After she had stormed out of Ashtin's Heart, Amanah got in the waiting car. She fumed all the way home. How dare that human humiliate her like that! She was a crown princess. She was so far above him that he should grovel and beg for even a glance from her.
She slammed her fist against the door and glared at the crack that appeared. And her sister. Serenah's days were numbered. This farce, this illusion of freedom that her twin thought she had, would soon be shattered.
She was out of the car and racing to her father before the driver had put the car in park. She sailed past the startled guards and into her father's office. She flung the door open with a fake cry of hurt.
Her father stood, his eyes narrowed. "Amanah, what happened?"
She made tears fall from her eyes as she went to his desk and dropped the box with the sunflower on it.
"Father, look what he gave me!" she wailed, her expression filled with hurt.
Her father glanced down at the flower and frowned. He looked to her. "I am unfamiliar with this flower. We have nothing like it in the old world. Is there a specific meaning to it here on Earth?"
Amanah made sure to cry harder before handing him her phone. She had pulled up an explanation on her phone on her way to his office. She sniffled, covertly watching as her father's confusion turned to understanding, then anger.
"That boy dares!" he thundered, slamming his fist down on his desk. "What did he give your sister?" he growled.
She made sure to shed a few more tears. "He gave her a red rose." She dropped her head as if hurt by this fact.
Her father's roar of rage was music to her ears. She kept her head down, hiding her smirk. His fury vibrated the air. She was looking forward to what he would do to Serenah.
"Serenah got Romeo to kick me out of the restaurant. I didn't get to eat anything," she whined pitifully.
"Is that so?" Her father's tone was icy cold, filled with the promise of violence toward her twin.
"Yes. Serenah has him completely ensnared. He doesn't see me. He hates me because of the lies she tells him," Amanah replied, liberally embellishing the truth.
"I see. I've been too easy on her. Time to fix that."
Amanah raised her head. "Father, please don't be too harsh with my sister." She used her sweet, cajoling tone, the one that had everyone fooled.
To outsiders, she was the kind older twin with the rebellious, troublemaking younger sister who was the shame of the royal family. Amanah had worked hard over the years to make sure Serenah's reputation was ruined. She needed the nobles to be blind to her true nature so that when she became queen, the resistance would be minimal, if any.
She was very much her father's daughter. She had plans within plans. She had a gift for manipulation and getting what she needed, no matter the method. If an obstacle presented itself, she swiftly removed it.
The problem was Serenah. Ever since they'd come to Earth, her sister kept getting in her way. She continually foiled Amanah's plans and kept getting the things Amanah desired. Amanah didn't understand why her sister's luck had changed. She pushed away the thought.
At this moment, she needed her father to bend to her whim. Needed him to punish her sister and remove Serenah from her path.
"Amanah, you are the crown princess. It is time Serenah respects your position. It is time to carve that message into her body and mind."
Giddy with malicious glee at her sister's impending fate, Amanah smiled brightly at her father.
"Thank you, father. Thank you for rectifying tonight's humiliation," purred Amanah.
She couldn't wait for her sister's return home. This would be the perfect ending for this evening. She would triumph, and her sister, once again, would be put firmly in her place.