9. Teases, Tantrums and Truths
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, RIA-GET. UP!"
Eva stood in the middle of their shared room, in a half done hair, one shoe on, water bottle in hand, and face full of betrayal.
From the mound of blankets on the bed came a muffled groan.
"I hate you," Ria mumbled.
"Good morning to you too," Eva snapped, yanking the curtain open and flooding the room with sunlight.
"We were supposed to leave at eight! It's almost nine! The hills won't climb themselves!"
"Tell the hills to wait. I'm emotionally attached to my pillow."
Eva tossed her backpack on Ria's bed with a dramatic thud. "This was your idea!"
"Regret is my love language," Ria replied, sitting up with chaotic hair and zero shame.
Ten Minutes Later - Kitchen
The house smelled like cardamom tea and warm toast. Eggs were scrambled and toast was burnt Their grandparents were already at the table, watching their grand kids in amuse and sipping tea.
"Ahh- they are" Ria's scream echoed to the corridors of their cute home.
"Burnt? " Eva chuckled.
"You had one job Ria"
"You know I am bad at cooking, And I don't understand Why you ask me to do this."
"You consider this as cooking ?" Eva raised her eyebrow.
Grandparents were busy laughing enjoying the early morning Chaos.
Eva shoved half a banana in her mouth while pulling on her jacket. "Sorry, sorry, we overslept!"
"Again," her grandma said with a soft smile.
"We're going trekking!" Ria added, still stuffing her water bottle into a glittery bag. "We might come back dead but make it aesthetic."
Their grandfather chuckled, "Don't come back injured, that's all I ask. And no getting lost again, Ria."
"That was one time," she protested, kissing him on the cheek. "Love you, old man."
Eva ran back to give her grandma a kiss on the head. "We packed protein bars and painkillers. We'll be good."
Grandma handed her a tiny steel box. "I packed Rice cakes and sushi. In case your 'protein bar' tastes like bad choice."
Ria grinned. "You're the best."
Front Gate - 9:05 AM
Backpacks on. Laces tied. Sunglasses on. Ria pressed play on their adventure playlist as they jumped onto the bus headed to the outskirts.
Eva looked out the window, letting the wind hit her face. Ria was already documenting their trip on her story.
"Imagine this day without deadlines," Eva said.
Ria laughed. "Imagine this day without dudes."
"Bliss."
They high-fived. The day had just begun.
Little did they know-while the sun was shining bright over their little adventure...
The bus hummed along the winding road, soft music playing in the background, golden sunlight slanting through the windows like honey.
Ria leaned her head back, eyes closed behind oversized brown sunglasses, a faint smile on her lips. Even at 9 A.M. with only six hours of sleep and zero makeup effort-she looked iconic.
She had the kind of presence that walked five steps ahead of her.
She wore a sharp, tailored olive green utility jumpsuit with golden zippers and a belted waist. Her long hair was slicked back into a braided ponytail, two thin strands left out at the front to frame her cheekbones.
Gold hoops, smudged brown kajal, and matte nude lips completed her power look.
Even her hiking boots looked editorial.
Sharp. Gorgeous. A bit chaotic. Utterly unforgettable. Ria didn't just follow fashion-she bent it around her mood.
Beside her, sitting with a thermos in one hand and granola bar in the other, was Eva Walter.
And if Ria was a walking cover shoot-Eva was the kind of beauty that made you stop and breathe.
Lowkey goddess of natural glow, had soft eyes full of unspoken stories.
She wore an oversized beige cotton shirt tucked into high-waisted faded denim shorts, sleeves rolled up.
Her brown hair was loosely tied in a claw clip, a few strands curling around her cheek in the breeze.
Minimal jewellery a simple gold chain in her neck, two rings and a bracelet.Light brown hiking boots, and a sling canvas bag completed her earth-core aesthetic.
No filters. No effort. Still ethereal.
Flowers and honeycomb. A little messy, a little late, but deeply unforgettable.
Ria glanced sideways at her and grinned.
"NGL," she said, "I love your style, Eva. Every time. It's like... you don't even try, and you still look like you stepped out of a Pinterest forest-core board."
Eva raised a brow, smug. "Learned from my sis, obvio."
She reached over and patted Ria's head, adding a playful wink. "Master of fashion and drama."
Ria snorted. "Thank you."
They laughed-light, easy laughter that filled the morning air between them.
For a moment, there was no hospital. No heartbreak. No secrets.
Just two sisters, the open road, and sunlight pouring like blessings through a dusty bus window.
Ridgeview Hills - 11:02 AM
The forest trail smelled of wet leaves, pine, and something wild.
Birds chirped overhead. Wind rustled the treetops. Dappled light danced over the path like gold flakes falling from the sky.
Eva walked ahead, ponytail bouncing, sleeves rolled, water bottle swinging from her bag. Every few minutes, she'd stop to examine a weird-shaped leaf or try to get a selfie with a squirrel that never stayed still.
Ria trailed behind, dramatically breathless, holding her phone like a sword. "How far is this hill?! My calves are crying, and I'm 95% sure something bit me!"
Eva turned back with a grin. "It was an ant. You stepped on its house. It probably cursed your future kids."
Ria squinted. "Excuse me."
