Chapter 13: Broken Hairpins, Broken Hearts

Aurora sat at her old vanity, now reclaimed from Eva's clutches, holding a hairpin between her fingers — delicate, carved from mother-of-pearl with a single jade bead dangling at its tip. It had once belonged to her mother, a symbol of womanhood passed down in hushed reverence.

The pin was bent now. Cracked at the base.

Much like the woman who once wore it.

She remembered the last time she'd used it — the night she caught Eva sneaking out of her room, carrying Aurora's designer purse and one of her rare fragrance oils. "Borrowed," Eva had said with a smirk.

Now, Aurora knew it was all preparation — inch by inch, Eva had been stealing her life.

Sebastian stood by the door, silent as always, watching her.

She didn't look up. "Do you know what hurts most about betrayal?"

He waited.

"It's never by enemies. It's by the ones who use your toothbrush and call you 'sister.'"

She placed the broken hairpin into a silk pouch and tied it shut.

Sebastian approached slowly. "You're not alone anymore."

She gave a hollow laugh. "That's a nice thing to say when you've never had a sister trying to erase you."

"I've had a brother who tried to kill me for power," he replied, voice cold.

She blinked.

He nodded. "In my first life. He wanted my rank. Framed me for treason. I survived, barely. But I never forgot the lesson: family can be more lethal than war."

Aurora stood. "Then maybe it's time I fight like I'm in one."

He placed a gentle hand on her arm. "You already are."

The broken hairpin lay between them — not as a relic, but a weapon. A reminder.