Chapter One
Sofia
A low wind blows past the red maple tree outside the window, and I watch the moment a leaf detaches from its branch. It pirouettes, a fiery crimson against the backdrop of the crisp blue sky. I watch as it dips and sways gracefully before landing on the ground. I burrow deeper into my armchair, watching as it blows away, swaying out of sight and into the depths of the city.
A city I intend to explore once I finally move out of my parents’ house and into my own place.
I smile as the thought slips in, my eyes fluttering closed as I soak in the muted chatter around me and the gentle melody of a Chopin nocturne drifting through the lounge. Despite everything, I’m going to miss some of this when I finally move out—the music, the elegance of the space, this view. The lounge is my sanctuary in this cold house. Its true magic lies in the floor-to-ceiling windows that offer a perfect view of the ancient maple tree outside. I’ve stolen moments here during holiday breaks from school, first boarding school in Switzerland and then university in Europe, noting the season-changing colors of the leaves from visit to visit.
“Are you really going to keep staring at that tree all day?”
Elena’s voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn around to find five pairs of eyes staring at me. Three belong to my sisters Elena, Gia, and Bella, and the other two to my twin cousins, Matilde and Arianna. From the expressions on their faces, it’s clear this isn’t the first time one of them has tried to address me.
“What?” I ask defensively, sitting upright to face them. “Why are you all staring at me like that?”
“You didn’t hear a word we just said, did you?” Elena, my closest sister at twenty-two, asks, her pretty blue eyes narrowing on mine. “We were talking about you, Sofia. You know, about your plans now that you've finally completed your master's."
Oh right.
I look away from their eager faces and back at the tree outside, questioning if I’m ready to share my plans with them. At some point, I'll have to tell my family that I plan on moving out and experiencing life on my own, like that red maple leaf moments ago
I’m choosing to pursue a dream my parents dismiss as a “hobby,” and I know it’s not going to go over well.
“Sofia?” Gia’s soft voice brings me back. “It’s okay if you don’t have any plans yet.”
“I found a job,” I blurt, figuring I might as well start with my siblings and cousins, as practice for when I break the news to my parents. I watch with amusement as the curiosity in their eyes turns to shock.
Elena is the first to snap out of it. "Is it at one of Dad's companies?"
I swallow hard. "No," I say, playing with the ends of my hair so I have something to do with my nervous hands. “I founda job at a prestigious fashion house in the city. I submitted my portfolio, and they offered me a position as a junior designer. I start in a couple of weeks.”
Silence.
"You haven't told Dad, have you?”
"No, I haven't," I say truthfully. "I plan on making the announcement at dinner tonight.”
Along with my intention to move out of my parents’ house. This is the part I’ve been looking forward to the most. Being independent and experiencing life on my own. A job, a little studio apartment in Soho, and making normal friends. For once, I want to share meals with people and talk about things outside of whose father owns the biggest yacht or which celebrity is attending whose birthday party.
“But you have a business degree too,” Elena says quietly. “
“I’m sure I can apply the knowledge at the fashion house in Midtown—”
“Midtown? But that’s—”
“Yes,” I cut Elena off with a nod. “It’s far enough that I’ll need my own place.”
Another long beat of silence follows before Gia’s voice cuts through. “Mom and Dad are not going to like it.”
No, they won’t. But it’s something I need to do. I want to experience life outside of the gilded cage my father's money provides. His rules. His expectations. His world where daughters are currency.
Living abroad showed me that no one expects much from you when you’ve never known struggle. When everything washanded to you on a silver platter. Those low expectations should have discouraged me from working hard, but they didn’t.
The eldest daughter of a new-money multi-millionaire should be hopping from city to city, spending her daddy’s money until she lands in the arms of another wealthy man and then spend his money too.
Why push yourself?
Why would a girl, born in wealth, pushed into the best private schools and given everything she could ever want…crave an ordinary life?
