CAMELLIA'S POV
For a long moment, I could only stare at Father, unable to form a single word. My throat felt tight, my mind frighteningly blank.
I was torn between keeping the secret and not wanting to lie to my own parents.
The silence stretched until it finally snapped. Father slammed his fist against the table, the crack echoing through the kitchen.
“Camellia Everleigh,” he bellowed. “I’m asking you a question.”
I flinched and swallowed hard. Father rarely called me by my full name, but when he did, it meant I was in serious trouble. Even so, I decided to try my luck.
“N-nothing,” I whispered. The lie sounded weak even to my own ears.
Father closed his eyes for a brief moment. Then he exhaled sharply through his nose, the kind of breath a person took to keep their patience from s
