Waiting.
Watching.
“Change and come eat,” she said quietly.
“…Mm,” Fiona responded.
She changed.
She sat.
She ate.
The room felt too quiet.
Too controlled.
Too careful.
Then Eva’s voice broke the silence again.
“I’m sorry for hitting you yesterday,” she said, slower this time.
“I don’t have any justification… I just… want you to know I’m sorry, okay?”
Her hand lifted gently, brushing Fiona’s hair in a hesitant, almost unfamiliar softness.
Fiona froze mid-bite.
Her eyes slowly lifted.
Confused.
Guarded.
As if she didn’t know how to receive kindness that arrived after pain.
The door opened.
Fallyn stepped in first.
Brett followed behind her.
His gaze landed immediately on them on Eva’s hand still resting on Fiona’s hair… on Fiona’s silent, unreadable expression.
“Honey,” Brett said softly, forcing a small smile.
“You already made her meal. Here take your medicine after you eat.”
Fiona blinked once.
Then nodded faintly.
“…Okay, Dad.”
Fallyn leaned casually against the other edge of the table, folding her hands behind her back like she was trying to look lighthearted too lighthearted.
“Fin,” she said softly, tilting her head, “don’t think about yesterday. You’re just as special as me. You know you’re the first… you’re important too.”
The words were gentle.
Something in Fiona’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly.
Her spoon paused mid-air.
A faint tightening at her fingers.
Special?
The word slid across her skin like something familiar turning dangerous.
A faint prickle crawled up her spine.
And suddenly—
It wasn’t the present anymore.
Her vision flickered.
For a split second, the room blurred at the edges, dissolving into something colder something older.
A memory surfaced without warning.
Fallyn’s voice different then.
Sharper.
Colder.
“You’ve already been sold out.”
Fiona’s breath hitched.
Her grip on the spoon tightened.
The sound of the present dimmed, replaced by that distant echo that didn’t belong here.
Her gaze slowly lifted toward Fallyn.
Not warm.
Not sibling-like.
But searching.
Measuring.
Suspicious.
“Mmm,” Fiona replied quietly, offering no further words.
She finished her meal in silence and took her medicine soon after.
As she reached for the empty plate, Eva’s hand gently intercepted her movement.
“Fallyn, take that to the kitchen,” Eva instructed.
Fallyn nodded and stepped forward obediently.
Eva’s attention shifted back to Fiona almost immediately.
Her tone softened again, careful, controlled.
“You, come here,” she said, guiding Fiona toward the bed.
“Rest. You need to recover properly.”
Fiona didn’t resist.
She let herself be led.
Eva helped her sit, then slowly pulled the duvet over her, tucking it around her halfway with an almost practiced tenderness.
Her hand lingered, patting Fiona’s hair in a rhythm that felt more reassuring than real.
“There,” Eva murmured. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“You should rest now, okay?”
“…Mmm,” Fiona answered, already half-lost to fatigue as her eyes slowly closed.
The room fell quiet.
Fallyn placed the plate away and returned without a word.
Brett lingered a moment longer, watching the bed where Fiona lay still.
Then, one by one, they left the room.
The door closed softly behind them.
Fallyn slipped quietly into her room, the door closing behind her with a soft click.
Almost at the same time, Eva and Brett retreated to theirs.
For a brief moment, the house fell into an uneasy stillness, one that felt less like peace and more like something held in suspension, waiting to break.
“What a hassle…” she muttered, dropping onto the mattress with a heavy thud.
“Trying to treat her like a baby when she’s the eldest honestly, it’s exhausting.”
Her fingers pressed against her temple as irritation crept into her voice.
Brett looked up from his phone, his expression calm but tired.
“Honey… try to keep your temper in check,” he said evenly.
Eva scoffed.
“Oh please,” she snapped.
“It’s not like this is the first time I’ve hit her. Why are you acting like it’s a big deal now? I’m her mother. I can correct her however I like.”
The words hung in the air for a moment.
Brett didn’t argue.
Didn’t respond.
His eyes dropped back to his phone, fingers scrolling quietly too quietly like he was choosing silence over escalation.
And the room settled into an uneasy stillness.
Hours later, Fiona’s brows knitted violently, her face twitching from side to side as if trapped in a thought she couldn’t escape.
“I will tell them… about keeping the engagement private.”
The words echoed again.
“I will tell them… about keeping the engagement private.”
Her eyes snapped wide open.
She shot upright in bed, gasping for air, chest rising and falling in sharp, uneven bursts.
“Ah…!”
For a moment, silence pressed against her ears then memory crashed back in.
“Yeah… that was it,” she whispered shakily, fingers gripping the sheets.
“That’s what was missing…”
Her voice trembled as realization sharpened into something colder.
“He said yesterday’s dinner was to announce to Dad… about making our engagement private.”
Her expression slowly tightened, the warmth draining straight out of her face like it had never belonged there at all.
