Start over?

POV: Elena

The car sways slightly as the wheels meet a rougher road, but I barely notice. My eyes remain glued to the window, the pale reflection of my face staring back at me with equal intensity as I try to ignore the world around me. Eloisa beside me sighs in pure frustration for the thousandth time.

"How awful, it feels like we're heading to the middle of nowhere." Her voice, full of disdain and impatience, breaks the silence I cherish so much. She doesn't speak to me, of course. She never does. Not unless it's to remind me that I shouldn't be there.

I want to tell her that nothing would be better than the hell we left behind. But my words remain stuck in my throat, along with so many other feelings I've learned to hide.

My hand is tightly clasped around the small backpack on my lap. It's all I have. All I had left after that accident took away the only people who, no matter how cruel they were, cared enough to keep me around... or at least pretended to care.

The truth is, I didn't love them. I couldn't love someone who spent more time hurting me than raising me. And Eloisa knew that. She always knew. But to her, I was an intruder. A threat. And I could only imagine how unbearable it would be now, having to live with me in the same house as our... brothers.

"You could at least try not to look like a wild animal. They won't like you." She says, not looking at me. Her attention is fixed on her own reflection, as she fixes her light brown hair as if she were meeting royalty.

"You've never been one to talk to me, I don't want you to start now," I reply and clutch my backpack tighter.

My stomach churns and I feel the weight of what's to come pressing down on my shoulders.

POV: Eloisa

I can't believe this is happening. After everything I've endured, everything I've built, now I'm stuck with her. That girl who always looked at me like I was the monster, when she was the one who ruined everything.

My parents made it clear to me that I was the perfect daughter. I deserved the best. They gave me the world while she... well, she deserved what she got. At least that's what I told myself every time I heard her cry over something they did to her. Part of me thought it was necessary. That she needed to understand that she couldn't just steal what was mine.

But now... now everything has turned upside down. Our parents are dead, and I'm being taken to live with a bunch of strangers who call themselves our brothers. And I know that, even without meaning to, she's going to ruin everything. Like she always does.

The house looms before us like a colossal, modern castle. Luxurious, elegant, and frighteningly imposing. And I smile.

If the brothers are rich, as it seems they are, then I have a chance to get back what I lost. To get back what is rightfully mine. But to do that, I need to make sure she doesn't get in the way.

"At least try not to embarrass me," I mutter, more to myself than to her. Because somehow I know she's going to do just that.

The car pulls up in front of the massive double doors, and I take a deep breath, smoothing down my expensive dress. This is my chance. And I'm not going to let her ruin it.

POV: Elena

The door opens and I feel the cold wind blow on my face. The steps leading up to the mansion's entrance seem endless. But it's not the luxury that intimidates me. It's what's beyond those doors. The people waiting for me inside. The people who are now my only family.

I take a deep breath and force myself to get out of the car, even though my mind screams at me to run away. I can't run away. Yet.

Eloisa is already in front, walking with the confidence of someone who believes the world is hers by right. And I follow her, dragging my feet as if at any moment the ground could collapse. Maybe, in a way, I want it to collapse. At least then I wouldn't have to face the unknown.

But I keep walking. Because, no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, something inside me still wants to believe that this place... these people... can be different.

No, Elena, don't fool yourself.

Lorenzo is the first to open the door. Tall, dark hair and piercing eyes that exude authority. He watches us with a calculating look, as if he were already deciding what to do with us. Next to him is Vicente, a little shorter, but with the same cold and distant presence.

"Come in," Lorenzo says, his deep voice not an invitation, but an order.

Eloisa smiles in that captivating way that she knows how to do so well. I roll my eyes and follow her, feeling the weight of the gazes on me.

Lorenzo leads us down a huge hallway, to a room that looks more like a meeting room than a place to relax. All the brothers are there. Luca, the most relaxed, gives us a wide smile. Leonardo watches us with a suspicious look. Sandro just looks away, as if he wants to avoid any contact.

"So it's them?" Luca asks, curiosity evident in his voice. "I thought they would be more similar to each other."

"Believe me, we are very different," Eloisa replies with that sweet tone she uses to deceive others. But I know what's behind that smile.

Lorenzo crosses his arms, his eyes darkening as he takes in every detail.

"We have a lot to discuss. But first, you need to rest."

He says this looking at me. And for a second, I think I see something beyond authority. Concern, perhaps? Or just pity? I don't know. But whatever it is, I'm not ready to trust it.

"I'll show you the rooms," Sandro murmurs, pushing himself away from the wall as if he's finally decided to join the conversation.

I follow him, without looking back. Because looking back would only bring me more pain