MILANI: The prince, the secret and me

CHAPTER 1

MILANI

I know she hates me. She doesn’t even try to hide it anymore. Every look, every fake smile at the dinner table says the same thing, she wants me out of this house. And she will get what she wants, because she always does.

Dad listens to her like her words are gospel. He has been quiet about sending me to boarding school for months, but I can tell he already agreed in his mind. Lisa just needed to bring it up at the right time.

She places her glass of wine on the table and crosses her legs like she owns this house.

"Edward,” she says in that calm voice she uses when she wants something, “I’ve said it before. Milani is like this because she misses her mom. I’ve tried playing that role, but it’s not working. Maybe it’s best we send her to boarding school.”

Dad doesn’t look at me. He never does when she talks. He just sighs and says.

“What’s the use? She’ll be finishing her matric in a few months.”

Lisa chuckles softly, the sound sharp and cold.

“You mean eight months, Edward. That’s a long time. She needs a change. We can’t keep changing schools like this. Let’s send her to boarding school. She’ll be set straight there.”

There’s silence for a moment. I can hear the clock ticking behind me. The food on my plate has gone cold.

Dad finally says.

“Whatever you think is right.”

I look at him, my heart sinking lower than ever. I stopped expecting him to act like my dad a long time ago, maybe the day Lisa moved in. He gets up from the table, wipes his mouth with a napkin, and says quietly.

“Goodnight.”

That’s it. No smile. No hug. Not even a goodnight kiss on my cheek like he used to when Mom was still alive.

Lisa leans back in her chair with a smug smile.

“Mission accomplished,”

She says under her breath, loud enough for me to hear.

She stands, takes her phone, and walks upstairs after him, her heels clicking against the floor like little hammers driving the final nail into my heart.

Now it’s just me. Alone in this huge dining room that feels more like a stranger’s house than a home. The chandelier above me shines too bright, and I can see my reflection in the silver spoon, tired eyes, cracked lips, pretending not to care.

I push my plate away and whisper to myself.

“They finally did it.”

Tears burn my eyes, but I blink them back. Lisa would love to see me cry, to prove that she’s winning. I stand up, take my plate to the sink, and leave it there. The kitchen smells of her perfume. It’s everywhere, on the chairs, on Dad’s clothes, even in the air I breathe.

As I walk up the stairs to my room, I pass their door. I hear them talking, laughing softly. I stop for a second, then keep walking.

When I close my bedroom door, the quiet feels different, heavy and lonely. I sit on my bed, hug my knees.

I whisper to myself,

“Maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s better if I leave.”

But deep down, I know it’s not about school. Lisa just wants me gone — out of her way, out of Dad’s sight, out of this house that used to be filled with love before she turned it into a cold, expensive prison.

I lie down and close my eyes, pretending to sleep, but my mind keeps replaying her words‘Mission accomplished.’

She won this round. But something in me, something small and stubborn, refuses to break completely.