Cordelia Hastings was born into what was both a staunchly traditional and yet decidedly non-traditional family. The Winston family would stem from an elder gentleman, far past his marrying years, taking a much younger woman as a companion and subsequently marrying her. The union was baffling to all branches of the family, mostly because, aside from his "outrageous" choice in bride, Christian Hastings was a practical man. He was the head of his family in every sense of the word. His word was law and everyone knew it. His marriage to Elizabeth Radcliff, after putting aside his first wife, was the one blemish on a man with a spotless reputation. And it was that reputation that would preserve his young wife, his family name and their children behind a shield of dignity that could not be penetrated. The Hastings were a family firmly settled in both the city of Boston and in its hideaway of Martha's Vineyard where the core family would live, allowing the children of both marriages to live out of doors, running "wild" until it was deemed time to grow up. One by one children became little adults, assimilating themselves into a very adult world with ease. The family always was, and always would be, firmly upper class. There were factions of the family, some taking their wealth and power too far, but the Hasting family headed by Edward and Elizabeth was a mixture of old school values and new world charm.

In the midst of the family structure that was always a mystery to other upper class families around them, a daughter was born. Cordelia Grace would be the first and only daughter that Edward would have, and she therefore was something of a treasure. She had no less pressure on her than her brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins, but she was held to a different standard. Given everything, every advantage that anyone could ever dream of would not, however, make Cordelia into that certain type of upper class woman that every father dreads his daughter will become. At least not at first. She had a level head, she was exceptionally smart; in short she had absolutely everything going for her. And she always would. She was the kind of child, younger than her older brothers (natural and half), but who was able to hold her own against their imposing will. All men of the Hastings family inherited Edward's domineering will, but there was a piece of it in Cordelia that, no matter how anyone would try, it would not leave her.

While all children who left the family home in the country grew up, Cordelia was the sort of girl who was grown up before her time. She was never like Wendy of Peter Pan fame, seeking just one more night, one more day, within the childhood nursery. She wanted to be grown and out in the world. She often trailed her father or an uncle when they would go into the city for work. She preferred to be learning at all times, her mind unable to slow down and act like that of a child. She was old, too old, before her time, spending her childhood not out of doors, but in board rooms and dry meetings. She would have skipped school if anyone would have let her. But, luckily for her, education was paramount in the family and that was something she had grown up knowing. Education was the key to her ever expanding mind, something she craved more than anything. She was the only one of Edward's children to truly take an interest in the company that had been founded on his great grandfather's name. The elder Hastings had started as a simple tailor on the streets of London, but he grew into a talented designer. The family name would, over time, become synonymous with the design of wedding gowns and other fancy attire for the rich and richer, all while gaining the Hastings name fame and fortune enough to spread their wings to America, where the true seat of the company now lies, in Boston.

The Hastings name was always expected to be passed on to one of Cordelia's older brothers, but none of them had any sort of vested interest in the fashion world. Without her knowledge, Edward began to groom his only daughter, whom he believed to be fully invested in continuing her family name, to one day become his successor. But as Cordelia grew older, the things she had once found easy in life, became harder. Suffering from near crippling migraines that coudl strike at any time, her school work suffered. She lost many friends because she could no longer go out the way they wanted to. She became withdrawn, unable to understand why she, of all of her family, was so afflicted. There were no stories passed down from generation to generation of such an ailment, and the more intense the migraines, the more Cordelia felt like she needed to be alone. The change in her made Edward uneasy and while he still groomed her for the head of the company, he began to look to his other sons as well.

Despite the expectations of her family, Cordelia went down a very different path. While her brothers went to university with the aim for business or law, when Beatrice entered university, business was secondary and dance became a priority. It was something that she found she loved and was good at and seemed to keep the horrific migraines at bay. Teachers told her she had a talent and encouraged her to pursue what they saw as a passion in the girl. It angered her father, but for the first time in her life, Cordelia believed she knew what she was doing, that she could forge a path of her very own and make that path into something worth getting up for day after day. Her path would be difficult, but she would come out of it a better, stronger person. She had performed in dance recitals as a child, when it was seen as a passing fancy and "nothing to worry about." But as she grew older, Cordelia found herself finding ways to become increasingly involved in the arts. She used her family influence to patron several small theaters, and was in turn allowed some artistic liberties. When this was no longer enough, she began auditioning for local companies. Her family heralded her success, believing that if they supported her she would grow tired of the relentless practice and she would be able to get the bug out of her system. Both mother and father believed she would settle down, focus on her future. But this was never to be the case. She continued to audition and found herself earning a spot in the Boston Ballet. The chance would be fleeting, and it would change everything.

While she was merely a member of the Boston Ballet corps, it was enough for her. For her family, it took her away from the life she was supposed to be living and kept her at an arm's length. In 2013, her father suffered a massive heart attack and plans to put a new CEO in place at the House of Hastings were moved up. Edward believed he had more time to groom his successor, but with his ailing helf more than obvious, he knew he couldn't wait much longer. Despite knowing that Cordelia had just entered into a contract with the ballet, Edward called upon his daughter while he was still in the hospital and told her that he would be naming her as his replacement. As her father said the words, Cordelia saw the life she had once imagined for herself slipping away. Before she could think about it, the word "no" escaped her lips. Cordelia turned down what her father had built for her, what he considered to be her birthright, and it left the man devastated. Before his daughter could leave his hospital room, Edward declared that she was no child of his and that she woudl have to live with her choices. Cordelia refused to look back.

Following what was essentially her ejection from the Hastings family fortune, Cordelia found herself isolated from her family for the first time in her life. She was, however, nothing if not a resourceful woman. While an inury put her place at the Boston Ballet in jeopardy, Cordelia got herself on the lists for a temp agency and she took her talent for dance somewhere that she could earn an almost honest living. By day she was a beautiful, successful jack of all trades; by night she earned a living as an exotic dancer, one with quite the following. Her family still tries to pull her back into their fold, but once Cordelia got the taste of what she termed freedom, it was hard for her to ever consider going back.