A WIN-WIN

ARYAN

After school, I met up with my friends and said, "I have good news, guys."

They all knew what it was since I had been looking forward to meeting my mate. I told them I was mated to Selene and Adele; the two most popular twins in the school whose personalities rivaled each other.

Two of my friends laughed at me while the other two congratulated me. Maddox, who was my closest friend, said, "It's not such a bad thing, though. I mean, you get to have two wives, like a king."

I knew he was making fun of me and threatened to punch him, but another of my friends, Ethan, said, "Don't get worked up. Getting two mates is a blessing. I mean, come on! It's just like having two girlfriends, but you don't have to feel guilty about cheating or worry about being caught."

Maddox teased, "Hey, have you forgotten who Adele is? Don't you know how evil she is? She's the reason why our maths teacher resigned. She practically tried to kill him and might do the same to Aryan"

"Do not say that," Ethan replied. "We do not know for sure."

"What do you mean by 'we do not know for sure'?" Maddox asked.

I said, "Hold on, guys. I am already aware. Yes, she was the culprit."

"Really?" Pulan and Dave asked at the same time. "Was she really the reason? We heard about it and I thought it was a joke."

"Yes, she was. We all know that our maths teacher was one of the few humans in our school. As it's one of our rules, we are not supposed to hurt humans, but Adele kept sneaking into his office, causing him injuries and scaring him each time she shifted. So in the end, he couldn't take it anymore and resigned. I heard her admit to it."

"What?" Ethan was surprised. "Oh my God, I can't believe I was defending her. If she's that evil, why are you excited about having her as a mate?"

I sighed. "Well, I'm not really excited about her. I'm more excited about Selene. She's beautiful, smart, and just perfect. Adele is okay as well. It's just that her character is a no-no.

However, I got both of them as mates. I don't know if it's because they are twins, and I don't feel it's right for me to accept Selene and reject Adele. I mean, there has to be consequences, right? Either way, I'll discuss it with my parents and find out about the right decision to make.

I can't ignore the fact that I felt the mate bond when I stood close to her. I felt attracted and I'm talking about Adele. She didn't seem to care about me though, but I do not want to make any rash decisions, yet.

However, I have already told Selene that I'm going to accept them."

"You better watch your back then," Pulan said. "If she's that evil and doesn't care about you, you might become her next victim."

"That's what I'm saying," Maddox chipped in. "That girl has done so much evil, even her best friend wasn't spared, and now they are enemies."

I sighed. "Adele, why did you have to be so evil?" I thought.

But then, I decided to look at the bright side. Like Maddox said, 'Having two mates was like having two wives.'

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, "But come to think about it, if you got married to them, you could spend each night with either of them. I mean, if Adele is upset with you, you go to Selene, and if Selene is upset with you, you go to Adele. It's a win-win no matter how you look at it."

I chuckled. I was pretty sure if my dad listened to our conversation, he would cringe. This was why he said most of my friends were worthless. The only friend he approved of was Ethan because he had a filter in his mouth.

After speaking with my friends, I began walking to my car to drive back home. I knew I had to prepare for the party, and I had to tell my parents too about what had happened. It wasn't something I wanted to share over the phone.

Dave said, "Come to think of it, Aryan, you do not have to wait until you get married. You can start enjoying your mates right away, even tonight."

"Hey," I pointed at him, "Show some respect for my mates, especially Selene."

"So sorry, lover boy." He chuckled.

"I'm going home, see you guys later, and you all better come for the party."

"Of course, we'll be there," Maddox said as I got into my car and began driving back home. I was really looking forward to the party.

ADELE

I got back home and began to get ready for the party. Selene was also getting ready when she came into my room and noticed what I was doing. She asked me why I was dressing as though I was going somewhere and I smiled.

"No way." She exclaimed. "Don't tell me you are going to the party despite my warnings."

I replied, "Come on, Selene. I'm also his mate. It's my acceptance party too."

"But you know I don't want to share." She cried.

"Well, I also don't want to share," I replied, "but here we are."

She stared at me and frowned. "Alright, let me report you to Dad, and you'll see what he's going to do to you."

As Selene walked away, I sighed sadly. I knew if she reported me to our Dad, I was doomed. My dad always favored her and it no longer surprised me. Just to make her happy, he could tell me not to go to the party, and that was going to be a problem because I really wanted to go.

Even though I knew nothing would come out of being close to Aryan, my mate, since Selene had been all over him earlier. He probably would only have eyes for her but I still wanted to go. I still wanted to be close to him even if it was for a brief moment.

I waited and listened as Selene stormed into my Dad's room and began to report everything to him. Everyone saw Selene as a nice girl who couldn't hurt a fly, but I knew that she was nothing close to a saint.

