[STORY] His sister’s fiancé or nothing else
Her Sister’s Fiancé or Nothing Else
Chapter One: The Wedding That Wasn’t Right
The reception hall was magnificent. White flowers everywhere, candlelight, elegant guests, a lavish wedding ceremony. Every eye turned toward the bride walking down the aisle on her father’s arm. She was beautiful — at least, her dress was beautiful. Splendid. Her delicate veil, her perfect bouquet. But something was terribly wrong.
The guests murmured. Some frowned. Others widened their eyes in shock, because this bride was officially twenty-eight years old, but she looked seventy. Her face was deeply wrinkled, her hair almost entirely white beneath the veil. Her hands trembled as she held the bouquet. She walked slowly, like an old woman, every step seeming to cost her enormous effort.
Beside her stood her maid of honor — her younger sister, officially twenty-six, but looking sixteen. Flawless skin, glossy hair, radiating youth. She smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. There was something cold in it. Something guilty.
The groom looked at his bride-to-be with sorrow. His eyes drifted, occasionally, toward the maid of honor, then snapped away quickly, ashamed. Something was wrong with this wedding — something profoundly false.
But to understand why the bride looked so old, and her sister so young, one had to go back three years, to a time when they were simply two sisters. One radiant. One consumed by jealousy.
Chapter Two: Two Sisters, One Shadow
Chloe and Nina were sisters, born of the same mother, the same father. But from the very beginning, they were different. Chloe, the elder, twenty-five, tall, beautiful, graceful — she had that kind of natural beauty that drew every eye without effort. Nina, the younger by two years, was pretty too, but with a quieter, more ordinary kind of beauty. And her whole life, she had lived in Chloe’s shadow.
From childhood, people would come see their mother and say, “Oh, what a beautiful little girl!” — looking at Chloe. Then they’d glance at Nina and add, “And this one’s cute too.” Cute. Never beautiful. Just cute.
At school, Chloe was the star. She won the competitions, played the lead roles in every school production. Nina was in the chorus, in the background. “Why does Chloe get to play the princess and not me?” Nina had asked once. Her mother had smiled, embarrassed. “Because she suits the role better, sweetheart. But you’re very good in the chorus.” Something broke in Nina that day.
In high school, Chloe was the girl every boy wanted. Nina had a few admirers, but always the ones who’d failed to win Chloe over. “Hey, Nina, can you give me your sister’s number?” people asked her often. Never her own number. Always Chloe’s.
Even their parents, without fully realizing it, favored Chloe. “Chloe’s top of her class,” their father would say with pride. Nina was second — but no one ever mentioned that.
Little by little, year after year, jealousy grew in Nina’s heart. She loved her sister — truly — but she hated her too. She hated her beauty, her perfection, her effortless ease at being loved.
Chapter Three: David
The years passed. They became adults. Chloe worked at a major company — an important position, a good salary. Nina worked at the same company, in a more modest role. They lived together in an apartment, got along fine on the surface, but Nina simmered underneath.
Every evening, she watched Chloe get ready to go out with friends, with suitors. She stayed alone, watching television, sometimes crying. “Don’t you want to come with us?” Chloe would offer kindly. “No, it’s fine, have fun,” Nina would say. But what she was really thinking was: I don’t want to be your accessory.
One evening, Chloe came home euphoric. “Nina, I met someone.” Nina looked up from her book. “Oh yeah?” “Yes, his name is David. He’s incredible — handsome, smart, funny. We talked for hours. I think he’s the one.”
Nina smiled — a forced smile. “That’s great for you.”
That night, Nina cried in her bed. Again. Again. Chloe had everything, and she had nothing.
David came to dinner at the apartment the following week. When Nina saw him, her heart stopped. He was gorgeous — tall, athletic build, striking face, brilliant smile — the kind of man she’d always dreamed of. And he was with Chloe. Of course he was with Chloe.
“Nina, this is David. David, my little sister, Nina.” Little sister — as though she were twelve. David extended his hand, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Nina. Chloe has told me so much about you.” Nina shook his hand. His skin was warm, firm. “Delighted,” she managed.
Dinner was torture. Nina watched them interact — looking at each other, touching, laughing together. They were perfect together. David was attentive, served Chloe, listened to her, looked at her as though she were the only woman in the world. Nina ate in silence, answered politely when spoken to, but burned inside.
