Roseline lifted her chin slowly, composure slipping back into place like armor. "You've always loved dramatics, Ester."
Ester laughed harshly. "And you've always loved hiding behind silence."
Their eyes locked—two women bound by secrets, lies, and a past neither of them had walked away from clean.
"You ruined lives," Ester said coldly. "And you let a child carry the weight of your crime."
Roseline's lips pressed into a thin line. For the first time, there was no clever deflection ready. No convenient excuse.
Only one undeniable truth echoing between them—
The past had been buried, not erased.
And now, it was clawing its way back to the surface.
"Can you prove it?"
The question landed softly—almost lazily—but it struck Ester harder than any shout ever could.
Ester's eyes flickered at Roseline's calm remark. For a split second, the confidence she had built so carefully cracked.
"W–what?" Ester stuttered.
