Chapter 390: Drama queen

“I am not who I thought to be…” Anna slurred, slumping back into her seat so dramatically that the chair let out a pathetic screech in protest. She sniffed loudly, then, as if remembering her role, wiped away tears that were only half real before reaching for the glass on the table.

“I know,” a voice cut in.

Anna squinted, her vision swimming, until Kathrine’s face came into focus. Kathrine was leaning closer, eyes narrowed, expression far too serious for the amount of alcohol they had consumed.

“I know you are not my sister,” Kathrine said slowly, as if the words themselves needed to sober up before leaving her mouth. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you are a Bennett now. Father accepted you as his daughter before the world.”

She leaned back, nearly missing her chair and catching herself at the last second.

They had been drinking the whole night. Kathrine hadn’t even wanted to drink at first, but Anna’s endless venting had driven her to join in. She simply could not tolerate Anna drowning alone while she stayed dry.

“So what if he accepted me before the world,” Anna huffed, disappointment thick in her voice. “He still doesn’t consider me as his daughter.”

Her shoulders slumped, the bravado leaking out of her like spilled wine. She knew it. Deep down, she always had. No matter what happened, Hugo would never truly accept her.

“But you are still my sister,” Kathrine countered stubbornly, lifting her glass and pointing it at Anna as if making a sacred vow. “And I won’t give up on you.”

She had been selfish once. More than once. But she refused to be that person again.

Anna laughed, the sound sharp and broken all at once. “Why won’t you give up on me,” she demanded, words tumbling out faster now, “when you never considered me even once in my past life?”

Kathrine froze.

“You ran away from your wedding,” Anna continued, her voice rising, “making me step into your shoes and save our family from destruction. And when things were finally getting better, you returned and took away all my happiness.” Her eyes burned. “You snatched my cold husband from me and left me all alone.”

She waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing an annoying fly. “And now you say you won’t give up on me. Move on, Kathrine.”

But when she saw Kathrine’s eyes glisten, when her lips trembled ever so slightly, Anna blinked in confusion.

Kathrine sniffed. “I… I have learned my mistake,” she said, hiccupping midway and immediately gulping down her drink like it could drown the guilt lodged in her chest.

Anna stared at her.

Kathrine slammed the glass on the table with far less force than she intended. “And I don’t want to repeat it.”

There was a brief silence before Anna suddenly leaned forward, pointing a shaky finger at Kathrine. “Are you telling the truth?”

Kathrine frowned. “About what?” she blinked confusingly but Anna scoffed.

“If not,” Anna slurred, wagging her finger dramatically, “I am not sharing my husband with you. I am not that old Anna-sacrificing-everything saint anymore.”

Kathrine’s eyes widened.

“Daniel is mine,” she declared, jabbing the air between them. “Mine.”

For a second, Kathrine simply stared. Then she burst out laughing, so hard she nearly slid off her chair.

“Are you serious right now,” she wheezed, clutching her stomach. “You think I want your husband?”

“You married him first,” Kathrine shot back, tears spilling freely now. “That counts.”

“Oh my God,” Anna laughed, then suddenly started crying too. “I didn’t even want him. He just… happened.”

They both stared at each other before dissolving into hysterical laughter and tears, grabbing tissues that did absolutely nothing.

“I hated you,” Anna confessed between sobs. “So much.”

“I know,” Kathrine sniffed. “I hated myself too.”

They leaned toward each other clumsily, foreheads almost knocking together.

“I just wanted a family,” Anna whispered.

“I know,” Kathrine said softly, wrapping her arms around her. “And I should have protected you.”

They stayed like that, crying, laughing, hiccupping, and clinging to each other as the alcohol blurred the sharp edges of the past.

By the end of it, neither of them remembered who poured the last drink. But for the first time, they both felt a little less alone.

***

[Present]

Anna squinted as the recording came to an end, the faint echo of their drunken voices fading into silence.

She exhaled slowly, her thumb hovering over the screen as if replaying it one more time might suddenly change what she had already heard.

She had lost count of how many times she had listened to it.

