My fingers loosened, and the envelope fell to the floor. Charles came out wearing only a towel around his waist, and I struggled to take in what was right in front of me.
"What the hell..." I looked from one to the other as my eyes filled with tears. "What's she doing here, Charles? What were you two doing?"
Charles kept his gaze away from mine.
Without the slightest hesitation, Oriana put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. "We just had sex. Isn't that obvious?"
I couldn't stop the tears from running down my face. Both my hands were trembling, and I wanted to slap the two of them.
"Did I really mean that little to you, Charles?" I could barely get the words out. "We had plans to go to Wharton together. You said we'd get married and that you'd help me leave that house. So why did you go behind my back and sleep with her?"
My cousin sneered at me, while Charles turned his face away. "What did you expect, Aurora? Oriana's parents took you in because you were an orphan. What could you possibly do for me?"
His voice grew colder as he continued, "Getting a decent job in finance isn't easy. You know that. If I graduate without anyone who can open a few doors for me, I could spend my whole life stuck in a job that goes nowhere. And that's assuming I even get hired. What if I have to get by on part-time shifts at a convenience store? I won't settle for that."
Apparently, he'd talked himself into believing he had nothing to be ashamed of. "There's no point dragging this out. It's over between us. This was never going to work."
I held on to the doorframe as I cried, but I couldn't make my tears stop.
Aurora Purwett was my name. An accident had killed my parents when I was still a baby. My aunt and uncle had taken me into their home, only to spend the years that followed treating me as their maid.
Growing up, I'd endured their shouting, their beatings, and the cruel things they said to me, while Oriana had bullied me at every chance she got.
For a while, I'd believed Charles could help me build a different life. According to him, he'd never leave me to face things alone, and he'd keep me safe. Once we were both at Wharton, I'd finally be free of the house that made me feel as though I couldn't breathe.
He'd turned out to be one more person I couldn't trust.
For a few seconds, I thought my legs might give way from how badly it hurt. After bending down to pick up the letter, I stood and slapped him with all the strength I had.
"Someone like you has no business at Wharton! You'll see when I get there. I'll do better than you ever could, and I'll make damn sure you know it, you cheating bastard!"
Every bit of my anger had gone into that slap. As his cheek began to swell, he turned on me in a rage.
"Wait. You actually believe you're going to Wharton?"
Charles pushed me to the floor, then looked down at me. "Maybe you should check where that letter came from before you start talking. Did you really think you were good enough to get into Wharton with me?"
Nothing he said made sense at first.
Was he saying I hadn't gotten in?
My eyes dropped to the envelope in my hand. Instead of Wharton School of Business, the return address belonged to a local community college.
There had to be some mistake.
I'd earned SAT scores that gave me a strong chance of getting into Wharton. How had I been accepted by a college I'd never even applied to?
"Don't be stupid. Charles doesn't want you following us to Wharton and getting in the way." Oriana laughed in my face. "We've fed and housed you for eighteen years. You thought you could just walk out on us as soon as you turned eighteen?"
She snuggled up to him and went on with obvious pleasure. "Charles changed your application materials for me. Wasn't that sweet of him? You're staying here to attend that college and look after my parents. After we finish at Wharton and get married, you can be our little maid."
Her hand went over her mouth, but it did nothing to hide her laughter. "I even picked culinary arts for you. You'd better pay attention in class. If you learn to cook properly, we can save ourselves the cost of a chef."
Finding out my boyfriend had slept with my cousin hurt, but this was even worse.
They expected me to settle for a community college!
To me, that was where people went when their grades weren't good enough for anywhere else. Most of them seemed to want something to put on their resumes without having to work too hard for it. The professors only worked there part-time, and I couldn't imagine anyone taking their studies seriously.
For years, I'd pictured myself leaving that house behind and building a career as a financial analyst. My future was supposed to involve work I'd chosen, rather than spending my days making someone else's meals and scrubbing their floors.
Now they'd changed my applications behind my back, and I'd missed every deadline to apply somewhere else.
Because of those two bastards, the future I'd worked for was gone.
Their smug expressions were more than I could bear. Without thinking, I threw myself at them, determined to kill them even if it'd land me behind bars.
He knocked me to the floor as though it took no effort at all. "Stay away from us," he blurted out coldly. "Keep this up, and we'll let Oriana's parents deal with you. They could stop you from going to that college, too. Is that what you want?"
The door slammed shut before I could get up. I squeezed the acceptance letter in my hand and sank my teeth into my lip until I tasted blood.
How could I fix this?
There was no way my aunt and uncle would let me stay home and apply again the following year. Did I have any choice except to attend the college they'd picked for me?
Somehow, I made it out of the building, too dazed to decide where to head next.
The rain started coming down hard just as the same mail carrier hurried up behind me.
"Miss, wait! I've got another acceptance letter for you! This one's from..." He paused to read the envelope. "Norden Academy of Magic?"
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