“So Nina, are you seeing anyone right now?” David asked politely. “No.” “Oh, a beautiful girl like you? I’m sure men are lining up.” Beautiful girl — that was just politeness, and Nina knew it.
Chapter Four: The Proposal
Months passed. David and Chloe became inseparable. He came by almost every day. Nina had to watch them kiss, cuddle, whisper sweet words. She’d lock herself in her room, but she could still hear them laughing.
Then one evening, David arrived looking mysterious. He asked their parents to come. He asked Nina to be there too. Everyone gathered. David got down on one knee in front of Chloe.
“Chloe, since I met you, my life has changed. You are the most extraordinary woman I know. Will you marry me?” He pulled out a magnificent, glittering ring. Chloe burst into tears of joy. “Yes. Yes.” Everyone applauded, cried, laughed.
Nina sat in a corner. She applauded too. She smiled. But inside, something tore apart. Again. Once again, Chloe had everything. And she — what did she have?
The following weeks were worse. Everything revolved around the wedding — the dress, the venue, the invitations. Nina had to participate, be the maid of honor, smile, be happy for her sister. “Nina, can you help me choose my dress? Nina, what do you think of these flowers?” Always asked. Never given.
One evening, Nina couldn’t take it anymore. She went outside, walked the streets, cried with rage, jealousy, despair. Why? Why does she have everything and I have nothing? And that’s when she saw a strange little shop, a sign: Mama Zola, Seer. Solutions to All Your Problems.
Nina hesitated. Then she walked in.
Chapter Five: Mama Zola’s Price
Inside was dark, candles everywhere, dancing smells. An old woman sat behind a table.
“Come in, my child. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Nina frowned. “You were waiting for me?”
“Yes. I sense the pain. The jealousy. Sit.”
Nina sat, uneasy. “I don’t know why I came.”
“If you know why, then you want something someone else has.” Nina felt her heart pound faster. “How do you know?”
The old woman smiled. “Speak. Tell me what you want.”
Nina hesitated, then it all poured out. “My sister. My whole life, she’s had everything. And now she’s going to marry the man of my dreams.”
“And what do you want me to do?”
Nina looked the old woman in the eye. “I want him to love me. I want him to choose me. Not her.”
“You want to steal your sister’s fiancé?” Put that way, it sounded horrible. But Nina nodded. “Yes.”
The old woman stayed silent. Then she said, “It’s possible.”
Nina’s heart leapt. “Really?”
“Yes. There’s a very powerful charm. It will make the man you desire fall in love with you, no matter who he loves now.”
“And it really works?”
“Always. But there’s a price.”
Nina felt a chill. “What price?”
The old woman leaned forward. “This charm doesn’t only take love. It takes life.”
“Life? Not his.”
“The other one’s. The one he loves now. Your sister. The charm will transfer something of hers to you — her youth, her years. You will take her time. She will age quickly, and you will stay young. You will even grow younger.”
Nina went pale. “You mean she’ll become old?”
“Yes. Progressively. Every month she’ll age several years, and you’ll grow younger. But she will eventually die. If the charm isn’t broken, she’ll die of old age before she even reaches thirty.”
Nina hesitated. This was her sister. Her own sister. “I— I don’t know.”
The old woman shrugged. “It’s your choice. You can leave and keep living in her shadow, or you can take what should always have been yours.”
Nina thought of all those years, all those humiliations, all those moments of being second. She thought of David, of the way he looked at Chloe. “If I do this, will anyone know?”
“No. No one will understand. They’ll think it’s an illness.”
Nina took a deep breath. “How much does it cost?”
“Five hundred thousand.”
It was nearly all of Nina’s savings. But she nodded. “All right. I’ll do it.”
Chapter Six: The Spell
Two nights later, Nina returned to Mama Zola at midnight. The old woman was waiting, objects laid out on a table — a red candle, a doll, herbs, a black liquid.
“Are you certain? Once begun, there’s no going back.”
“I’m certain. I need something belonging to your sister.”
Nina pulled out a scarf — Chloe’s favorite. “And something belonging to the man.”
Nina pulled out a watch — David’s. The old woman took both objects and began reciting words in a strange language. She poured the black liquid, lit the candles. The room grew colder, darker. She took the doll, wrapped it in the scarf, and drove a needle into its heart.
