ARIES We fucking did it!The cold night air bit at my skin as Adrien and I crouched behind the black SUVs parked in the shadows outside the warehouse. The place was surrounded by her guards, all heavily armed, their faces masked with the determination of people who had pledged loyalty to someone as dangerous as Delight. My fingers tightened around the grip of my pistol as I looked at Adrien. His jaw was set, his eyes darker than I had ever seen them. He nodded at me, his silent signal. We were ready.The police had insisted on being part of this raid, but I didn’t trust anyone else to bring Rochelle home. Not after everything that had happened. Delight had taken too much from us already—her betrayal, her lies, her madness. This was personal.“Move in!” one of the officers barked out instructions to his colleagues, and the police stormed the front.“I'm coming with you,” Prince Herold said.“No way!,” I said.“Why?,” he asked.“We can't risk you going in there with
ROCHELLENo better way than this!Being back in Aries' and Adrien’s arms felt surreal. I had dreamed of this moment for so long, yet now that it was real, I didn’t know how to process it. My heart felt full, but my body was still weak from everything I had endured. The constant care and attention they gave me were overwhelming in the best way possible. It was as though they were trying to make up for every second of the time we had lost, every ounce of pain they had caused me in the past.Adrien sat beside me on the massive couch in their living room, fluffing pillows and tucking blankets
ROCHELLE'S POVMy heart pounded with excitement as I walked up to my boyfriend Fred’s apartment.Nineteen. I couldn’t believe it—finally, my nineteenth birthday. Today was supposed to be perfect. I had spent hours getting ready, choosing my outfit carefully. Amber had said I looked amazing, but more than that, she had said I should finally take a leap with Fred.“You’ve been dating for months,” she had said. “It’s time, Rochelle. Stop pining after some guy you’ve never even spoken to for more than five minutes. Fred is your boyfriend. Why not make tonight the night?”I had smiled at her, feeling a bit nervous. She was right. I had this stupid crush on an older man I shouldn’t even be thinking about. I guess it was time for me to face reality. Nothing was going to happen between us. I decided to put all my focus on Fred.Was tonight the night? I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but Amber’s words had been swirling in my mind all day. Fred and I had been together for a while, and he had been
The neon lights flickered as we stepped into the club. The bass from the music pounded through the floor and vibrated in my chest. I should have been excited. It was the kind of night people said would help you forget—forget the hurt, the betrayal, the mess of a life that seemed to be falling apart. But as I followed Amber toward the bar, all I felt was the heaviness in my heart. Fred’s words still echoed in my mind. I couldn’t believe he had cheated on me. And with her—Gina, of all people.Amber leaned in close as we reached the counter, her arm looping through mine. She looked stunning that night. Her confidence radiated in every move she made, as usual.“Come on, Rochelle, stop looking like someone just ran over your puppy. We’re here to forget, remember?” she shouted over the music, giving me a playful nudge.I tried to smile, but it was weak. Amber had been trying to lift my spirits all night. She was right, of course. I should have forgotten about Fred. I shouldn’t have cared ab
Standing in the rain, the cold seeped into my bones. I could barely feel my fingers gripping the straps of my bags, but the numbness wasn’t just from the weather. It was the weight of everything crashing down at once. My father’s angry voice still echoed in my head, the image of my landlord’s irritated face was glued behind my eyes, and Amber’s betrayal… God, that stung the worst.I shivered, soaked to the core. The rain came down harder, as if the universe was hell-bent on making today even worse. I pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling as I tried calling my dad again. It went straight to voicemail. My chest tightened with frustration. Of course, he’d ignore me. But I couldn’t give up—I couldn’t just let this go. Not like this.I managed to find shelter under a small tree, though it didn’t do much to protect me from the downpour. With a deep breath, I dialed his number one more time. The call rang and rang, and just when I thought it would go to voicemail again, he picked up.“Da
ROCHELLE That threw me off! I just stood there, looking at Aries and his duplicate. My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my throat. My legs trembled, and my hands shook uncontrollably. I tightened my grip on my purse, hoping it would steady me, but it didn't. This was not happening. My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I blinked once, then twice. Yet, nothing changed. There they stood, two Aries. One of him was already overwhelming enough, with his sharp jawline, piercing blue eyes, and that ever-present air of cold authority. But two?No, I wasn't dreaming. This was real. Too real."Rochelle, are you okay?" Aries's deep, familiar voice sliced through my confusion. His tone was calm but laced with concern, and his cold demeanor softened just slightly, which was rare for him. He noticed my expression, the wide eyes, and the trembling lips. "Why are you looking at us like you've just seen a ghost?"I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, a scream
