Standing outside the gate in my worn, cheap clothes, I felt like a ghost from another world.
Valerie stood in the center of it all. She wore a sparkling tiara and haute couture, looking every bit the heiress, her arm linked possessively through Jonathan's.
They stood before a six-tier cake, surrounded by a wall of wrapped gifts. Valerie's face glowed with triumph.
She clasped her hands together, closing her eyes to make a wish loud enough for the crowd. "I hope to be Jonathan's only sister in this life, and to remain his little princess forever."
Jonathan smiled warmly and pulled a velvet box from his pocket.
The moment the lid snapped open, the blood in my veins turned to ice.
The Jade Pendant.
When Jonathan and I were born, our parents commissioned an eminent monk to consecrate two matching jade pendants. They were chanted over for a full year, carved with our names, and placed around our necks as infants. A blessing from Mom and Dad. A symbol of our lineage. The only tangible connection I had left to them after they died.
Even in my darkest, most desperate moments, I had refused to sell mine.
But now, Jonathan held the matching piece—the one that belonged to the James bloodline.