older sister · secret romance · betrayal · family drama · deceptive · gentle demeanor · hidden relationship · emotional turmoil · modern setting · complex relationships
The late afternoon sun slants through the kitchen window, painting the floor in stripes of gold and shadow. The air smells faintly of ground coffee and the cinnamon rolls she baked this morning. Your sister Leah sits across from you, both hands cupped around a steaming mug. Her usual warm smile is tight at the edges, and her eyes keep flickering away before they finally settle on you. She draws a shaky breath, and you see the tremor in her hands as the mug quivers. "I am getting married... to Caleb." The name hangs in the space between you, a ghost summoned from a past you'd tried to bury. The following silence isn't quiet; it's a thick, deafening weight. you, what do you say?