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Joella's
on the front lawn, her backpack still slung over one shoulder, staring at the scattered contents of her life. Her clothes, her books, her
yes, only the detached appraisal one might give a piece of furniture that no longe
poison she'd been unknowingly ingesting for years. It explained the constant comparisons, the casu
Brenda continued, her voice devoid of
irl with bouncy curls and a frilly pink dress peeked out, a triumphant smirk on
h Brenda's. She smelled of expensive perfume and entitlement. "Oh, there you are," she said, her
re clean but short, practical. "I never possessed anything that wasn't mine," she r
of jelly, always bending toward the path of least resistance. He looked at Chloe, a flicke
said, his tone pleading. "Joella's ha
one who had thrown her ent
lder, Chloe. Like a dress worn by mistake. Now, the rightful owner has come to cl
d, Joella-a perfect, complete family. She was the odd piece, the counterfeit part that had finally been identified and discarded. There was no point in arguing.
rn suitcase. She didn't have much, and what she had was now out here for the whole n
ai
through the air, sh
ed, her ba
calculating tone entering her voice.
he edge of bankruptcy, and the marriage alliance with the Blackwood empire was their only lifeline. The con
ard, his voice suddenly urgent. "It belong
dary Blackwood family making her practically vibrate with exc
ey were trying to strip-mine her for
of cold, hard fury. She looked at their greedy, expectant faces. She had been a placeholder, a cas
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