CASEY
I roll my eyes.
It's just a girlfriend status. Why would she immediately leap to marriage? But of course, I can't say that out loud. All I can do is smile politely at her, teeth and all.
"And getting engaged to a Blackwell, Casey Blackwell..... Sebastian couldn't have done better," she adds with a fond smile.
I feel the words rise before I can stop them.
"I'm not a Blackwell," I say, the words spitting from my mouth before I can catch them.
Why do people keep doing this?
"My name is Casey Moon," I add, firmer this time.
Beneath the table, Sebastian pinches me lightly where no one can see, like a silent plea to let it go.
But I'm not backing down. I'm not a Blackwell. I don't know how to be one. I don't have Blackwell blood in me. I'm just an extension of my mother. Why do people have to keep forcing this Blackwell name onto me?
I look up from my thoughts, and that's when I feel it, that subtle shift in the room. The tension. It's changed. Grown more awkward.
