The Elder Sister Who Ran Away After Being Cheated by Her Fiancé and Younger Sister - Chapter 1

“I’m sorry, Sister Estelle…”

Clara, my younger sister, wept with tears falling like scattered petals—fragile and beautiful.

Her fluffy, softly curled blonde hair, smooth white skin, and pale violet eyes.

She looked like a princess straight out of a storybook illustration.

In contrast, my hair was the dry color of wheat straw, messy and unsophisticated, while my hazel eyes were often called harsh.

Even in a moment like this, Estelle found herself admiring her sister’s beauty.

And feeling envious.

And resentful.

“It’s not her fault, I’m the one to blame. Estelle, please don’t take it out on Clara.”

Pulling Clara close as if to protect her, Theo stood firm like a knight guarding his princess.

Against whom? —Against Estelle.

…Against his own fiancée.

Theo was Estelle’s fiancé.

Clara was Estelle’s sister.

And Theo was holding Clara in his arms.

How had it come to this?

Estelle, feeling detached from reality, watched the lovers—clinging to each other, reaffirming their love, as if ready to face a storm together as though they were strangers.

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The Heinny family, into which Estelle and Clara were born, had run Heinny Trading Company for generations in this remote region.

Business was reasonably steady; they weren’t expansive, but they were solidly rooted in the local community.

When Estelle turned eight, her engagement to Theo, the eldest son of the Petrak family, was finalized.

The Petrak family were prominent local merchants who ran Petrak Trading Company. For generations, they had maintained a cooperative relationship with the Heinny family and Heinny Trading Company.

Estelle was to marry into the Petrak family, while the Heinny family would find a husband for Clara to carry on the family line.

The decision for the eldest daughter, Estelle, to marry out was based on her good relationship with Theo, and the fact that Clara, her younger sister, had been born rather frail, raising concerns about sending her off as a bride. Their parents also didn’t want to send the delicate Clara away.

Since the parents got along well and collaborated in business, this engagement was largely a strategic alliance between the two families.

Even so, Estelle had held affection for Theo since childhood, having played together often, and Theo didn’t seem entirely displeased either.

As their relationship shifted from childhood friends to fiancés, Estelle and Theo smiled shyly at each other and held hands.

She had believed they would walk hand in hand like this from then on.

Estelle’s parents, Simon and Theresia, were somewhat indifferent toward her.

In contrast, they doted immensely on Clara.

Clara’s adorable looks caught everyone’s eye, and her innocent, cheerful personality won over the adults.

Estelle, on the other hand, was what people called an easy child—she didn’t show her emotions openly, never threw tantrums, and was physically robust.

Praise for Estelle tended to be formulaic: “mature for her age,” “a clever young lady,” “a good older sister,” and so on.

This had a little to do with the previous generation’s wife in the Heinny family.

Simon’s mother—Estelle’s grandmother—was a harsh woman with a strong suspicious streak, always having one too many things to say, making her difficult to deal with.

While her husband was alive, she was kept in check, but after his passing, no one could restrain her, and even her son Simon could only avoid her.

Theresia, who had married into the family, endured constant stress; when the old woman finally passed, she secretly raised a glass in celebration.

A few years later, their first daughter, Estelle, was born.

Her hair and eyes were the spitting image of that grandmother.

Though it was just a superficial resemblance, it stirred up the deeply buried frustrations and resentments that Simon and Theresia still carried from those days.

Two years later, their second daughter, Clara, was born.

Clara seemed to have inherited only the best features from Simon and Theresia, but she was physically weak and a difficult child to raise.

Her parents devoted themselves entirely to Clara.

Every time Clara ran a fever, they fretted; each time she recovered, they rejoiced together.

Estelle was not part of that picture.

One could say the early decision to engage Estelle to Theo was also because her parents had little interest in her.

They spoiled Clara.

Partly because they believed she might not live long.

If Clara wanted something, she got it unconditionally. The entire family revolved around Clara.

If Estelle wanted something, she was questioned about its necessity and validity.

As a child, Estelle couldn’t articulate her reasons well.

In the end, her requests were mostly rejected with remarks like, “Wastefulness is not good.”

Her parents didn’t consciously think they were treating Estelle poorly.

They made sure she was well-fed, clothed, and housed in a clean room.

That room, however, was a former storage room at the far end of the house—cramped and poorly lit—while Clara’s room was a former guest room with excellent sunlight, a lovely view, and a large terrace.

Clara’s clothes were made from the finest fabrics among their stock, while Estelle’s were altered hand-me-downs from Clara.

When Clara was unwell, the parents would eat with her in her room, leaving Estelle to dine alone in the dining hall—the reasoning being that seeing healthy Estelle might make Clara feel worse.

In their minds, her parents believed they were raising both sisters with adequate care.

But in their hearts, by the time Estelle was eight, she was already considered “another family’s daughter,” married off to the Petrak.

There was also a narrow-minded, calculating thought: it would be wasteful to give too much to someone else’s daughter.