Chapter 1: The Betrayal

“You’ve got this all wrong, Cath,” Alex’s voice rang out, sharp and defensive, as he yanked his arm free of Jemma’s delicate grasp. “It’s not what it looks like.”

Cath gazed at the scene before her — Alex, her life partner, standing excessively near Jemma, her sister. Jemma's lips nestled into a sneer, an articulation so weak it might have been confused with responsibility by any individual who didn't have a clue about her.

Her throat consumed. "Then, at that point, *what* does it seem to be, Alex? Since from where I'm standing, it looks a ton like selling out."

Jemma shifted her head, her long light hair flowing behind her in a rehearsed move. "Cath, dear," she said, her voice trickling with pretended guiltlessness, "you're blowing up. Alex and I were simply — "

"Spare me," Cath cut her off, her voice breaking. "I saw enough. You don't get to bend this."

The load in the room squeezed against her chest as she ventured back, shaking her head in dismay. How had it worked out like this? The man she thought she'd wed, the sister she'd guarded for what seemed like forever — together in the faint light of her family's review, murmuring mysteries that currently felt like blades to her back.

Cath's knees clasped, yet she steadied herself against the door jamb, reluctant to fall before them. "How long?" Her voice hushed up, very nearly a murmur, yet it cut through the quiet like a sharp edge.

Alex looked at Jemma, then, at that point, back at Cath. "Essentially nothing remains to be informed you. This isn't — "

"Try not to lie!" The yell got away from her before she had some control over it. Her hands shuddered at her sides, clenched hands grasped so close her nails dove into her palms. "How long have you been sneaking around despite my good faith?"

Jemma moaned, emphatically, as though Cath was the nonsensical one. "Truly, Cath, you've forever been so emotional. Might you at any point see this isn't about you?"

The words hit like a slap. Cath opened her mouth, however no sound emerged. She turned her look to Alex, frantic for some sort of clarification, some defense that would fix the rugged edges cutting into her chest.

He didn't meet her eyes.

The quietness between them was stunning, broken simply by the weak ticking of the clock on the far wall. It was Jemma who broke it.

"If you will cause a ruckus, Cath, perhaps take it elsewhere," Jemma said, looking at her impeccably manicured nails. "Mother won't generally care for you creating a ruckus in the house."

Cath's breath got. "Mother."

Also, as though brought, Kaila cleared into the room. Her heels clicked against the hardwood, her presence glorious and ordering as usual.

She stopped, taking in the scene: Cath, flushed and shaking; Alex, blameworthy and quiet; Jemma, grinning as though she'd won some award.

"What's happening here?" Kaila's voice was cool, her sharp look choosing Cath.

Cath attempted to consistent her breathing, signaling at Alex and Jemma. "What's happening? *This*. This is what's happening. Your future child in regulation and your #1 little girl — together."

Kaila's eyes flicked to Alex, then, at that point, to Jemma, and lastly back to Cath. There was no shock, no displeasure. Just inconvenience. "Cath, don't be crazy."

"Ludicrous?" Cath repeated, her voice breaking. "You believe I'm making this up? I got them — here, in *your* house!"

Kaila folded her arms. "Also, what does that demonstrate? That you're adequately unreliable to rush to make judgment calls?"

Cath gazed at her mom, her throat fixed. "You're not kidding?"

Kaila's lips nestled into. "What I'm doing is declining to enjoy your showy behaviors. Jemma is your sister. Alex is — was — your life partner.

There's nothing on earth you wouldn't do to safeguard your nobility, as opposed to tossing allegations around like a despised lady."

An unpleasant giggle rose out of Cath. "Respect? You're discussing respect when my sister is lying down with the man I should wed?"

Jemma's grin enlarged, her voice misleading delicate. "Cath, don't be so rough. We as a whole are grown-ups here."

Something inside Cath snapped. She turned on Jemma, her voice rising. "You're inconceivable.

Do you partake in this? Taking all that is mine and it's your entitlement to imagine? First my companions, then my chances, this happens?"

"Perhaps in the event that you weren't really uneasy," Jemma answered without a hitch, "you wouldn't continue losing everything."

Before Cath could answer, Alex at long last talked. "No more." His voice was firm, however it came up short of the conviction she once respected in him. "Jemma, how about we go."

Cath's heart sank. "You're leaving? Very much like that?"

He delayed, his eyes shooting to Jemma, then, at that point, to Kaila, who gestured enthusiastically.

Without a word, he turned and followed Jemma out of the room, leaving Cath remaining in the destruction of what had once been her life.

Her mom moaned, as though she were the one troubled. "I raised you better than this, Cath. Handle your feelings secretly. This show is underneath you."

Cath's mouth went dry. "You're favoring her." It was anything but an inquiry.

Kaila's appearance solidified. "I'm favoring reality. Jemma is your sister. Whatever occurred, you ought to be attempting to excuse her, not destroying this family."

Destroying this family. The words reverberated to Cath as her vision was obscured with tears.

"You have no clue about what she's finished. Also, you couldn't care less."

Kaila's look didn't falter. "What I care about is this family's standing. Go tidy yourself up and quit humiliating us."

With that, Kaila turned and left, her heels clicking away like the last sign of Cath's almost certain demise.

Cath remained there for what felt like an unfathomable length of time, the quietness squeezing in on her like a weight.

Her chest hurled with the work of keeping down wails, her hands holding the edge of the work area for help.

This wasn't simply selling out. This was demolition.

A weak sound broke her considerations — a delicate stirring, coming from the side of the room. She turned forcefully, her breath hitching.

There, half-taken cover behind a drapery, was Mia, her five-year-old niece. Her wide eyes were overflowing with tears, and her little casing shuddered as she gripped a stuffed hare to her chest.

Cath's heart sank. "Mia... how long have you been there?"

Mia ventured forward reluctantly, her voice scarcely over a murmur. "Is it true or not that you are alright, Auntie Cath?"

Before Cath could reply, Mia's next words froze her setup.

"I heard Mama conversing with Uncle Alex last week. She said you'd never see whether they were cautious."

Cath's blood went to ice.

"Mia," she said gradually, stooping to the kid's level. "Did you hear something else?"

Mia gestured, her little hands grasping the hare more tight. "Mom said assuming you flew off the handle, Grandmother would make everything better. Like she generally does."

Cath's breath was trapped in her throat. The walls of the review appeared to shut in, the heaviness of the selling out choking out her.

But it wasn’t just the betrayal anymore. It was the conspiracy.

And she was all alone.