Prologue

Noah's head felt like splitting in half. He could not even remember what had happened last night. He looked around the room, and rage filled his nerves.

The woman, still sleeping soundly beside him, looked disgusting in his eyes. Noah felt like vomiting at the sight of the woman and the idea of what could've happened between them last night.

Noah immediately sits up and wakes her up. She slowly opened her eyes, blinded by the rays of the sun that were eating up her sight. The woman did not recognize the man. Not until she recovered her vision. She's fucked up.

She jumped out of bed and covered her naked body with the comforter, leaving the man sitting on the king-sized bed naked.

"Shit." he cursed. Averill covered her eyes and sat on the cold floor. 

She could not breathe well. Her mind is full of whats and whys.

What the hell happened last night?

Why is he here with her?

What did they do together to wake up naked to each other?

And what will happen now that something might really have happened?

Averill smiled bitterly. She could still remember how Noah looked last night at the engagement party. She couldn't help but admire the man, albeit being her twin's boyfriend or... fiance.

But what the hell would happen now? How did they even end up in this situation?

Noah appeared again, lazily wearing an oversized shirt paired with sweatpants. He rushed to her and squeezed the woman's jaw. "What the hell did you do?"

She could not respond. Fear? Maybe. Her heart is starting to beat faster as he glares at her. His deep obsidian-like eyes are piercing holes in Averill's body right now. He's burning with rage and disgust.

"I-I a-also do n-not know w-what happened..." she said, almost whispering. But Noah cannot believe her. Not when he knew this woman loved him and was probably obsessed with him. He harshly pushed her and grabbed her hair in annoyance.

She groaned in pain. She could feel her scalp hurting as he pulled her hair even more. Averill realized the situation well. And she can also understand where he's coming from, but this is simply not right!

He did not even listen to her... just like when she defended herself six years ago. He only listens to her twin sister.

"I am so done with your bullshits, Averill," she flinched. He doesn't call her her pet name now. He's outraged. She needs to explain to stop the misunderstanding immediately.

"Listen to me, Noah. I really don't know what happened. I am a victim here as--- Y-Yanna..." she gulped. Noah's eyes widened, and he turned around.

There stood the woman he loved, with her eyes wet with tears. "Yanna, let me explain."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!" she was breathing heavily and glared at Averill, who was still naked on the floor. Yanna let out a sarcastic laugh. "I-I... I know that you hate me, Avi. I know that! But... h-how dare you? HOW DARE YOU?!"

"What happened here?" Liam rushed inside when he heard his sister shout. Puzzled, he looked at the three people inside the room and grasped the situation.

"I trusted you; I love you even though you hate me. How can you do this to me, Avi? What the hell did I do wrong to deserve this?" Yanna couldn't breathe well. She was a miracle baby. Even though born on the same day, Yanna was weak while Averill was healthy; the reason why Yanna was loved and cared for the most by their family despite Avi being the youngest. She never felt the privilege of being the youngest. She often has her meals alone while her family is busy attending to Yanna's needs, albeit the girl is also showing signs of being a healthy kid.

Avi, at the young age of three, realized one thing. You will be loved and cared for more if you are weak. She then tried various things to get her family's attention. She ran through the rain, caught a cold, went to her mother, and asked her to sleep with her, but she deliberately declined. Yanna had trouble sleeping that night because she was scared of the sounds of thunder.

Avi jumped off the stairs and had her left arm broken. She went to her father and asked him to go with her to the hospital because she was scared to go alone. He refused. The girl can go with the nannies he hired. And he needs to go to Yanna's tea party, she just recovered from a common cold, and he promised her he'd be with her that day. The twins were just ten at that time.

When she was eleven, they had a family picnic, Avi was playing with Yanna, and they fell together in the mud because Yanna kept running while holding her hand. She scraped her knees with the shattered glasses hidden beneath the ground. She forced a smile though she wanted to cry because Yanna was giggling.

She knew if she cried at this moment, she'd get scolded. When her brother saw their state, he rushed and checked Yanna's condition. She just laughed at him and said that they were having fun. Liam scolded her for being so clumsy. He then looked and glared at Avi. "I told you not to cause a mess because Yanna is weak,"

Avi then realized no matter what she does, Yanna is more important.

So she started living her own life. She aced every exam, became the valedictorian of her class, and entered college at the young age of sixteen. Avi never shared those with her family. She knew that everything she does is reported to her parents, but even a simple dinner to celebrate her milestones did not happen.

She graduated college and entered the entertainment industry; Avi thought she was a good actress all her life and wanted to try it. She's bored with life. She combined her acting career with managing the company she started without her family's knowledge.

Everything went well until Averill was called home in the middle of her business trip. Oh? Her parents are calling her home. She was delighted. Maybe they heard about her success in the industry. She's been doing various projects and was gaining millions of fans.

Maybe, just maybe, her family finally looked at her.

Who is she kidding, though? She forced a smile in front of her family, with a not-so-new face dining with them—Noah Darius Dalton, a billionaire whom she admires regarding her business. And the man she had loved since college, since four years ago; he's here, smiling brightly, holding her twin sister's hand carefully, as if she'll shatter at the slightest touch.

"Yanna, believe me, I really don't know what happened. Brother, Noah, please listen to me, hmm?" Avi cried. But the tears that left her eyes only added to the annoyance that Noah and Yanna were feeling. Liam kept silent. He wants to understand his sister; he wants to believe that she's innocent, but he can't find any reason to do so.

