The pavilion was quiet and a little hidden, made of white marble with jasmine climbing along the sides. The golden light of the setting sun fell neatly across the table. Two porcelain cups were already set, and faint steam still rose from the teapot.
As we sat down, the silence between us shifted. It wasn't awkward anymore, but it was heavy with everything we hadn't said yet. I watched Selene's hands as she poured the tea. Her movements were so precise, yet there was a slight tremor in her fingers that the someone could not notice until they watch it closely.
"So, you said you wanted to tell me your version. Not the one the other spread, or the one the maids whisper about." Selene started, her voice barely above a whisper as she handed me a cup.
I took the cup, the warmth of the porcelain grounding me. I didn't want to sound like I was reciting a script. I wanted to sound like me, or at least, the version of me that was just trying to survive this mess.
"Honestly? My version is mostly just me being exhausted," I said, letting out a short, dry laugh. I looked down at the tea, watching a single leaf float on the surface.
"Everyone thinks I am this calculating, cold-hearted person who spends her nights plotting ways to get ahead. They think I am obsessed with status and power, but the reality is just a girl trying to keep her head above water."
I looked up at her, trying to be as honest as I could. "My family is a mess, Selene. My father is making mistakes that are going to cost us everything. He's gambling with our future on things he doesn't understand, and if he falls, he's taking me and my brother with him. I'm not some mastermind. I'm just scared. I act the way I do because I thought if I seemed untouchable, no one could hurt me."
I paused, biting my lip. "I know I haven't been kind. The old me, the way I used to behave gave people plenty of reasons to think the worst. I was defensive and arrogant, but I don't want to be that person anymore. I am tired of being the villain in everyone else's story just because I don't know how to ask for help."
Selene watched me, her expression softening in a way I hadn't expected. She didn't look like she was judging me; she looked like she was actually seeing me.
"It takes a lot of courage to admit you are scared. Especially in our world. We are taught from birth that vulnerability is a defect." she said softly.
I let out a small laugh, meant to lighten the moment but sharp in the quiet pavilion.
"You wouldn't know though of facing these things. You were always perfect. Everything about you is so graceful and composed. Everyone admires you. You make it look effortless," I said, shaking my head with a faint smile, but the moment the words left her mouth, I regretted them.
Selene's expression dimmed, not that instantly, but enough that I noticed it the next moment. The warmth in her eyes dimmed, replaced by something distant, guarded. I straightened in my seat, panic fluttering in her chest.
"I didn't mean it like that. I just..." I tried to compensate when she raised her hand gently, signaling me to stop. She took a breath, steadying herself, then wrapped both hands around her teacup as if for warmth.
"I am really sorry, Selene." The words came out of my mouth like a mere whisper.
"No, it's not your fault. That's what everyone thinks. That I am untouched, that I glide through life on silk and praise, but no one sees the blisters under the shoes," she gave a short with a humorless smile.
I fell silent, knowing well that it was my turn to listen to her.
"My mother taught me how to smile before she taught me how to read. Every step, every word, every choice was measured. Perfect, so no one would look too closely. Perfection became my armor, but armor is heavy, Irene." She stopped midway, glancing down at the tea, watching the steam curl away. "And once you're inside it, you're not allowed to take it off."
My chest tightened as the reality of her life started to come out of her mouth.
"They don't see the nights I can't sleep or the constant fear of stepping wrong just once and losing everything I was raised to uphold. They don't know how lonely it is to be admired but never truly known."
She looked up then, meeting my eyes fully leaving me with no words.
"So, when you talk about being afraid. I understand more than you think." Selene said, her voice steady but gentle.
The silence that followed was not heavy anymore. It was honest.
I exhaled the air that I did not was holding out for so long. Even my shoulders dropped for the first time that evening, when I finally got some words to reply back, "I guess so. We are both just trying to survive expectations that were never really ours."
Selene's lips curved into a faint, genuine smile, "Maybe. I think this is what asking for help looks like." she said, lifting her cup, and I completed, "That's when the duke entered in your life, am I correct?"
She smiled back as she took a slow sip of her tea, the steam fogging her hazel eyes for a second. When she set the cup down, her gaze turned a bit more playful, a look that caught me completely off guard.
The perfect Selene suddenly looked like a girl my own age, one who might actually enjoy a bit of gossip.
"Then I suppose you also have someone to help you carry that weight now, don't you?" she asked, her voice tilting upward at the end.
I blinked, confused, "What? Who? My brother? I'm trying to help him, but..."
"No, I mean Xander," she said, her smile widening just a little.
I nearly choked on my tea. "Xander? What? Him?"