Kade
"Are you done?"
My head snapped up at the sound of her voice.
Cold.
Sharp.
Controlled.
I met my mother's gaze instantly, anger already burning inside me as I stared back at her from the couch.
She looked furious.
Not loud or emotional, but genuinely displeased in that terrifying way only she could manage. The expression alone shocked me because I could count on one hand the number of times I had seen her look at me like that.
And somehow that angered me even more.
"Are you done whining?" she asked icily. "Do you think if the same thing had happened to Nico, he would've reacted this way?"
The comparison hit exactly where she knew it would.
I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw hurt.
Nico.
Always Nico.
The comparisons never stopped.
It didn't matter that he was almost ten years older than me. It didn't matter that he'd spent far longer around the business, around violence, around people like her.
No.
I still had to measure up.
I still had to be stronger.
Better.
