Chapter 19 - The First Shared Birthday
A year passed.
The leaves in the city turned gold and crimson, signaling the arrival of October. The approach of their thirty-first birthday brought a strange, heavy anxiety to both women. The memory of the previous year—the grand ballroom, the slap, the blood, the shattered reality—loomed large in their minds.
The media speculated wildly about how the Hartley twins would celebrate. Would there be another massive gala? A televised event?
Isabella explicitly ordered her PR team to issue no statements.
On the evening of October 14th, there were no crystal chandeliers. There were no imported white orchids, no string quartets, and absolutely no press.
May you like
Instead, the sisters rented a small, rustic cabin in the mountains, a two-hour drive away from the suffocating noise of the city. A fire crackled warmly in the stone hearth, casting dancing shadows against the wooden walls.
Amelia stood in the small kitchen, frosting a slightly lopsided chocolate cake. Isabella sat on the rug by the fire, struggling to wrap a small box with silver paper.
