"Mama."
Before Eva could even speak, Serena tugged at their mother's sleeve, lips pouting. "Eva's dress," she said sweetly. "I only asked her why she came home so late and how she got such a beautiful gown, but she wouldn't explain. She got upset instead."
"Is that true, Eva?" her mother snapped, turning sharp eyes toward her. But Eva could tell—she wasn't asking because she wanted the truth.
She opened her mouth to answer, but her father's voice cut through like thunder.
"So, where did you get that dress?"
"A man?" her mother accused at once, eyes narrowing. "Another one of those men you've slept with?"
"I didn't sleep with anyone!" Eva's voice broke as she clutched her arms tightly, twisting her fingers together. "You never want to hear me out. You never listen."
"How dare you raise your voice to your father?!" Mr. Crestmont roared, his face red with fury. Eva flinched, stepping back until her shoulder met the cold wall.
"I never thought you would become this way, Evangeline," he thundered. "I believed you were a good daughter, obedient! But look at you now! Coming home late, talking back, bringing shame to this family!"
"I was working," she whispered. Her voice was so small she barely heard it herself. It wasn't a lie but truth didn't matter here. No one in this house ever stood on her side.
"Working?" her mother sneered. "And you expect us to believe that? You must have been paid with that dress, no doubt. Who would give you something of that quality otherwise?"
"It's the truth," Eva murmured, but her words trembled, breaking apart as her pulse quickened. The room felt smaller, darker and her own heartbeat loud in her ears. "It was a nobleman... a rich nobleman. The dress was just one his guests had left behind..."
But her voice was drowned by the storm of their accusations. Their words blurred together, harsh and endless— until all she could hear was the rush of blood in her head. Her vision swayed, her breath came short.
"..nobleman, which nobleman?!"
"... Answer us, Evangeline!"
"She must have slept with him... no one would give such a fine dress to her otherwise!"
Their voices twisted and tangled, until they were nothing but noise. Eva couldn't hear them anymore— didn't want to. Something in her had gone numb, her ears shutting themselves against the words that cut too deep.
"I didn't do anything..." she whispered faintly. "He's a gentleman... he only wanted to buy the red ribbon..."
Her hands trembled as she looked down at the dress, the one she had admired only hours ago. The silk now felt heavy, wrong. She realized her nails had dug into the fabric, and she smoothed it quickly, terrified of ruining something so fine, something that had never truly belonged to her.
When night arrives, Evangeline found herself wide awake, unable to close her eyes. After all the argument, her parents showed their dissatisfaction, yelling at her while her father had slapped her across her cheeks.
But her head was so high up in the cloud from fear and sorrow that during the entire situation, she felt as though she wasn't in command of her own body, as if she was watching outside her body, seeing everything in someone else's eyes, numb by everything.
"Sister," a voice called up to her.
Still hurt by everything, Eva didn't turn to look at Serena but she could hear how she had humphed in anger. Regardless, she continued to speak without a single thread of guilt, "Sister if you don't want the dress... couldn't you give it to me?"
"No," Eva answered. For a moment, what came out from her mouth was an ice cold tone, a defiant one, perhaps one that she didn't even expect to slip from her own mouth.
She then sat on the bedside, darkness clung to her as they had extinguished all the wax candles. Looking at Serena's bed, she spoke softly yet firmly, as though finally something snapped in her.
"Taking what I have will not make you happier, Serena. If you want to be happy, you should try being yourself. That dress is given by someone special and I would want to bring it back to them in a good condition so do not touch it. I ask of you."
She couldn't see Serena's face and that puts her at ease. It puts her even more at ease to hear that her sister hadn't replied anything in exchange. Perhaps now Serena have learnt, perhaps she had understood the difference in her action, how what she had done was hurtful and how she should stop her immaturity.
Evangeline leaned back to her bed, turning away from Serena's bed and closed her eyes. Everything sting. Her heart, her body, everything even down to her soul and the only way she could comfort herself was by recalling Hades's gentleness.
Especially with how he had told her that she didn't have to apologize even after breaking the teacups.
She doubt he would know that such small kindness of his could help her go so far, help her sleep even despite how rough her day had became.
But when Evangeline woke up, she was met with a disaster.
Her hands had opened the wardrobe, horror coloring her face until it turned blue when she found her dress ripped to shred with a scissor still holding some of its fabric laid down on the table across her.
The door behind her then opened and Serena standing beside the door smiled as though she had just slept so well.
"What's wrong?"
Evangeline's eyes turned into a glare and Serena scoffed in returned, as if her anger meant nothing.
"Eva, I don't like it when things that are supposed to be mine has been taken away from under my nose," Serena crossed her arms, looking at her from her head to her toes and let out a chuckle, "Do you really believe that such dress would even be good on you? It should have been mine and you should have given me that dress when I had asked it nicely. Unfortunately since I can't have it. You can't have it either."
"Have you gone mad?" Evangeline asked, baffled by how there was not even a thread of guilt passed in Serena's eyes, "Do you really think I'm your sister, Serena? You wouldn't do this to your own sister you wou-"
"You are my sister," Serena walked forward and her hand reached to caress her cheeks which Eva swatted quickly but in anger, Serena grabbed her by her chin, pulling her forward with contempt crossed over her eyes, "My sister who is supposed to be under me. Supposed to be serving me! Someone so stupid, dull, and nothing to boast about. You should have just lived under my shadows. You are supposed to lift me up not to shield my glory."
"Insane!" Eva raised her hand, slapping Serena across her cheeks as if something had truly snapped in her.
Serena wide eyed stared at her face but Evangeline didn't care anymore. She had always been worried of Serena's heart but her younger sister? Never.
But what angered her more was how she had brought an innocent dress... the very one that was given to her by such a kind man, the very first person who had shown her such touching kindness without a reason.
"How could you slap me-AH!"
When Eva stepped forward, Serena flinched, shielding her face but instead of slapping her, she stared at her younger sister, disappointment drenching her eyes, "Go and tell father I've hit you. He will hit me back of course but let me warn you this, Serena, truly from the bottom of my heart. If you continue to do this to me, or the people around you, one day you will truly regret it. Go on," she then beckoned her sister, "Go to the farm, tell father. Tell him I've hit you."
By that afternoon, Evangeline had stood at the path far from the village she resides. She didn't know where she had walked but with a bruise on her cheeks and several more on her arms, all she could do was escape from the place she used to fondly call as home, shivering with her thin dress as tears dripped from her eyes.
She sobbed aloud that entire path, sobbed her heart out, sobbed the fact that she had just realized she wasn't ever going to be loved.
Watching it all happen was a man with violet eyes.
He saw her tears yet oddly it wasn't pity that crossed his face, rather a smile, a wicked one that seemed to have just saw the light of triumph.