MY SISTER TOOK MY POSITION

THE PRICE OF DEFIANCE

Episode 10

Roxet’s chambers glowed with candlelight, but inside, the air was thick with fury.

She hurled a jeweled hairpin across the room, the sharp clatter echoing against the walls. The memory of Nora’s calm defiance at the luncheon replayed in her mind, taunting her.

“She dared,” Roxet hissed to her reflection in the mirror. “She dared to speak back to me in front of everyone.”

Her maid trembled as she tried to gather the discarded hairpin. “M-Miss Roxet, perhaps the guests have already forgotten…”

“Forgotten?” Roxet snapped, her eyes blazing. “Every word, every glance, every hesitation,they saw it. They saw Nora stand against me, and Frank…” Her voice cracked with fury. “…he silenced me to defend her.”

The maid bowed low, too frightened to reply.

Roxet’s lips curled into a cold smile. “If Nora thinks she can steal even a shred of light from me, then I’ll make her pay. Slowly. Quietly. Until no one dares look at her again.”

Meanwhile, Nora sat in her room, staring at the garden through her window. The night air carried the faint sound of laughter from the ballroom below Roxet's party, no doubt.

She pressed a hand to her chest. She had spoken out, and Frank had defended her. For once, she didn’t feel invisible. But the cost was already sinking in.

Her sister would not forgive such humiliation.

The door creaked open, and Evelyn slipped inside, her cheeks flushed from sneaking past the guards.

“Nora,” she whispered urgently. “Word is already spreading. People are talking about the way you answered Roxet. Some admire you for it,they say you showed more dignity than she did.”

Nora blinked in shock. “They admired me?”

Evelyn nodded. “Yes. You may not see it yet, but today you planted a seed. People are beginning to realize Roxet’s smile isn’t as flawless as it seems.”

Nora’s heart swelled with cautious hope, but Evelyn’s expression turned grim.

“But you need to be careful,” Evelyn warned. “A woman like Roxet doesn’t lose quietly. She’ll strike back.”

Nora tightened her grip on the necklace under her dress. “Then let her try. I won’t bow my head again.”

That night, Roxet stood on her balcony, the city lights twinkling below. Her eyes burned with determination as she whispered into the darkness:

“From now on, dear sister, every step you take will lead you deeper into ruin. And when you finally break… I’ll be the one smiling.”