unwanted and in the shadows

Author's pov Rain pelted against the windows of the sprawling mansion, a rhythm that matched the tumult inside. Violet Montgomery stared out at the storm, her reflection a mere silhouette against the darkness beyond. At seventeen, she had grown accustomed to the brooding atmosphere that seemed to enter every corner of her life since her mother's death. It had been three years since the accident that claimed her mother's life and shattered her father's world completely. Since then, the once-vibrant estate had grown quiet, swallowed by a grief that refused to leave. For Violet, grief had changed into a silent resentment, not just towards the fate that stole her mother, but towards the woman who had replaced her. Diana, her stepmother, held elegance and ambition above all. With a calculating smile and eyes that hid secrets, she had effortlessly squeezed herself into Violet's father's life. Yet, for all her efforts and to her disappointment, Diana remained a stranger to Violet who drifted through the halls, leaving behind an air of formality that chilled rather than warmed. Violet's father, Edmund Montgomery, was a man of great wealth and influence, his name widely known and popular in the world of business and philanthropy due to his success. But to Violet, he was a stranger a distant figure whose grief had turned him into a shadow of the father she once adored. Since her mother's passing, he had withdrawn into himself, burying his emotions beneath layers of work and he more than once came home disheveled and intoxicated while he had never in the past. The grandeur of the Montgomery estate did little to get rid of the loneliness that enveloped Violet. High ceilings echoed with the emptiness of her existence, each room a testament to memories tainted by loss. She walked through the corridors aimlessly, her footsteps muted by plush carpets that seemed to absorb sound rather than cushion her steps only if the plush carpets were able to absorb her grief and loneliness. Tonight, as the storm raged outside, Violet found herself drawn to the library a place that had become her sanctuary lined with shelves that held the stories of generations past. It was here that she sought solace, surrounded by the scent of leather-bound books and the whisper of history that echoed in the silence. She traced her fingers along the spines, each title a doorway to another world, a temporary escape from her own. Yet, as she settled into an armchair by the fireplace, she couldn't shake the feeling of being an outsider in her own life, trapped in a narrative that refused to offer resolution. The clock struck midnight, its chime reverberating through the quite of the place to her ears. Violet closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting to memories of her mother fragments of laughter and warmth that seemed to slip through her fingers and evade her grasp like sand. Tears welled up unbidden, a testament to the ache that still lingered in the hollows of her heart. Footsteps interrupted her, echoing down the hallway outside the library. Violet tensed, recognizing it as Diana's approach a reminder of the divide that separated her and her best friend from childhood her dad, a chasm widened by unspoken resentments and unfulfilled expectations. As expected, Diana appeared in the doorway, her expression unreadable. "Violet, your father wishes to speak with you." Violet met her gaze with resentment a flicker of defiance in her eyes. "Tell him I'll be there shortly." As Diana turned to leave, Violet's thoughts turned to her father wondering if tonight would be the night he finally acknowledged the distance between them, or if the storm would continue, leaving her in the shadows of her own existence.