Wesley was clattering away in the kitchen. Alaric used work as an excuse and retreated to his room, not coming out once.
The massive living room was left to Vivienne and Mina, who stared at each other.
Mina glanced at the bedrooms, burning with gossip. "Just the three of you live here?"
Vivienne nodded, looking Mina up and down. "If you change your mind, I can still consider taking you in."
Mina's eyes lit up, but after a moment's thought, she shook her head. "I better not. I only wanted to come out to clear my head. Now that I've figured things out, I should go back and face them."
Vivienne was a little surprised. Just a minute ago, Mina's eyes had practically been glued to Cyril. Her massive crush couldn't have been more obvious.
Why the sudden change of heart?
"You're really sure? Don't force yourself."
"If even you can tell, how could anyone else miss it?" Mina said softly. "Especially someone as smart as him. I'd rather not throw myself at him and become an annoyance."
She smiled, looking out the window with clear eyes. "Didn't I just promise to love myself? My affection is precious. I should save it for someone who cherishes me. Even though Cyril is wonderful, he doesn't like me. And in my book, that's the biggest flaw a guy could have. So, I'm moving on."
In the previous life, Mina's obsession with Cyril had bordered on madness. Out of jealousy over Sienna Markell's closeness to him, she had antagonized Sienna at every turn. But she was no match for Sienna, and her antics only turned her into a laughingstock.
Her most infamous stunt was losing her mind after being provoked by Sienna. In front of a crowd of high society elites, she had thrown herself off a ferry, using her death to prove her love for Cyril.
Naturally, her unhinged act didn't move anyone. It only made the Blackthorne family the biggest joke in Stormhollow.
A person who learns to love herself, grounded in true kindness, will never sell her soul to beg for an illusory love. And so, the girl on the ferry vanished forever.
Mina looked down at her own palms. She didn't know why, but after finally speaking the words she had buried deep in her heart, she felt an unprecedented sense of relief. A surge of new energy seemed to course through her veins.
It was an abstract feeling—hard to describe, but undeniably real.
"Ahem..."
A highly exaggerated cough interrupted them from the dining room.
"Miss Lexton, Miss Blackthorne, dinner is ready."

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