Chapter 1

Ever since I was a child, I could see the fate lines connecting me to others.

When I started school, the line between my desk-mate and me was a vibrant red.

On graduation day, that line faded to a dull gray and quietly snapped.

I wasn't sad.

I knew the three lines connecting me to my dad, my mom, and my brother were always blazing red and thick.

That was all the confidence I had in this world, the freedom to be myself, to be a little bit spoiled and demanding.

Until I was 13. They brought home a timid, shy girl and said she was their biological daughter.

Eleanor hugged me, crying. Richard and Ethan, their eyes red, swore:

"Even though Chloe's back, our love for you will never change."

I believed them.

But when I looked up, the lines connecting me to them had already faded to a light pink.

It was just pink at first.

Then came the day Chloe showed up, covered in bruises, crying and telling them I had led the bullying against her at school.

I desperately tried to explain, to prove my innocence. They listened, and like always, patted my head, smiling.

"Mia, don't cry. We believe you."

They said they believed me.

But in the very next second, those three pink lines seemed to be drained of their last bit of life.

Right before my eyes, they turned completely gray.

Only then did I truly understand: my confidence, my foundation, was long gone.