Normally, anything that happened when she was drunk vanished by morning, reduced to blurry fragments and secondhand embarrassment. But this time was different. No matter how much she tried to dismiss it, she could not ignore how perfectly Kathrine’s words aligned with the pieces of her past she had no idead her sister would knew.

And the realization unsettled her.

The slurred confessions, the accusations wrapped in laughter, the tears that had soaked into their words, none of it sounded meaningless now. It felt too precise. Too real. As if Kathrine had unknowingly spoken truths Anna had spent years burying.

Anna leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

Memories stirred, old ones she had long convinced herself were exaggerations, misunderstandings, or simply her imagination filling in the gaps. But the recording refused to let her escape.

Every time Kathrine mentioned the wedding, the sacrifice, the stolen happiness, apologies something deep inside Anna twisted painfully.

She opened her eyes and glanced at the time stamp.

“Did she had a rebirth too” Anna wanted to believe it because the way Kathrine’s words aligned with her accusation and the way she regretted everything screamed she did. But then why doesn’t it makes sense.

That night Anna remembered why she had recorded it in the first place.

She had learned the hard way that alcohol made her reckless and forgetful. Too many mornings had begun with apologies she could not fully recall making. So when she walked out of Daniel’s office that evening, emotions spiraling and questions clawing at her mind, she had made a rare, deliberate decision.

She had turned on the recorder. Not to spy. Not to trap anyone. But to protect herself.

When she invited Betty out for drinks, she had already sensed she was standing on unstable ground. Words felt heavier than usual, thoughts sharper despite the alcohol.

She did not want to wake up the next day wondering if she had embarrassed herself, or worse, revealed something she was not ready to face.

Ironically, the recording had done the opposite. Instead of exposing a foolish mistake, it had handed her clarity she was not sure she wanted.

Anna stared at the frozen screen, her reflection staring back at her faintly. “Looks like I didn’t make a fool of myself after all,” she murmured, her voice quiet, almost hollow.

But deep down, she knew the truth was far more confusing than any drunken slip.

“I can see my wife is overthinking about something?” Daniel’s voice pulled Anna out of her spiraling thoughts.

She looked up to find him standing at the doorway, arms crossed, eyes sharp with curiosity. He tilted his head slightly. “Or maybe talking to someone?” There was a faint edge of jealousy in his tone, one he didn’t even bother hiding.

Anna rolled her eyes. “Here we go.”

Daniel chuckled and crossed the room, dropping onto the couch beside her with casual ease. He leaned closer, his shoulder brushing hers. “Are you still upset with me, wifey?” he asked, even though the misunderstanding between them had already been cleared.

Anna placed her phone aside and turned to face him. Daniel was watching her with that familiar tenderness, the kind that always made her defenses soften without her permission.

“I wasn’t upset with you,” she said quietly. “It’s just… the realization struck so hard that I ended up raising my voice at you.” She sighed, frustration directed at herself more than him. “It was never your fault. You kept hinting, you were vocal, and I still overlooked it.”

Daniel’s expression gentled. “Anna—”

“Don’t,” she interrupted softly. “I know.”

He studied her for a moment, then narrowed his eyes playfully. “Then why were you zoning out so intensely? You looked like you were mentally fighting five people at once.”

Anna pressed her lips together. “Kathrine came today and we… we…”

Daniel’s eyes widened dramatically. “Don’t tell me you did something unhinged with your sister.” He leaned back in horror. “God, I knew it. I knew she was trying to steal you away from me.”

“What? No!” Anna yelped, sitting up straighter. “What kind of conclusion is that?”

Daniel stared at her for two seconds before bursting into laughter, his head falling back against the couch.

“I was kidding, Anna,” he said between laughs.

She glared at him. “Your obsession with my sister is going to make me go crazy one day.”

“Oh please,” he smirked. “I’m not obsessed. I’m just… alert. Vigilant. A devoted husband protecting his wife from dramatic sisters.”

Anna shook her head, fighting a smile. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet,” he leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially, “you married me.”

She laughed softly this time. “Unfortunately.”

Daniel placed a hand over his chest, feigning heartbreak. “Wow. That hurts.”

She nudged his shoulder. “Drama queen.”

“Learned from the best,” he shot back, then softened. “But seriously, did talking to Kathrine upset you?”

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