***
The rough, cold bark against Delilah's forehead began to soften. The smell of damp, decaying leaves in the abandoned playground was slowly replaced by the scent of lavender laundry detergent and expensive vanilla candles.
The biting wind of the hills transformed into the gentle, climate-controlled breeze of a high-end mansion.
Nine years ago.
The morning sun was a golden spill across the plush carpets of the McGuire estate. Inside her room, Aerin Rein McGuire was buried under a mountain of silk duvets.
A faint, satisfied smile played on her lips as she hugged a large, fluffy plushy her only witness to the fact that the Cold Queen of Diadem International was still a girl in her 20's.
With Irison McFadden handling the logistics at the office, the company was finally in smooth waters. For the first time in months, Aerin had no fires to put out. She could finally be a girl who simply wanted to sleep until noon.
The silence was a masterpiece—until it was shattered.
BANG!
The double doors burst open with enough force to rattle the crystal chandelier. A teenage Delilah practically vibrated into the room, her eyes wide with a mischievous, caffeinated energy.
"Ries! Ries! Wakey-wakey! Wakey up!"
Delilah's voice was a clarion call of pure delight. Aerin sat up with a violent start, her red hair a tangled mess, her grey eyes darting around in a defensive panic.
When she realized there was no assassin just a grinning little sister she groaned and collapsed back into the pillows, pulling the duvet over her head.
Delilah's eye twitched. She knew the Lazy Ass version of her sister well, and she wasn't having it.
She scrambled onto the bed, her weight making the expensive mattress bounce. "Ries! Ries! The wind is howling, the sun is calling!"
Delilah began to recite the lines with dramatic flair, knowing exactly where to strike. Poetry was Aerin's secret weakness, her hidden soft spot.
Under the covers, Aerin let out a muffled scream of frustration, silently cursing whatever gods or Buddhas had seen fit to give Delilah the idea that her beauty sleep was a negotiable commodity.
"Lia, it's still early... it's only 6:00 AM," Aerin groaned, her voice muffled by the pillow.
"Ries... I just wanted to spend my weekend with you."
The change in Delilah's tone was instant. The bed stopped bouncing, and the room grew quiet. Her voice had dropped to a soft, hesitant murmur.
The guilt was heavy in her chest. Between her rigorous outdoor training and the grueling schedule of an idol-in-the-making, Delilah had been a ghost in her own home.
She had realized, with a sudden pang of regret, how many weekends had slipped through her fingers while she was chasing her own dreams. Today, she had cleared everything every practice, every meeting just to be with her sister.
"I guess... I guess you're too busy," Delilah whispered, her shoulders slumping.
The words felt like a physical blade piercing Aerin's heart. She knew what it was like to be consumed by the world; she lived it every day at Diadem International.
The one thing Aerin wanted the only luxury she truly craved was to see Delilah remain the happiest girl in the world.
Aerin threw back the duvet and sat up, her expression softening. "Lia, look at me."
She reached out, cupping Delilah's face in her hands. Slowly, the younger girl looked up. Blue eyes met Grey. In that silence, the bond of the McGuire- Highmore bloodline was the only thing that mattered.
"We will spend this weekend together," Aerin promised, her voice firm and loving. "Wherever you want to go, we go."
Delilah's face lit up as if a switch had been flipped. "Really, Ries?"
"Really."
"Waaaah! Thank you, Jiejie!" Delilah's energy returned in a tidal wave. She leaned in for a quick, suffocating hug before springing off the bed. "I'll go prepare our breakfast!"
She bolted from the room, her footsteps fading down the hallway with a frantic, joyful rhythm.
As soon as the door closed, the smile on Aerin's face vanished. The warmth in the room seemed to evaporate, replaced by a sudden, biting chill. Aerin sat still, her grey eyes fixed on the empty doorway. Her skin pricked with a sensation she couldn't ignore the cold, sharp edge of a soldier's instinct.
She looked at her hands. They were trembling. Something was coming. Her gut twisted with the weight of a premonition she couldn't name, a shadow creeping over the golden morning.
This day wouldn't be easy.
Veterans Lair
The air at Veterans Lair was alive with the sound of Delilah's laughter. It was a bright, infectious sound that seemed to chase away the shadows of the old trees. As they walked through the park, heads turned in their wake. The McGuire - Highmore sisters were a study in contrasts Aerin with her fiery hair and regal, quiet intensity, and Delilah, a blossoming teenage beauty with a smile that could light up the gloomiest corner. People watched them with a mix of awe and mesmerization, as if witnessing a rare moment of perfection.
For a few hours, Aerin allowed the heavy mantle of responsibility to slip. The premonitions, the corporate wars, and the hidden dangers of the world faded into the background. She was simply a girl playing with her sister.
