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“So they can choose.”

I wiped the tears from my face. “They’ll choose to hate me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I lied about what I am.”

Patty lowered her voice. “You were terrified, Sloane. You wanted family.”

“That won’t matter.” I stood and carried my plate to the counter even though I had barely eaten.

Patty remained at the table.

“What am I supposed to say?” I asked. “That I found the whole thing entertaining, so I stayed? That I liked having a family, so I let them think I belonged?”

“Just tell them the truth.”

“That is the truth.”

Patty shook her head. “Not all of it.”

I turned toward her. “What part am I missing?”

“The part where you were lonely.”

I folded my arms. “That doesn’t excuse anything.”

“No.”

“Then why mention it?”

“Because understanding why you did something isn’t the same as pretending it was right.”

I looked away.

Patty stood and moved closer, though she stopped before entering my space. “You were lonely,” she said. “Then an entire family appeared on your phone and started treating you like you mattered. Of course you wanted to keep that.”

I swallowed.

“You didn’t have to earn their attention,” she continued. “You didn’t have to figure out what to say first. They already believed they knew you. The relationship came with rules and history and a place prepared for you.”

I hated how accurately she described it. The group chat had removed every obstacle I usually constructed. I didn’t have to initiate. I didn’t have to wonder whether I’d stayed too long. I didn’t have to guess how much interest was appropriate.

The Blackwells had decided I belonged before I even arrived. All I had to do was avoid contradicting them.

“You think I’m manipulating them,” I said.

Patty hesitated, which was answer enough.

My anger returned. “I never asked them for money. I never used them. I’m not trying to hurt anyone.”

“Manipulation isn’t always about money or cruelty.”

“Then what is it about?” I asked.

“Control.”

The word made me flinch. “I don’t control that family.”