“Miss Dahlia… this is something your father left for you. Please… take care.”
My hands shook as I opened it.
[Dahlia, my dauhter. Please run... Don’t let Argus ruin your life.]
A broken laugh escaped me, and then I couldn’t stop crying. Even at the end… He told me to leave.
To live.
—
After arranging his funeral, after everything was done, after there was nothing left tying me here…
I stared at my phone for a long time.
Then I dialed the number.
“Professor Blackwood,” I said when the call connected, my voice quiet but steady. “I’ve made my decision.”
A pause.
“I want to join the research project.”
I closed my eyes. Argus took everything from me. But this time, I was the one walking away.
Professor Blackwood’s voice shook the moment he heard mine. “Dahlia, is that really you? Are you serious about this? Did you settle your father’s situation? And what about the man you love?”
I closed my eyes for a second before answering, my voice quiet. “My father’s gone, and I’m not going to love him anymore. Not now. Not ever.”
There was silence, just two seconds, but it felt heavy. Then his tone softened. “Dahlia… I don’t know what happened to you these past five years, but the most painful time is also when you grow the fastest. Your life isn’t over. It’s just starting.”
Just starting. I let out a breath. Was that even true? After everything… could I still start over? Still, I said, “Yeah. I understand.”
Maybe I really did like Argus before. He was handsome, and sometimes he treated me gently, and he spent money without hesitation, paid for my father’s treatment, and gave me things I never even dreamed of. So what was I unhappy about? I used to ask myself that.
Until Celine came back.
I still remembered that night. Argus had never drunk alcohol before, not once, but that night he drank like he lost control, and then he said it, clear and raw. “Celine… I missed you so much I went crazy. If only you're not my step sister, things would’ve been different.”
I stood there, frozen.
Later, I picked up a photo from the floor. She was beautiful, bright, and she looked a little like me. That was when I finally understood. Between her and me, I was never the one he chose. I was just the substitute. The one he could touch, the one he could use, the one he didn’t have to hold back with.