Vivian's composure cracked slightly, clearly having expected desperate negotiation rather than open defiance. "You don't mean that," she said. "Your entire social standing, everything you've built here....."
"Doesn't matter nearly as much as you think it does," Ethan said, stepping closer to Lily, close enough that their shoulders brushed, a deliberate, public gesture that made his intentions unmistakably clear. "Lily isn't my stepsister by blood, Vivian. She never was, not really, not in any way that matters. And I'm done pretending otherwise just to protect a reputation I never particularly cared about in the first place."
"You're actually going to let me post this," Vivian said, disbelief coloring her voice.
"Post it," Ethan said simply. "I'd rather the truth come out on my terms tha
