Chapter 53

“Have you ever met him?” Lilah asked, curious.

Clara shook her head. “Nope. We don’t have each other’s contacts or anything. Just exchanged a few DMs on Twitter. He feels... lonely, kind of sad. I was hoping my art might bring him some peace, but it’s tough. I mean, I haven’t even got myself figured out yet.”

“Clara, maybe it’s time you helped yourself first,” Lilah said gently, her eyes full of concern. “You can’t change what kind of family you were born into, but you can walk away from the hurt. You’re an adult now—if they keep hurting you, why not move out?”

Clara’s stepmother and two half-sisters constantly put her down. She’d been quietly enduring it like it was her only option. But maybe it wasn’t.

“Move out?” There was a flicker of surprise and hope in Clara’s eyes.

She’d always believed that being stuck in that house, taking all the crap thrown at her, was just her fate. She never even considered she could just... leave.

But now? She was r