Chapter 14: Chaper 14: Prove Yourself

Cynthia POV

Sinacore’s cold, dismissive attitude gnawed at me like a thorn lodged deep in my heart. The way he looked at me, the disdain in his voice when he made that comment, it all stirred up memories I’d buried long ago.

It wasn’t just his indifference that hurt—it was the painful familiarity of it all. His words echoed the taunts I’d heard as a child, the sneers from classmates who knew my mother was an alcoholic, the whispers from neighbors who pitied the poor girl with the broken home. I’d grown up under the shadow of those judgments, and Sinacore’s attitude only brought them crashing back.

I wasn’t born into privilege. My parents weren’t wealthy, and my mother’s drinking problem only made things worse. The world had always seemed determined to remind me that I wasn’t enough—that I’d never be enough.

But I refused to let that be my truth. I was determined to prove myself, to show Sinacore and everyone else that I was capable of more than they could imagine.