Chapter 16: The Twin's Breaking Point

Under the dim moonlight, time seemed to fly far too quickly for two lovers who rarely found chances to meet. Phiengwad and La-Orchan sat entwined beneath the same old, towering tree.

They chatted idly about everything and nothing—favorite foods, childhood memories—gradually deepening their understanding of each other.

Phiengwad gazed at La-Orchan, who nestled against her chest, her eyes shimmering with hope. Her voice, though soft, carried a weight of sincerity and resolve.

“What would you think,” she began, “if I told my brother, Sir Det-Wijit, about us?”

La-Orchan’s eyes widened in surprise as she lifted her head from Phiengwad’s chest. “Would that be wise?” she asked, her tone laced with concern. She wasn’t ready to share their relationship with anyone, save for Saiyood, her trusted maid. La-Orchan knew such a revelation would only invite trouble and heartache—especially for herself and Phiengwad.

“One day, someone is bound to find out about us,” Phiengwad replied gently. “But if I tell my brother first, I believe he’ll understand. He could even help speak to my parents. And if my father accepts us, he might convince Lord Noradit, your father, as well.”

“What makes you think your parents would accept this?” La-Orchan asked cautiously.

Phiengwad paused for a moment. “My father once told me he would let me choose my own partner.”

La-Orchan sighed heavily. “No parent would ever accept this kind of relationship,” she said, her voice tight with tension. She knew too well that their love could never be embraced by society or their families.

“Why do you think that?” Phiengwad asked, confusion flickering in her eyes. She had always believed that her family’s love for her would transcend all conditions. “Unless... you were never serious about me to begin with?”

“No! That’s not true!” La-Orchan quickly protested, her voice trembling. But she couldn’t bring herself to speak the full truth—that their love was destined to face insurmountable obstacles, that they would be met with resistance and opposition from every side. She couldn’t bear to see Phiengwad endure such pain. All she could do was bury her feelings deep within.

“Then what is it?” Phiengwad pressed, her tone more desperate now.

But La-Orchan didn’t respond. She averted her gaze, leaving Phiengwad feeling a growing sense of insecurity. It was as if their love was a fragile dream she had conjured up on her own.

“Or perhaps... I’m the only one who’s truly serious about us,” Phiengwad said softly, her voice tinged with sorrow. “You’ve never even told me you love me—not even once.”

Her voice quivered as she uttered the words, finally voicing the deepest wound in her heart. The pain of uncertainty, of loving someone whose feelings she could never fully grasp, began to eat away at her. Phiengwad had always been the one to express her love openly, yet she had never heard La-Orchan say those three simple words in return.

.

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La-Orchan lowered her gaze in silence. It wasn’t because she didn’t love her, but because she couldn’t bring herself to utter the word. Every time she was near Phiengwad, the guilt she felt toward La-Orchan, her twin sister, pierced her heart like a dagger. She had sworn an oath but broken it, betraying the bond of blood between them. The inner turmoil left her torn, unable to decide which path to take.

When the words Phiengwad longed to hear never came, disappointment washed over her, and she nearly stood to leave. Seeing this, La-Orchan panicked. She knew how deeply her beloved was hurting and quickly moved closer, wrapping her arms around Phiengwad from behind.

"P’Phiengwad," she called softly.

But Phiengwad remained silent, refusing to meet her gaze. The pressure weighed heavily on La-Orchan’s chest as she bit her lip, bowing her head to hide the storm of emotions swirling within her.

Phiengwad felt a profound disappointment that weighed heavily on her heart. She couldn’t understand why La-Orchan, the woman she loved so deeply, couldn’t bring herself to say the word love. Despite La-Orchan’s actions that clearly conveyed her feelings, the absence of that single word gnawed at Phiengwad’s heart, slowly and painfully consuming her.

“Why is one word more important than all that I’ve done for you?” La-Orchan murmured, her voice trembling with emotion.

Phiengwad struggled to hold back her tears. “Because it’s the word I’ve been waiting to hear from you, La-Orchan,” she replied, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.

Seeing Phiengwad’s tears, La-Orchan’s heart ached with guilt. She couldn’t bear knowing she was the reason for her beloved’s pain.

“Why can’t you say it? Do you have someone else in your heart—someone who isn’t me, or is it…” Phiengwad’s words trailed off, her voice faltering.

Before she could finish, La-Orchan, unable to endure the sight of her lover’s tears any longer, gathered her courage. She cupped Phiengwad’s face gently and leaned in, pressing her lips softly against hers. The kiss was tender but resolute, filled with love and the weight of unspoken apologies.

As La-Orchan slowly pulled away, she gazed deeply into Phiengwad’s tear-filled eyes and finally spoke in a trembling yet sincere voice, “I love you, P’Phiengwad. I love you more than anything in this world.”

“I thought I’d never hear you say it,”

Phiengwad whispered with a tearful smile before leaning in to kiss La-Orchan again. This time, the kiss lingered, filled with passion and mutual longing. La-Orchan responded wholeheartedly, her arms wrapping tightly around Phiengwad’s neck. In that moment, all they needed was to love and cherish one another.

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Meanwhile, hidden behind a large tree, La-Ordeuan stood silently with Saibua, her loyal maid. Her eyes were fixed on the scene before her, but her heart shattered into countless pieces. Her nails dug into the rough bark of the tree, fueled by a storm of anger and heartbreak.

Tears of betrayal streamed down her cheeks as she realized that her twin sister, whom she had trusted above all, had dared to betray her in such a way.

