"Hah...hh..." A rough, broken moan filled the dimly lit bedroom, thick with heat and breathless urgency. The silk sheets were twisted beneath them, dragged loose in the frenzy of bodies that had spent the last hour tangled together. Warm candlelight flickered across the walls, painting gold over flushed skin and trembling limbs. "Don't stop..." Eleanor gasped, her voice cracking into a desperate cry. "Please... Lucas..." Her fingers clutched at his shoulders, nails pressing into taut muscle as pleasure rolled through her in waves too powerful to contain. Every movement drew another breathless sound from her lips, every touch making her pulse race harder. Tonight was supposed to be special, and he had made sure she felt it. December thirty-first. Her birthday. Their five-year anniversary. Their night. The one night every year they celebrated only each other before welcoming the New Year in each other's arms. Lucas lowered his mouth to her throat, pressing heated kisses along her skin while she arched beneath him, trembling. Eleanor laughed weakly between gasps, dizzy with happiness, drunk on affection and desire. Then the final rush crashed over them both. They climaxed together, the room filled with ragged breathing and the sound of their hearts trying to steady themselves. Lucas dropped beside her, chest rising and falling hard, sweat glistening across his skin. For a moment, Eleanor simply smiled at the ceiling, trying to gather herself. She felt warm, adored, cherished. This was love. Or so she believed. Lucas turned his head toward her, still breathing heavily. "Happy anniversary... and happy birthday, Ele..." The nickname melted something inside her. She rolled toward him with a soft grin, wanting to curl into his arms, wanting the familiar comfort that always came after moments like this. "Happy anniversary, my love," she whispered tenderly. She lifted herself to hug him. But Lucas moved first. Quickly. Subtly. He shifted away from her touch, sitting up at the edge of the bed before her arms could reach him. The movement was so slight, so smooth, that Eleanor barely registered it. Instead, she laughed softly. "Already escaping me?" He didn't laugh back. Before she could notice the strange tension in his shoulders, his phone rang sharply from the nightstand, cutting through the intimacy like a blade. Lucas snatched it up almost immediately. "I'll go pick this up," he said, voice clipped. Then he stood and headed straight for the bathroom. Eleanor blinked after him. "Weird..." she murmured under her breath. He never took calls after they were intimate. Never. Especially not tonight. She sat up, pulling the sheet over herself as the bathroom door clicked shut. Water did not run. No shower. No faucet. Just silence. Minutes passed. Then more. The candles burned lower. Eleanor glanced at the clock. Too long. Her earlier glow began to fade, replaced by a strange knot in her stomach. She slipped from the bed, wrapped a robe around herself, and padded barefoot across the carpet. The mansion was quiet around them, the only sound the muted ticking of a decorative clock on the wall. She stopped outside the bathroom door. Her hand rose to knock. Then she heard his voice. Low. Mocking. Laughing. "Come on, bro. It's your anniversary, but I'm the one making your fiancée scream." Eleanor froze. Her fingers slowly lowered from the door. Inside, Lucas laughed again. "She was all over me." The world tilted. She stared at the polished wood as if it might explain what she had just heard. Bro? Fiancée? Making me scream? Her pulse began hammering so violently she could hear it in her ears. "How can you party behind my back? I'm coming right now," he said excitedly, sounding nothing like the affectionate man who had just held her moments ago. Silence followed, as though the person on the other end was speaking. Then Lucas chuckled. "What? She won't even question me. She's obedient." Eleanor's knees nearly gave out. Obedient? Her breath snagged painfully in her throat. "You can switch back tomorrow. She won't even notice." Switch back. The words sliced through her mind, sharp and incomprehensible. What did that mean? Switch who back?

