This Heiress Doesn’t Fight Anymore Chapter 04

This Heiress Doesn’t Fight Anymore Chapter 04

The Whitmore estate was mostly dark when I got back. Just a single light on in the foyer. Past midnight.

Mr. Cole, the butler, frowned when he saw me walk in alone, damp from the mist and carrying nothing.

“Miss Whitmore, what happened to you? Where are Bennett and Brielle?”

“No idea. Somewhere behind me, I guess.”

I kicked off my shoes and went upstairs.

My room sat at the end of the hall. Big enough to echo.

It wouldn’t be mine much longer.

I dragged a carry–on out from under the bed.

I opened the closet.

Wall–to–wall designer gowns. Shelves of limited–edition bags.

The Whitmores had bought every piece so I wouldn’t embarrass them at galas.

I didn’t touch any of it.

I grabbed a few cotton T–shirts, some sweatpants, and a couple of pajama sets.

Then I opened the safe.

The stock transfer agreement. Birthday gifts from Bennett. Every piece of jewelry Graham had ever given me.

I took it all out and laid it on the desk in a neat row.

Then I took my ID, my passport, and Everything I had built for myself was still mine..

The suitcase was barely half full.

I was pulling the zipper shut when the bedroom door slammed open.

Bennett filled the doorway, radiating fury.

His eyes went to the suitcase on the floor. Then to the documents and jewelry lined up on the desk.

He went still for a beat. Then the sneer came.

“What’s this? You’re actually leaving?”

Bennett stepped inside, flipping through the stock transfer agreement on the desk. “You think lining all this up on display is going to guilt–trip me?”

“Since the day we brought you home, it’s been nothing but tears, tantrums, and emotional blackmail.”

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him.

Bennett was my brother. My real brother.

I’d been missing for fifteen years before they found me.

I thought he’d love me the way he loved Brielle.

He didn’t.

If I talked too loud, I was “classless.”

When I clawed my way to the top of my class, I was “scheming.” Not sweet and pure like Brielle.

I once took a knife for him. He spent that night at the hospital with Brielle because she’d skinned her knee.

“I’m not pulling anything.”

I met his eyes, steady. “None of this was ever mine. I’m returning it.”

Bennett’s jaw tightened.

He hated it when I went blank like this. It took away his ammunition.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice climbed. “You’re walking out on this family?”

“Yes.”

“That’s bullshit!”

Bennett slammed his hand on the table so hard the jewelry rattled. “You’re nobody, Maren. Fifteen years

living in the gutter before we pulled you out of it. Without this family, you’d still be nothing. And you think your

get to walk away from us?”

I let him yell.

I waited until he ran out of words and stood there panting.

Then, quietly: “You done?”

“Then get out of my way. I’m leaving.”

The calm was what broke him.

“Fine! Go! Get out right now!”

He jabbed a finger at the door. “Walk out of this house and don’t you ever come back! Let’s see how long you

last out there with no family and no Graham!”

“Okay.”

I stood up and grabbed my suitcase.

I walked straight for the door.

Something flickered in Bennett’s eyes as I passed him. Panic.

He hadn’t actually expected me to go.

“Wait!” He grabbed for my arm.

I sidestepped him.

“Mr. Whitmore.”

The name landed like a wall between us.

“Don’t bother seeing me out.”

His hand hung in the air. The color left his face.

I carried my suitcase downstairs.

My parents were on the living room sofa.

Brielle was tucked against my mother, eyes rimmed red.

My father saw the suitcase and his face darkened.

“What’s this about?” He slammed his cup on the table. “What are you doing now?”

“Leaving.” I kept it simple.

My mother scoffed. “Good. Let her go. After what she did to Brielle today, she hasn’t even apologized properly. And now she thinks she gets to storm out?”

“Maren, please…” Brielle’s voice was small. “It’s so late. Just stay. Don’t upset Mom and Dad over this.”

I looked at the three of them.

They looked like a family. A real one.

There was no room for me in that picture. There never had been.

I said nothing and pulled my suitcase to the door.

“Change the security code.”

I said it over my shoulder, already halfway out.

“That way I won’t accidentally come back.”

I stepped outside. The door closed behind me, and the night swallowed everything.