The heavy silence of the early morning hung between the sisters, as if the weight of last night's argument had permeated the walls. The tension still lingered, unspoken but palpable.
Selena had risen early, her mind restless, knowing that her constant absences were slowly pulling them apart.
Helena had barely slept. She had tossed and turned, anxiety gnawing at her every thought, her heart heavy with worry for her sister.
Selena sat in the small kitchen, staring out the window, the light of dawn casting soft shadows across her face. She looked tired, worn down by the double life she was leading. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she thought.
She never wanted to drag Helena into the chaos, but now it was clear—Helena was already caught in the storm.
Helena appeared quietly in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes red from a night of little rest. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, both grappling with their unspoken fears and frustrations.
Finally, Helena broke the silence, her voice quiet but firm. "We need to talk, Selena."
Selena's grip tightened around the coffee mug in her hands, but she didn't turn to look at her sister. "I know," she murmured.
Helena moved into the kitchen, pulling out a chair across from her sister, sitting down with a sigh. The weariness on both of their faces was evident. The conflict between them had reached a boiling point, and it was time to lay everything out in the open.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Helena started, her voice trembling slightly. "You keep disappearing, coming home late at night, looking like you've been through hell. You don't tell me where you go, and I'm left here—waiting, wondering if something's going to happen to you."
Selena finally turned to meet her sister's gaze, with clear guilt in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Helena. I never wanted to put you through this."
Helena shook her head, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "Then why are you doing it? Why are you keeping me in the dark? Do you think I can't handle it? We're in this together, Selena. We always have been."
Selena closed her eyes for a moment, struggling to find the right words. The truth was far complicated. "I'm trying to protect you," she said softly.
Helena's brow furrowed. "From what?"
"From the mess I've gotten involved in," Selena admitted, her voice strained. She looked down at the table, unable to face her sister. "I didn't want you to get dragged into this. The things I'm doing… they're dangerous. I've crossed lines I can't uncross. And I don't want you to get hurt because of me."
Helena's heart twisted. Her sister had been carrying this burden alone, trying to shield her from the darkness she was diving into. But Helena wasn't a child anymore, and she couldn't just sit on the sidelines while Selena put herself at risk.
"You're my sister," Helena said, her voice breaking. "I'm already hurt, Selena. Watching you do this, keeping all these secrets—it's tearing me apart. I'm scared, and I hate that you won't let me help you."
Selena's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, the raw emotion of their conversation cutting deeper than she expected. She had been so focused on finding answers, on chasing the truth about their father, that she hadn't realized how much she was hurting the one person who mattered most to her.
"I'm scared too," Selena whispered, her voice trembling. It was the first time she had admitted it, even to herself. "Every time I go out there, I'm afraid I won't come back. But I can't stop. I need to know what happened to Dad. I need to understand why everything went wrong, why our lives turned upside down."
Helena leaned forward, her eyes softening. "I understand that, Selena. But you don't have to do this alone. We can figure it out together."
Selena shook her head. "You don't know what I've gotten into. The people I'm dealing with… they're not like us. They live in the shadows, and they'll do anything to keep their secrets buried. I've already made enemies, Helena. If you get involved, they'll come after you too."
"I don't care," Helena said fiercely. "You're my sister, and I'll stand by you no matter what. We've been through too much together for you to shut me out now."
The raw emotion in Helena's voice broke something inside Selena. For so long, she had been trying to protect her sister, to keep her safe from the darkness she was wading through.
But she couldn't do it anymore.
The walls she had built around herself were crumbling, and she realized that she needed Helena—needed her support, her strength.
"I'm sorry," Selena said, her voice thick with emotion. Tears finally spilled over, and she quickly wiped them away. "I've been so focused on finding answers that I didn't see what it was doing to you—to us. I never wanted to hurt you."
Helena reached across the table, taking her sister's hand. "We'll figure this out together, okay? But you have to be honest with me. No more secrets."
Selena hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. No more secrets."
The sisters sat in silence for a while, their hands still clasped together, the tension between them easing, though the weight of their problems still hung over them. But for the first time in a long while, they felt like they were on the same side again.
Helena squeezed Selena's hand gently, her voice softening. "What are we going to do now?"
Selena sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I'm close to finding out something about Dad. There's a man named Vincent Bale. He was connected to Marcus Alden, the one who destroyed Dad's company. I think he knows what really happened."
Helena's eyes widened. Alden? Which Alden is she talking about? Helena thought to herself. She went silent for a while before asking her sister, "And you think this Vincent guy will talk?"
Selena bit her lip. "I don't know. But I have to try. And… I need to be careful. The people who work with Alden aren't going to just let me poke around."
Helena's grip on Selena's hand tightened. The fear in her eyes was unmistakable, but so was the determination. "Then we'll be careful. Together."
For the first time in weeks, Selena smiled—a small, tired smile, but a genuine one. Helena's words were a lifeline, pulling her out of the isolation she had been drowning in. Maybe they couldn't fix everything right away, but at least they had each other.
"We'll figure this out," Selena said softly, more to herself than to her sister. "We'll get through this."
After they sort things out, they begin preparing their breakfast before going to school in a cheerful mood.
The bond between them, strained by secrets and fear, was slowly beginning to mend. And though the path ahead was fraught with danger, they knew they could face it as long as they had each other.