chapter 3: The sister's Venom
1082 Words
Liora’s words hung in the air like poison. “It was necessary, Lena. For the family.”
Necessary, the words pierced through the haze clouding my thoughts, dragging me into a reality I wasn’t ready to face. I stood there in my ruined dress, body aching from a night I barely remembered, staring at the sister I had protected my whole life.
“You drugged me,” I said, my voice shaking but growing stronger. “You set me up to be seen with some stranger. At my own engagement party. How is that necessary?”
Liora dropped the fake concern like a discarded mask. Her eyes hardened, lips curling into a sneer I had never seen so openly. She stepped closer, arms crossed, looking me up and down like I was something broken she had finally stepped on.
“Because you’ve taken everything, Lena. Always the perfect daughter. The one who gets the attention, the praise, the future. ‘Lena never causes trouble,Lena will secure the alliance.’ What about me? I’ve been right here, working just as hard, wanting the same things. Nikolai was supposed to be mine even the life you’re living was supposed to be mine.”
Her voice rose, years of resentment spilling out like vomit. “I watched you smile through every dinner, every meeting, playing the dutiful role while I got the scraps. Mother and Father barely noticed me unless I stood next to you. So I fixed it. I arranged the drink, I made sure you’d be seen leaving with someone else. Ruined your perfect reputation just enough to make Nikolai question everything and now the path is clear. For me.”
I felt the words like slaps. My chest tightened, nausea rolling through me again as I fought to stay upright. This wasn’t an impulsive mistake, it was planned, and calculated, my own sister had thrown me to the wolves.
“You’re sick,” I shot back, stepping forward despite the dizziness. “I never asked for any of this. I did what was expected of me because I believed in family. I studied in secret, learned the business, sacrificed my own choices so we could all rise. And you repay that by destroying me?”
Liora laughed, sharp and bitter. “Sacrificed? Please. You loved playing the saint,the good girl who gets everything handed to her. I just took back what should have been mine. Nikolai will see me differently now. The family will have to.”
The emotional wound cut deep, slicing through every memory of us as sisters. Late nights talking about the future, shared secrets,or so I thought. I had ignored the signs,the little digs, the jealous glances, the way she always positioned herself closer to Nikolai. My hyper-vigilance had failed me because I refused to see it. Family patterns I had mapped in my journal over the years suddenly glowed red: how Father always praised me first, how Mother dressed me for the important events. I had told myself it was love. It was comparison.
Tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them back. “You’re wrong. This won’t give you what you want. It just makes you a monster.”
The door burst open before she could reply. Our parents stormed in, faces tight with fury and something colder,calculation.
“What is going on here?” Father demanded, his voice low to avoid servants overhearing. Mother’s eyes flicked over my torn dress and disheveled hair, her lips pressing into a thin line.
Liora immediately softened her expression, playing the worried sister again. “Lena came home like this. I was trying to help.”
“Help?” I snapped. “She admitted it. She drugged me last night. She planned the whole thing to ruin me.”
Mother closed the door firmly behind them. “Enough. We don’t need this drama spreading further. The rumors are already everywhere. Nikolai’s family is calling. Damage control is what matters now.”
Father nodded, rubbing his temple. “Your sister may have been reckless, but the point stands. This scandal weakens the alliance. We need to contain it before we lose more ground.”
No hugs,no questions about whether I was hurt,no outrage at what Liora had done, just perception, reputation and the family name.
I stared at them, my world view cracking wider. “You’re not even surprised. Did you know?”
Mother waved a hand. “Speculation helps no one. Change your clothes, Lena. We’ll say you were ill. Nikolai is on his way to make a statement.”
The betrayal sank deeper. These were the people I had trusted with my life,the ones I had shaped myself for. Nausea hit harder now, a wave that made me grip the edge of my desk. Fear twisted in my gut,not just for myself, but for the fragile sense of safety I had lost forever.
A knock sounded at the main door downstairs. Moments later, Nikolai entered the room, his expression schooled into perfect heartbreak for anyone watching. He looked at me briefly, then away, like the sight pained him too much.
“Lena,” he said, voice carrying just enough regret for the servants lingering nearby. “I’m devastated by what happened. The engagement... it can’t continue under these circumstances. My family agrees. We need time to reassess the alliance.”
He didn’t ask what really happened,he didn’t reach for me,Just public distance, protecting his own image while throwing me to the sharks.
I wanted to scream, to demand the truth from all of them. But the words stuck behind the lump in my throat. My perfect family, my perfect future,collapsing in front of me.
As Nikolai walked away, wearing the expression of a wounded man for the benefit of everyone watching, I slipped away to the bathroom down the hall. My hands trembled as I pulled out the pregnancy test I had bought in secret on the frantic drive home earlier, driven by a terrifying suspicion from the symptoms and the night’s blanks. I couldn’t wait any longer.
Two lines appeared almost immediately.
Positive.
I stared at the result in horror, the room spinning worse than last night. Pregnant. With a stranger’s child. My life, already in ruins, had just shattered completely.
The door opened behind me. My parents stood there, eyes locking onto the test in my hand.
“Fix this quietly, Lena,” Father said, voice cold with command. “Before it destroys everything we’ve built.”
- Writer