ROCHELLE They're messing with my mind!I could barely sleep that night.My mind kept replaying dinner, the laughter, the conversations, and more than anything, the way Aries and Adrien looked sitting there across from me. Identical yet different in their aura. Aries with his commanding presence, and Adrien with his quiet, soothing charm.I tossed and turned in bed, pulling the covers up, then kicking them off again. I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Both of them.I had hoped they would stay back after dinner, maybe linger for more conversation, but no. They had both excused themselves, retiring to their respective rooms, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I tried to shake the images out of my head, tried to focus on something else… anything else… but it was useless. The more I tried, the more vivid the images became.I swallowed hard, remembering how their voices blended during dinner, the way Adrien’s soft laughter balanced Aries’s deeper chuckles. And the way they moved—gracef
ADRIEN There's something about her!"Did you notice the way she was looking at us?" Aries asked me, his tone laced with curiosity.I barely glanced up from my phone, busy replying to a message from one of our top clients. “Who are you talking about?” I responded absentmindedly, my fingers flying over the screen.“Who else but Rochelle,” he said, sounding exasperated, like I was supposed to read his mind simply because we’re twins.I sighed, finally lifting my eyes to meet his. “I didn’t notice anything strange about how she looked at us. I was busy talking with the client we’re supposed to supply products to.” I went back to my phone, dismissing whatever Aries was going on about. “What did you notice anyway?”Aries leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. “The way she looked at us wasn’t normal. It was... different. It felt like she was trying to get our attention.”I raised an eyebrow. “Maybe she wants something.”“Like what?” he asked, leaning forward with a curious smirk.
ROCHELLENo better way than this!Being back in Aries' and Adrien’s arms felt surreal. I had dreamed of this moment for so long, yet now that it was real, I didn’t know how to process it. My heart felt full, but my body was still weak from everything I had endured. The constant care and attention they gave me were overwhelming in the best way possible. It was as though they were trying to make up for every second of the time we had lost, every ounce of pain they had caused me in the past.Adrien sat beside me on the massive couch in their living room, fluffing pillows and tucking blankets
ARIES We fucking did it!The cold night air bit at my skin as Adrien and I crouched behind the black SUVs parked in the shadows outside the warehouse. The place was surrounded by her guards, all heavily armed, their faces masked with the determination of people who had pledged loyalty to someone as dangerous as Delight. My fingers tightened around the grip of my pistol as I looked at Adrien. His jaw was set, his eyes darker than I had ever seen them. He nodded at me, his silent signal. We were ready.The police had insisted on being part of this raid, but I didn’t trust anyone else to bring Rochelle home. Not after everything that had happened. Delight had taken too much from us already—her betrayal, her lies, her madness. This was personal.“Move in!” one of the officers barked out instructions to his colleagues, and the police stormed the front.“I'm coming with you,” Prince Herold said.“No way!,” I said.“Why?,” he asked.“We can't risk you going in there with
ADRIEN A tip off!The chaos that surrounded Prince Herold’s palace was suffocating. Broken furniture, shattered glass, and bloodstains painted a gruesome picture of the attack from the night before. The air reeked of smoke and sweat, and the sound of paramedics treating the wounded guards mingled with the murmurs of the police officers conducting their investigation.Everything was messed up, really!Aries stood to my left, his arms crossed, his expression a mask of fury barely contained. Herold paced back and forth, his usually regal demeanor now replaced with restless energy. He was mumbling under his breath, blaming himself for what had happened.“I should have saved her! I have let her down,” he kept on saying.I couldn’t argue with him. If we were being honest, we all felt responsible…guilty… almost like we had committed the crime.“Damn it, Adrien,” Aries muttered, his voice low but tight with anger. “How the hell did we let this happen? We had her, bu
DELIGHT I'm always steps ahead!The glass of wine in my hand trembled as rage coursed through me. They had done it again—Aries and Adrien. The brothers thought they were untouchable, didn’t they? Thought they could storm into my world, take Robert, and walk away like they owned the place. The audacity!I slammed the glass onto the table, the crimson liquid sloshing over the rim. My men flinched but said nothing. They knew better than to speak when I was like this. I paced the room, my heels clicking against the marble floor, my mind racing with possibilities.“They think they’ve won,” I said, my voice low and venomous. “But they underestimated me the last time.”One of my men, Marcus, stepped forward cautiously. “What’s the plan, boss?”I smirked, my anger shifting into something darker. “We’re going to hit them where it hurts. Rochelle must pay with her life.”The name tasted bitter on my tongue. Aries and Adrien might be brilliant strategists, but their Achilles’ heel was
