You can count on me

When Vespera awoke, she found herself in a hospital bed with Aurora sitting beside her. "How are you feeling?" Aurora asked, concern etched on her face.

Vespera shook her head weakly. "I'm okay now. Thank you, Aurora."

Aurora sighed, telling Vespera to rest. The next day, she helped discharge Vespera and took her back to the apartment. Under Aurora's persistent questioning, Vespera finally revealed that she and Yvonne were half-sisters, and that she was nothing more than the Thornfield family's illegitimate daughter.

For years, Vespera had only wanted to prove to her father that she was just as good as Yvonne—better, even, in many ways. She'd been meek and compliant all this time, hoping her father would notice her, if only for a moment.

Unlike Aurora, who wasn't afraid to turn the Pendleton household upside down when she was angry, Vespera was inherently timid. She longed for family and warmth, so she never dared to talk back to Yvonne or her father. But years of humiliation had only