“I met her at a company event a while back,” he said in a tone that almost sounded dismissive. “We talked a lot and I saw that she had an impressive background and strong thinking when it comes to the business world. She seemed like a good fit.”

I stared at him, his words sinking into my mind.

“A company event?” I asked. “And you didn’t tell me that you met my sister?”

He shrugged. “It just didn’t seem important at the time.”

My chest burned with fury as I searched his face was something, anything that would make all of this feel less...strange. “How is this not important?” I repeated in disbelief. “Damian, she is literally my sister.”

“You think not aware of that?”

“Then how is it not important?”

He exhaled sharply before running a hand through his hair, a gesture that easily told me he was getting irritated. “Because this isn’t about you Sophie. This is all about the company and I made a decision on want would be best for this business.”

His words stung and they felt like a knife slowly twisting into my chest.

“But this is about me,” I said, the hurt in my voice evident from the way it trembled. “You brought someone from my personal life, someone I haven’t seen in years and put her in a position above me without even informing me beforehand. How is that not about me?”

Damian didn’t say a word and the deafening silence only made things worse. Then, he looked away from me.

“Sophie, I have work to do. We can talk about this later.”

My eyes grew wide. “But Damian–“

But he was already walking past me, his footsteps slowly dying down as he disappeared into the next hallway. I stood there, feet rooted in place as I tried not to dig up the memories from last night.

The explanation he gave me felt incomplete, like there was something he wasn’t telling me.

That made me uneasy.

The sound of heels clicking on the polished pulled me away from my racing mind. 

“Long time no see...”

The sound of her voice sent a chill down my spine. I turned slowly, my eyes falling on Crystal.

“Baby sis.”

I stood there, just staring at her, my mind struggling to compare the woman standing in front of me, and the version of her I’ve had in my head all these years. Crystal had been many things, competitive and very calculating. But warm has never been one of them.

And yet, she looked at me with softness in her eyes, a sweet smile curved on her lips. It felt too wrong and unfamiliar to me.

“I, uh...I’ve missed you,” she said softly.

Her words caught me off guard.

I blinked, searching for face for the hidden intention she was hiding behind that soft look on her face. “You? You’ve missed...me?” I repeated, the disbelief in my voice obvious.

The softness in her gaze only deepened. “Why is that so hard to believe?” she asked, titling her head. “We are sisters Sophie. No matter what happened between us in the past, that bond doesn’t disappear.”

I didn’t feel angry or hurt. The only thing swimming around in my chest was unease.

“Crystal,” I breathed, unable to find the words to say to her. But she stepped closer to me before I could speak, closing the distance between us.

“I know things didn’t really end well between us,” she continued. “But that was a long time ago. People change, you know.”

I swallowed hard, her words making me feel slightly awkward. Maybe she was right. Maybe time had removed whatever bitterness had existed between us. Maybe this was her way of trying to start over again.

But if that was the case, why wasn’t the uneasiness leaving my chest?

“I just didn’t expect to see you here,” I said quietly, my gaze dropping to the floor before flickering back to her. “And definitely not in this way.”

She let out a light, soft laugh. “I completely understand what you mean,” her eyes narrowed, a smile growing on her lips. “And this company,” she glanced around the hallway, taking everything in, “I am really impressed. You’ve really done well for yourself.”

It was a compliment and I should’ve felt good. But for some reason, I didn’t.

“I didn’t build all of this alone,” I replied. “Damian and I worked together.”

She nodded. “I can see that,” she said, her gaze returning to me. “You have always been good at playing the role of supporting character.”

I raised an eyebrow, unable to understand her words. Before I could respond, to question the way her tone shifted, she stepped back, her expression growing into something neutral.

“Well,” she said, brushing her hands along her skirt. “I believe you have work to do. You should get back to it, we can talk more later.”

I hesitated, my mind still reeling from the awkward conversation we just had. “Yeah, you’re right...I probably should.”

I turned immediately, walking away and I could still feel her have on my back.

By the time I walked into my office, my mind was a mess.

I sat down and got to work, urging my mind to focus, but the words blurred and nothing made sense. My mind kept ruminating over the same question over and over again. Why was she here? Why was she with my husband at the restaurant last night? How on earth did she meet him?

I pushed those thoughts aside and forced myself to concentrate.

Eventually time passed and the sun slowly descended. Other workers had started gathering their things, conversations buzzing on the air as they walked out of the office. I slammed my laptop shut, my mind still a mess.

I rubbed my hands over my face as I tried to shake off the feeling of unease.

I needed to go home. I needed to see Damian.

That thought alone was enough to get me out of my chair. I gathered my things and began to head towards Damian’s office. We had made it a routine to go home together no matter how busy we were. It was a small habit that reminded me that no matter how busy we got with work, we would always find our way back to each other at the end of the day.

I walked over to his office door and cranked the door open. I stopped at the door way, my blood running cold at the sight before me.

Damian wasn’t alone. Crystal was with him.