ARIES A step ahead…The room was dark except for the faint glow of Adrien’s laptop screen. He was hunched over it, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he brought up satellite images of the city. The tension in the air was thick, heavier than I had ever felt before. We had dealt with a lot of dangerous situations over the years, but this one was personal. Delight had crossed the line by kidnapping Robert.I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, trying to keep my thoughts in order. “You sure you’ve got the right location?” I asked, breaking the silence.Adrien glanced up at me, his eyes cold and calculating. “Positive. The signal from his watch showed up at this abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. She’s using it as her base.”I nodded, pacing the room. “She’s getting bolder. She must know we’d come for him.”“That’s what she’s counting on,” Adrien said. “But we’re not walking into this blind. I’ve already mapped out the weak points in their security. We’
ROCHELLE She threatened to kill him!I stood frozen, my phone trembling in my hand. The moment Delight’s voice cut through the silence, everything around me blurred.“I have your father,” she had said, her tone dripping with malice. “If you ever want to see him alive, you’ll do exactly as I say.”Her words echoed in my mind long after the call ended. My heart pounded in my chest, and my breath came in short, panicked gasps. How had it come to this? My father, an innocent man with no connection to my tangled past, was now a pawn in Delight’s twisted game.I turned to Herold, my mind racing. “She has my father,” I said, my voice cracking. “We need to do something.”Herold’s calm exterior faltered for a moment, his brows knitting together. “What does she want?” he asked, his voice steady but laced with concern.“She didn’t say,” I replied, pacing the room. “She just… she just wanted me to know that she has him. Oh God, Herold, what if she hurts him?”“Calm down,” he said firmly
DELIGHT Playing the death game my way!The party had become a nightmare I barely escaped.I had seen her. Rochelle. The corner of her lips curled in a triumphant smirk as she leaned toward one of the guards obviously attached to her. My heart raced as I watched her whisper something into his ear.The guard’s expression darkened, and I saw him gesture subtly to a group of men stationed near the exit. My breath hitched. They were coming for me, I knew it.I knew I needed to do something, else I'd be the one begging to have her life spared.I couldn’t afford to panic. Not here, not now. Years of being on edge had taught me to think fast. As the guards started moving in my direction, I casually slipped behind a group of chatting guests. I smiled politely, pretending to laugh at a joke I didn’t hear, before slipping through a side door that led to the kitchen.Inside, I found the catering staff busy with trays of different delicacies.“You need something, ma'am?,” one of them asked
ARIES The devil was our housemate!The air in the study felt suffocating, even though the windows were cracked open to let in the cool evening breeze. Adrien paced the room, his polished shoes clicking against the hardwood floor. I sat on the edge of my desk, my arms crossed, trying to keep my temper in check.The party was over. Everyone had left, but Rochelle’s face, her voice, her very presence, was still vivid in my mind. She wasn’t just a memory anymore. She was here, alive, but hunted.We couldn’t let whoever tried to kill her succeed a second time.She had refused to tell us who it was… Or maybe she didn't have a clue who. That made our task even more complicated than it already was.Adrien stopped pacing and looked at me. “We need to start somewhere, Aries. But this isn’t just about finding the truth—it’s about protecting Rochelle. She’s already been through enough.”I nodded, my jaw tight. “Agreed. But finding the truth is the only way we can protect her. Whoever did th
ROCHELLE Finally, the truth!The more I looked at her, the more convinced I was that she was the one. It wasn’t just a resemblance. It was her. Rochelle. The woman we’d loved and lost, the woman we had mourned, the woman we’d failed to save. Yet here she was, standing next to Prince Herold as if the last three years had been nothing but a cruel dream.Beside me, Aries went rigid. His glass of whiskey trembled in his hand before he set it down on the bar with a sharp clink. “Adrien,” he whispered, his voice taut with disbelief, “tell me I’m not seeing things.”“You’re not,” I muttered, my eyes glued to her. Rochelle. Alive. Breathing. Laughing softly at something Herold said. The sight of her felt like a punch to the gut and a balm to my soul, all at once.Delight’s honeyed voice interrupted my thoughts. “Gentlemen,” she purred, sidling up to us. “You’re staring. Quite rude, don’t you think?” Her tone was light, but her eyes glinted with suspicion.Aries barely spared h