Their Queen's Back - Chapter 76: Chapter 76

Rachel stared at the measly 100-buck transfer, absolutely livid. She wished she could teleport over and slap Henry twice right then, cursing all the way home.
Rachel fumed, "Henry doesn't even deserve to be my brother. No wonder nobody wants him—he's so stingy, he'd probably choke on air. What a cheapskate!"
"Damn it, damn it! A million down to a hundred bucks? Who wouldn't lose their mind over this?" Rachel fumed.
"Henry, from this moment on, we're through! If we ever meet again, we're nothing but strangers."
"Mommy, were you talking about Uncle Henry?"
Rachel hadn't noticed her son Liam sitting on the couch watching TV. Flustered, she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Uh, n-no, Liam," Rachel stammered, quickly changing the subject. "What are you watching?"
"Mommy, I'm watching the international news. Look at these social issues they're talking about—I think they..."
Rachel reached out her hand to stop her five-year-old son, who was about to ramble on. "Alright, sweetie, that's enough. Mommy gets it! No need to explain to me. I'm going to bed. When Daddy gets home, tell him to come upstairs and see me."
"Okay, Mommy. I'll watch for a little bit, then go practice English."
Rachel trudged upstairs, shoulders slumped in defeat. Her gaze fell on Liam—half-watching TV while scribbling his homework—and a suffocating wave of failure tightened around her chest.
"God, I'm such a loser," Rachel thought.
Rachel messaged Skye, thinking to herself, "Hey Skye, you always say I have plenty of good qualities, right? Could you list a few for me? Just say whatever comes to mind—no need to make it long."
Skye was speechless.
Skye replied, "Beautiful, wealthy, great personality."
Rachel: "Come on, Skye! That's it? You're not done yet—keep going!"
Skye: "..." ["There's a small business gathering tomorrow night. I heard your brother will be there. Don't worry, I'll make sure they stay out of things between you and Ethan."]
Rachel sprang up excitedly from her bed and messaged Skye, "Skye, you're absolutely the best! You've got to teach Henry a proper lesson for me—give him two good slaps, and then humiliate him with just that measly hundred bucks. That'll really crush his ego!"
Skye: [...] "No need to go that far."
"Sis, you're amazing!" Sophia ran back, her face lit up with excitement, and threw her arms around Skye. To her, her sister was a total legend!
Sophia gasped, "How are you this incredible?"
The absolute best part? This amazing person is actually my sister! Sophia thought, her heart bursting with pride.
Skye ruffled Sophia's hair and said, "Alright, we'll eat when your sister gets back."
Sophia nodded eagerly, her face glowing with admiration. But the moment she saw Emily walk in with her backpack, her cheerful expression vanished.
Emily brushed past her with a contemptuous snort, making no effort to hide her disdain.
Sophia rolled her eyes and grumbled, "So immature."
Emily instantly flared up, glaring at Sophia with eyes blazing with anger. "Say that again if you dare!"
Sophia waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not brave, but you sure are."
Emily snapped, "You!"
Just as Emily was about to say more, Sophia eagerly hurried to Skye's side and said, "Sis, you've been working so hard lately. How about a massage tonight? I've picked up some new techniques—it's on me!"
Skye smiled and nodded. "Sure thing!"
Emily stomped her foot angrily, muttering, "Ugh, what a suck-up! Such an annoying pest!"
Skye called out, "Emily, dinner's ready!"
Emily muttered, "Yeah."
Emily set down her backpack and walked to the dining table. Remembering her homeroom teacher's words, she wolfed down her meal and, as soon as she finished, pushed aside her bowl and chopsticks before dashing upstairs.
After getting ready for bed, Skye lay in bed when she heard a gentle knock at the door.
"Sis, it's me," Sophia's voice came softly from outside.
"Come in," Skye said.
Sophia entered, a gentle smile blooming across her delicate face, dressed in a flowing white nightgown trimmed with lace.
"Sis, let me give you a massage," Sophia offered.
Skye set down the English novel in her hands. "Alright," she asked with a smile, "should I lie on my stomach or on my back?"
Bathed in the soft lamplight, Skye wore a flowing black satin robe that clung to her body, accentuating every perfect curve—sensual, mature, and alluring, with voluptuous femininity. Her long, slender leg was slightly raised.
Sophia stared blankly at the scene, utterly transfixed. Skye's face—an exquisite blend of alluring charm and icy elegance—was so breathtaking it stole her breath away.
Sophia couldn't help but gulp. She admitted to herself, "I'm totally mesmerized—sis is just breathtakingly beautiful."
"What's wrong?" Skye asked in a gentle yet puzzled tone, snapping Sophia out of her daze.
Sophia's face burned crimson as she abruptly lowered her head, overwhelmed with mortification. "S-sis, I'm sorry... I just..."
"It's alright," Skye said gently. "Should I lie on my stomach?"
"Mm-hmm, Sis. Just tell me if it gets uncomfortable, okay?" Sophia said.
Sophia's hands touched Skye's slender frame as she began to massage her slowly, gently working her fingers across her body bit by bit. Only then did she realize—Skye felt thinner than before.
Just a month ago, she still had some soft curves here, but now they're all gone, Sophia thought with concern.