Who was he talking to? Why did it sound like some twisted joke she was the only one excluded from? Her hand flew to her mouth to stop herself from making a sound. Questions attacked her from every direction, wild and frantic. Was he drunk? Cheating? Pretending? Talking nonsense? Had she misunderstood everything? Her chest tightened until breathing itself hurt. Inside, the bathroom door handle rattled. Panic surged through her body. She stumbled backward on unsteady legs and rushed to the bed, climbing beneath the sheets just as the door opened. Lucas emerged, fully composed. As if nothing had happened. As if he had not just shattered the air around her. He walked over calmly, buttoning his shirt cuffs. "Ele... I need to go now, baby. Something urgent came up at the office." A lie. She knew it now. Yet she forced herself to look confused rather than broken. "But you promised to stay with me until New Year," Eleanor said softly. "It's only a few hours away." Lucas crouched before her and took her face gently in his hands. The tenderness made her stomach twist. "I know, baby. But it's important." He kissed her slowly, lovingly. "I promise I'll make it up to you, hmm?" How many lies had those lips spoken to her? How many times had she thanked him for deception? She swallowed the scream clawing at her throat and nodded. "Okay." He smiled, relieved by her obedience. Then he kissed her once more, rose, and left the room. The second the front doors closed downstairs, Eleanor sprang into motion. Her hands shook so badly she could barely dress herself. She threw on clothes, grabbed her purse, and rushed outside into the cold December night. She flagged a taxi before Lucas's car could disappear entirely. "Follow that black sedan," she said breathlessly. The driver glanced at her through the mirror, then nodded. Rain-slick streets reflected city lights as they sped through traffic. Eleanor stared ahead, heart pounding, mind spiraling. Switch back. Bro. She won't notice. Every word replayed like torture. Lucas's car finally pulled into the grand entrance of the Luxe Hotel, one of the city's most exclusive establishments. Eleanor paid quickly and followed him inside, keeping her distance. He entered the elevator alone. She rushed after another lift and managed to reach the VIP floor through a mixture of charm, urgency, and a lie to hotel staff about forgetting something in a friend's suite. Her legs felt numb as she tailed him down the hallway. He entered a private room at the far end. No loud music. No party noise. No crowd. Just silence. Confused, Eleanor approached the door cautiously. She expected laughter. Instead, she heard voices. Male voices. She leaned closer. "How's Eleanor, your soon-to-be wife?" one man asked playfully. Her heartbeat stumbled. They were talking about her. Maybe this was a misunderstanding. Maybe the phone call had sounded worse than it was. Maybe... "She's still as stupid as ever," Lucas said coldly. "I can't stand her." Everything inside her went still. The words struck harder than any slap ever could. "Aren't you guys tired of fooling her? It's been four years," another man sighed. "You don't need to take it this far." Fooling her? Eleanor gripped the doorframe so hard her fingers ached. "She needs to learn her lesson, Gavin," Lucas replied icily. "She deserves it." The room blurred. "Don't you pity her?" Gavin asked quietly. Lucas scoffed. "No." Then another voice spoke. A voice identical to Lucas's. Perfectly identical. Eleanor's eyes widened. Her hand shook as she pushed the door open a fraction wider. And saw him. Another Lucas. Same face. Same build. Same eyes. Twins. The breath left her lungs. Lewis looked away, jaw clenched. "Maybe we should let her go..." "Are you going soft?" Lucas snapped. "Did you forget what she did to Vanessa?" Vanessa. The name hit Eleanor like ice water. Her college tormentor. The woman who made her life miserable. "Of course not," Lewis said darkly. "How could I fall for a cheap girl like her?" Cheap girl. Eleanor's lips trembled violently. "She's just a tool for my desire," Lewis continued with a shrug. "She's your fiancée, but since you won't let her go, I might as well enjoy her." Her knees buckled. The truth finally crashed down in full. The man in her bed. The man she loved. The man she trusted. Sometimes... had not been Lucas. "But do you really need to go as far as marriage?" Gavin muttered uneasily. "Yes," Lucas said without hesitation. "I'll give her everything she dreams of... then take it all back. I want her to feel how cruel the world can be. She shouldn't have messed with Vanessa." Eleanor staggered backward. Four years. Four years of love, loyalty, trust, devotion. All of it was staged. All of it revenge. And she had unknowingly shared her body, her heart, and her future with two brothers playing a sick game. Her vision blurred with tears. She wanted to scream. To storm inside. To demand answers. But she was no longer steady enough to survive the truth face-to-face. So she turned. And walked away on shaking legs, each step sounding like the collapse of the life she thought she had.