"Avi, you--- Yanna!!" Liam rushed to Yanna. She fainted. Again, Liam felt blank in his head. His weak, fragile sister is here again. He thought she's been really healthy these days, but now... he sighed. He immediately carried her and rushed outside.

"Averill Hursen!!" Noah was fuming with rage. "Leave." He swallowed hard, trying to contain his anger. "Leave before I kill you,"

He rushed outside and called his secretary to clean things up. He went straight to the hospital, leaving Avi there, bleeding, alone in his penthouse.

Three weeks had passed since the incident.

Avi flew to New York for a shoot. She could not concentrate at all. She took the leading role in the drama, but the production couldn't progress because of her.

She's pale. Well, she has not had her meals since last night, and the sun is setting at the moment. She's feeling nauseous, "Are you really alright? Did you eat?" Sam, her manager, asked her. She just shook her head, holding on to her manager's arm for support.

"I told you to at least have a salad! How many times do I have to tell you that your health is important," Avi just nodded. She can't help but laugh in her head. Someone is caring for her health.

"Let's stop this. We need you in perfect shape. How could you be so careless? Let's go. We're going back to the hotel,"

"No, we need to finish the shoot---Blaargh,"

"Avi!" Sam shouted in worry. She never saw Avi in this state. She's even vomiting! Sam called the other staff and helped her with Avi. Averill looked at her and smiled softly, "I'm fine, don't worry, let's continue,"

She tried standing straight but immediately held Sam's arm. "Your hands are freezing cold in the middle of summer, and you're what? Fine? Ken! We're leaving. Avi isn't in her best shape," Sam told the director.

Ken really likes Avi as an actress. She's one of the best he's seen so far, and he couldn't help but worry. He had known Avi since the first time the woman entered the industry. It has been four years, and she's someone strong. Seeing her in this state makes him sad. Avi is one of the few people that Ken became fond of. He wants to treat her as her daughter if she would allow it, but Avi is the independent type.

"I told you, I--"

"Avi!!" Sam panicked. Averill suddenly fainted with her nose bleeding! 

'Shit,' Ken rushed to them. He carried her to his Porsche. "I'll meet you at the hospital," Ken told Sam and drove to the nearest hospital as fast as he could.

He was walking back and forth in the emergency room when the doctor approached him. "We need to talk,"

"How could you be careless with your wife's pregnancy? She could've had a miscarriage!" Ken was silent. He could not process what the doctor had told him just now. First, calling Avi his wife. Second, pregnancy? Is Averill pregnant?

The doctor discussed everything with him. Ken called Luis, his best friend who owns this hospital.

"I need a VIP room right now," Luis didn't ask anything when he sensed his best friend's tone. He's really in deep thought right now.

Ken fixed the blanket on Avi's body. Luis was just looking at them. When Ken finally paid attention to him, he cleared his throat and asked, "Did you get her pregnant?"

"Shut up. Averill's twenty years younger than me. For Pete's sake, I treat her as my kid. I'm just fucking annoyed right now,"

"What happened? You rarely ask me for favors,"

Ken sighed, the talent he's been taking care of and the woman she's been treating as her child in the industry is now here, lying weakly on the bed. Pregnant with a child, he doesn't know whose child is. He's simply annoyed with the man that got his daughter pregnant.

He dialed Sam's number, "I want to meet Avi's family,"

The next day, Ken flew back to England to meet Averill's family, whom he never saw in any awarding that Avi attended. He couldn't understand why she never invited them despite her remarkable achievements as a youngster in the industry.

He arrived early. He glanced at his wristwatch and at the door that suddenly opened. Ken smiled. "Ken Hills, I'm glad to meet you,"

"Oh, I know him, Dad," the girl with shoulder-length hair said. Ken was surprised. She kind of looks like Avi though his daughter is way prettier. He smiled at the thought.

"You're that Ken Hills, right? The director of the most renowned films for the past twenty years,"

"You flatter me, Miss?"

"I'm Yanna Hursen, I actually want to enter the industry too, but my family firmly refuses," she laughs. Ken silently looked at her from head to toe. He smirked, 'You wouldn't survive with that looks and figure,'

They were served luxury meals and started eating, "You must be wondering why I troubled you," Ken suddenly said. William Hursen looked at him. 

Ken knew this man. He's one of the best business tycoons in the medical industry.

His best friend often praises this man, but he's different. He only sees this man as an irresponsible father. Ken cannot help but feel annoyed whenever he remembers seeing Averill collapsing.

"I am handling your daughter, Avi,"

"Avi? Averill is an actress?" Yanna asked. Liam glared at her. She then pursed her lips. But what was that? Her twin sister is an actress? She's not a fan of watching movies. Thus, she never really saw one of her sister's movies.

Or maybe Avi hasn't made a name in the industry yet, which is the reason why she never heard of such news.

"And what about our daughter?" Isabella asked, putting her utensils down. She doesn't want Yanna to hear any of her sister's achievements in the industry because she will surely force them to let her in too. She's too fragile for that harsh field.

"She's carrying a child, and I wish her to be married to the man who got her pregnant to avoid further scandals that could tarnish her name... your family's name at that,"

An uncanny silence filled the room.