The Fortunates (Unfortunates #2) by Skyla Madi Page A

are strong and you are adaptable.
    I exhale.
    I can’t go back to Kade. I can’t run to him every time something terrifies me. The Sario mansion isn’t where my life is anymore and Kade has no hold over me. Taking back everything I said to Kade and begging for him to take me in will render the words I used against him meaningless and he won’t take me seriously. If I’m going to survive as a Fortunate, I need to be taken seriously…or they will crush me.
    A false bravado is better than an exposed soul.
    Confidence, not vulnerability, is key for my survival.
    Somehow, I need to become a force to be reckoned with, not a juicy gossip story that fades into nothing. Every time a Fortunate sees me, I want them to be reminded of how I rose from the ashes and changed the world. I want Unfortunates to see me as a girl who turned nothing into everything. I’ve always said I had a purpose and it was bigger than being a whore to some spoiled Fortunate.
    This could be it.
    This could be my chance to do some good, to heal a sick world.
    I amble from the front doors and climb the staircase. Unease shakes up my empty stomach, but I ignore it. Staying here…staying in my home is what’s best for me. It’s time to stand on my own two feet and fight for my second chance at life. I need to prove to whoever is listening that I am worth it. I’ve come this far. I can’t stop now.
    I grip the door handle to my room and turn it. The door creaks open and bright light spills out.
    “Don’t be ashamed to feel afraid,” Oliver’s voice whispers beside me, making me jump. “Fear keeps us from making stupid decisions.”
    I don’t bother turning my head to face him. What will I do with it all?
    “Entering this room…accepting this life…is that a stupid decision?” I ask, swallowing hard.
    “What other choice do you have?”
    My heart constricts in my chest as tears well in my eyes. “Being a Fortunate means I have to hurt people.”
    “You can’t win your war without shedding a little blood.”
    Flinching, I turn my head to look at him. “My war?”
    “People like us don’t go down without a fight, Nine. A war is inevitable. I advise you to choose your soldiers wisely.”
    People like us? What does that mean?
    “Are you saying that, if there was a war, you’d fight on my side?”
    Oliver shakes his head. “I’d fight on humanity’s side.”
    Then it clicks. The love bite, the need for war, the not so subtle push to make me his scapegoat in a battle to save humanity. Oliver is in love with someone he shouldn’t be.
    “She’s an Unfortunate. Isn’t she?”
    He leans against the wall and looks away from me. “You think you and Kaden Sario are the only ones who have to face such prejudicial trials?” He shakes his head. “At your party tomorrow, take a look around. You’re bound to see others who are being suffocated by this society’s laws.”
    I frown. “At my party tomorrow?”
    Oliver pushes off the wall. “Vincent Sario is throwing you a welcome home party here tomorrow evening.”
    I grimace. Why would Vince throw me a party? I don’t trust it. Something is wrong.
    “I don’t want one—especially one thrown by the likes of him.”
    “You don’t get a choice,” he states, walking away and leaving me alone for the third time.
    I slip inside my room and close my door. I locate the light switch on the wall to the right of the door and switch out the lights. I don’t want to waste any more time looking at the furniture and the objects. They’ll only depress me further.
    I walk slowly, sliding one foot in front of the other with my arms outstretched, searching the far left of the room for the bed. Unexpectedly, a hard thump sends pain shooting through my toe as it slams into a small, tile step. I stumble forward with a squeak and squeeze my eyes shut, expecting to eat the floor at my feet, but I manage to latch on to the bed quilt and save myself. With my heart thrumming in my ears, I pull myself up and