chapter493

"I'll leave you two to talk. I'll... I'll be right outside."

Grace slipped out and closed the door behind her.

Blake walked right in, barely glancing around. The gifts he'd given Lucinda were still piled up in the corner, untouched, just collecting dust. The bed and everything around it looked like a tornado had passed through. Lucinda only realized now that she'd totally forgotten to clean up.

"Not in a good mood?" Blake asked, turning to face her.

Lucinda tried to play it cool, but guilt was written all over her face. "No, I'm fine. Really."

Blake let out a soft sigh. "You just won an international competition today. Shouldn't you be happy?"

Hearing that made Lucinda feel even worse. She was sure Blake was doing it on purpose, poking at her sore spots just to make her feel small. Tears pricked at her eyes again, and Blake spoke up for her. "It's because you lost the bet, right?"

Lucinda clenched her fists. Her chest felt tight, like she could barely breathe. Losing the bet wasn't even the worst part. What really stung was that she lost to Lydia.

"So, what are you trying to say, Blake? That I'm not as good as my sister? That I should just do what she says and never upset her?"

She didn't even bother hoping anymore that anyone would care about how she felt. All their attention was on Lydia now. Did anyone ever ask how Lucinda was doing? Today, at the event, when Lydia made things so hard for her, did anyone stand up for her? Only Grace. And... Caspian. A nanny and a total outsider cared more than her own family. The thought made her feel so alone.

But what really hurt was Connor. She'd admired him her whole life, looked up to him, maybe even loved him a little. And in the end, he chose Lydia too, hurting her without a second thought. Lucinda just didn't get it. Why did everyone always take Lydia's side and leave her behind?

Blake seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. "So, this is all Lydia's fault in your eyes?"

Lucinda just stayed quiet.

He took that as a yes. "Have you ever thought that you were the one who pushed for the bet? The terms were your idea. Why is it that now you've lost, it's suddenly all Lydia's fault?"

Lucinda was so upset she couldn't keep it in anymore. "She knew she could beat me Why did she have to take the bet? She just wanted to embarrass me in front of everyone, make me look like a joke even after winning the championship!

Saying it out loud made her feel a little better, like she'd finally let out something

she'd been holding inside for too long.

Blake's frown deepened. He honestly

hadn't expected Lucinda to see things this way. Maybe they'd spoiled her too much, let her get

away with too much, so now she couldn't even tell right from wrong.

"But she told you she played better than you. You didn't believe her. You said if she proved it, you'd kneel, serve her tea, and call her Grandmaster. Isn't that what happened?"

Lucinda's cheeks burned. "She... she could have said no."

"If she said no, you would've just thought she was bluffing. The only way she could show you she was telling the truth was to play on stage."

"She could have just told me she was Melody Mastro! You all knew. Why did no one tell me?"

Now she was blaming the whole Norwood family. Blake couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Would you have believed her if she

told you? Mom tried to stop you, didn't she? Did you listen? You'd already won the championship and thought you were unbeatable. You just wanted to see Lydia lose You wanted her to mess up in front of everyone. That's what you wanted. But when things didn't go your way, you couldn't handle it. So now you're blaming Lydia for everything, just to cover up your own mistakes. But is that really fair?"