Here was Penelope, being asked to vacate a space so that Cora could shop in private. Here was Penelope, watching staff bow to Cora with a deference they had never shown to Penelope herself despite all her family's wealth. Here was Penelope, standing in a room full of new arrivals that she would not be allowed to touch because they had been reserved exclusively for Cora.
It was unbearable.
The pattern was unbearable - the way Cora kept appearing in situations where she should not have belonged, kept receiving treatment that elevated her above Penelope, kept somehow *winning* in ways that violated every rule Penelope thought governed their social world.
Why does it keep happening?
The question burned in Penelope's mind, hot and bitter and unanswerable.
Why does Cora keep defeating me? Why is she always the one who gets elevated while I get pushed aside?
