Celeste felt her heart pounding loudly in her chest at the mention of all these things. That her mother never loved Jordan, that there was a secret she wanted, that she was a criminal, and that Orion knew all of this—when Celeste would never have known if she hadn't eavesdropped.
It felt like such a betrayal on top of everything else—the confusion in her love life, the fear of losing her father, and the crimes she was investigating—a burning, painful bitterness in her chest.
The truth was, Celeste had always felt like she was just a random addition to the world. Someone who wouldn't be missed if she were to die. And now, as she listened to all of this, Celeste saw that all the evidence led her to believe it was true.
Perhaps that was why she was so adamant about fitting in, about becoming the best shark, about facing any dangers in her way. Wasn't it all just so that she could prove to herself that she was not just a waste of space?