Chapter 73

Emily POV

Click, click, click.

Like a Rubix Cube, all the colors start aligning into perfect symmetry.

For the longest time I always felt like I didn’t belong. I felt like an alien, as if my presence was just simply an annoyance.

I sensed it mostly with my mom. My dad tried so hard to make up for her shortcomings. And when Liam became part of our unit, I had someone to align myself with—we were both outsiders.

But never in a million years would I attribute my emotional isolation to the fact that I was never my parents’ child.

The seed was only planted after my first encounter with Thaddeus. Believing the paradox would mean my folks were instrumental in my abduction. I could not allow my thoughts to go there.

Thaddeus and Ophelia are watching me intently. I don’t know what to say—I’m still in shock. They sense my bewilderment but don’t press me any further. Instead, they stand to one side and wait for my next move.

I can’t stop my hands from shaking, and the sudden urge to start