Chapter 15

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• One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 52

  The soft sound of birdsong outside my window was the first thing I heard that morning.Peaceful.It had been four days since the kidnapping… since the blood… since Ruben carried me into the emergency room screaming for help while I bled out in his arms.Four days since I thought I’d never open my eyes again.And yet, here I was. Propped up in bed, the white linens pulled to my waist, my body aching in a hundred small ways… but alive.Very much alive.The wound on my shoulder throbbed with every movement, but the pain was dulled by the cocktail of meds the family doctor had me on.He checked in every morning without fail, followed by two more nurses Ruben personally hired. I hadn’t even seen them before this, but now it felt like they lived in the house.Daph came next always a few minutes after my vitals were taken. She never showed up empty-handed. Today, she brought fruit, some random magazines, and the messiest, most beautiful pink-and-blue bouquet I’d ever seen.“Tell me you’re bo

• One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 51

  I stayed in the hospital for two days.Two days of Ruben never leaving my side.He slept in a chair, refused every call, canceled every meeting. I watched him from under half-lidded eyes as he paced, argued with doctors, and turned into a completely different man when the nurses took too long to change my IV.I should have been annoyed.But I wasn’t.I felt… cherished.Still caged. Still wary.But cherished.“Ready?” he asked as he stood by the door of my hospital suite, his tailored suit exchanged for black joggers and a hoodie. It was the least “Delwunco” I’d ever seen him.He held the wheelchair gently, waiting for me to sit.“Are we going home?” I asked, ignoring the tug in my chest.“To the villa,” he corrected. “The main house is too loud right now. Media's still sniffing around.”I nodded.He leaned down and lifted me like I weighed nothing, ignoring the nurse holding the chair.I protested weakly. “I can walk”“You were shot.”“That was two days ago.”He gave me the look.“You

• One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 50

  Ken reached us then, crouched beside us. His face was unreadable, but I saw the anger tightening his jaw. His hand touched my wrist gently, checking my pulse. “She’s still fighting.”“I know,” Ruben said, his voice thick. “She always fights.”I groaned as another wave of pain seared through me.“Lia, don’t close your eyes.”“I’m… so tired…”“No.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Don’t. You said you were trying. Don’t you dare stop now.”His voice cracked.“You were never supposed to be touched,” he said, his voice low now, hoarse. “I was supposed to keep you safe. You hate this life. You hate me for it. But I swear to God, Lia, if you just live if you just open your eyes tomorrow I’ll make this right.”My hand weakly reached for his.He grabbed it, laced our fingers, kissed my knuckles like I was sacred."I wanted a simple life," I whispered.He closed his eyes. “I know.”"You promised me normal."“I broke that promise.”Silence stretched between us."But I'm not ready to leave you y

• One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 49

  It was supposed to be a normal day.Ruben had promised. Just me, Daph, and the college we’d been dreaming about since we were fifteen.And he kept his word.At first, I felt free. Walking down the campus walkway, backpack in hand, head high. Just like any other student. For once, I wasn’t Mrs. Delwunco, I was just Lia. A freshman. A girl with dreams.But I should’ve known.Freedom in my world always came at a price.I never saw them coming.One second I was laughing with Daph about how dramatic our lecturer looked, the next tires screeched, masked men jumped out of a van, and before I could scream, everything went dark.I woke up gagged, my hands tied. Blood dripping from my temple. A stinging cut above my brow. My legs ached. My mind was hazy.They had taken me to a warehouse, cold, damp, and silent except for the crunch of boots and murmured threats in a language I didn’t understand. But I knew fear when I felt it.And I felt it in every inch of my body.“She’s worth more alive,” on

• One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 48

  “Did he touch you?” he asked.I blinked.“What?”“Did he kiss you?” he repeated, more sharply this time. “Tell me the truth.”My hands balled into fists at my sides.“He didn’t. I didn’t let him.”He looked away for a second, as though restraining himself from saying something vile, then laughed once a dark, bitter sound.“Of course he tried,” Ruben muttered. “Because he always wanted what was mine. Ever since we were boys.”“He told me everything,” I said quietly.Ruben's eyes snapped back to me.“Everything, Ruben. About the business. The blood. The empire. You lied to me. You dragged me into this and never gave me a choice.”“I protected you,” he hissed, the calm cracking. “I gave you a life. I gave you everything.”“You forced me.”“You’re my wife.”“Not by choice!” I screamed. “You think wrapping me in designer silk and kissing me like you mean it makes this right? I was a girl who loved you, Ruben. Before all of this. And you used that against me.”The silence after that was dea

• One Heart, Which Brother?   Chapter 47

  I didn’t mean to end up at Ken’s place. I swear, I didn’t.But after days of silence from Ruben, after the way he looked at me that night, with a strange mixture of guilt and warning, after overhearing names whispered behind closed doors and catching glimpses of men, too sharply dressed to be mere businessmen, I needed answers.Real ones.And Ken… Ken had always been the loophole. The unexpected truth in a world that always felt carefully constructed.His penthouse was quiet, too quiet. He opened the door before I knocked twice, almost as if he knew I’d come."You shouldn't be here," he said, voice low, but his eyes… his eyes were the same haunted pools I remembered. Except now, there was something broken behind them. Something dark. Something hurting."Then tell me why I am here," I said softly, stepping in.He didn’t try to stop me.The silence between us felt like static thick, electric, full of unsaid things. I turned to face him, arms folded over my chest to shield myself from th