Alissa's POV
I don’t know what got into me. But one thing was certain—Ethan and I didn’t belong together.
The moment we stepped into this part of town, I saw the disdain flicker across his face, his unease almost palpable. What he didn’t know was that I had lived here far longer than he could ever imagine.
To outsiders, we might have looked like family. He was my shining stepbrother, the one destined to inherit Silver Oak, brimming with potential. And I? I was ordinary—perhaps even below average. But somehow, standing next to him, I could steal just a sliver of his light and appear a little less insignificant.
That was why his warning stung. "Stay away from people like Ivy and Elias," he had said. As if they were beneath me. As if I weren’t one of them. Ivy, Elias, and I—we were the sa