“Now drink.” She held out a cup to Nina, a liquid that smelled foul. Nina hesitated, then drank. It tasted disgusting.
“It’s done. Over the coming days, he will start looking at you differently, and she will start to change.”
Nina went home. She didn’t sleep.
Chapter Seven: The First Signs
The next day, nothing seemed different. David came as usual, greeted Nina politely, then kissed Chloe. But the day after that, something changed. David was there for dinner, talking with Chloe, but his eyes drifted toward Nina. He looked at her — really looked at her. Not just a polite glance, an interested gaze.
Nina noticed. Her heart pounded faster. In the following days it grew increasingly obvious. David asked Nina questions, took interest in what she said, laughed at her jokes.
Chloe noticed too. “You’ve been acting strange around my sister lately.”
“What? No, I’m just being polite.”
But David himself didn’t understand it. He thought about Nina more and more. It troubled him.
One evening, Nina and David found themselves alone in the kitchen. Their hands touched. David didn’t pull his away. He looked at Nina. “Nina, why can’t I stop thinking about you?”
“I don’t know. This is wrong. You’re Chloe’s sister— I mean, I’m Chloe’s sister.”
“I know.”
Neither of them moved. Then David caught himself. He stepped back. “I have to go.”
Nina stood there, trembling. It was working. The spell was really working.
Chapter Eight: The Confession
The weeks passed. David grew increasingly confused, increasingly drawn to Nina. He tried to fight it, but it felt like a force he couldn’t control. Finally, one evening, he broke. He went to see Chloe.
“Chloe, we need to talk.”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this. I think I’ve fallen in love with Nina.”
The silence fell heavy, crushing. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been fighting it for weeks, but it’s stronger than me.”
“With Nina? My sister?”
“Yes. I can’t marry you feeling this way about someone else.”
Chloe felt her world collapse. “Get out. Get out!”
David left. Chloe broke down, cried, screamed. Nina, who had heard everything, came out of her room. “Chloe, what’s happening?”
“David says he’s in love with you.”
Nina feigned surprise. “What? No, that’s not possible.”
“That’s what he said.”
“But I haven’t done anything.”
Chloe stared at her for a long moment, searching for a lie. But Nina was a good actress.
Chapter Nine: What Nina Chose
The following days, David called again, wanted to talk to Nina. Nina agreed to see him.
“Nina, I know this is crazy, but I can’t help what I feel. Do you feel something for me too?”
Nina lowered her eyes. “Yes. Since the beginning. But you were with my sister. God.”
“What if it’s fate?”
Nina pretended to hesitate. “All right.”
David officially broke off the engagement. Chloe was devastated. A month later, David and Nina officially started dating. Chloe couldn’t bear it. She confronted Nina.
“You’re dating him? My David?”
“He’s not your David anymore.”
“You broke up because of you.”
“I can’t help it if we love each other.”
Chloe slapped her. Nina raised a hand to her cheek. “You’re a traitor. How could you do this to me?”
“Maybe for once it’s my turn to be happy. Not you. Our whole life, you had everything. Now it’s my turn.”
Chloe left the apartment. The two sisters stopped speaking. Nina moved in with David. She was happy — finally happy. But she had forgotten one thing. The price.
Chapter Ten: The First Wrinkle
Three months later, Chloe noticed something. She looked in the mirror and saw a wrinkle at the corner of her eye. It was strange. She was only twenty-six. But over the following weeks, more wrinkles appeared. Her skin lost its elasticity. Her hair began to dull. Then she found a gray hair.
She went to see a doctor. “Doctor, I feel like I’m aging too fast.”
The doctor examined her. “Ma’am, all your test results are normal.”
“But look — I have wrinkles, gray hair. I’m twenty-six.”
“Sometimes stress can accelerate the aging process. Try to rest.”
But resting changed nothing. Every week, Chloe visibly aged. By twenty-seven, she looked thirty-five. Her colleagues noticed.
Meanwhile, Nina looked in the mirror and found herself more beautiful, younger. Her skin was flawless, her hair shone. People asked her, “What’s your secret? You look like you’re eighteen.” Nina smiled. She knew why. The spell was working. It was taking from Chloe and giving to her. David adored her. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Chapter Eleven: What Chloe Became
Six months passed. Chloe was now twenty-seven, but looked forty-five. Her face was deeply wrinkled, her hair almost entirely gray, her hands trembling. She lost her job. She lived alone, isolated, ashamed.