It was over—everything she had ever sacrificed for La-Orchan. From this moment on, she resolved never to yield again.

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That night, the tranquil silence of the evening was shattered by the sound of objects crashing and anguished screams echoing through the air. La-Orduen returned to the household like a woman possessed. She tore through La-Orchan’s belongings, tossing and destroying them with no regard.

Saibua rushed in, horrified, trying to stop her.

“Please, calm yourself, my lady!”

But La-Orduen paid no heed. Her fury was unrelenting as she smashed and shredded everything in sight, especially the items she had once owned but had been forced to give to La-Orchan. She left nothing intact, her rage turning her into a whirlwind of destruction.

“La-Orchan has taken everything from me!” La-Orduen screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Saibua stood frozen, unable to hide her shock. She had never seen her mistress like this before. The composed and dignified La-Orduen had become a tempest, ready to destroy anything in her path.

“My lady, please stop! This isn’t right!”

Saibua pleaded again, stepping closer. But she was roughly shoved aside.

“Get out! Leave me alone!” La-Orduen bellowed, her voice trembling with anger.

The chaos greeted La-Orchan and Saiyood as they returned to the house. Hearing the screams and the uproar within La-Orduen’s quarters, La-Orchan’s heart filled with unease. She quickly ascended the stairs, only to find the household staff cowering on the floor, their faces pressed to the ground, trembling in fear.

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“What happened?”

La-Orchan asked anxiously. One of the braver servants, trembling but determined, stepped forward to explain.

“Lady La-Orduen... she’s completely lost control, my lady. The moment she returned to the manor, she started tearing through your belongings, destroying everything in sight. Lord Noradit isn’t here, and no one dares to stop her!”

“Everything you’ve taken from me, I’m taking it all back!” La-Orduen’s furious scream echoed from the room.

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La-Orchan rushed in, her heart sinking at the sight before her. The room was in utter disarray—objects were scattered everywhere, some reduced to irreparable fragments. Among the chaos, her eyes caught sight of a necklace, a cherished keepsake from their late mother. She moved toward it instinctively, but La-Orduen noticed her action and lunged at her.

"You wretched La-Orchan! You traitorous little sister! So, you've returned, have you? Off celebrating Loy Krathong in secret with Phiengwad behind my back! Did you have a good time?" La-Orduen screamed.

“Please, P’La-Orduen, calm down,” La-Orchan pleaded, reaching for her sister’s hand to steady her.

But La-Orduen’s gaze fell upon the ruby-adorned gold ring on La-Orchan’s left ring finger. Fury ignited within her like dry tinder catching fire.

“Give me that ring!” she snarled, grabbing for it forcefully.

The sisters grappled, the golden band at the center of their scuffle. Saiyood tried to intervene, desperate to help La-Orchan, but was shoved aside by La-Orduen. Saibua, realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, stepped in to stop La-Orduen but was violently thrown to the ground by La-Orduen too.

After a frantic struggle, La-Orduen finally wrenched the ring from La-Orchan’s finger. But in the heat of the moment, La-Orchan, driven by desperation, pushed her sister with all her strength. La-Orduen stumbled backward, her head striking the corner of a table. The sound of the impact was sickening, and bright red blood began to flow.

La-Orchan froze, her entire body rigid with shock. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over as she stared, speechless, at the crimson stain spreading on her sister’s temple.

“Blood…” La-Orduen hissed, her trembling hand touching the side of her head. Her voice was low, dangerous, and far more terrifying than her earlier screams. Her once-fiery eyes now burned cold and piercing as they locked onto La-Orchan.

“You made me bleed, La-Orchan... you vile, wretched little sister,” she spat venomously. Then, with a gesture of finality, she flung the ruby ring at La-Orchan’s face.

"Take back your cursed ring! I hope you perish with it!"

Her words dripped with contempt, a curse more cutting than any blade. The room fell into a deathly silence as La-Orduen stormed out, leaving only devastation in her wake.

Saibua scrambled after her mistress, pausing only to bark orders at the other servants.

“Get to bed, all of you. And not a single word of this reaches Lord Noradit. Do you hear me?”

Saibua’s voice was sharp and commanding.

.

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La-Orchan collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. Guilt consumed her, threatening to crush her completely. She had never imagined that her relationship with her sister would deteriorate to such a point.

The night ended in ruins—her bond with La-Orduen shattered, seemingly beyond repair.

…

On that night,

Saibua, La-Orduen's loyal maid, carefully tended to the wound on her mistress’s forehead, her hands moving with the gentlest touch. The atmosphere in the room was suffocatingly tense, broken only by the occasional soft breaths of the two women. La-Orduen sat motionless, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her beautiful eyes closed briefly, as if willing herself to suppress the physical pain of her injury and the seething resentment festering within her heart.

The image of La-Orchan solemnly swearing before the sacred Buddha never to betray her sister played in her mind like a haunting specter. It was a memory that felt like a blade carving deeper into her soul with every repetition, each cut a reminder of the betrayal that now defined their bond.

If La-Orchan thought she could pursue her love for Phiengwad freely, La-Orduen was determined to stand in her way—no matter the cost.

If she could not stop it herself, she would find someone who could.

“Saibua,” La-Orduen’s voice cut through the silence, cold and calculating, “Do you remember when my father, Lord Noradit, is supposed to return from his official duties?”

Her question lingered in the air like an unspoken threat, its chilling undertone making it clear that this matter would soon be brought to her father’s attention.

…