Chapter 1
People say being born a triplet means you’re never alone.
They’re wrong.
I was born between two stars that shone too brightly for anyone to notice the shadow in the middle.
My older sister Leslie came first. From the moment she could speak, she was answering questions adults couldn’t even solve. Teachers adored her. My father adored her even more.
Every dinner, he would lean back in his chair, pride shining in his eyes.
“Leslie will run the company one day,” he would say proudly.
“My brilliant daughter.”
Then there was the youngest.
The hospital nurse had gasped when she first saw her. My mother cried tears of joy and held the baby close.
“She looks like a princess,” she whispered.
And so her name became Princess.
Beautiful. Perfect. Effortlessly adored.
Then there was me.
The second born.
The middle.
The forgotten space between them.
My parents named me Latte.
I never asked why.
Some questions hurt too much to know the answer to.
The only person who ever looked at me like I mattered was Grandma.
While my father discussed business plans with Leslie and my mother filmed dance videos with Princess for her millions of TikTok followers, Grandma would sit with me in the quiet kitchen.
She would slide a warm mug across the table.
“Come here, Latte,” she would say softly. “Let’s make something beautiful.”
She taught me how to steam milk until it whispered softly and how to pour foam slowly until shapes appeared—tiny hearts, leaves, flowers floating on the surface.
Latte art.
“Creativity is your magic,” Grandma would tell me, smiling gently. “Not everyone sees magic at first.”
When she died, the world lost its color.
For weeks I walked around feeling hollow, like someone had taken the only warm light in my life and blown it out.
Meanwhile, my sisters continued to shine.
Leslie impressed every teacher.
Princess ruled every room she entered.
And me?
I learned how to disappear.
But one day at school, something happened that changed everything.
Someone stood up for me.
