When you have a real-life Cinderella character, whose stoicism is tinged with an undercurrent of fierceness, plus a stepsister whose subtle acts of villainy lie in a sense of jealousy, expect tension to crackle and fill the air. That’s the vibe we get from Caroline (Belle Mariano) and Irene (Maris Racal)’s sibling rivalry in “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Re-watch their most intense catfights via this Kapamilya Toplist of scenes.

We open this video montage with that trending confrontation where Irene bumped into Caroline at their sister Bettina (Kaila Estrada)’s engagement party, causing her to spill champagne on her own dress. Pissed, she made Caroline feel the brunt of her ire with mockery and by telling her to also kill herself like her mom allegedly did since she was wearing black to commemorate her mother’s death anniversary that day. Not wanting to raise the white flag, let alone if it’s her mom getting insulted, Caroline pushed Irene and made sure to remind her of what not to say.

When pieces of evidence on Caroline’s abduction connected to Irene, the former was convinced of her sister’s capability to commit such a crime for her evil intentions. She told Bingo (Donny Pangilinan), the kind stranger who saved her from her abductors, that Irene’s wickedness is no news to her. She recalled the time when Irene used her identity and cards to scam people, leaving her detained at the police station. Flashback scenes further revealed how Irene ruthlessly reacted when Caroline confronted her about it. Her way of getting even was destroying Caroline’s most treasured item – a bracelet that belonged to her mother.

A palpable chill settled over the lunch table when the Tiu patriarch, Wilson (Rowell Santiago), announced that he’d be picking a new management trainee from his two youngest children. Irene aired her excitement, assuming that she’d get the job. But, much to her dismay, Wilson decided that Caroline fits the bill more, and assigned her to the marketing department instead.

In the succeeding scene, icy glares and harsh words peppered the Tiu family’s breakfast when Caroline finally took the courage to reveal that she was kidnapped and that she believes Irene could be the mastermind. Bettina got in the mix, calling Caroline a liar before walking out.

They finally got to the bottom of the puzzling series of abduction incidents after Irene became the target of the same people who kidnapped Caroline. They say that no one drives you crazy like a sibling, but no one also has your back like a sibling. This sounded true when Caroline dauntlessly took Irene’s abduction into her own hands and, together with Bingo and Snoop (Anthony Jennings), stormed to the criminals’ hideout to save her sister. But then again, even her heroic save wasn’t enough to tame Irene’s ‘maldita’ manners, let alone fix her grievances.

The rivalry leads to a power struggle in their family’s company, with Caroline dominating the first round of competition. Humiliated and pissed, Irene’s sarcasm turned to taunts and she started calling Caroline names – the usual, from ‘pabida’ to ‘anak ng kabit’ – in front of their employees. She got even more furious when Caroline said that she must solidify her arguments next time instead of throwing a barrage of empty words, then made a loud statement by simply turning her back on her. And that deadly statement created an echo of embarrassment for Irene, pushing her to escalate the word war into a full-fledged altercation.

Their dad asked for an explanation about that office war, which Irene saw as an opportunity to play the victim and taint Caroline’s name. However, none of her tactics worked, as Wilson opted to punish them both. He thought of giving his daughters a lesson by assigning them as crew in their aunt Cathy (Celeste Legaspi)’s restaurant.

Knowing Caroline, she refuses to break and she easily adapts to whatever challenge life throws her way. But, Irene, she takes her divaesque attitude anywhere she goes; no surprise, she easily gave up on her tasks and defied their father’s orders. Caroline tried to convince her not to quit for their father’s sake, but only to be told nasty things that a sister shouldn’t say.

Don’t miss an episode of “Can’t Buy Me Love,” weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TV5, and A2Z.