One day, she ran into Nina and David on the street. Nina was radiant. Chloe approached. “Nina!”
Nina turned around and nearly screamed. Chloe was old — so old.
“Chloe, look at me. Look what’s happening to me.”
David was in shock. “My God! Chloe, what happened to you?”
“I don’t know. But you—” she looked at Nina. “You look younger than ever. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
Nina felt a chill. “It’s just— different genes. Or maybe something else.” And she left.
Nina remained troubled.
Chapter Twelve: What Papa Kwame Saw
Chloe went to see an old wise man, Papa Kwame. He studied her for a long moment. “Sit, my child.” He closed his eyes, entered a trance, then reopened them.
“Something was stolen from you. Your youth. Someone is taking it.”
“Who?”
“Someone close to you.”
Chloe immediately thought of Nina. “My sister?”
Papa Kwame nodded. “She made a charm to steal your man. The charm takes your life and gives it to her.”
“How do we stop it?”
“We can’t. Unless she gives it up willingly. She never will.”
“So I’ll keep aging until I die.”
Chapter Thirteen: The Confrontation
Chloe went straight to Nina’s. She pounded on the door. Nina opened it.
“Chloe, what have you done? The charm — did you make a charm?”
Nina paled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re stealing my years. You’re killing me.”
David appeared. “What’s going on?”
“Your girlfriend put a curse on me. She cursed us both.”
David looked at Nina. “Nina, is this true?”
Nina hesitated, then exploded. “So what? My whole life she had everything. For once, it’s me who has something. I deserve to be happy.”
“You admit it,” Chloe whispered.
“Yes. And I don’t regret anything.”
“You’re killing me, Nina. It’s you or me.”
And she slammed the door in Chloe’s face.
David stood frozen. “Did you really do that? You cursed me?”
Nina turned to him. “I love you.”
“That’s not love. That’s witchcraft.”
“What’s the difference? Are you happy?”
“No. And Chloe — you’re letting her die?”
Nina didn’t answer. David walked out. He went to see Chloe. “I’m sorry.”
“How do we stop this?”
“She has to give it up.”
David went back to see Nina. “You have to stop this.”
“No. You know what will happen if I give it up? I’ll age all at once, become old. And you — you won’t love me anymore. I can’t stay with you. Not like this.”
And he left.
Chapter Fourteen: What Nina Kept
Nina was alone. She’d had David — but through a spell, not real love. She’d had everything. But none of it was truly hers.
Chloe died six months later. Twenty-eight years old, but her body was eighty. Her funeral was heartbreaking. Nina came. She looked at the coffin. She didn’t cry. David was there too. He saw her. He looked at her with disgust. Then he left.
Nina went home. She looked in the mirror. She was magnificent — young, perfect. But she was alone. Completely alone.
She had wanted love, beauty, to be first. She had had it all, for a moment. And now she had nothing — except guilt, and solitude, and that beauty she would carry for years. A stolen beauty. A cursed beauty. She would live long, always beautiful, always young — but always alone, always haunted, because no one wanted to stay with her once they learned the truth.
And the truth always found its way out eventually.
Chapter Fifteen: The Wedding
Which brings us back to that reception hall — three years after the day Nina first walked into Mama Zola’s shop. Nina, twenty-eight now but looking sixteen, stood at the altar in her own wedding gown, marrying a man who had once been engaged to someone else entirely — a man who had grown suspicious of her too-perfect beauty, of the rumors that trailed her through every social circle she entered, of the way people who’d known her sister looked at her with a particular, unspoken dread.
But the groom didn’t yet know the full truth. He only knew that Nina never aged, that she deflected every question about her past with practiced ease, that something about her radiance felt less like a blessing and more like a debt quietly accruing interest somewhere out of sight.
And somewhere in the back of that glittering ballroom, an elderly guest — the mother of the bride, aged far beyond her years by grief she’d never explained to anyone — watched her surviving daughter walk down the aisle, and wept for reasons the other guests mistook entirely for joy.
Moral
There are things one should never steal — love, life, time. You can force someone to love you, but it will never be real love. You can steal beauty, but you will never steal peace. And in the end, whatever is gained through deceit is always eventually lost. Jealousy kills, but it always kills the one who carries it first.
— The End —
