Breaking Her Innocence

After Sharon changed into her own clothes, she prepared an outfit for Katarina to wear. She also gathered some spare accessories—her extra laptop and a bag. She placed everything neatly on Katarina's bed and stepped out of the room to wait outside.

Leaning against the car, Sharon called Mrs. Kim and asked her to send Katarina's suitcase to her place. As she hung up, she checked her inbox and saw the messages and missed calls from Katarina last night. Sharon sighed softly. "Such a clumsy French," she muttered under her breath.

With only thirty seconds remaining before ten minutes were up, Katarina finally emerged from the room. She stopped in front of Sharon, her eyes wide with sincerity as she spoke, "Um, thank you for letting me use your things."

Sharon's eyes ran over Katarina from head to toe. Katarina looked good in the clothes she had chosen. She wore a black body-fit shirt tucked into a denim skirt that stopped just above her knees. Paired with black boots and topped with Sharon's personal volleyball varsity jacket, the look was both stylish and casual. The jacket, emblazoned with Sharon's last name and team logo on the back, was something Sharon never let anyone else touch, yet now it rested comfortably on Katarina's shoulders. Though the varsity jacket meant a lot to Sharon, she allowed Katarina to wear it since the team would soon be releasing new ones, rendering the old jacket less significant.

"Almost," Sharon said, her voice calm but laced with superiority. "Be quicker next time, or I'll leave you behind. You're an adult now. You can read the signs—commuting won't kill you."

"Okay, I'll remember that," Katarina replied with a sweet morning smile, her eyes beaming with innocence.

Sharon chose to ignore the smile, not charmed by it in the slightest. Without another word, she headed for the car.

Katarina quickly opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, watching as Sharon applied lip gloss in the rearview mirror.

Sharon noticed Katarina's gaze from the mirror and raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking at?"

Katarina hesitated for a moment before asking, "Um, I just wanted to know if it's too late to greet you this morning?"

Sharon shrugged casually. "It's still seven."

"Then I can still greet you?" Katarina asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, whatever," Sharon muttered, clearly uninterested.

Katarina took this as permission and leaned over, pressing a quick kiss to Sharon's cheek. "Good morning, Sharon."

Sharon froze, surprised by the unexpected gesture. She turned her head slightly to face Katarina, her voice low with irritation. "You really want to test my patience, don't you?"

Katarina blinked, confused, unable to decipher the meaning behind Sharon's words.

"You only have seventy percent left," Sharon continued, her voice cold and calculating. "Each violation of my principles takes away ten percent. Do you get it?"

"What did I violate?" Katarina asked, still unsure.

Sharon sighed, frustrated that she had to explain. "This is the second time you've kissed me on the cheek. What was that supposed to mean?"

Katarina winced at the question, realizing her mistake. "That's how we greet each other in France," she explained in a voice that trembled slightly, like a scared kitten trying to understand the consequences of her actions.

Sharon's eyes narrowed, and her voice turned icy. "Well, you're not now." She leaned back in her seat and lowered her tone, making sure Katarina could hear her clearly. "We don't do that here. Maybe other people might, but I don't. Do you know what I hate the most? A kiss on the cheek. That's the first rule in my principles, yet you keep breaking it."

Katarina bit her lower lip, holding back the flood of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She was trying so hard to make a good impression on Sharon, but she kept making mistakes, and it seemed like nothing she did could make Sharon like her. "I'm sorry. I should have considered the culture we grew up in," she murmured, looking down at her lap. "It felt natural to me, not knowing that you hate it." She paused, the weight of her words sinking in. "I just want to have a good impression on you, so we can get closer. Because family should love each other... but I keep making things worse."

Sharon didn't soften. Her tone remained cold as she responded, "I don't accept apologies."

Katarina looked up, her brows furrowing in confusion. "What?"

Sharon's voice lowered, carrying a dangerous edge. "Once you break my principles, I should do the same. Words aren't enough to make things right. I don't just forgive and forget. I'll make sure you understand the consequences of your actions."

Katarina gulped, a chill running down her spine. She could sense trouble coming, and it terrified her.

Sharon's gaze turned predatory as she leaned forward, her body shifting closer to Katarina's. She reached up, pushing a strand of hair behind Katarina's ear, their eyes locking in a tense, heated gaze. "If you were raised in a cultured country," Sharon began, her voice taking on a teasing lilt, "well... I'm cultured in my own way." She slipped a hand behind Katarina's neck, pulling her toward her in a swift, forceful motion. Without giving Katarina a chance to react, Sharon pressed her lips against the younger girl's, kissing her with an intensity that left no room for hesitation.

Katarina's eyes widened in shock, but before she could process what had just happened, Sharon pulled away, her lips curling into a devilish smirk.

A single tear rolled down Katarina's cheek, a painful reminder of everything she had lost in that moment. She had wanted her first kiss to be meaningful, something special, but Sharon had shattered that dream in an instant. The memory of her friend flashed through her mind—the one who had promised to be there for her. She hadn't wanted her first kiss to be like this, but Sharon had taken that away from her.

Sharon, seeing the tear, couldn't help but revel in the satisfaction of breaking Katarina's innocent fantasy. Her voice was teasing, mocking. "Did I just break your innocence? Your fairytale? Your first kiss with your prince charming?" Sharon's smirk deepened as she enjoyed the discomfort she was causing.

Katarina quickly wiped the tear away, but another escaped before she could stop it. "You could have told me what you like and don't like, so I could watch my actions," she said, her voice breaking as the tears continued to fall. "Do you really have to step into my personal space too? Do you have to take that away from me, too?" Her words were tinged with heartbreak, the sting of losing something precious to someone who didn't understand.

Sharon, unfazed, simply replied, "Of course. I don't accept words as apologies. You break my rules, I'll break yours. We're even now, aren't we?"

Katarina turned her gaze out of the window, her heart heavy with sadness. "You're so cruel," she muttered under her breath.

Sharon, satisfied with her victory, smirked once more. Starting the car, she drove to the nearest cafe, where they grabbed their breakfast before heading to the university. The drive was silent except for the hum of the engine and the soft sound of the radio playing in the background, leaving Katarina to nurse her wounded heart.

As Sharon drove, the silence in the car hung heavily between them. Katarina sat with her hands clenched tightly in her lap, the emotional weight of the past moments pressing down on her chest. Her mind was swirling with confusion and hurt, but she didn't know how to address it. Every time she tried to speak, the words caught in her throat.

Sharon's fingers tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel, a steady reminder of the control she held over the situation. Katarina couldn't help but steal glances at her step-sister, watching the way Sharon's face remained expressionless, as if the events of the morning didn't affect her at all.

The traffic moved slowly, and Katarina's eyes were fixed on the passing streets, trying to focus on something, anything, to take her mind off the sting in her chest. She could feel the weight of Sharon's earlier words lingering, and the memory of their kiss kept playing in her mind. She had never wanted things to unfold this way, never expected Sharon to take that step—especially not when it was supposed to be special.

"Are you going to say something?" Sharon's voice broke through Katarina's thoughts, her tone neutral but still carrying an underlying sharpness.

Katarina blinked, startled. "I… I don't know what to say."

Sharon exhaled sharply, glancing at Katarina with a flicker of impatience. "Don't waste my time. I'm not going to keep you around if all you're going to do is sulk."

Katarina bristled but quickly suppressed her emotions. "I wasn't sulking."

Sharon gave her a sideways glance. "You're acting like a child, Katarina. Grow up."

Katarina bit her lip, biting back the urge to snap. She just nodded silently, knowing there was nothing she could say that would make things right.