Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Graham had spoiled Yalena for over ten years; he understood that she was sensitive and guarded her stuff. But Evelyn’s attitude threw him off.
Evelyn was Quinlyn’s mother and she knew Quinlyn would come home that day, yet Evelyn prepared nothing for Quinlyn, even clothes or a cleaned room.
Graham glanced over and saw Quinlyn eating calmly, unaffected by the chaos.
Inside, Quinlyn was thrilled. The Narrator said, [Fate Change Progress: 15%] Amid her excitement, she felt something else.
Graham felt a knot of guilt. He took a breath, thinking, ‘She’s new. She’ll adjust over time.’
He said, “Our neighbors are like family. It’s just a dress. I’ll get two new ones tomorrow. Quinlyn, you—”
Before he could finish, Quinlyn jumped in, “Yancy’s taking me shopping tomorrow, right, Yancy?”
Yancy was dead. At Yalena’s look, he died instantly, branded a traitor.
Yalena was livid. She couldn’t even eat. But she didn’t storm off. She sensed the mood shift and just kept her head down, staying quiet.
Chancey slid a shrimp onto her plate and said gently, “Just girl drama. Nothing serious. Let’s keep eating. We’ll get Yalena to join tomorrow too. The sisters can bond and try on their custom dresses. Your coming-of-age ceremony is coming up soon.”
The coming-of-age ceremony meant the fiancé Quinlyn had been promised since childhood would finally show up. She had her own plans. For now, this was progress.
Beatrice and Yarden had faded into the background. But after dinner, Beatrice found Quinlyn, blocking her path. She glared like she wanted to devour Quinlyn, but made sure no one saw.
Beatrice seethed. “You little brat! You think cozying up to rich parents means you can ditch me now? I swear, I’ll drag you away tomorrow.”
That threat would scare any shaky teen. Quinlyn leaned against the wall, looking at the middle-aged woman’s wrinkled face, and whispered, “Do you think the Guzmans know you swapped me and Yalena on purpose?”
“You bitch! What’re you saying? You’re just jealous of Yalena, and now you’re spouting nonsense,” Beatrice replied calmly.
It had been over ten years. If Quinlyn said anything, Beatrice would say Quinlyn had been lying since she was a kid. She had stolen money and dated at a young age. She had just been jealous.
Quinlyn knew why Beatrice was so confident. She said, “Then go tell them yourself. Say you’re taking me away tomorrow because you can’t stand being apart from me.” She turned and walked away without another word.
Beatrice was worried. At dinner, she saw how much the Guzmans cared for Quinlyn. She deemed that Quinlyn, who wasn’t so sly before, had just come back home and was already plotting. She was sure that Yalena couldn’t stand a chance against Quinlyn.
Beatrice made up her mind that she had to stay at the Guzman residence and give Yalena some advice.
Quinlyn didn’t give a damn. She went back to her room with the soft carpet. Actually, she got Yancy’s old room, which was nicer. Yancy had to bunk with Chancey now.
Graham promised Quinlyn she’d have her own room, a walk-in closet, and new clothes by tomorrow.
Quinlyn blinked, staring at the night sky, too awake to sleep. Her young, strong body felt fine, even after a day of fighting.
1/2
In her previous life, Quinlyn hadn’t been upstairs in ages. She laughed mockingly and shook her head, not sure if she was laughing at herself or the Guzmans. Then she slowly closed her eyes.
The next day at dawn, Quinlyn opened her eyes, looking troubled. She’d tossed and turned all night, sweating, stuck between dream and reality.
For a second, she wasn’t sure-was this reality or just a dying dream in her hospital bed? She sighed, heard the door thumping, and got up to open it.
“Hey, I came for my-” Yancy trailed off.
Quinlyn stepped aside a bit. “It’s your room. Just go in and take it.”
“Hey… what’s up?” Yancy asked. Quinlyn looked ghostly pale.
“Nothing, just didn’t sleep well.”
“You didn’t eat those chicken wings yesterday,” he muttered.
Quinlyn looked confused.
The Narrator cut in, [Modification: Quinlyn gave Chancey back that plate of chicken wings. To save face, he ate a bunch and had a restless, stomach-aching night, only to find out the next day the chicken was bad.]
Quinlyn tried hard to hold back her laughter.
Yancy got dressed and stormed out, scowling. At the door, he glanced down at Quinlyn, who was a head shorter. He frowned, thought about saying something, but kept quiet.
He’d been criticized all night. Parents arguing, Yalena crying, Chancey clutching his stomach in pain, it all felt like her fault.
“Can’t go shopping with you today. Have the maid take you later.” He turned and walked off.
Quinlyn watched him leave for a bit. Then she checked her progress in changing her fate. It hadn’t dropped, even after his rejection.
She lowered her eyes. That was good. As for Yancy’s attitude, she hadn’t expected it. His calmness surprised her. With his temper, she thought he’d toss her stuff out and tell her to leave.
Quinlyn never thought last night would make him suddenly see her as his real sister-someone to care for deeply.
To the Guzmans, it didn’t matter if Quinlyn acted shy or arrogant. It wouldn’t change much. Being shy made her seem weak; acting arrogant just annoyed them more. But she couldn’t care less.