The elevator chimes and their voices echoed in her mind repeatedly. Two images of her fiance and gazes that was enough to bury her name as it slipped out of their tongue. 'why? Twin? The Lucas I craves every night isn't the one that saved me? He approached me... how did they know Vanessa?' her thoughts was ruined as she couldn't get to solve one at a time. Got to the front desk, returning the access card with trembling fingers. "Ma'am..." the receptionist began, but stopped when she saw Eleanor's broken stare. "Please... don't tell anyone I was here." She mumbled between breaths. Outside, thunder cracked violently. Rain poured in heavy sheets, drenching her instantly. She didn't care. "It seems even heaven is crying for me," she whispered as tears streamed freely down her cheeks, mixing with the rain. Remembering the familiar name from earlier again made her trembled. She thought she was free from torture but her freedom wasn't a survival but a trap for a bigger trauma. "Revenge?" She muttered. 'Since when did they start? The day we met?' Another thunder striked, jogging her memory to the day they met. 'The car hitting me wasn't an accident?' She thought as the memories of their first meeting flashed through her head. "I'm so sorry, Miss." Lucas bowed to her as she lay on the hospital bed that year. "I promise to take care of you until you fully recover." And that's when he started, taking care of her at hospital led to different things which made them more close to each other. 'He didn't deliberately run over me, right? To seduce me? Vanessa....' Her thoughts spiraled.... pain, humiliation, heartbreak.... until her phone rang. "Hello, Miss Monroe," a nurse said gently. "Yes... speaking." Her voice trembled. "Your grandfather's condition has worsened. Please come immediately to sign some documents." "What?" Eleanor gasped, breath shattering. 'Lord please keep my grandfather safe!' She rushed into the nearest taxi, soaked, shaking, mascara streaking down her face. Her heart throbbed with agonizing fear. Her grandfather was all she had left. She arrived at the hospital, it felt like it was closing in. The air was too sharp, too bright, too loud. Every monitor seemed to scream at once... rapid beeping, alarms chirping, metal clattering as nurses rushed past. Footsteps thundered against the floor, echoing like a heartbeat that was racing out of control, but Eleanor didn't care, as long as he was fine {her grandfather}. "Doctor, what happened to my Grandpa?" she cried as she burst into the ward. "He's not responding to treatment anymore... we can only wait." Nothing felt steady. Not the walls, not the floor, not the air. Just chaos, urgency, and a growing sense that something terrible was happening right now. "Don't say that! He was fine yesterday!" she screamed. "Mr. Monroe wants to see you," a nurse said softly. Eleanor ran to his room. Her whole body was trembling from fear. "Grandpa?" she breathed, voice trembling. "What's wrong?" "Eleanor... you're here," he whispered weakly. "Yes, Grandpa. I'm here. Please get well. Please..." "Happy birthday, my princess." He forced a fragile smile. "I'm proud of you. Be happy... marry that man. He promised he'd care for you when I'm gone." Her heart twisted painfully. 'How do I tell him the truth?' Tears streamed down her face as she watched him struggle to breathe. "Can I... see him one last time?" he whispered. Eleanor swallowed her pride and dialed Lucas, wanting to grant her grandfather's last wish. "Please pick up!" she cried, slamming her palm against the wall. He refused her calls again and again. She returned to the room, forcing a shaky smile. "Grandpa... I think he's busy. I'll call him tomorrow." He didn't respond. "Grandpa?" she whispered. Nothing. "Grandpa!" she screamed. "Doctor!" Voices overlapped...doctors calling out instructions, Eleanor crying down the hall, a frantic shuffle of wheels as a stretcher flew by. The harsh smell of antiseptic burned the nose, making it harder to breathe, harder to think. Lights flickered overhead, glaring white and unforgiving, turning everything into a blur of motion and fear. After several attempts, the doctor lowered his gaze. "Time of death... 12:01 AM. January 1st, 2026." Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor world around her shattering completely. ***** Eleanor spent the New Year drowning in loneliness. window sparkled with fireworks, but inside her grandfather's house... now cold without him...there was only silence. She clutched the edge of his old chair, the same one he always sat in while telling her stories about strength, patience, and family. Now it was empty. And so was she. She cried until her vision blurred, until the sound of her own sobs echoed back at her like a stranger's voice. She cried for her grandfather, the only person who had ever truly loved her. She cried for Lucas... the man she thought she knew... who hadn't reached out to her since the funeral. Not a call. Not a message. Not even a simple "Are you okay?" Nothing. His silence felt like a blade twisting deeper every second. Mourning and betrayal blended until she couldn't tell which one hurt more. When her tears dried, when her heart felt scraped hollow, a strange numbness settled over her. Enough. She needed answers. She picked up her coat and left the house, determined to face Lucas once and for all. "Who do they think they are?"