25. A second blackout.

I found myself pacing anxiously outside the two grand doors, my heart pounding in my chest. The meeting that would decide my fate with that of the twins was happening just beyond those ornate barriers. I couldn’t help but feel like a child waiting outside the principal’s office, except the stakes were infinitely higher.

Why wasn’t I included in this meeting, yet the twins were?! I wasn’t a child! It was my fate after all.

My mind raced with possibilities. I desperately hoped for some kind of peaceful resolution to come out of this tense situation. Maybe, just maybe, the twins and my mother could come up with a solution that would allow me to coexist with both my parents and the twins. It was a naive thought, perhaps, but I clung to it like a lifeline. The idea of a happily ever after seemed so close yet so far away.

Every few seconds, I’d stop to press my ear against the door, straining to hear any snippet of conversation. But the thick wood muffled everything, leaving me in agonizing