They Rejected an SSS Bloodline, Big Mistake Chapter 05
Mom hurried to persuade me, “Sera, if Lila likes it that much, just give it to her. Later I’ll buy you a brand new one with a gold lock.”
Gideon chimed in from the side, “That’s right, it’s not
every day Lila falls in love with something. Sera, if you like listening to music, when we get to the
Southeastern Territory I’ll get you a sound crystal carved by a master craftsman.”
They took turns talking, making decisions for me like
it was the most natural thing in the world.
Trading a free giveaway you got with a prom dress and
a bunch of empty promises for the thing I valued most in the world.
“No. I don’t want that.” I rejected them coldly.
My little sister’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
She’d pulled this trick so many times she could do it in
her sleep. “Don’t be mad, Sera, I just want to make it up to you…”
She trembled like she was about to have another
depressive episode. Ever since she injured me with silver solution when we were kids, any time I didn’t do what she wanted, she acted like I’d been holding a grudge against her this whole time.
Dorian got fed up, snatched the music box out of my hand and gave it to Delilah. “Can you stop being so selfish? You were born three minutes earlier than Lila,
what’s the big deal in cutting her some slack?”
Delilah took the music box and deliberately dropped it on the floor.
It was the last thing Grandma ever left me.
My wolf roared inside me, but I stayed completely still, staring blankly at the splintered wood all over the floor.
Dorian panicked a little, patted my shoulder to calm me down. “I’ll buy two identical ones later, one for you and one for Lila, how’s that?”
Gideon laughed to smooth things over, herding Delilah toward the dining room. “C’mon, stop moping. Let’s go eat cake.”
The whole family followed, laughing and talking.
I turned around, locked the door behind me, and logged into the secondhand marketplace.
One by one, I listed every trace of me I’d left in this house.
To celebrate Delilah and me passing our ranking evaluation, my parents were throwing a Ranking Banquet.
The living room was piled high with gift boxes of all sizes.
Delilah spun around in front of the full–length mirror in an elaborate heavy lace gown.
Mom stood behind her carefully smoothing out the train, while Gideon held out a glittering crystal tiara to Delilah.
“Mom, where’s my gown?”
I walked over to the couch, staring at all the garment bags covering the sofa.
Mom didn’t even turn around. She was fastening a brooch for Delilah as she answered offhand, “You
never talk much anyway. You’ll just be sitting in the audience eating tomorrow. Anything you wear is fine.”
Dorian walked out of his room and huffed, “Lila’s the
star of tomorrow, just throw something on. Wear whatever’s comfortable. That plain white button–down
you have on right now is perfect.”
I watched all three of them fawning over Delilah, like I
was watching a play that had nothing to do with me.
“Okay.” I smiled and agreed. “It does look really good.”
Delilah smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Sera!”
I didn’t answer. I turned around and went back to my room.
Late that night, the laughter and chatter from the living room died down completely.
I locked my door, pulled an old suitcase out from under my bed.
I only packed three sets of worn clothes and my trial ranking certificate. Nothing else.
At six in the morning, the sky was just starting to lighten.
The whole family was still asleep, saving their energy for the Ranking Banquet.
I lifted my suitcase, didn’t make a single sound, and
gently pushed the front door open. I walked to the entryway and set my house key softly on the shoe cabinet.
In the trash can, there was a crumpled pack of expired mints.
The wrapper had faded, and the mints inside had gone hard long ago.
It was from two years prior, when Gideon won his first big ice hockey tournament.
He asked me for a reward.
I didn’t even like candy, but I knew he loved peppermint.
The mint spread cool through my mouth before I kissed him.
He swore to me, “Sera, I promise things will always be sweet between us from now on.”
There were 36 mints in the pack. We’d been together three years and I never finished them.
After Gideon met Delilah, I never ate mints again, and never kissed him again.
I dragged my suitcase downstairs and got into a cab heading for the airport.
The terminal was crowded with people, and boarding announcements blared over the speakers.
I got my boarding pass, went through security, and stood in front of the huge floor–to–ceiling window.
Outside, the sun was slowly rising, and golden light spilled across the tarmac.
Suddenly, a mindlink pinged from Mom.
[Your dad and I thought about it all night. The Ranking Banquet is your right too.]
[When you wake up, I’ll take you to pick out a gown, okay?]
I didn’t reply. I blocked Dad’s, Mom’s, and Dorian’s mindlinks one by one.
Then I opened my wrist comm and added all of them to my blacklist.
Oh, right–my fated mate Gideon got the same treatment.
Last of all, I left the family group chat called “Blood Ties“.
I turned off my comm screen and walked toward the gate.
When I landed in Central Territory, it was pouring rain.
I just turned my comm on when my best friend spammed me with dozens of messages.
[Sera! Something huge just went down at your Ranking Banquet!]
[OMFG where are you? Envoys from the Alpha King’s
Central Legion showed up at your place!]
[Turns out you aren’t even there, and your rating is
SSS. One in hundreds of years…]
[Your whole family is losing it…]