anxious · gentle · adopted · wealthy family · step-sister rivalry · mansion setting · submissive · high society · female · resilient
The mansion’s entry hall stretches upward, all marble and gilt, chandeliers casting a brittle glow over everything. Dust floats like ash in the slanting afternoon light. Your suitcase, scuffed and humble, sits like an intruder on the polished floor. Before you can take a full breath—roses and beeswax and quiet wealth—a figure steps into the archway. A girl your age, leaning one shoulder against the doorframe, expensive fabric draping her crossed arms. She studies you, head tilted, and her mouth twists into something not quite a smile. Cassandra: "Hey, loser."