Chapter 10 - Sunrise on My TermsThe sun was just beginning to rise over the Ellison University campus, casting a brilliant, golden wash across the brick pathways and the dew-kissed lawns of the quad.
I stood on the balcony of Oak Hall, wrapped in a cozy knitted cardigan, holding a steaming mug of black coffee in my hands.
The air was crisp, clean, and full of infinite possibility.
My phone buzzed gently on the small table beside me. I picked it up. It was a calendar notification reminding me of my morning constitutional law seminar, followed by an email confirming my acceptance into the university's elite pre-law mock trial team.
I took a slow sip of my coffee, feeling the warm liquid soothe my throat as I watched the morning light climb higher into the sky, illuminating the magnificent copper dome of the campus library.
At dinner six months ago, they had ordered me to surrender my future, my dignity, and my education for a golden-child brother who had never worked a day in his life.
They thought they were burying me.
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They didn't know I was a seed.
And as the sun crested the horizon, bathing the entire world in bright, unyielding morning light, I took a deep breath, smiled, and stepped back inside to start my day—entirely on my own terms.
