The burial was to be done that night. There was no need to wait for further ceremonies.
Rina walked to the house where Rita's body was.
"Are you sure you want to go in?" one of the women asked.
"I am sure" Rina said confidently.
"Okay dear" they allowed her in.
Rina walked in, the body was on the platform wrapped in a cloth. Her blond hair spread out beneath her.
"What happened to you Rita?" she murmured.
Where was Adrian? Rina thought. How did her sister turn up dead?
"I don't know what to do Rita, if I had known, I would have never let you go" she muttered, tears running down her eyes.
She wiped her tears away.
"I will find out what happened to you. I promise" she whispered.
She reached out to smooth Rita's hair before turning around to leave.
The woman outside who had spoken to her earlier presented something to her.
Rina looked at it, it was the necklace.
"We thought you should have it"
Rina reached out and took it.
"thank you" she said in a low voice and then left.
The burial was a quick affair.
Rina's father went up to give a speech.
"My daughter Rina was a beautiful soul. She didn't like to go out much, her world was pretty much her books and her family. She loved her family very much and would do anything for us. I hope she knows how much we love her" he couldn't continue talking as she burst into tears.
Rina felt even more guilty, her poor father was mourning the wrong daughter.
Her mother held her hand tightly as she also cried. But Rina could sense a little appreciation in her that her favorite daughter hadn't been the one to die.
A wistful smile was on her face. If only her mother knew.
And then it was her turn to speak.
"My sister was a quiet soul. She loved her family, her job, her research.... All our life we have been together, two parts of a soul and now I am alone. I will always cherish our memories and love her forever."
No! Rina hated her sister for putting her in this position, just because she wanted to see her ex. If Rita had just stayed home, none of this would have happened.
Rafaele put his arm around her as she went back to her seat. His presence irritated her. She shrugged off his arm.
She ignored his confused face and looked straight ahead. Maybe if Rafaele hasn't been such an ass hole, he wouldn't have pushed his mate into the arms of her ex and put them all in this situation.
Rina knew her anger was irrational but she didn't care. She needed to hold on to something even if it was anger.
The ceremony proceeded smoothly, some of Rina colleagues came up to give speeches about how she was a hard worker.
Rina clenched her fists. Her mother words before she left for the trip began to make sense to her.
Apart from her job, she really had nothing going for her. No friends or partner or social life.
And now she was being buried alive.
Rina wondered the worst that would happen if she just said the truth.
But then she looked at her parents, would they be able to take it? The shame?
Thankfully the ceremony ended and everyone was free to go. The pack members had quickly arranged some snacks for the ceremony but nobody was in the mood to eat.
As soon as she could, Rina escaped.
She went into her room. Before Rita went away after her mating ceremony, they had shared this room.
"Do you have a minute?" someone asked.
She looked and it was Evena.
"Yes?"
"I wanted to check if you are okay"
"I am okay, I just needed to stay away from all the noise for a while" she told him.
"I see."
They remained quiet for some minutes, neither party wanting to mention the elephant in the room.
"Why are you pretending to be Rita?" Evena asked in a low voice.
"Please don't tell anyone" Rina pleaded.
"If I wanted to expose your deception, I would have done so a while ago. I just want you to say the truth"
Rina took in a deep breath, she then narrated everything to Evena.
When she was done, she bravely looked at Evena. He was looking at her like she was a fool. She didn't blame him, she knew she was a fool.
"Why would you do something so foolish? And even after doing something so foolish, when you realized that she didn't come at the agreed date, why didn't you say anything?"
Rina twisted her fingers nervously. "I didn't know what to say"
"You should have said the truth, maybe we could have saved her or gotten a hold of Adrian" Evena lectured her disapprovingly.
Rina burst into tears, she hadn't even considered that she could have saved her sister's life.
Evena softened his expression when he saw her crying and patted her back gently.
"It's okay, stop crying" he consoled her.
Rina wiped her face and looked at him.
"I don't know what to do"
"will you tell Rafaele?" he asked.
"And break his heart?" Rina asked horrified.
"Then what are you going to do? Spend the rest of your life with a man who thinks you are your sister? Who loves your sister?"
Rina bit her lips, "I don't know Evena"
Evena stood up, he gave her a little book.
"when you figure out what to do, message me through that paper and burn it. I will come"
"Thank you Evena" Rina said gratefully.
"Take care of yourself" Evena told her and he left.
Rina was left in her room looking at the walls which had always been familiar to her but felt strange now.
She stayed there in thoughtful silence until Rafaele came in.
He sat tentatively on the bed and looked at her warily like she was a wild animal. He didn't know what he would say that would make her flare her.
Rina looked at him.
"Can I ask for a favor?" she asked him.