Broken Mirrors

Chapter Five

Sinn in the pic above

Ignoring her dad's furious scowl, Dinah strode to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, and took a sip without a care.

"Couldn't you have done that in private?" her dad snapped, his voice dripping with frustration.

Iris, seated beside Clair at the kitchen island, calmly intervened. "Calm down."

Dinah rolled her eyes, clearly unfazed by the tension. Clair, on the other hand, offered a pointed response. "He deserved it, as far as I know."

Dinah nodded in agreement, taking another sip of her water. "Exactly. And I'd do it all over again."

Iris glanced at her, a bit surprised. "You didn't tell me you were dating Vincent!"

Dinah's casual demeanour faltered, and she set the bottle down. "I was going to tell you tonight... before I found out he was engaged to Jessica."

"Jessica?" Iris asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah," Dinah replied with a heavy sigh.

Their dad stood, his anger visibly fading into weariness. "Clair, you need to give the media something better than what went down tonight."

Clair raised an eyebrow, sceptical. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

Dinah stepped in. "I'll help you with it."

"I need a vacation from all this nonsense," their dad muttered as he left the room.

Iris stood, giving Dinah a look that promised a future conversation. "We'll talk later," she said, following their father out.

Clair leaned closer to Dinah. "So... how did you find out?" she asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

Dinah frowned, taking another sip of water. "Jessica told me."

"Of course she did," Clair sighed. "That's where she disappeared to..."

Dinah's gaze softened as she looked at Clair. "You look different," she mumbled.

Clair smiled shyly, looking down at the floor. "I know... I missed you."

Dinah walked over and embraced her. "I'm sorry about Sophie."

"It's okay," Clair whispered.

Dinah smiled through a yawn. "I'm tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow about the media, okay?"

"Of course. Goodnight," Clair replied.

"Goodnight."

Sinn entered his office, setting down his briefcase. He heard his brother Vincent talking on the phone from his room. Tired and irritated, Sinn removed his jacket, tossed it on a chair, and headed upstairs, barging into Vincent's room.

Vincent raised a hand, signalling for silence. "Not now!" he said, brushing past Sinn.

Sinn followed, grabbing the phone from his brother's hand. "Don't bother dealing with the media. I already did it."

Vincent sighed in relief. "Thank God! I couldn't handle them right now."

Sinn shot him an annoyed look. "Lupo Industries can't handle the media right now!" His voice boomed through the room.

"This isn't my fault!" Vincent protested. "If she hadn't opened her mouth in front of everyone, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Sinn mumbled under his breath, "Maybe if you hadn't cheated on her, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Vincent turned, narrowing his eyes. "What did you just say?"

"Forget it," Sinn groaned, tossing a file at Vincent. "Make sure you deliver these documents to Mr. Hart tomorrow."