"I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches, I almost said to you"- Taylor's Sister

Part 6

The penthouse was everything Sophia expected—lavish, cold, and unfamiliar. The kind of place where everything sparkled on the surface, but there was no warmth. As soon as she stepped through the door, she noticed Taylor and Travis curled up on the sofa, watching a movie, looking every bit the perfect couple.

"Sophia!" Taylor called out, jumping up and heading toward her with open arms. "I didn't know you were coming!"

Sophia could tell by the surprised tone in her sister's voice that she was trying to play it off casually, like this was some big happy reunion. But Sophia wasn't in the mood for greetings, fake or real. She wasn't here by choice, and seeing her sister with her perfect boyfriend, in her perfect life, only made things worse.

Without a word, Sophia sidestepped Taylor's hug and stormed past her, leaving Taylor standing in the middle of the room with her arms still outstretched. She could hear her parents talking in low voices with Taylor and Travis as she stomped down the hallway, but she didn't care enough to listen. They could all have their happy little family moment. She was done pretending.

Sophia slammed the door to her new bedroom behind her, locking herself inside. The room was luxurious, just like the rest of the penthouse, but it wasn't hers. Nothing about it felt like home, and nothing about her life felt like it belonged to her anymore.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, her head spinning. Everything had changed so fast. One day she was sneaking out with Connor, enjoying the small freedom she had, and now she was trapped in this new world. Cut off from her friends, her school, and most importantly, Connor.

She reached for her laptop, a small lifeline in the storm. Logging into her private Instagram account—the one her parents had no clue about—she immediately started typing a long message to Connor, pouring out everything.

I'm at the penthouse. My parents are making me go on tour with Taylor. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I don't know how I'm going to survive this. Everything feels so wrong. I hate this. I miss you already, and it's only been a day.

The words spilled out faster than she could think. She told him how angry she was, how trapped she felt, and how much she hated being dragged into Taylor's perfect world.

A few moments later, her screen lit up with a notification. Connor had replied, faster than she expected.

That sounds horrible, but you're strong, Soph. You can get through this. I'm here for you, okay? You can message me whenever you need to vent. It'll be alright, I promise.

She stared at his words, wishing she could believe them. Wishing that hearing from him would fix everything. But it didn't. All she felt was a heavy emptiness in her chest.

The penthouse was silent around her, but she could still hear the muffled voices of her parents and Taylor from the living room. They were probably laughing about something, catching up like nothing had changed. Like her whole life wasn't falling apart.

Sophia tossed her laptop aside and leaned back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was pristine, just like everything else here, but all it did was remind her of how much she had lost. No more sneaking out to meet Connor. No more school dances or even just hanging out with her friends after class. Everything that had been her escape was gone, ripped away without her even having a say.

And they didn't even know.

Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them back. She wasn't going to cry over this. Not now. Not yet. There had to be a way to survive this—she just didn't know what it was.