Ahhh… CHOO!!"
A lady with long blonde curls cascading down her shoulders to her waist sneezed the moment she stepped out of her room. Dressed in a beautiful yellow sundress, Rose froze at the sight before her door. The roses she loved so much had been replaced with bright sunflowers, the very flowers she was dangerously allergic to.
"Hey… what's going on here?" Rose asked sharply, stopping a female servant who was just about to head downstairs. "Why were my flowers changed? You know I'm allergic to sunflowers."
The servant immediately lowered her head nervously.
"Miss Ava wanted everything replaced with her favorite flowers early this morning," she explained hurriedly. "She said she loved the view from this side of the mansion more, so… she'll be moving into your room soon."
Before Rose could even respond, the servant quickly rushed downstairs, clearly too afraid to remain there any longer.
Rose stood frozen.
"What?!" she whispered in disbelief. "The flowers were changed just because she asked? And she's taking my room too?"
Another sneeze attacked her almost immediately.
"Ahh....CHOO!!"
Her nose was already beginning to itch badly from the strong scent of the sunflowers surrounding the hallway.
Fine… I'm not even angry about the room anymore, Rose thought bitterly. Ava has been taking everything from me ever since she returned anyway.
But then another painful thought struck her chest hard.
Did Mother forget I'm allergic to sunflowers? Did she forget how dangerous it is for me?
Pain flashed across her beautiful face as she quickly descended the stairs before another sneezing fit could start.
Ava Hart.
The original daughter of the powerful Hart family who had gone missing for ten years before finally returning home a few days ago.
And ever since her return, everything had changed.
Rose had suddenly become invisible.
The woman she had called "Mother" for years no longer looked at her with warmth anymore. Mr. Hart barely acknowledged her existence. Even the servants who once respected and adored her now treated her like an unwanted stranger.
It was as though Rose had only been borrowing someone else's place all these years.
A temporary replacement.
A stand-in daughter.
And now that the "real" daughter had returned, Rose no longer had any value.
The moment she reached the last staircase, her steps slowly came to a halt.
Her eyes landed on the dining table.
Ava sat comfortably in the center, smiling brightly between Mr. and Mrs. Hart like the perfect family portrait. Her blonde curls and delicate features looked so similar to Rose's that it almost hurt to stare at her.
Mrs. Hart was gently placing more food onto Ava's plate while Mr. Hart smiled proudly at her, his expression filled with affection.
They looked happy.
Complete.
Like Rose had never existed.
What hurt even more was the fact that nobody had called her down for breakfast.
That had never happened before.
The family always waited for her no matter how late she woke up, but now they were already eating without her as though she didn't belong there anymore.
Rose's chest tightened painfully.
Then her eyes shifted toward the young man seated not too far from Ava.
Williams Rivers.
Tall, handsome, dressed neatly in a dark office suit with silky black hair falling slightly over his forehead. A warm smile rested on his face as he carefully cut a piece of steak into smaller portions before feeding Ava himself.
Rose felt her breathing stop for a second.
Her fiancé.
The man she had loved for three years.
The same man who now looked at Ava with a softness he no longer reserved for her.
No… he wasn't stolen, Rose corrected herself bitterly.
He chose to leave.
The moment the legitimate daughter returned, Rose became worthless to him.
And as if that betrayal wasn't painful enough already, Rose had discovered the previous night that Ava and Williams had spent Ava's heat cycle together.
That revelation had shattered whatever remained of her heart.
Rose had cried herself to sleep, foolishly hoping Williams would call her afterward. Maybe he would apologize. Maybe he would explain that everything had been a misunderstanding.
But there had been nothing.
No calls.
No texts.
Nothing at all.
And now he sat there happily eating breakfast with another woman as if Rose had never mattered.
"That bastard…" Rose cursed quietly under her breath, desperately blinking back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
She had been standing there silently for almost ten minutes now.
Nobody noticed her.
Or perhaps they did notice and simply chose to ignore her existence.
At that moment, Ava suddenly laughed softly at something Williams whispered to her, and Mrs. Hart smiled lovingly while brushing Ava's hair away from her face.
That small action nearly broke Rose completely.
No.
I can't stay here anymore.
Rose slowly turned around before anyone could notice the tears gathering in her eyes. She hurried back upstairs, covering her nose with her hand as she passed through the rows of sunflowers again.
"Ahh....CHOO!!"
The moment she entered her room, she slammed the door shut behind her and locked it immediately.
Then her strength finally gave out.
Rose collapsed onto the floor beside her bed, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as the tears she had been holding back poured endlessly down her cheeks.
"Why…?" she whispered brokenly, her shoulders trembling violently from silent sobs. "Just why?"
Her chest hurt so badly she could barely breathe.
Do I really have to leave for Empire Academy?
Do I really have to leave this family behind?
Fresh tears rolled down her face.
"I'm their daughter too…" she cried softly. "I've been their daughter for over ten years. I represented the Hart family everywhere. I loved them with everything I had…"
Her voice cracked painfully.
"But now I'm nothing."
Rose lowered her head, her golden curls falling around her trembling figure as another wave of heartbreak consumed her entirely.
"A stand-in…" she whispered weakly. "That's all I ever was to them."
