She went out shopping almost every other day, returning each time with armfuls of new purchases, of clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, which was far more than she could ever realistically use.
Most of them barely saw the light of day before being forgotten, discarded, or given away. To her, it wasn't about need. It was about display, about proving, again and again, that she had the means to indulge.
Apollo had seen it clearly.
And he had allowed it.
But that didn't mean he approved.
As the head of the family, the one who carried the weight of its wealth and responsibility, he knew exactly what those expenditures meant. The money Ophelia spent so carelessly was not something that simply fell from the sky; it was earned, secured, and protected through effort, risk, and sacrifice.
Watching it be wasted so thoughtlessly felt like a quiet insult to everything it had cost him to build.
Now, things were different.
His sister had returned.