In public, she was nice to me and was always saying how much she loved me. But when we were alone, she was very mean to me. She took things that belonged to me and refused to share them with me and our dad always took her side.

Perhaps if my mom were alive, I may have been her favorite, just like Selene was my dad's favorite.

On the other hand, I have never harbored bad thoughts toward anyone. I've never tried to hurt anyone, although I always end up as the culprit.

I could still remember what happened more than a year ago with my best friend, Diana. Despite how everyone else treated me so badly, she refused to believe that I was evil. She was convinced that I was a nice person, and she always told me that no matter what, I would always be her friend because she saw good in me. I loved her so much, but then something happened.

All of a sudden, her mum lost her leg for a few months. She ended up stepping into a trap that cut off one of her legs and I was blamed for it. Of course, I denied it.

How could I attack the mother of my best friend? I couldn't have set that trap. I told my best friend that I didn't do it. Even she found it difficult to believe that I did it because she trusted me. However, her dad said he saw me. He had seen me around there earlier at the back of their house, and my friend wasn't around, so I must have set the trap at the time. When her mum came out, she fell into it and lost her leg.

It took three months for her leg to grow back and for it to get healed, but that was the end of our friendship. Although Diana still tried to be nice to me, her parents warned her to stay away from me, and that was how I lost her. But I still loved her. She was one of the best people I had ever met.

I had no memory of being in that backyard. I mean, why would I set a trap there? But then, her dad wouldn't lie against me, so I didn't know what was wrong with me.

Eventually, I began to accept that I was weird. Something was wrong with me, perhaps I did things subconsciously. Perhaps I was cursed or something, I didn't know.

After Selene reported to my dad, I heard him say, "No, you both have to share."

I was surprised; my dad was taking my side for the first time since I was born. My dad was like a stranger to me, and we practically had no relationship at all. I'm pretty sure if he had his way, he would have probably kicked me out of the house. I was more like a beggar as I barely got food at home. I only got to eat when both he and Selene had eaten, and he said it was because I brought a bad reputation to him.

I still loved him anyway; he was my father. Even Selene, one way or the other, I felt something for her because she was my sister. I smiled, feeling so happy that my dad wanted me to go to the party, but Selene would not have it.

"No, Dad, I do not want to share him with her. I want him all to myself," she said.

"Listen," my dad said to her, "You're both connected, okay? She's your twin, and there's a reason why both of you are Aryan's mate. So, if you want him to reject her, he has to reject you as well.

If he accepts her, he's accepting both of you and if he rejects her, it means he's rejecting you as well. No matter what, you cannot let him reject her. That will be very foolish. If you want Aryan, then you'll just have to share.

You both should go to the party and celebrate with him, okay? It's a welcome ceremony that is thrown for both of you and in front of everyone, he's going to accept you both as his mate. So, suck it up and learn to share."

Selene yielded in anger and came back to my room to stare at me. "Why didn't you die when you were born? Why did you have to grow up with me? Urgh!

You want to share my boyfriend with me; you're going to die trying. Aryan doesn't even like you. I'm sure you saw the way he treated you back there in the field. He couldn't care less about you, and everyone else hates you.

Even if you show up at the party, everyone will be angry to see you there. Nobody will want you there. Why do you want to do that to yourself? But, anyway, I'm not fighting anyone. Dad said you should come, so come. You can go ahead and be my bodyguard. If you try to get involved in my relationship with Aryan, you will only be the third wheel because he will never treat you as a mate."

After speaking, Selene walked away and I came out of my room to stare at my dad. He had a smile on his face and seemed happy. If I had spoken to Selene in such a rude manner, I most certainly would have been smacked by him or he would have given me an earful.

However, everything Selene did was perfect in his eyes. He loved her so much, and it was as though I was the maid. I felt there must be a reason why my dad wanted me to go to this party though.

He could have forced me to stay back. I mean, Selene could go, and accepting Selene would mean Aryan had accepted me as well, but he said Selene should allow me to go to the party.

He was definitely up to something. But then, I had no way of knowing. I was alone in my world, and the only person I had, who was my friend, Diana, I had lost her. Although I still had my kind bosses, I couldn't share everything with them as I would with my friend.

Now I knew that going to this party was going to be troublesome for me because people would point fingers at me and say things about me, but I was still going to see Aryan.

After getting dressed, I picked up my book and my pen. I loved drawing a certain mountain. I didn't know why, I didn't know where the mountain was, but I always saw myself on that mountain when I slept, so I drew it every time.

It kept me busy when I wasn't working, and I was able to block out all the negative or rude comments around me that people made.

I was most likely going to experience the same at this party so my plan was that once I got there and the party began, I would look for a corner, sit down and draw. That way, I would be able to escape my painful reality.