Chapter 3. The Beginning of an Awakening. Part 2:

Amelia.

Among my siblings, I am normally the least problematic, except during an open confrontation between the four Miller heirs. In that case, the family mansion becomes a lively, warlike episode of Game of Thrones, complete with alliances, betrayals, and threats. No one knows who will be the first to bite the dust, only that the conflict ends when the Queen of Dragons, the Miller Goddess, has her most faithful executioner—my father—carry out her orders. I don't consider this a conflict; it's more like survival among bored siblings.

Generally, I only get into real trouble when I follow the crazy ideas of Connelly Blake, a terrorist. The fact that a girl four years younger than me gets me into these messes speaks volumes about my calm character.

"Don't you want to know where the boys have gone? And what they're talking about?" she said with a captivating smile, as if she were a sweet angel.

"You can't fool me. Who is it? Tell me, who is it this time? Which one of your brother's friends has reawakened your stalker streak?” I asked, looking at her seriously as I crossed my arms.

She just widened her smile, confirming my suspicions.

"Forget it! I'm not going anywhere, Betty Boo," I said, trying to run away.

"Not even to find out what your brother thinks after seeing you like this?" the redheaded witch said, delivering a low blow.

I don't know how I ended up hidden behind the pool guard next to the fence that led to the window. From there, I could hear everything being said inside the guardhouse. All I know is that, for a moment, I was about to turn back. I didn't understand what I was doing there or why I always let that redheaded terrorist persuade me. But a question Gary asked with the clear intention of annoying my brother, Roy, stopped me.

"Well, what do you think of Amelia's spectacular change tonight? If this change is permanent, Roy, you'll have to go to the gym more because you won't be able to keep up." I'm sure that, from now on, she'll be inundated with date requests during the party, and the vultures who harass her will multiply." Gary said. A grunt of disgust was heard loud and clear.

I knew that sound. It was usually Ailan who provoked it in his twin brother. Given how much fun it was to tease me and how badly King Arthur was doing, the rest of the boys—encouraged by his reaction—began to talk about how attractive they found me. They said that many more boys at school would likely feel the same way and that the hunt for Amelia Paola Miller had surely begun. Some even said that they would risk their lives and integrity just to go out with this new me, at least once.

The hoarse warning growls grew louder with each comment until someone unexpected intervened, silencing them all. At the same time, he destroyed my future hopes.

"Well, what can I say? Seeing Amelia dressed like that doesn't suit her. She looks artificial. To me, she'll always be like a little girl, my little sister. It's normal. Now, she's pretending to be an adult, but that's not her. She's usually tomboyish. Just because she wore a seductive dress once doesn't change who she is inside," said a serious and belligerent Angus. Only another grunt from Roy, somewhat less furious than the previous ones, silenced him.

Hearing this was like waking up suddenly from a sweet dream, right at the best moment, or like being blind and having the blindfold taken off your eyes. My illusions were shattered. It was clear that Angus Blake would never see me as a woman like Penelope, no matter how much I... As the saying goes, "No matter how much you dress up a monkey in silk..." The funniest thing about all this, though, was that deep down, I already knew it.

"Don't listen to him, Amelia. That idiot doesn't know a good thing when he sees it, even if it hits him in the nose. Sometimes I don't understand how we can be brothers from the same parents. This stupid guy must be adopted for sure," Connelly said when he saw my face. I got up from where I was crouching with a feeling of defeat—the defeat of a war I hadn't participated in and had already lost.

"It doesn't matter, Betty Boo. Deep down, I already knew this," I said, holding back the urge to cry while my heart ached. They say teenage heartbreaks tend to be the most painful because they're so uncontrollable, and right now, I understand that.

That night, after the party, alone in my room, I cried all the tears I had held back since hearing those words. Deep down, it was my fault. I should never have aspired to something unattainable. I was the way I was: somewhat masculine in my dress sense; calm; and with my own way of being. I didn't have to change, certainly not to please a man.

At that very moment, I determined my future relationship with Angus. Not much changed, but I stopped turning to him for everything as I used to. I stopped calling him weekly, and I stopped asking him about my classwork whenever I had a question.

It wasn't difficult, honestly. For the first few months, I was still very hurt. In a way, I was embarrassed to run into him while I still remembered his words. Five months after my birthday, however, Roy and Angus left for Stanford to study economics, Alan went to a university in London to study design and architecture, and Gary went to the Juilliard School of Dance, Music, and Performing Arts in New York to study acting. So, very soon, our encounters were limited to parties, vacations, and family events, although I often avoided even those. After I graduated and started college in Boston to study physical therapy, we saw each other one or two times a year at most. I suppressed my memories with my studies and thought that was enough, but I was wrong.

Everything changed seven years later in London when all the resentment I had been holding onto for all those years came to light, changing everything and me.

It happened at a party my family was throwing on Christmas Eve to introduce my brother Roy's girlfriend, Hanna Müller. That night changed the way everyone saw me, including Angus himself. Everyone except my family already knew about the sleeping warrior inside me, which only they had seen on occasion. Now, the whole world would see it.