The sisters paused near a wooden bridge, where water gushed beneath the rocks like music.
Ria fixed her hair, turned to Eva. "Let's take one for the 'gram. But don't make that weird toothy smile."
Eva gasped. "It's called joy, Ria. Try it sometime."
They laughed. Took seventeen pictures. Kept one.
In the chosen shot:
Eva is mid-laugh.
Ria's arm is over her shoulder.
The background is green and gold and free.
It looked like a moment they'd want to frame someday.
By the time they reached the lookout point, their clothes were damp with sweat, but their faces were glowing.
They dropped their bags and collapsed on the grass, lungs full of mountain air.
The view stretched far - trees like velvet, the city a distant blur, and the clouds soft as cotton above it all.
For a while, they just breathed.
Then:
Ria: "You ever think about... how small everything looks from here?"
Eva: "All the time."
Ria: "Like, even the things that felt like disasters last week - that dumb fashion show, deadlines, boys..."
Eva: "Surgeries. Night shifts. Expectations."
Ria sighed. "I want big things, Eva. I want to win. But sometimes I wonder... if I'm too much for people."
Eva turned toward her, gentle. "You're never too much. You're just more than most can handle."
Ria smiled. "Same goes for you, y'know?"
They lay there a little longer. Quiet now.
Letting the mountain hold their secrets.
Sitting on a flat rock under a big tree, they opened their grandma's insulated boxes with sushi and rice cakes.
Ria: "Remind me to never eat protein bars again. This tastes like love."
Eva: "Because it is love. And delicious."
Ria: "Put that on a T-shirt."
Eva pulled out a small wildflower and tucked it behind Ria's ear. "You're a menace, but you're my menace."
Ria poked her. "And you're the softest human I know. But also secretly terrifying."
The camera timer clicked one last photo-both of them laughing, sunshine across their faces.
They didn't know it yet, but this would be a day they'd hold close for a long, long time.
From where Eva and Ria sat the view was phenomenal,they spotted a villa-perched elegantly at the very edge of the cliff, shrouded in mist like something out of a storybook.
The only one for miles.Dreamy and fictional.
White stone walls. Wide glass windows. Balconies that faced the sky like it owed them something. Ivy crawling up the sides like it wanted to stay forever.
It didn't belong here.
And yet, it owned the hill.
Ria whistled low, squinting at it. "They must be fucking rich to build something up there. I mean, look at that view! It's giving main-character energy."
Eva blinked. "It's beautiful. Why would someone build a house here?"
Ria crossed her arms, tilting her head. "Because when you're stupid rich, you build houses in places where no one can bother you. Not even reality."
They both stared at it, awestruck and mildly freaked out.
"I mean, who even lives there?" Eva asked, squinting at the villa. "It doesn't look like anyone's been here for months."
Ria's voice dropped to dramatic whisper mode. "What if it's haunted?"
Eva gave her a look. "Seriously?"
"Haunted by regrets. And... the stock market crashes," Ria added, deadpan.
Eva curiously "That villa isn't abandoned for sure"
The house groaned quietly, like it remembered better days.
Inside, the place was clean with no clue.It seems more like no one visited in years. A wine glass lay on the floor like it had been dropped mid-conversation.
And in the middle of the disarray stood Neil Morris-angry, restless, relentless.
He ripped open another drawer, slamming papers onto the floor.
"Get UP, Ryle," he barked. "We're not here on a picnic."
Ryle groaned from the couch, head tilted back. "For the record, breaking into our brother's ghost villa wasn't how I planned my Sunday."
It was Callum's villa,He would spend most of the weekend here with cynthia.
Neil's glare could have set the curtains on fire.
"This place was his," Neil muttered. "If he left any trace... it's here."
He moved toward the old wooden shelf near the fireplace-books, journals, boxes.
And then his fingers stopped.
A small leather-bound book sat wedged behind a cracked candle stand. The initials C.M. etched in faint gold on the corner.
Neil's pulse kicked.
He pulled it free.
"Okay, if no one lives there, why do I feel like the villa's judging me?" Ria muttered.
Eva hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin. "Because it probably is. Look at that balcony. It's got secrets."
Ria zoomed in on the building with her phone, capturing a photo.
Eva and Ria, now halfway down the slope, turned back once more.
"That house gives me weird vibes," Eva muttered. "Like it's hiding something.
"I think it is," ria said quietly walking past Eva.
Eva glanced over her shoulder, eyes lingering on the glass windows at the top.
She didn't know why.
Didn't know who it belonged to.
Didn't know who was inside.
But something about that house whispered like an echo inside her chest.
As if somehow, this mystery... was going to change everything.
Neil's pov:
The room was quiet now.
Ryle sat up finally, watching Neil like he wasn't sure if he should say something... or just leave him alone.
Neil stood frozen in front of the fireplace, the leather-bound journal in his hands. It was untouched and stiff, a ribbon still marking the last used page.
He flipped through it slowly, breathing uneven. Scribbles. Observations. Random notes. Half-complete thoughts that belonged to a man locked behind bars.
Then-tucked between two pages, a folded paper.
Different paper.
Thinner. More delicate. Lined, not part of the journal.
Neil opened it carefully.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Cynthia's.
His heart slammed against his ribs.