new, something that had never orbited his world. He wouldn't recognize me. Good.

My fingers, stained with hair dye, fumbled for my phone. There was only one number I considered. My estranged uncle, Geoffrey Farmer. The tech billionaire in Seattle. The man whose calls I' d always deflected, whose invitations to leave my childhood home and Holden I' d always politely, firmly refused.

Now, my refusal felt like a lifetime ago. A different Chelsea, a naive Chelsea, made those choices. This new, defiant Chelsea had a different answer.

"Uncle Geoffrey," I said, the words a little hoarse, "I'm ready. I'll accept your offer for Parsons."

There was a beat of stunned silence on the other end. Geoffrey, usually so composed, so unshakeable, cleared his throat. "Chelsea? Are you certain? You've always been so... rooted. So hesitant to leave your home, your life there. And Holden."

A hollow laugh escaped me. It sounded brittle, like glass breaking. "Holden? Oh, he's getting engaged, Uncle. To Kamryn Gardner. The influencer. You know, the one who looks like she stepped out of a magazine and has perfected the art of passive-aggressive sweetness."

My voice cracked slightly on Kamryn's name. I quickly pulled myself together. "It's all over social media. Extravagant engagement party planning. Live streams, 'Kamryn's Journey to Mrs. Wolf.' It' s... quite the spectacle."

I swallowed, the bitter taste returning. "I can't orbit his life anymore, Uncle. Not when he's building a new one with someone else."

Geoffrey' s voice softened, losing its initial surprise. "Ah, Chelsea. My dear girl. I understand now. And you know my offer stands, always. New York will be good for you. A fresh start. The best designers in the world are waiting for you at Parsons."

His words were a balm, a warm embrace through the phone line. "Thank you, Uncle. Really."

"No thanks needed, sweetie. Just promise me you'll call when you land. And I'll arrange everything. A place to stay, some starting funds. Focus purely on your studies, understood?"

"Understood," I whispered, relief washing over me, a fragile hope unfurling in my chest. The call disconnected. I looked at my reflection again, the silver strands catching the salon lights. It was still me, but different. Harder. Sharper.

That night, my newly bleached hair felt like a crown of thorns against my pillow. I couldn't sleep. The decision was made, the ticket booked. But a part of me, the old, foolish part, still yearned for some kind of closure. Some acknowledgment.

I found Holden in the living room, sprawled on the couch, his phone propped up as Kamryn, all dazzling smiles and perfect curls, live-streamed her engagement party décor decisions. Fairy lights versus crystal chandeliers. Blush pink versus ivory. Every detail a testament to their manufactured perfection.

"Holden," I said, my voice barely a tremor. He didn't look up. "Holden, I need to tell you something."

He held up a hand, his eyes glued to the screen. "Just a second, Chels. Kamryn's trying to decide on the flower arrangements. This is crucial."

Kamryn, on the screen, giggled. "Oh, H. Do you actually care about the peonies, or are you just pretending for my lovely viewers?"

"Of course, I care, darling," Holden cooed into his phone, a smile I hadn't seen directed at me in years gracing his lips. "Only the best for my future wife."

My heart, which I thought had withered and died, gave a sharp, painful lurch. He used to look at me like that. He used to care about my decisions.

A ghost of a memory flickered: Holden, years ago, when I was a gangly teenager, handing me a professional sketchbook. "Your talent is wasted on loose-leaf paper, Chelsea. You need the right tools." He'd smiled, a genuine, encouraging smile that had lit up my world. He became my muse, my first, my only.

Every design, every sketch, every garment I dreamed of creating, was inspired by him, for him. On my eighteenth birthday, I presented him with a portfolio, a culmination of years of secret devotion. Designs meant to clothe him, to celebrate him.

His reaction had been like a punch to the gut. An explosion of anger. "This is sick, Chelsea! I'm your brother!" He' d ripped the pages, my carefully rendered dreams, my vulnerable heart, into confetti.

I' d spent hours, days, painstakingly taping those shredded designs back together, piece by jagged piece. Like a broken vase, glued imperfectly, but still whole. My love hadn't died then. Not even when he brought Kamryn home, a year later, and told me, "Get used to having a sister, Chels."

Now, watching him completely absorbed in Kamryn's digital world, his dismissive wave of the hand, I understood. The vase had shattered beyond repair.

My acceptance to Parsons, the new life stretching out before me, felt trivial, insignificant to him. Just as I had become.

"Holden," I tried again, my voice stronger now, a steel thread among the pain.

Kamryn' s voice, saccharine sweet, cut through the air. "Oh, is Chelsea still there, H.? Tell her to come say hi to my followers! They'd love to see your little sister!"

Holden finally glanced at me, a flicker of irritation in his eyes. "What is it, Chels? Can't you see I'm busy?"

His words were a cold, hard slap. The finality of it all descended, heavy and suffocating. Sixteen years. Sixteen years of loving him, waiting for him, orbiting his every move.

It was over.

The hope needed to be extinguished. And only I could do it. I had to cut Holden out of my heart. Not just physically leave, but mentally, emotionally. He used to be my sun, my moon, my entire universe. Now, he was just a distant, fading star. Barely a speck.

My love for him, the kind that whispered his name in my dreams, that fueled my art, that saw him as my protector, my mentor, my everything – that love was a secret I'd kept locked away. A secret that had festered, turning toxic.

"Chelsea?" Holden's voice, impatient, broke through my thoughts. "Are you going to say something or just stand there?"

He offered Kamryn a tight smile, then turned back to his phone. "Sorry, darling. My sister can be a bit... much sometimes."

A sister. Just a sister.

I remembered the music he introduced me to, the late-night talks about my dreams, his hand gently guiding mine as I sketched. He was the one who bought me my first sewing machine, encouraged me to apply to Parsons, told me my designs were groundbreaking. He built me up, only to tear me down.

"Everything I ever designed," I wanted to scream, "every single thread, every color palette, every silhouette... it was for you."

But the words caught in my throat, swallowed by a wave of nausea. Kamryn was still babbling about table settings. Holden was still nodding, distracted, pretending to care.

He never knew. He never would.

My heart felt like a shriveled prune, leaving an ache that radiated through my entire chest. But beneath the pain, a tiny ember of something else ignited. Anger. A cold, righteous fury that solidified my resolve.

I turned and walked away, the floorboards creaking beneath my feet, a silent echo of the crumbling world I was leaving behind. I wouldn't tell him about Parsons. I wouldn't tell him anything. He didn't deserve to know the new Chelsea.

He didn't deserve me anymore. Not the old me, and certainly not the person I was becoming.