Has she been worn out because of all our troubles? Sophia wondered.
At this thought, guilt washed over Sophia.
With a lump in her throat, Sophia asked softly, "Sis, is the pressure okay?"
Skye murmured, "You can press a little harder."
Alright, Sis.
After a while, as Sophia noticed Skye's breathing gradually steady, she stilled her hands, gently turned her onto her side, and brushed aside the stray locks covering her face.
At this close distance, Sophia was once again awed by Skye's breathtaking beauty. People always said her sister resembled their mother the most, but in Sophia's eyes, Skye was far more beautiful than their mom ever was.
Sophia gently tucked the blanket around Skye, then climbed into bed herself, snuggling up behind her and wrapping her arms around her sister.
Sophia nestled closer, breathing in her sister's familiar, comforting scent.
"Sis, don't worry. I'll keep getting stronger and better, so I can share your burdens."
I need tempering, constant tempering.
Anna said I lack courage and confidence. Next month, she plans to take me abroad to the overseas branch to negotiate a deal. I need to prepare within this week and strive to secure the project.
At first, I was a little hesitant. I just couldn't bear to be apart from my sister.
But now I finally get it—I want to help share Skye's burdens and be her right hand, too.
Skye had indeed dozed off briefly during the massage, but was already awake when Sophia climbed into bed.
Recalling how Emily had rushed through dinner and hurried upstairs earlier that evening, Skye felt a wave of concern and quietly got up to check on her.
Sophia's almond eyes flashed with jealousy and unease.
"Sis! Are you going to see Emily?" Sophia blurted out urgently.
Sophia knew deep down that when it came to age, Skye would definitely side with Emily—after all, she was the youngest.
Back when Jessica was still around, Emily couldn't steal Skye's special favor, Sophia thought.
"But now it's different," Sophia thought bitterly. "Emily has latched onto Skye, and she really knows how to play the 'youngest sister' card to her advantage."
Skye didn't intend to hide it. Turning around, she said, "Yeah, I'm going to check on her."
Sophia's heart sank. "Of course," she thought bitterly, "Emily has already stolen all of Skye's attention."
"She used to sleep with me every night," Sophia thought jealously. "But now that Emily's around, I'm not the only one anymore."
Maybe I should just stuff Emily in a sack and ship her off to the school dorms—problem solved!
"After all, it's just to keep her focused on her studies," Sophia rationalized to herself.
With a slight whine, she said, "Sis, I have a bit of a headache... Could you rub it for me, please?"
Sophia's eyes darkened with guilt. "Sorry, Sis. I don't want to lie to you," she thought to herself.
Skye hurried over, concern written on her face. "What's wrong? Where does it hurt? Let me take a look."
"Sis, just give it a gentle rub for me—no need to press hard."
"Alright," Skye sighed in resignation.
Sophia pleaded, "Sis, could you sleep beside me tonight?"
Skye looked into her puppy-dog eyes and just couldn't bring herself to say no.
Seeing Skye lie down, Sophia instantly clung to her arm and curled up in her embrace.
Her dark eyes gleamed with possessive triumph.
"She's mine," she thought possessively.
An hour later, Skye opened her eyes. Moving carefully, she gently freed herself from Sophia's embrace, tucked the blanket snugly around her, and, after making sure Sophia was comfortable, quietly slipped out of the room and headed toward Emily's bedroom.
Emily was still hard at work, buried in her studies. The key points Susan had given her happened to cover exactly the topics she'd struggled with before, and every subject was meticulously outlined in her notes.
Remembering how Skye said she liked people with good grades, Emily chugged a glass of ice water and threw herself back into her studies.
A knock came at the door. Assuming it was Wendy, Emily called out, "No thanks, Wendy—I'm not hungry. Don't need any midnight snacks."
"It's me," came Skye's voice from outside the door.
Emily froze in shock, her eyes widening in utter panic. "Wha—how is she here?!"
Wait, wasn't Sophia giving her a massage? Emily thought, startled.
Panicking, Emily frantically began hiding all the notebooks and textbooks on her desk, even shoving her backpack under the covers.
Emily quickly ran her fingers through her hair, took a deep breath to steady herself, straightened her posture, and stepped forward to open the door.
Emily opened the door to find a woman in a flowing black satin robe standing at the threshold, pouting. Being so petite herself, her eyes landed on the woman's voluptuous curves before she quickly looked away, thinking, "Oh no!" and feeling a bit self-conscious.
Unwilling to give up, I peeked down at my own chest and thought, "Compared to hers, I'm practically flat-chested!"
Emily's eyes widened in shock. "Oh no, I really am so flat…"
"I never really noticed before, but... how come hers are so... developed?!"
Skye noticed Emily sneaking a look at her own chest, then at Skye's—every thought plain as day on her face.
Skye shook her head with a helpless smile. "Alright, that's enough staring. You're still young—you'll catch up soon."
Emily was caught red-handed, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson. With an embarrassed huff, she tossed her head haughtily.
Emily pouted and muttered under her breath, "I'm almost eighteen already!"
"Who says I'm small?" Emily grumbled to herself.
"It's not like I'm flat—she's just way too curvy!" Emily grumbled under her breath.