“No,” Victoria snapped. “What happened is that you chose to humiliate Lily during one of the most important weekends of her life because you can’t stand not being the center of attention. You couldn’t bear that your stepsister graduated with honors, had a party, had people proud of her. So you stayed away and made everyone talk about you.”
Alexandra almost laughed, but it came out as a quiet breath.
There were so many versions of history in Victoria’s house, and nearly all of them had Alexandra cast as the problem. If Alexandra showed up, she was trying to steal attention. If she stayed home, she was sulking. If she spoke, she was dramatic. If she remained silent, she was cold. The rules changed because the point was never the rules. The point was control.
“I didn’t even know about the party until I saw the pictures online,” Alexandra said.
Victoria scoffed. “Convenient.”
