Love Sinks Into the Deep

We're Even

I turned to Enzo and gave him a faint smile. "Mr. Lior, congratulations to you and Miss Selina Arroway. I only came today to offer my blessings in front of everyone. And also…"

My tone shifted as I glanced down at my parents, whose faces had suddenly turned ashen. "To take back what rightfully belongs to me."

"Mom, Dad," I emphasized the words deliberately, but there was no warmth in my voice. "If I remember correctly, after I went missing three years ago, my 15% shares of Arroway Corp. were transferred to Selina's name, weren't they?"

My mother's face went pale. She couldn't utter a single word.

I smiled faintly. "That's fine. I'll handle it through the proper legal channels. Starting today, I'll have my lawyer reclaim every asset under my name. After all, I'm still alive."

"Raina!" my father finally burst out, his voice full of anguish. "What do you think you're doing? Selina is your sister! What's so wrong about giving her the shares? We thought you were dead! Why must you come back just to make a scene and embarrass the family?"

My mother joined in, crying. "That's right, Raina. We know we weren't there for you growing up, and we feel guilty about that. But Selina has been with us all these years—so sweet, so thoughtful. We've come to see her as our own daughter. How can you be so petty, so ungrateful?"

There it was again. The same words.

Not as considerate as Selina. Not as gentle as Selina.

Because I hadn't grown up under their care, I was born guilty—destined to be sacrificed, destined to be abandoned.

Selina stepped forward at just the right moment, eyes brimming with tears as she clutched my hand. "Raina, I'm sorry… It's all on me. If you want, I'll give everything back—the shares, the inheritance, all of it. I'll even call off the wedding with Enzo. Please, don't be angry…"

Her pitiful act—so precise, so practiced—once again struck straight at Enzo's sense of protectiveness. He immediately pulled her behind him and glared at me. "Raina Arroway, must you be so pushy? Selina is innocent! Whatever pain you've suffered, I can make it up to you—with money, with my time, with whatever it takes. But you can't keep hurting her like this!"

Watching him stand there so self-righteously, I couldn't help thinking of the boy he used to be.

Back in high school, when I had just joined the Arroway family, I was plain, insecure, and the laughingstock of the class. Only Enzo—our class monitor—had stood up for me when others mocked me. Only he had silently walked me home after evening study sessions to make sure I was safe.

But three years apart had turned everything upside down.

I looked around the wedding hall. The champagne roses, the ceiling lights glittering like stars, the white chocolates placed on each table—everything was exactly how Selina had once described her dream wedding to Enzo in that sugary, coy tone.

So, he hadn't forgotten our past. He had simply given all those memories—and all that affection—to someone else.

Whatever warmth had been left in me went cold.

Meeting Enzo's complicated gaze, I raised my wrist and unfastened the delicate bracelet made of tiny seashells. He had crafted it for me himself back when we were deeply in love, and I had treasured it ever since.

The bracelet fell to the floor with a crisp, decisive cling.

"That," I said, pointing at it, "along with the life I once gave you three years ago—you don't owe me anything now."

Drawing my gaze away, I said softly, "Enzo Lior, we're even."