Eventually, they sought the shade of the Great Oak. Aerin smoothed out the picnic mat over the grass, her movements fluid and calm. While Aerin settled in, Delilah was focused, her brow furrowed in concentration as she worked a small pocketknife against the bark of the tree.
The rhythmic scrape-scrape of the blade was the only sound in their private bubble.
A comfortable silence engulfed themthe kind of silence that only exists between people who know each other's souls.
Aerin leaned back against the trunk, closing her eyes. The wind blew gently, carrying the sweet, heavy scent of wildflowers from the hills.
The world felt soft, filtered through the warmth of the sun and the rustle of the leaves above.
Delilah finally finished her work, tucked the knife away, and crawled over to lay her head in Aerin's lap.
She closed her eyes, her breathing synchronizing with her sister's. In that moment, under the sprawling branches of the oak, they were just two sisters at peace, blissfully unaware that the golden hour was about to be cut short.
"Ries, is it true Luhan is coming back to Aerthos to spend the Spring Festival with you?" Delilah asked suddenly, her eyes still closed as she shifted her weight on Aerin's lap.
Luhan.
The name alone brought a ghost of a smile to Aerin's lips. He was the only one who had survived the Ice Age of Aerin's personality, maintaining a long-distance relationship from abroad that most men would have abandoned in months.
Delilah often wondered how a boy could be brave or perhaps foolish enough to try and melt the cold beauty beside her.
"Hmm, yeah," Aerin answered softly, the name acting like a soothing balm to her earlier anxiety.
"Hehehe."
Delilah's giggle was a warning. Aerin opened her eyes to see that glint of pure, unadulterated mischief dancing in her sister's gaze. She didn't even need to ask.
"Don't worry," Aerin said, reaching down to poke Delilah's nose. "Your package is coming next week, ahead of schedule."
Luhan knew the rules of the McGuire - Highmore household: to get to the Queen, you had to bribe the Gatekeeper.
It had been Delilah's strict condition for his approval to pursue Aerin.
Over the years, packages containing limited-edition designer bags, shoes, necklaces, and perfumes had crossed the ocean, all addressed to one Delilah Highmore.
"Mon—I mean, bags! Bags, hehe," Delilah chirped, catching herself before she said money.
Aerin smiled, though she shook her head. She had already warned Luhan to stop feeding the monster, knowing exactly what happened to those precious gifts.
Delilah didn't just collect them; she used her budding connections in the idol industry to flip them for triple their retail value.
Underneath the innocent teenage girl was a business shark in the making. Delilah wasn't just hoarding luxury; she was building her own empire, one Luhan-tax at a time.
"You're going to be richer than the company if he keeps this up," Aerin teased, the wind ruffling her red hair.
"But seriously, Ries," Delilah said, sitting up and brushing a few stray blades of grass from her hair. She looked at her sister with a sudden, piercing maturity. "I know you miss him. Just buy a ticket and go see him. Don't worry about me. Austin-ge and Uncle Feng can look after me when you aren't around."
Austin was the steady shadow in their lives their butler and Aerin's right-hand man. He had stepped into his father's shoes to continue the family's legacy of serving the McGuire-Highmores, a silent guardian who knew their schedules better than they did.
"Who said I miss him?" Aerin asked, her voice light, though she didn't meet Delilah's eyes.
"Heh, Jie. You can lie to the whole world, but not to me," Delilah said, a proud, knowing smile spreading across her face. She puffed out her chest slightly. "I know you better than anyone else."
Aerin finally looked at her, a faint eyebrow arched in challenge. "Really?"
"Of course."
"I hate you, little girl of mine," Aerin said playfully, reaching out to ruffle Delilah's hair despite her sister's protests. But the playfulness didn't reach her eyes. The shadow she had felt earlier returned, cooling the warmth of the sun. "I want to fly and see him, I really do. But it isn't proper. Not yet. The company is still expanding... and there are vultures everywhere, Delilah. They're circling, waiting for me to turn my head so they can devour everything our family built."
She looked out toward the horizon, her jaw tightening. "If I leave, even for a few days, I leave a gap. And in this world, a gap is where people bury you."
Delilah reached out, grabbing Aerin's hand and squeezing it. "Then I'll grow up faster. I'll become someone who can stand beside you so you can go wherever you want."
Aerin looked at her sister's small hand inside hers and felt a pang of protectiveness so strong it hurt. "No, Lia. You stay exactly as you are. I'll handle the vultures. You just worry about being happy."
Delilah looked down, her fingers picking at the edge of the picnic mat. The playful energy had vanished. Looking at Aerin now, Delilah didn't just see her sister; she saw the ghost of the girl Aerin used to be.
Delilah remembered the way Aerin used to hum melodies under her breath, the way her eyes lit up when she spoke of poetry or the stage. Aerin had been born for music. But when their parents were murdered, that version of her sister had died too.
