Empire of Nothing

Nova kicked her shoes off at the door and called out, "I'm back!"

No one answered.

She blinked.

The house was… quiet?

No crashing from the kitchen. No yelling about who finished the cereal. No Sasha throwing a pillow at someone.

Weird.

"Zane?" she called.

Still silence.

Then — a sound.

Soft music. Piano. And a ridiculous trail of rose petals leading down the hallway.

Nova raised an eyebrow. "Oh no."

She followed it.

Right to the living room.

Where Zane stood, wearing a crooked tie, holding a single plastic ring pop.

He dropped to one knee with dramatic flair. "Nova Arwen Langford. Will you marry me and steal all the hot fries from gas stations across the country?"

She snorted. "Is this because I beat you at Uno last night?"

"No, this is true love," he said with mock sincerity. "We'll name our kids after Marvel characters and start a podcast."

Nova crossed her arms. "Zane."

"Say yes."

She stared.

Then smiled.

And in the most sarcastic, deadpan voice she could muster, said,"No."

Zane blinked. "No?"

"No," she repeated, eyes gleaming. "Who even are you?"

He held a hand to his chest in mock pain. "You wound me."

Then Nova laughed.

For real.

Walked over.

Took the dumb ring pop.

Slipped it on her pinky and whispered, "Obviously, idiot."

Zane beamed. "That's what I thought."

Sasha burst out from behind the couch. "YES! I knew she'd say yes!"

Kieran followed, holding a phone. "I got the whole thing. Gonna post it as 'Rich Girl Says Yes to Ring Pop Proposal.'"

Nova rolled her eyes.

But she couldn't stop smiling.

Because no mansion, no cold silence, no brother's apology could compete with this feeling.

This messy, weird, real feeling of being chosen — not because of who her stepfather was…

But just because she was Nova.