“No…” she breathed, eyes darkening with sudden, unsettling clarity.
“Not our engagement…”
A heavy, suffocating pause settled over her.
“…his engagement,” she hissed, the words slipping out sharp and wrong, like they had teeth of their own.
For a second, she just sat there, staring into nothing like even her thoughts had turned against her.
The sentence felt off.
Distorted.
Like it wasn’t fully hers, like something in her mind had shoved it out before she was ready.
Her breath hitched.
Her fingers curled into tight fists against the bedsheets.
Then, through clenched teeth, barely above a whisper—
“Did he… play me?”
“Damn lunatic!” she screamed, the words tearing out of her throat like something she could no longer hold back.
Almost instantly—
Footsteps rushed down the corridor.
The door swung open.
“What’s wrong?” Brett asked sharply, eyes scanning her in concern.
“Are you alright?” Eva added, standing just behind him, her tone softer but equally alert.
Fiona’s gaze wavered.
The fire in her eyes dimmed as quickly as it had flared.
Her shoulders sank.
“…No,” she murmured, voice suddenly small.
“Sorry… for disturbing you.”
Silence hung for a beat.
Eva clicked her tongue, shaking her head slightly.
“What the hell? Is this some new habit now? You’re the eldest. Behave like one.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and left the room, her footsteps fading down the corridor.
Brett lingered a moment longer.
His expression softened.
“Baby… are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again, more gently this time.
Fiona nodded faintly.
“Yes, Dad.”
He exhaled, lifting a hand to scratch the back of his head, concern still lingering in his eyes.
“Alright… if you need anything, just let Dad know.”
And with that, the room slowly settled back into silence though nothing inside her felt calm anymore.
***
[Hazel: Wassup where are you]
Fiona’s phone screen flickered to life in the dim silence of her room.
Her gaze lingered on the message for a moment, distant, unreadable.
Then slowly, her fingers moved across the screen.
[I don’t think I’m in the mood for clubbing,] she replied.
Across the chat, Hazel began typing…
The indicator blinked once.
Twice.
Then vanished.
Nothing was sent.
Minutes passed.
Then—
A knock.
The door opened immediately after, as if whoever stood outside had already made up their mind.
“Fin… what are you doing to yourself?” Fallyn stepped in, hand resting firmly on her waist.
“You’ve been locked in here for over four days. Today’s Thursday. Hazel just wants to cheer you up… aren’t you being a little ungrateful?”
Fiona didn’t turn.
“I’m not in the mood for this, Fallyn,” she said flatly.
Fallyn exhaled sharply.
“Then what mood are you in? To sit here and think yourself into ruin? Speaking of thinking, how many of your problems have you actually solved?”
Silence.
Fiona shifted on the bed, turning away, avoiding her entirely.
“Fin… come on,” Fallyn pressed again, softer now but still persistent.
Just then—
Buzz.
Her phone lit up once more.
[Hazel: Manson is here. You told me the other day he played you.]
The name struck like a sudden jolt through her chest.
For a split second, everything went still.
Then her fingers moved fast, decisive.
[I’m on my way.]
Sent.
She shot up from the bed instantly, as if something inside her had finally snapped into place.
Fallyn blinked in confusion.
“Wait—what?”
Fiona turned sharply, eyes now sharp with renewed intent.
“Ain’t we going to the club?”
In less than an hour, they stood at the entrance of the club.
The music throbbed faintly from within, muffled by the thick doors like a world refusing to open to them.
Fiona immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Hazel.
A brief exchange.
A short pause.
Then the call ended.
“We should just go in,” Fallyn said, stepping forward.
Fiona shook her head.
“This club is exclusive. It’s members-only. They won’t let us in. That’s why I called Hazel, she’s coming to pick us up.”
Before they could move further—
“Excuse me, miss… your card?” one of the staff asked professionally.
Fiona opened her mouth slightly, but Fallyn stepped in first.
“We have an acquaintance inside,” she snapped.
“She invited us. Must we really show a card?”
The staff remained calm, unmoved.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We can’t allow entry until we confirm who your acquaintance is. So—who exactly—”
“Are you crazy?!” Fallyn cut him off instantly, her voice rising.
“Do I look like someone who lies? Who the hell do you think you are talking to? What do you take me for?”
The air shifted.
“Fallyn,” Fiona’s voice came low, steady, almost warning.
“Stop it.”
But she was already burning.
“No, Fin, don’t tell me that!” Fallyn snapped, turning sharply.
“Who the hell does he think he is? Just wait until my sister finally marries into the Thames family—”
“Shut the f*ck up, Fallyn!” Fiona’s voice exploded, sharp and commanding.
The words sliced through the moment.
Silence fell heavy, immediate, and tense.
“Is there a problem?”
A deep voice sliced through the tension from the entrance calm, controlled and dangerously close.