Celine raised her hand to knock on the heavy wooden front door of the family bungalow, her knuckles hovering for a brief moment as she steeled herself for whatever orchestrated chaos awaited inside, but before she could make contact, the door flew open with dramatic force, revealing her mother standing there with eyes swollen from apparent crying and a robe clutched tightly around her disheveled frame. Without a word of greeting, her mother stepped aside, allowing Celine to enter the spacious living room where the entire family had gathered in a tense semicircle, the air thick with unspoken accusations and the faint scent of her grandmother's favorite jasmine incense.Immediately upon crossing the threshold, Celine's gaze landed on Celeste, her twin sister, sprawled dramatically on the oversized leather sofa like a tragic heroine from a soap opera, sobbing uncontrollably with heaving shoulders and theatrical gasps, her face streaked with mascara tears and her arms adorned with what appeared to be fresh bruises peeking out from under the sleeves of her silk blouse. Celeste lifted her head just enough to lock eyes with Celine, her expression twisting into one of feigned terror and betrayal as she whimpered about how Celine had viciously assaulted her during an innocent visit to her apartment the previous evening, claiming that Celine had swung a whiskey bottle at her in a fit of unexplained rage and left her battered and traumatized.Her father's stern face hardened into a glare of pure disapproval the moment Celine fully entered the room, his arms crossed over his broad chest as if she were a criminal intruder rather than his own daughter, while her mother, fueled by Celeste's performance, lashed out without warning, delivering a sharp slap across Celine's cheek that echoed through the room like a thunderclap, accompanied by a venomous insult about how Celine had brought shame upon the entire family with her violent temper. To compound the humiliation, her elder brother, who had always favored Celeste, spat additional barbs calling her a disgrace and a jealous failure who could never measure up to her sister's perfection, his words cutting deep even as Celine's cheek burned from the impact.Her grandmother, seated regally in the armchair like a matriarch presiding over a courtroom, remained conspicuously silent throughout the initial onslaught, her sharp eyes observing the scene with calculated detachment that Celine had long since learned to recognize as selective favoritism. Fury boiled over within Celine like a pot left too long on the fire, and in a flash of righteous anger, she strode forward and delivered a resounding slap across Celeste's cheek, the sound cracking sharply and silencing the room momentarily as she declared that this was precisely the comeuppance Celeste deserved for her endless manipulations and lies.The grandmother rose slowly from her chair with deliberate poise, her voice cutting through the stunned silence as she admonished the family for allowing the petty squabble to overshadow the true purpose for which Celine had been summoned home that morning, reminding them all that they had more pressing matters to address than rehashing Celeste's fabricated grievances. Celine watched her grandmother's performance with a cynical eye, fully aware that the old woman's sudden concern was nothing more than a thinly veiled act designed to maintain control, for in truth, no one in this family had ever genuinely loved or valued her beyond the superficial convenience of her identical face to Celeste, a resemblance so uncanny that Celine often doubted her own place in their affections and wondered if they would have acknowledged her at all without the twin connection."Sweetheart," the grandmother cooed with feigned warmth, gesturing to the empty seat beside her, "please sit down so we can discuss what truly brings us together today, as this family matter requires your presence and input." Celine complied reluctantly, lowering herself onto the edge of the cushion while her mind raced with memories of exclusion; the family was undeniably wealthy, their lives filled with luxury cars, international vacations, and social prestige, yet she had never truly felt like one of them, which was precisely why she had left the house years ago to forge her own path through grueling work at the hotel, a path they had never once acknowledged or supported because Celeste was the adored golden child paraded to charity galas, high-society events, and important business meetings as the perfect representative of their legacy.Now seated amidst the tense circle, Celine crossed her arms defensively and fixed her grandmother with a skeptical stare, silently wondering when the old woman would finally drop this irritating pretense of maternal care and reveal the real agenda behind the urgent summons. With everyone settled and the room falling into an uneasy hush, her father cleared his throat authoritatively and began to speak, announcing that a prestigious marriage proposal had recently arrived for the family, originating from a powerful and influential household seeking to forge an alliance through matrimony."So what exactly does that have to do with me?" Celine interjected sharply, her voice laced with irritation and disbelief at being dragged into yet another family scheme. Her brother shot her a withering glare filled with contempt, but her father pressed on undeterred, explaining that the proposal specifically requested the hand of their daughter in marriage to the younger son of the prospective family, a match deemed suitable by all present, though Celeste had expressed her distaste for the younger brother and instead coveted the eldest, who happened to be the undisputed owner and heir to the vast fortune and empire they controlled.Celine stared at them all in utter astonishment, as if they had collectively lost their minds in some delusional fever dream, her expression shifting from confusion to outrage as the full implication dawned upon her. "So you expect me to step in as Celeste's sacrificial lamb, marrying the castoff brother just to pave the way for her ambitions?" she demanded incredulously. The grandmother interjected smoothly, insisting that it was indeed arranged that way but assuring Celine that the arrangement would ultimately prove beneficial for her own future prospects and security within society.Fury ignited fully within Celine, propelling her to turn directly to her grandmother and demand with biting sarcasm that she cease this annoying act of pretending to care about her well-being, as the false concern grated on her nerves like sandpaper. Pivoting to face her parents squarely, Celine declared with finality that whatever convoluted machinations were unfolding within this family were no longer any of her business or concern, emphasizing her intention to extricate herself from their toxic web once and for all.Her mother erupted in response, her face contorting with indignation as she hurled accusations of ingratitude at Celine, railing about all the supposed sacrifices and provisions the family had made for her over the years and lamenting bitterly that this was how she chose to repay them, insisting that Celine should count herself fortunate for even being considered marriageable and questioning rhetorically who else would ever want to wed a troublesome girl like her.
