novelapdf Chapter 164: Which one is better?
Chapter 164: Which one is better?
"And wolves love people like that."
Alexandra’s eyes narrowed.
Katherine noticed immediately.
"Hmm? Don’t look at me that way. Nothing like that happened to me."
Alexandra did not relax.
Katherine sighed softly.
"But I came pretty close to getting hurt, yes."
The room went quiet.
Alexandra changed in an instant. The irritation vanished, replaced by something sharper.
"And you haven’t told me about that until today?"
She stood up and slammed her hands on the table hard enough to make the coffee cup rattle. As she leaned over the table, the towel shifted slightly, though she did not seem to care.
"You hid that from me?"
Katherine did not flinch.
She had faced investors, directors, reporters, stalkers, jealous actresses, and men who smiled too much while standing too close. Her little sister’s anger hurt more than any of them, but she still did not flinch.
After taking a slow sip of coffee, Katherine placed the cup back down.
"I wanted you to succeed in our world," she said.
"That is not an answer."
"It is the only answer I have." Katherine smiled faintly. "I am your older sister. I’m supposed to make the road safer before you walk it."
Alexandra’s jaw tightened.
"I only have you," Katherine continued. "So I did what I thought I had to do. I learned which people were dangerous, which invitations were traps, which compliments came with hooks, and which rooms a young woman should never enter alone. Then I made sure those doors were closed before you ever reached them."
Alexandra stared at her.
Katherine’s smile softened.
"You have every right to be angry. I will let you simmer down."
"Ah, come on."
Alexandra clicked her tongue.
Instead of simmering down, she moved.
Katherine barely had time to set her cup aside before Alexandra rounded the table in one swift motion and pulled her into a hug.
The embrace was tight, sudden, and a little childish, nothing like the graceful hugs they showed to cameras.
Katherine blinked before returning the hug and closing her eyes.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Alexandra smelled faintly of expensive shampoo and warm skin from the shower. Katherine rested her hands against her sister’s back, feeling the steady rise and fall of her breathing.
Fame, awards, fans, and men could all disappear. Katherine would still only have her.
Then Katherine opened her eyes, and a mischievous glint flashed through them.
"It is Martin’s fault, isn’t it?"
Alexandra stiffened.
Katherine’s smile grew.
"There it is."
Alexandra pulled back enough to glare at her.
"It is," she admitted. "He made me utter words that go against my nature."
Katherine’s eyes gleamed with interest.
"Really now? What did you say?"
Alexandra looked away and pulled the towel a little tighter around herself, as if that could somehow hide the embarrassment crossing her face.
For the first time that evening, the great Alexandra looked genuinely flustered.
Katherine leaned closer.
"Oh? Now I must hear it."
Alexandra crossed her arms.
"That I am his heroine."
Silence settled for a brief moment before Katherine’s expression melted into pure delight.
"My..."
"Do not start."
"You will make me lose our bet."
Alexandra narrowed her eyes. "Your bet?"
"I bet on the diva making the first move in real life," Katherine said, looking far too pleased with herself. "But if it ends up being you, well, I cannot really blame you."
"You say that after crawling toward him like a puppy?"
Katherine gasped with theatrical offense.
"Haha! You really elbowed me back then, didn’t you?"
"You deserved it."
"I still have to reprimand all of you for being such idiots." Katherine lifted one finger. "Have you checked the average yearly salary? It is around seventy thousand dollars, and you idiots had no reaction when Martin talked about the deal."
Alexandra clicked her tongue.
"We were focused on other things."
"Yes. Being fools."
"At least you got your mommy moment."
Katherine immediately lifted her chin.
"Mommies are the best. Martin would love it if I called him a good boy."
Alexandra’s eyes sharpened.
"Villainesses are the best. I can order him around and make him truly become a good boy."
"Nothing beats mommy’s lap."
"You say that knowing my thighs are the best?"
Katherine looked down at Alexandra’s legs with exaggerated seriousness before looking back up.
"They are formidable. I will grant you that much."
"Formidable?" Alexandra repeated, offended. "That is all?"
"I am being generous as your elder sister."
"You are being afraid as my competition."
"My dear little sister, I have nothing to fear. A motherly woman’s lap is a sacred place."
"And a villainess’s thighs are a throne."
Katherine stared at her.
Alexandra stared back.
A moment later, both sisters burst out laughing.
The sound filled the elegant living room, warmer than the lights, softer than the expensive furniture, and more honest than anything either of them showed the world outside.
The tension Alexandra had carried home from the movie set finally loosened.
Her career was not fixed, and her role was not saved yet. Tomorrow, Bobby would still be there, smiling with his useless praise. Adrian would still be watching her with sharp eyes, waiting to see whether she could recover what she had lost.
But Alexandra no longer felt hollow.
Katherine wiped the corner of her eye with one finger, still smiling.
"Tomorrow, you will go back to set," she said. "You will speak to Adrian properly, ask for adjustments where needed, and remember who you are when the camera rolls."
Alexandra leaned back against the chair, her smile turning proud again.
"The villainess?"
Katherine smiled.
"My little sister."
Alexandra went quiet for a second before looking away and clicking her tongue.
"That was unfair."
"I know."
"You are still annoying."
"I know that, too."
Alexandra smiled despite herself.
For the first time in years, the mood between them felt this light again. Before fame, before roles, before careful smiles and dangerous rooms, this was what they had been.
For once, they were only sisters again.