Aerin had buried her own dreams to become a shield, maturing overnight to save a dying company and raise a sister who was still just a child. Delilah had chosen the path of an idol to try and reclaim that lost dream for her, but seeing Aerin now tied to a desk and hunted by enemies made the guilt feel like a lead weight.
"I'm sorry, Ries... if I'm a burden to you," Delilah whispered.
Aerin froze. She didn't need a mind-reader to know what Delilah was thinking. She saw the shame in her younger sister's eyes and her own expression turned instantly stern, snapping through the air like a whip.
"Don't you ever say that, Lia! You are not a burden. You are the reason I keep holding on!"
Delilah looked up, her eyes shimmering. "I'm sorry, Ries. I love you."
Aerin's face softened. She saw the eager, hopeful look in Delilah's eyes—the little girl waiting to hear those four words back.
A playful, wicked glint returned to Aerin's grey eyes.
"Let me think about it," Aerin said, leaning back.
"You... you don't love me anymore?" Delilah's jaw dropped.
"Uh-huh."
"Eh??"
Delilah sat there, completely dumpfounded. Aerin couldn't hold it back anymore; she let out a bright laugh and leaned forward, planting a loud, exaggerated kiss on Delilah's cheek.
"I love you too, Lia."
Delilah's face turned as red as a tomato, the blush spreading all the way to her ears. She scrambled back, wiping her cheek and looking around frantically. "Ries! There are people around! Stop it!"
"Who cares?" Aerin teased, reaching out to pinch her sister's burning cheek. "I just want to show my love for my favorite little sister."
"Bleeh!" Delilah stuck her tongue out and bolted, her laughter erupting as she ran across the grass.
"Get back here!" Aerin yelled, her own laughter mixing with the wind.
Their laughter engulfed the park, a sound of pure, unshielded joy. Delilah ran until her lungs burned, her face still hot from the kiss, feeling for one last moment that the world was safe because her sister was in it.
After all the running and the breathless laughter, the two sisters collapsed onto a weathered wooden bench directly across from the small convenience store.
Aerin was breathing heavily, beads of sweat glistening on her forehead. Delilah watched her, a small, knowing smirk on her face; she knew her sister wasn't built for the outdoors. Aerin belonged in library corners and quiet rooms, surrounded by the scent of old paper and the hum of a piano, not sprinting across uneven grass under a relentless sun.
"Wait here," Delilah said, standing up and dusting off her skirt. "Let me buy you some water."
Aerin leaned her head back against the bench, her chest still heaving. "Add some ice cream, Lia."
"Got it, sis."
Delilah jogged across the narrow road, the bell of the convenience store chiming a cheerful greeting as she entered.
A few minutes later, she emerged back into the blinding afternoon light. She was balanced, a plastic bag of bottled water swinging from her right hand and two melting ice cream cones held carefully in her left.
She spotted Aerin on the bench and beamed, waving the bag of water in the air to catch her attention. Aerin caught her eye and smiled, a look of pure, relaxed sisterly love.
Delilah scanned the road. It was empty, the asphalt shimmering under the heat. She took a confident step onto the pavement, her mind already on the cold treat in her hand.
She was halfway across when the world shifted.
Out of the blind curve, a speeding white sedan roared into view. There was no screech of brakes, no warning only the sudden, violent scream of an engine pushed to its limit.
"Watch out!" Aerin's scream tore through the air, raw and horrified.
Delilah froze. The ice cream slipped from her fingers, splattering onto the black asphalt. The white grill of the car grew larger, a mechanical monster devouring the distance between them.
Then, the world went white.
End of Flashback
Delilah's eyes snapped open.
The white glare of the sedan's headlights vanished, replaced by the dull, bruised grey of the twilight sky. The heat of that summer afternoon was gone, replaced by a sudden, biting chill.
The silence of the abandoned playground rushed back in, hitting her like a physical blow.
She was still on her knees, her fingers dug deep into the mud at the base of the Great Oak.
Her breath came in ragged, shallow gasps, the phantom scream of Aerin still ringing in her ears. She looked down at her hands the hands that should have been holding water and ice cream were empty, trembling and covered in the dark grime of the earth.
I'm sorry," she choked out, her voice barely a whisper against the bark. "I'm so sorry, Ries."
A shadow fell over her, shielding her from the sudden downpour. The heavy, rhythmic drumming of rain against fabric filled the air. Delilah didn't look up; she was already soaking wet, her silk blazer ruined, her hair plastered to her neck.
Feng Muran stood beside her, his tall, rigid frame casting a protective silhouette. He held a large black umbrella over her, his own shoulder getting drenched as he prioritized her cover.
"Let's go back, Young Miss," he said.
His voice was soft, devoid of the usual military edge. He waited in the rain, a silent fortress, as Delilah took a final, shaky breath.
She touched the carved 'A' one last time, anchoring herself to the wood before forcing her legs to find their strength.
She was beginning to piece herself back together, brick by cold, wet brick.
To be continued ...