MY SISTER TOOK MY POSITION

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER

Episode 4

The following days passed in a blur. Nora locked herself away, ignoring the whispers of servants and the proud laughter of her sister echoing through the halls. Each sound was a reminder of the life that had been ripped from her hands.

But on the third day, she couldn’t take it anymore. The walls of her room pressed too tightly around her, suffocating her in silence. She needed air. She needed space to think, to breathe, to remember that she was still alive.

She slipped out of the mansion quietly, her steps carrying her to the city streets. The world outside moved on as if nothing had changed vendors shouted, children played, carriages rattled past. It struck her how small her pain must look to the world, yet to her it was everything.

Her gaze caught the reflection of herself in a shop window: pale face, weary eyes, shoulders slumped. She barely recognized the woman staring back at her.

No more, she told herself. I won’t let them see me broken forever.

She ducked into a quiet café, one she used to visit during her academy days. The warmth of freshly baked bread wrapped around her, soothing her racing thoughts. She ordered a simple cup of tea, clutching the porcelain tightly between her palms as though it could steady her trembling soul.

And that’s when she heard the voice.

“Miss Nora?”

Her heart stuttered. She turned slowly and there he was.

Frank.

He stood at the counter, tall and poised, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of her. For a moment, the noise of the café vanished. It was only the two of them, suspended in the weight of everything unsaid.

Nora’s throat tightened. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same,” Frank replied quietly, his gaze lingering on her pale face. “You don’t look well.”

His concern stung more than comfort. Did he truly care, or was this just guilt?

“You shouldn’t speak to me,” she said bitterly. “After all, you’re Roxet’s fiancé now.”

A flicker of emotion crossed his features anger? frustration? She couldn’t tell. “Nora, it wasn’t” He stopped himself, his jaw tightening.

“Wasn’t what?” she challenged, her voice sharper than she intended. “Wasn't it a betrayal? Wasn’t humiliation?”

Their eyes locked, and for a moment, something unspoken passed between them an ache that words couldn’t carry.

But then he broke it, turning away. “Take care of yourself,” he said softly, before walking past her and out the door.

Nora sat frozen, her hands trembling around her untouched tea. The brief encounter left her shaken, but also burning with questions.

Why did he look at her that way?

Why did his silence feel heavier than lies?

For the first time, a thought sparked in her mind: Maybe Frank isn’t as indifferent as he pretends.

And if that was true… then Roxet’s stolen happiness might not be as secure as she believed.