The night air was thick with the scent of blooming roses.
Hana had only stepped out of the house for a breath of fresh air. The grand banquet earlier had left her head aching, full of stiff smiles and empty toasts.
Everything about tonight—the noise, the fake congratulations, the way her father ignored her the entire night—felt stifling. She needed to escape.
So, instinctively, her feet carried her to the place she once called sacred: the rose garden.
The air turned colder as she neared, the familiar path dimly lit by the antique lanterns lining the cobblestone walk.
The garden sat at the far end of the estate, walled off by hedges tall enough to drown out the world. No one came here anymore—not since her mother died here. Especially not at night.
Except someone was here.
Hana paused mid-step as faint voices carried through the darkness.
She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.
". . . I just worry about you, Yuna."
Her heart dropped. Jin?
She crept forward, silent on the stones, hiding behind the thick rosebushes as she peeked into the heart of the garden.
There they were.
Jin, standing tall, his usual stiff demeanor softened, like melted wax. And Yuna, perched delicately on the stone bench in her silvery nightgown, the moonlight making her look ethereal.
"Why are you always so kind to me?" Yuna asked, voice trembling just enough to sound fragile.
Jin stepped closer. "Because you . . . you deserve it."
Hana's breath caught. Her fingers curled into fists, pressing against the thorns in the hedge.
The garden—the place where her mother had taken her last breath—was now being used for a secret tryst?
Yuna let out a soft sigh and leaned into Jin. "You're the only one who sees me, Jin. Everyone else . . . they think I'm so lucky, so loved. But inside this house, I feel like I'm constantly walking on glass. Hana hates me."
"No," he said firmly. "She doesn't hate you."
"She does," Yuna insisted, eyes glimmering with tears. "She thinks I stole her father, her life . . . She doesn't know what I've been through. How scared I was when my mother married into this family."
Hana stared, unable to move. Every word coming out of Yuna's mouth felt like a knife to the chest.
That was her line. Her pain.
And yet Yuna had taken it, dressed it up with tears and played it like a song to the man Hana had fallen for. The man who hadn't even looked at her tonight.
"People always think Hana's strong," Yuna whispered, voice trembling just enough to seem sincere. Her eyes glistened, but not a single tear fell. "But strength turns cruel when it's used to break others."
Jin looked at her, brows drawn. "What happened?"
She hesitated — a practiced pause — then lowered her gaze. "She pushed me. In the hallway earlier. It was small, but I almost fell down the stairs." Her fingers clutched the hem of her sleeve. "She said I didn't belong here . . . that I was just a leech in her house."
Jin's expression darkened, his jaw tightening. "She said that to you?"
"I tried not to take it to heart," Yuna continued softly, forcing a weak smile. "She's always been harsh with me, but I thought maybe . . . maybe if I stayed kind, she'd eventually accept me."
A bitter silence stretched between them.
"She's always trying to take things from me, Jin. Friends, attention . . . everything. I never say anything because I know she's hurting, but . . ." Her voice broke. "It still hurts."
Jin reached out, his hand curling into a fist at his side. "She's gone too far."
Yuna blinked up at him, pretending to be startled. "I didn't mean to—"
"I'll talk to her," he said, his voice low, furious. "No. I'll do more than that."
She widened her eyes just enough. "You don't have to—"
"I want to," he interrupted. "She can't treat you like this and think there won't be consequences. If she wants to act like a villain, I'll remind her what it's like to be put in her place."
Yuna lowered her head, hiding the small, satisfied glint in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. "I just . . . I don't want her to hate me."
Jin's voice was cold now. "Don't worry. I'll make sure she learns."
And that was it.
Hana turned away. Her feet felt like lead, but she forced them to move, her body trembling as she pushed through the hedge and stumbled out onto the path again.
The thorns had scratched her arms, and tears blurred her vision.
Yuna was weaving lies again — effortless, sweet-sounding poison — and what baffled Hana the most was how everyone believed her without a second thought.
No questions. No evidence. Just blind trust in a face that wore innocence like a crown.
How dare they?
How dare Yuna twist the truth? And how dare Jin fall for it?
She wasn't trying to take anything from her stepsister. She was simply trying to reclaim what had always been hers. Her mother's home. Her father's love. A place where she wasn't treated like an afterthought.
And maybe . . . maybe Jin. The one person who seemed unshaken by the poison in this household.
Until now.
How pathetic she must look now.
Just the "vicious" daughter, bitter and jealous, chasing after a man who only ever had eyes for her angelic stepsister.
She finally reached the manor's back entrance. The kitchen door creaked as she pushed it open, slipping in quietly and heading up the servant stairs to avoid anyone seeing her disheveled state.
The mansion was dimly lit at night, quiet except for the ticking of the antique clocks.
When she reached her room, she shut the door behind her, pressed her back against it, and slid to the floor.
The silence was deafening.
The last time she cried in this room was the night they buried her mother. But even then, she hadn't cried like this. Not with her whole body. Not with muffled sobs and shaking shoulders.
It was the garden again.
The garden that took everything.
And now, it had taken Jin too.