Sisters huh?

The night air was still, heavy with the scent of roses and trimmed hedges. The soft rustling of the leaves was the only sound in the expansive garden, bathed in moonlight. A path of marble stones stretched beneath Rosita’s feet as she walked, needing distance, needing air after dinner.

She stopped at the old stone bench beneath the rose archway and took a deep breath, pressing her fingers to her temples. Her emotions were simmering just beneath the surface, threatening to boil over. The announcement. The press. The wedding. Sebastian.

And Rebekah.

“I thought I’d find you out here,” came that all-too-familiar voice—smooth, confident, and soaked in condescension.

Rosita didn’t turn around. “Of course you did. You’ve always followed me like a shadow waiting to swallow the light.”

Rebekah stepped closer, her heels clicking softly on the stone. “Touch dramatic, don’t you think?”

Rosita finally turned, her gaze cold and steady. “Dramatic? Says the woman who’s been scheming behind closed doors like some villain in a telenovela.”

Rebekah laughed lightly, tilting her head. “If you’re referring to Noah, you can’t still be bitter about that. You and I both know he never wanted you.”

“This isn’t about Noah, who cares about that Casanova who couldn’t keep it in his pants, and wanted to have something sexual with everyone in Bible study?.” Rosita snapped, stepping forward. “This is about you. You’ve spent your whole life trying to erase mine. And for what? To be loved? To be chosen? Congratulations, Rebekah. You finally got what you wanted—but it cost me everything.”

Rebekah’s smile faltered slightly. “What are you talking about?”

Rosita’s eyes were burning now. “You lied. You told Dad things. Twisted things. You poisoned him against me.”

“That’s not true—”

“Oh, spare me,” Rosita cut in, her voice sharp. “You fed him stories. Told him I skipped church. That I flirted with the deacon’s son. That I was sneaking out at night. You made me look like some godless child, and he—he believed you.”

Rebekah folded her arms, expression unreadable.

“I begged him to believe me,” Rosita went on, her voice cracking just slightly. “But you always cried louder, smiled sweeter. And all he ever saw was his perfect daughter. While I was locked in rooms for days, being told to pray the demons out.”

A tense silence fell between them. The wind stirred the bushes like whispered confessions.

“You want to talk about evil?” Rosita continued, stepping closer. “You are an evil human being, Rebekah. You smile with your lips and stab with your words. You take and destroy and call it love.”

Rebekah’s lips twitched, but there was no smile this time. “You always did have a flair for dramatics.”

“And you always did know how to ruin lives while playing innocent,” Rosita replied coldly. “But let me tell you something… everything you’ve done—every lie, every manipulation, every secret you’ve tucked under that expensive perfume and perfect hair—it’s all coming out.”

Rebekah’s brows furrowed slightly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know about you and Ryder,” Rosita said, voice low and biting. “The late-night visits. The locked doors. The way you disappear for hours and pretend it’s Bible study.”

Rebekah’s face went pale, just for a second.

Rosita stepped back, arms crossed. “You can hide behind your silk dresses and sweet hymns all you want, but soon, everyone’s going to see you for what you really are.”

“You don’t have proof,” Rebekah hissed.

Rosita raised a brow. “Don’t I? You forget—I used to be invisible in that house. And invisible people see everything.”

For once, Rebekah had nothing to say. Her throat moved as she swallowed, visibly rattled.

“Ryder’s not careful,” Rosita continued. “And you… well, your lipstick doesn’t exactly stay in one place.”

The silence was thick between them, their breaths the only sound aside from the crickets humming in the distance.

“You deserve to rot in that empty heart of yours,” Rosita said, her voice steady now, all trace of trembling gone. “And when the truth comes out—and it will—you’ll be left standing in the ruins you created.”

Rebekah turned away, shoulders tense. “You think you’re strong now because Sebastian is protecting you. But what happens when he gets bored? What happens when he throws you away, just like everyone else has?”

Rosita’s lips curled into a small, almost sad smile. “Maybe he will. But at least I won’t spend my life crawling through shadows, pretending to be light.”

With that, she turned and walked away, her spine straight and her pace unshaken, leaving Rebekah behind beneath the roses—silent, angry, and alone.