Chapter 6 In Shades of Grey

After dinner, Solyn was the first to stand.

"I'll take Mara to her room," she announced, her voice light and sweet. She turned to her parents with a bright smile. "Oh, and I can give her some of my old clothes too. The ones I don't wear anymore.”

Kiara's face softened with approval. "That's very generous of you, darling."

Zane beamed at his daughter. "See? Our Sol. is the sweetest ." He reached out and patted Solyn's head. "Our generous girl.”

Solyn basked in the praise.

Mara simply lowered her head. "Thank you," she said in a soft tone.

Solyn lifted her chin. Like a peacock displaying its feathers.

“Come,” she said.

Mara picked up her worn bag and followed behind her.

They walked through long hallways lined with closed doors and elegant paintings. Solyn didn't look back or slow down. She moved like someone who owned every inch of space she occupied.

Finally, they reached the end of a corridor. Solyn stopped in front of a door and pushed it open.

She stepped inside and glanced around with barely concealed disdain.

"This is your room," she said in a sharp tone.

Mara stepped inside.

Her eyes widened.

The room was bigger than the entire house she had grown up in. A real bed stood against the wall, covered in soft linens. A wooden desk sat near the window. A wardrobe. A lamp on a nightstand. Everything clean and new.

She stood there, taking it in, her mouth slightly hung open.

Solyn watched her reaction, disgust flashing across her face.

‘What a street rat.’

‘This room isn’t even as beautiful as the guest room. Yet she looked like she had entered heaven.’

Solyn quickly masked her expression.

“Drop your bag,” she said impatiently. “Let’s go get the clothes.”

Mara nodded and set her worn bag on the floor. She followed Solyn back out.

Solyn’s room was two doors away.

When she pushed it open, it looked like something out of a fairytale. A canopy bed draped in soft fabrics sat in the center. Vanity tables with mirrors and lights. Plush rugs on the floor. A balcony overlooking the garden.

Mara stopped at the entrance. She didn’t move.

Solyn smiled. Then she walked deeper inside.

“Come.”

She led her to another door and opened it.

A walk-in closet.

Mara's eyes couldn't stay closed. Rows and rows of clothes. Dresses in every style. Shoes stacked neatly on shelves. Bags hanging on hooks. Jewelry glinting under small lights.

She had never seen this many clothes in her life.

Solyn watched her reaction with satisfaction.

‘Good. Now she knows the difference between us is obvious.’

“Don’t worry,” Solyn said casually, admiring her manicured nails. “If you please me well enough, I might tell Dad to give you a room like this.”

Her voice was smug.

Mara swallowed. She said nothing.

Solyn frowned.

“Are you always this silent?” she groaned. “You speak when I talk to you. Do you understand?”

“…Okay,” Mara answered softly.

“Good.”

Solyn pointed to the far end of the closet.

“There. Those clothes. Take them. Don’t touch anything else.”

Mara walked carefully across the plush carpet.

She avoided brushing against anything. Even breathing felt dangerous.

She collected the folded clothes at the far end and held them neatly.

Then she stood there. Waiting.

“What are you still doing here?” she snapped. “Go.”

Mara shifted on her feet.

"Um." Her voice came out small. "Can you... show me the way back?”

Solyn raised a brow.

"I have this... problem." Mara's fingers tightened on the clothes. "I forget directions easily. I get lost.”

Solyn stared at her for a moment. Then she scoffed.

“Unbelievable.”

But she walked past her anyway.

“Follow me.”

When they reached Mara's room again, Solyn paused at the doorway.

"Listen." Solyn's voice dropped. "I'll be the one taking you to school tomorrow. And handling your registration." Her eyes narrowed. "So you better behave and do what I say. Got it?"

Mara met her gaze for a brief second, then looked down.

"Okay.”

Solyn turned and walked away without another word.

Mara stood there for a moment, watching her disappear down the hall.

Then she stepped inside her room and closed the door.

She dropped the clothes on the bed and stood still, letting out a slow breath.

The room was quiet.

She could feel the negative energy rolling off Solyn. She could also sense the way Kiara's eyes avoided her. Zane's warmth felt more like an obligation than love.

She wasn't welcome here. It was all just pretending.

Mara looked around the room again.

She walked to the bed and sat down. Then bounced on it.

A small smile tugged at her lips. The bed was soft.

She bounced again.

‘It didn't matter,’ she told herself. She was used to pretending.

Just like how she pretended to see every color for as long as she could remember.

She had been colorblind for as long as she could remember.

Colors existed in her world—but never the way they did for everyone else.

So she learned early on that if she memorized them hard enough…

If she assigned blue to the sky and green to trees and red to roses…

No one would know. And maybe she wouldn’t feel so different.

So she gave everything its color in her head.

This would be the same.

If this house felt cold, she would paint it warm in her mind.

If Solyn’s smile felt sharp, she would color it kind.

If the air felt suffocating, she would pretend it was welcoming.

Because she had no other choice.

Mara turned onto her side, and curled up slightly.

Tomorrow, she would turn sixteen.

Tomorrow, she would go to school.

Tomorrow…

She thought as she drifted to sleep.

—-

Bang. Bang. Bang.

“Mara! Get up! You’re going to be late!”

Mara jolted awake.

For a moment, she didn’t know where she was.

The ceiling wasn’t cracked, and the air didn’t smell like damp wood.

The bed was so soft.

Another knock.

“Hurry up!”

“I’m up!” she called, scrambling out of bed.

Her heart was racing.

School. Her first day of school.

She rushed into the bathroom and went still.

There were too many knobs and buttons. She turned one. 

Nothing came out. She turned another. A blast of freezing water hit her.

“Aahh—!” she yelped.

“Wrong one.”

After several chaotic attempts, accidental splashes, and one near flood incident, she finally figured out how the shower worked.

By the time she stepped out, she was already late.

Panic rose in her chest.

She grabbed the first outfit her hands touched from the clothes Solyn had given her yesterday and pulled it on without thinking.

‘No time.’

She ran downstairs.

—

When Mara reached the bottom of the stairs, she spotted Solyn immediately.

Solyn stood by the entrance, looking flawless. Her golden hair fell in soft waves.

A maid held her designer backpack behind her.

Solyn turned at the sound of footsteps.

The moment Solyn saw Mara, she immediately burst out laughing.

The maid glanced over. Her brows furrowed. Her lips pressed together like she was holding something back.

“What are you wearing?” Solyn choked out between giggles.

At that exact moment, Kiara descended the stairs.

She stopped mid-step. Her expression changed.

“Mara… what is that?”