Danny hated losing, and more than that, he hated letting Hera have the upper hand. He wouldn’t let her have the last word. 

“In case you don’t remember, you were an orphan, and my parents adopted you out of pity. You’re not my sister. So it’s high time you stop playing that sibling card,” Danny said, spitting out the words in anger. That was harsh, and he knew he hit a nerve.

‘Ouch! That hurt.’ 

“I certainly remember being an orphan once. So you don’t have to freshen up my memory. I know we don’t share the same biological parents, but doesn’t I being adopted by your parents mean anything? Doesn’t it make us siblings, nonetheless? Come on, Danny, I spent my whole life with you. Don’t you care even a tiny bit for me?” She held up her forefinger and thumb, joining them together at their tips to make her point.

.

“You must have felt something for me in all these years, a little bit of affection somewhere deep down in your heart,” she said softly in a hopeful tone, half expecting he would say yes. “Am I not worthy of that much, Danny?” Hera asked, looking into his icy-blue eyes. Her head tilted to her right, large eyes focused on his, piercing into his soul. 

Danny sighed before averting his eyes. He didn’t want to admit, but he couldn’t stand the vulnerability Hera’s eyes held at the moment. Danny aimlessly roamed his gaze around the room for a few seconds. He lazily removed his hands from his pant pockets, crossed his arms around his chest, his tongue poked the inside of his cheek, and finally, he answered her question with a very calm voice, face void of emotions. 

“Let me enlighten you if you’re not aware of this truth. My parents adopted you and became your legal guardians, yet you address them as aunt and uncle instead of mom and dad. Hell, you didn’t even agree to change your last name, Hera, and being the hypocrite you’re, you want me to accept you as my sister?” Danny asked, tone filled with absolute hatred. His jaw clenched, and he managed to utter his next words through his gritted teeth. “News flash, Hera. It takes two to tango.” 

Hera bit her lip and swallowed down a sob, trying to escape her throat. “I don’t have anything about my parents to cherish and to call my own. Hell, I don’t even know how they looked because I never once saw them in my entire life, Danny. I didn’t agree to change my last name because I wanted to have at least their name. The biggest sin of my life, right? Yes, kill me now,” Hera yelled, and turned her back to him as she couldn’t hold back anymore. 

She finally gave her consent to the awaiting flood of tears to break all the barriers. 

“Right, this is all you’re capable of doing. Drama Queen, cry all you want, it doesn’t work on me. What else can anyone expect from you anyway? You’re hungry for attention all the time. How pathetic can you be?” Danny snapped in anger. His voice, tone, and his body language, everything screamed how disgusted he felt about her. 

Hera turned to face him, blinking her eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears. Before she could retaliate, someone thrust opened the door barging into her room for the second time. 

Hera wiped her eyes free of tears in haste and turned to face the person with a readied fake smile. 

“Did you miss me?” 

A cheerful voice greeted from the door, and Danny ran to the owner of that voice without wasting any second. 

“Abby, you’re here!” Danny exclaimed in joy and hugged the gorgeous girl to his chest. His arms around her middle tightened, and he twirled her around, grinning from ear to ear. Hera watched in silence as her long hair spun along. “Of course, I missed you, Abby. Took you so long to come back,” he said in an accusing tone, but the merry grin spreading on his lips gave away the anger he was mocking. 

Abigail was their uncle Antony and Jenny’s only daughter. She inherited her father’s looks as well as his carefree nature. Unlike Danny, Abby adored Hera like her sister. Hera couldn’t have asked for a better sister than her. She’s her best friend too. 

The way Danny behaved with Abby only added more to Hera’s agony. Their bonding filled with pure affection was visible for anyone to see and Hera envied her cousin Abigail for that. Abby had got what Hera always craved to have, that was her brother’s unconditional love and protection. They even looked alike with their matching ice-blue eyes, soft dirty blonde hair. They both had a long, thin, straight nose and childlike sweet smiles. Abby and Danny looked so similar that anyone could mistake them for twins. 

Danny gave her a long smooch on the cheek before settling her feet on the floor. “Abby, your cheeks have gotten chubby,” he teased, pinching her cheeks while Abigail groaned in disapproval. Like Hera, Abby was fond of food too. But much to Hera’s annoyance, her cousin never gained unwanted fat no matter how much she ate. With her slim perfect figure, the only thing Abby lacked was height. Thanks to her five feet three inches short stature, she could now walk gracefully in high heels. 

Abby grinned, pulling Hera into a hug and squeezed the air out of her. Hera obliged with equal enthusiasm. “How have you been, my energy charger?” Hera asked her cousin with a smile while Abby made herself comfortable on the bed. “I missed all the cuddling we used to do in this bed,” Abigail said. She giggled and pulled Hera onto the bed, but her giggle vanished as soon as she looked into Hera’s red-rimmed eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked with a frown, eyeing the two of her cousins back and forth, worry marring her facial features. “Nothing,” Hera and Danny answered in unison and their response came out too quickly. Abby shot them both a glare, which said she’s not buying their lie. 

“How could it be nothing if you’ve been crying, Hera? Your swollen, red eyelids are contradicting your lie. Now tell me, why were you crying?” Abby snapped in anger, and her voice rose with every word. 

Hera shushed her with a warning to be quiet. “Keep your voice down, Abby,” she muttered. Her cousin glared in return, and Hera smiled, trying to ease Abby’s worries. “It’s nothing because I wasn’t crying. I just, hmm, you know, I had an irritation in my eyes due to lack of sleep, and I was rubbing it as it was itching badly. I couldn’t sleep because, you know,” Hera paused shrugging, unsure what to say. “Maybe because of my condition?” Her answer sounded more like a question to her own ears. 

Abby knew Hera was not telling her the truth. She huffed in frustration and stared at her cousin, expecting her to come clean. Smiling, Hera tried to pinch Abby’s cheeks only to get her hands swatted.