The urge to strike Erica back, to return every ounce of pain, was overwhelming. But she remembered she promised her sister no to cause trouble on her own. It wasn't the time yet.
With a composed smile, Margaux said, "I assumed you came here to address the recent uproar, not to drag up an ugly past I've already buried."
"You think I'm that naive?" Erica hissed. "Even after your father banished you, you kept trying to ruin him with that bitter heart of yours. But you failed then, and you'll fail now."
Margaux's tone softened, though her eyes held a quiet steel. "That was in the past, stepsister. I was naive, impulsive—and maybe that's why Tristan treated me the way he did."
But Erica wasn't convinced. Her humiliation from the day before—when Margaux had ordered security to throw her out—still burned hot and fresh. And now Margaux was pretending to be calm and regretful?
