I was sitting in an armchair by the window, pretending to read. My eyes, however, were fixed on the doorway, my stomach twisting into a cold, hard knot.

The girl who walked in was exactly as I remembered.

Keira Stone.

She wore a simple, slightly worn dress that was meant to highlight her scholarship-student status. Her hair was pulled back in a modest ponytail, and her face was a perfect mask of sweet, wide-eyed innocence.

She was the picture of a poor, grateful girl who couldn't believe her luck.

She was also the most ruthless, ambitious snake I had ever known.

"Jackson! Brett! Andrew!" she said, her voice a soft, melodic thing.

"Keira! You made it!" Jackson greeted her, his smile wider and more genuine than any he had ever given me.

"I came as soon as I heard!" she said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She held up a small, gleaming object. "I won! The National Tech Incubator competition! My project won first place!"

Her face was a perfect picture of joyful disbelief.

I watched from my chair as my three brothers fell all over her.

I remembered the vows they'd whispered to me over the years.

"I'll always protect you, Brook."

"Your dreams are my dreams."

"No one will ever matter more than you."

Now, those vows were being offered to another.

"That's incredible, Keira!" Brett said, clapping her on the shoulder. "We knew you could do it!"

"Let me see," Andrew said, taking the gold medal from her hand with a reverence he usually reserved for priceless art. "It's beautiful. Just like you."

Keira blushed, a delicate pink staining her cheeks. "I couldn't have done it without your support. The foundation giving me the scholarship, you all encouraging me..."

Her voice broke, and a single, perfect tear rolled down her cheek.

"Hey, don't cry," Jackson said instantly, his voice a low, comforting rumble. He pulled her into a gentle hug. "You earned this. You're brilliant."

The scene was so sickeningly familiar.

All those years of them showering me with praise, it was all just practice. Practice for her.

The love I thought was mine had just been on loan, waiting for its true owner to arrive.

Keira pulled away from Jackson, wiping her eyes, and then she turned to me. Her smile was sweet, but her eyes held a glint of triumph.

"Brooklyn, I wanted you to be the first to know. You've always been so kind to me."

She walked over and held out the medal.

"I wanted to give this to you. As a thank you."

My eyes dropped to the medal in her hand. I saw the engraving.

National Tech Incubator - First Place

I knew the contest well. I had submitted a project to it myself.

My gaze flickered past the medal to the small, folded certificate behind it.

Winning Project: 'AURA' - A Predictive AI for Social Welfare Allocation

Designer: Keira Stone

But the designer wasn't Keira Stone.

The designer was me.

'AURA' was my senior thesis, the project I had poured my heart and soul into for over a year. I had shown the final proposal to Jackson just last month, so proud of my work. He had been so encouraging.

He must have given it to her.

My hand, hidden in the folds of my book, tightened around my phone. My knuckles were white.

"This medal," I said, my voice dangerously quiet. "Belongs to me."

My words dropped into the room like a stone.

The medal slipped from Keira's suddenly nerveless fingers. It hit the marble floor with a clatter, a small piece chipping off the side.

Keira stared at the broken medal, her face crumpling.

"Brooklyn... I... I don't understand," she stammered, her voice thick with hurt. "I just wanted to share my happiness with you. If... if you don't like it, you didn't have to..."

"Keira, don't," Jackson said, rushing to her side and pulling her away from the broken prize on the floor. "Don't even try to pick it up. You'll cut yourself."

"It's just a stupid medal," Brett said, glaring at me. "We can buy you a hundred of them, Keira."

Andrew scooped her into his arms. "It's okay. We know how hard you worked. You're the most talented person we know."

He shot a look of pure venom in my direction.

"Brooklyn, what is wrong with you? Keira comes here to share good news, and you throw a tantrum like a child?"

Keira, nestled in Andrew's arms, looked up at them with watery, grateful eyes. A small, triumphant smile played on her lips for a fraction of a second before she buried her face in his shoulder.

I felt like a stranger in my own home.

An intruder in their perfect little love story.

They thought I was just being jealous. They had no idea.

It wasn't Keira who had stolen my project. She wasn't smart enough.

It was them. It had to be Jackson. He was the only one who had the access and the technical knowledge to re-submit it under her name. They had stolen my work, my dream, and handed it to her on a silver platter.

"Apologize to Keira," Jackson said, his voice dropping to that low, threatening tone he used when he was truly angry. "Right now."

He took a step towards me.

"If you don't apologize, Brooklyn, I swear you and I are done."

In my past life, I would have crumbled. I would have sobbed and begged for forgiveness, terrified of losing his love.

I would have apologized for a crime I didn't commit, just to keep the peace.

I remembered that girl. I remembered her weakness.

She was dead.

"No," I said, meeting his furious gaze without flinching.

The brothers all stared at me, their shock palpable. I had never, not once in my life, defied Jackson.

Keira peeked out from Andrew's shoulder, her act slipping for a moment. She looked genuinely surprised.

Then she quickly recovered, her voice trembling again.

"It's my fault," she whispered, pulling at their sleeves. "I shouldn't have come. I'm just a poor girl on a scholarship. I'm not... I'm not one of you. I'm not worthy of your kindness."

It was a masterful performance.

"Don't say that!" Brett said immediately.

"You're worth more than anyone, Keira," Andrew added, holding her tighter.

Jackson's eyes softened as he looked at her, then hardened again as he turned back to me.

The pain in my chest was a dull, familiar ache.

I remembered my eighteenth birthday. I' d won my first major design award. They had thrown a massive party for me.

"You're a genius, Brook," Jackson had said, kissing me under the fireworks. "Our genius."

Now their genius was someone else.

Chapter 2

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