Chapter 1

The air in the sterile lawyer's office felt heavy, thick with the unsaid things that hang between two people ending a marriage. My father, Dr. Richard Miller, sat on one side of the polished mahogany table, his posture perfect, his suit expensive. He looked every bit the celebrated surgeon he was, a man used to being in control.

Across from him, my mother, Sarah Miller, the esteemed principal of a prestigious private school, maintained a look of composed dignity, though a slight tension in her jaw betrayed her.

Between them sat my twin brother, Liam, and me. We were the assets being divided.

"Chloe, Liam," my father started, his voice smooth and reassuring, the same tone he used with nervous patients before a difficult surgery. "Your mother and I have decided it's best we go our separate ways. But we both love you very, very much."

He smiled, a brilliant white flash of teeth. "We want you to be happy. So, we're going to let you choose who you want to live with."

My mother nodded, her expression softening. "That's right. No matter what, you'll always be our children. We want you to feel you have a say in your own lives."

Liam, beside me, puffed out his chest. He already looked smug, his eyes darting to our father. The choice was obvious to him, to everyone. Our father was the successful, wealthy one. Our mother was just a principal. And in their world, a son always went with the more powerful parent.

I kept my face neutral, a blank slate. But inside, a cold, hard knot of something ancient and bitter was coiled tight. I had lived this scene before. I had made the wrong choice.

This time would be different.

I looked up, my gaze meeting my father's first, then my mother's.

"So we can really choose? Freely?" I asked, my voice small and innocent, the voice of the ten-year-old girl I appeared to be. "You won't be mad, no matter what we pick?"

My mother' s face filled with a practiced sympathy. "Of course not, sweetheart. This is your decision. We will respect it completely."

"Absolutely," my father added, leaning forward slightly. "Your happiness is all that matters to us. Choose with your heart."

His eyes were fixed on Liam, a silent, confident communication passing between them. He barely glanced at me. I was an afterthought, the disappointing daughter. He was certain Liam would choose him, and he was equally certain I would follow my brother like a lost puppy, just as I had always done.

I took a deep breath, letting the silence stretch for a beat too long. I saw the flicker of impatience in my father' s eyes.

"Okay," I said, my voice clear and steady.

I turned to my mother.

"I choose Mom."

The effect was immediate and deeply satisfying.

My father's charming smile froze, cracking at the edges. My mother's composed expression shattered, replaced by pure, unfiltered shock. Her mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out. Liam' s smug look vanished, replaced by confusion. He stared at me as if I' d just started speaking in a foreign language.

"Chloe, what?" my father said, his voice losing its smooth veneer. It was sharp now, like a scalpel. "Don't be silly. You and Liam have always been inseparable. You'll come with me, with your brother."

He was no longer asking. He was telling.

"You'll have the best of everything," he continued, trying to recover, his voice dripping with persuasion. "The best schools, anything you want. Your own horse, maybe? Remember how you wanted one?"

I looked at him, the man who had been my entire world in another life, the man who had destroyed me with that same persuasive voice.

"You said I could choose freely," I stated, my tone flat and unchildlike. "You said you would respect my decision. Were you lying, Dad?"

I then turned my gaze to my mother. "And you, Mom. You're a principal. You're always talking about gender equality and empowering young women to make their own choices. Are you going to tell me my choice is wrong because my brother wants something different?"

Sarah flinched as if I had struck her. Her career was built on that public image, and I had just used it as a weapon against her.

My father' s face darkened, the charming mask gone completely. I could see a vein pulsing at his temple. But he was in a lawyer' s office. He couldn' t lose his temper here. He couldn't show his true face.

He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping harshly against the floor.

"Fine," he bit out, the word clipped. He looked at Liam. "Let's go, son."

He didn' t look at me again. He grabbed Liam' s shoulder and steered him towards the door, his movements stiff with fury. Liam looked back at me, his expression a mixture of anger and bewilderment. He couldn't understand why I had betrayed their perfect plan.

As they walked out, I watched them go, my heart a piece of ice in my chest.

Let him have his precious son. Let him mold Liam, use him, and shower him with his poisonous "love." I knew exactly what that love cost.

This time, Liam would be the one to pay the price.