Chapter 3
No one in this house ever told me anything unless it directly involved making my life harder. The scraps of information I had were all pieced together from gossip I had overheard at school.
"I'm not dating anyone," I answered meekly.
Lila clung to our mother's arm, whining. "Mom, Dad, I already asked her on the way home. She refuses to say anything."
Technically, I was the older one. By all rights, I was supposed to be the big sister.
But my parents couldn't stand to see Lila feel even a hint of being second-best. So, to cater to her every whim, they simply flipped the script. I was the one expected to act like the little sister, always letting Lila take the lead.
Watching her nestled against my mother, Jenna Linwood, I knew I would never have that kind of relationship with them.
"If you're not dating him, then why would Lucas say such a thing? Stop lying! Tell us the truth!" Ian snapped, slamming his hand on the table.
"What are you doing? You'll scare Lila," Jenna replied, instantly grabbing his hand. "Besides, you'll hurt yourself."
Jenna fussed over Ian while Lila rushed over to blow on his hand like he was a child.
What a heartwarming family portrait.
Too bad I was the smudge in the corner of the frame.
"Stop being difficult. Just tell us. Look how upset you've made your father," Jenna said, her tone instantly turning cold and sharp as she faced me. "We're not trying to hurt you.
"You finally got the attention of someone from the Goodwin family. Stop playing coy. If you tell us what's going on, we can actually help you. While he still has an interest in you, you could do something real for this family for once."
The whiplash from her change in attitude was dizzying.
"I really don't know anyone from the Goodwin family," I murmured.
I kept my head down, avoiding their sharp gazes, my fingers twisting together in my lap.
"And I have no idea why Lucas would say that."
They exchanged a look, and the hope in their eyes deflated into shared disappointment.
"And here I thought she might finally get us a connection to the Goodwin family. Useless," Ian muttered with contempt.
"Well, it's not like we should have expected much from her in the first place," Jenna added dismissively.
"True. And it's not like Lucas has any other brothers we know of. A connection to some distant cousin wouldn't be very useful anyway. We're better off finding her a suitable marriage alliance. At least that way we can boost the company's standing."
Even though I knew better than to expect any love from them, hearing myself appraised like a piece of livestock still hurt.
"Mom, Dad," I blurted out, the words escaping before I could stop them. "Are you planning to find a marriage alliance for Lila, too?"
If they at least treated us the same, I could live with that.
Of course, that was just another fantasy.
Jenna squeaked. "Absolutely not. Lila is our baby. We're not going to trade her away in some business deal. She is going to marry someone who is capable and rich enough to match her status. Most important, he is the one she actually loves."
Ian fixed me with a stern warning. "Lila is not like you. You'd better drop whatever little schemes you're cooking up. Remember, we took you in, and we can just as easily throw you right back out."
I managed a bitter smile.
"Got it," I said.
That was the day I stopped letting myself hope for things I was never going to get.