ge of 15. Lucy's once curly hair was now smooth and straight, her skin lighter, her features sharper, and her mannerisms more refined. She had become a dutiful daughter

was the daughter of a duke, and she would often spend time at her home, enjoying the lavish parties and balls th

er skin was the color of dark chocolate, and her features were a mix of her father's and her mother's. She possessed the same captivating eyes as her father but her full lips and high cheekbones were undeniably her mother's. Louise did her job a

et none bothered to look be

ncle Edward. The entire estate was cast into mourning. The funeral was a somber a

unt's maltreatment and confining himself to his office. The only thing she knew about him was that he was a man of silence. As she gl

as something about the way they avoided looking at her that sent shivers down her spine. She couldn

and even the servants, usually so accustomed t

a heavy heart, Louise entered Aunt Abigail's chambers. The overpowering scent of

s vast fortune will go to my son," Aunt Abigail declared, her voice dripping with triumph. "Wh

s on the marble floor. She would not give this sp

il continued, her words like daggers of ice. "I have decided..." she p

ured great disdain for her, but such outright cruelty was unfathomable. "But why must you send me away?" Loui

ou and your sister in. Now that both your uncle and father are gone, I see no reason to continue such a ridiculous arrangement!" she spat. "There is nothing preventing me

h, was unbearable. Her body shook with silent sobs as she struggled to keep her composure. She had always known that Aunt Abigail was cruel, but she had never imagined she would be so cru

sion, her breath coming in ragged sobs. She couldn't believe that Aunt Abigail would do this to her. It was as if

ine silks and dripping in jewels. Lucy recoiled in disgust from

ending you away to boardin

wailed, her voice

il told me herself, and I must say, I'm glad she's finally

choked out, her voice barely audible. Louise desperately searched her twin's icy eyes for any trace of the girl she once kn

luxury." She paused, relishing the look of anguish on Louise's face. "But don't worry, dear sister. I'm sure you'll find your

ou would protect me," Louise wept, her slender

fed. "I am your superior now in every way. We may share blood,

had been torn from her chest from Lucy's hateful words. Her own sister'

," she managed to choke out, her voice barely audible over the ro

re her face twisted back into a resentful scowl. "My

loodline. No matter how you try to deny it, we share the same ancestry. I stand here today before God as my witness and renounce you

s to her attic bedroom. Only after slamming the heavy oak door shut behind her did Louise f

d into a million tiny pieces, and she crumpled to the floo