“Why weren’t we invited?” Oak, the eldest, asked.
Lena leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. She had waited for this moment.
“You didn’t want me at your weddings,” she said, voice calm but firm. “So why would I want you at mine?”
Her siblings exchanged uneasy glances.
“That was different,” Ivy said. “We thought we were protecting you from all the chaos at the receptions.”
Lena let out a small laugh. “I never cared about the party. I just wanted to be there for you. But I guess you never saw me as important enough.”
Their mother, Marigold, stepped forward. “I just want all my children together on your special day.”
Lena tilted her head. “Funny how that wasn’t a concern when I was left out of theirs.”
A heavy silence filled the room. For the first time, they had to face what she had felt for years.
“It wasn’t personal,” Oak muttered.
Lena exhaled. “It was personal to me.”
But then she noticed something unusual. They looked guilty, but there was something more—hesitation, as if they were holding back something important.
Finally, Oak sighed. “You really don’t know, do you?”
Lena’s stomach tightened. “Know what?”
Her siblings exchanged nervous looks before Ivy finally spoke.
“Lena… you’re not actually our sister.”
The words hit like a wave.
“What?”
“Our dad’s brother was raising you until he passed away,” Ivy explained gently. “Mom and Dad took you in after that.”
Lena felt the ground shift beneath her. “No… that can’t be right.”
Her father—no, the man she thought was her father—lowered his head. “We always planned to tell you one day…”
“When?” she whispered. “When it didn’t matter anymore?”
Silence.
Then Ezra spoke quietly. “We were just kids, Lena. And… you needed attention. We didn’t see you as our real sibling, so we—”
Lena’s breath caught. “You mean you chose to keep me at a distance.”
He didn’t deny it.
A slow breath left her lips. All this time, she had fought to be part of something that was never hers. She had longed for acceptance from people who had never truly considered her family.
She left without another word.
Lena didn’t remember much afterward—only that she walked, letting the cool evening air clear her thoughts, until she found herself sitting outside Rowan’s apartment.
She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, staring at the pavement cracks, before the door creaked open.
Rowan’s hoodie draped over her shoulders as he crouched beside her. He didn’t ask what had happened. He just sat there, warm and steady.
“I don’t think I exist,” she whispered.
Rowan held her close. “Lena…”
“I spent my whole life trying to prove I belonged. But I was never really part of them.”
Rowan exhaled. “What do you need?”
“I don’t know.” She swallowed. “I thought I needed a big wedding—a day where they had to watch me for once. But now, I don’t care. I don’t want to stand at the altar thinking about them.”
Rowan brushed his fingers over hers. “Then don’t.”
She looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t give them your day,” he said gently. “You don’t need an audience to be happy.”
His words cracked something inside her.
She had spent years chasing love from people who had only ever tolerated her.
But Rowan—he had always seen her. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to.
She twisted her engagement ring, heart pounding. “Let’s elope.”
Rowan’s smile was warm and unwavering. “Absolutely.”
The courthouse smelled of old paper and fresh ink.
No grand decorations, no rows of guests—just them, standing together before a city clerk in a quiet, sunlit office.
And yet, she had never felt so much joy.
“Are you ready?” Rowan murmured.
She nodded. “More than ever.”
The officiant smiled. “Do you take this man to be your husband?”
Lena met Rowan’s gaze, feeling the weight of everything she had lost—and everything she had gained.
“With all my heart.”
And just like that, it was done. No forced smiles. No empty gestures. Just her and the man who had never made her feel like an afterthought.
As they stepped outside, the sunlight warmed her face.
For the first time in her life, she felt truly seen.
And she knew, without a doubt—she had made the right choice.