5

Talia

“Are you okay?”

Val had been staring out the window for nearly half an hour since I walked into her room.

“Yeah.” She muttered without looking at me. Her responses these days were vague, and it made me feel terrible, knowing she didn't trust me enough to confide in. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I hadn't been home since Christmas, three months ago, and in that short time, she'd become so closed off.

Val and I used to talk about everything. Now, she barely spoke to me. Not even about her impending engagement.

Much to Father’s irritation, I’d insisted on Cornell University, far from Chicago. I would have preferred an entire continent apart, but that would have been over his dead body. Being the second daughter made my actions easier to tolerate. Val didn't have luxury, although she insisted she wasn’t interested in college. Wanting something and being allowed to want it were two very different things in our household.

“Val?” I tried again. “How did it go?” I wanted to tell her about the man I'd met in the courtyard and how strange he made me feel. She turned her head just enough to offer a small smile before facing the window again.

Talk to me for crying out loud.

“We should learn sign language.” Her voice was so small, I almost missed it.

“We?” I shuffled closer, positioning myself next to her as we looked out into the darkness together. We used to sit like this when we were younger, imagining worlds far beyond our father's gaze.

“Yeah. Ares can't speak.” She said simply. “We should learn his language.”

Her eyes met mine, and they were empty. It bothered me that I couldn't tell what she was thinking anymore. “You don't have to,” she added quickly, almost stumbling over her words, “if you don't want to. I just thought… it would be fun doing it together.”

I nodded immediately. Maybe this was what we needed to mend the rough patches. “Absolutely.” My final year was already packed, but I'd figure out a way to make this work. I would always find time for Val. “We’ll learn it together.”

She exhaled, like she’d been holding her breath the entire time. Then, almost casually, she asked, “Have you ever… been in love?”

The question caught me completely off guard. “I… I don’t think so,” I admitted softly. Love was a fairytale in our world, and the fact that she was asking felt strange.

Val finally turned fully toward me, and I noticed the faint quirk at the corner of her lips. “Of course not,” she said, a teasing lilt slipping in her voice. “Father’s men are cockblockers.”

My jaw dropped open at her choice of words. It made me want to laugh and scold her all at once. But yeah, everything I did was reported back to Father, and I'd learnt how to move through school knowing I was watched, even when I couldn’t see the eyes on me. Regardless of that fact, I’d never had my thoughts consumed by someone else.

“It’s overrated, in some ways. But… when it’s real, it hits you like nothing else.” She paused, letting her words sink between us.

Unbidden, the man from earlier slipped into my mind. My cheeks warmed, but I quickly brushed the thought away. “What about you?”

Val’s lips curved in a wistful smile, but she didn’t answer. Her eyes, however, told me everything I needed to know. There was someone who had captured her heart. Was he one of ours? Or someone forbidden? Did she still love him? And if she did… what would that mean for her engagement?

“You know,” she continued, lowering her voice conspiratorially, “we look so alike, they could mistake us for each other.”

I laughed out loud. “C’mon. That’s not true. Everyone is blind. Don’t tell me you’ve joined them too.” It had always baffled me how anyone thought we could pass for twins. For one, my hair looked nothing like Val's, and she was slightly taller… and slimmer.

“No. I’m serious.” She insisted, grabbing my wrist and dragging me toward the mirror. “Look at us.”

Sure we shared the same green eyes, and bone structure but that was as much as our resemblance went. Anyone paying attention could see we were as different as day and night.

“What if you marry Ares instead?”

I almost choked on my disbelief. “I—what?”

Val doubled over, laughter spilling out of her as she clutched her stomach. “You should have seen your face,” she said in-between breaths

I forced a laugh, though a strange knot of unease settled in my stomach.

★★★★★

PRESENT

Swallowing nervously, I dropped my gaze to my untouched plate of food, painfully aware that Ares hadn't stopped staring at me since I walked in. My pulse thundered so loudly I was certain everyone could hear it. Any moment now, one truth would surface, and we would pay terribly for daring to deceive the Marcellis.

And then there was the other truth I couldn’t stop circling: Ares wasn’t mute. Not really. He could speak. Perfectly. So why did he let everyone believe otherwise?

“We would have very much preferred a celebration, at the very least.” Father masked his displeasure with a hollow laugh. The Marcellis had insisted on keeping this arrangement private, and I was profoundly grateful I didn't need to walk down an aisle for this farce. “What would people think?” he added, as if the opinion of people mattered more than power. Everyone seated here knew the real reason he wanted a grand event was to parade his connection to the most powerful family in New York like a trophy.

“Marrying off the daughter of our Don is a big deal.” Silas, father's right-hand man spoke. He never knew when to stay quiet. “It should not be concealed within the four corners of an office.” His gaze darted to me, and I resisted the urge to shrink. I had never liked the way Silas looked at me. Then I remembered I was Valentina now, and she was indifferent when it came to him.

Murmurs of agreement rose from our side of the table.

“We’ve already discussed this. What Ares wants, Ares gets.” The words came from Cesare Marcelli but the curl of his mouth made them sound almost taunting. Considering his reputation of being a tyrant, I wasn't exactly sure what I had expected him to look like. His dark eyes regarded me with faint interest, the way one might look at a chair… Something meant to be used, positioned, and discarded when worn.

“But it doesn’t matter,” he continued. “A wedding is a wedding, with or without a celebration. As long as the bride is docile and obedient.”

“...and can spread her legs whenever we want,” someone from our side added.

“True.” Cesare agreed. His fingers drummed once against the table. “That is their only lasting value.”

“Thankfully,” he added casually, “this one looks manageable. Fit enough to bear heirs.”

The lump in my throat swelled until I could barely breathe. How could Father sit there and let this man reduce me to a breeding vessel? I glanced at Ares. He hadn’t looked at me once since Cesare began speaking. Did he share the same opinion as his father?

“Don’t you think so, Ares?” Cesare asked.

Ares’ fingers moved swiftly, shaping words that made my blood run cold.

‘Speak of her like that again.’

His hand stilled briefly.

‘…and I'll remove your tongue and feed it to scavengers.’

The woman beside him let out uncontrollable laughter, muttering something in their language. One of his brothers hadn't even bothered to look up from his phone, while the others appeared entertained. It was clear this family thrived in violence.

Cesare’s face darkened, lips thinning into a hard line. ‘Those wings you think you've grown, I gave them to you.’ He signed back. “We should get on with this,” he muttered coldly.

Ares' gaze collided with mine, and the world narrowed violently. There was no warmth in his eyes… nothing to suggest that he had just threatened his own father on my behalf. Only a cold, assessing intensity that stripped me bare, peeling away every lie, every borrowed identity, until all that remained was the truth. His fingers moved again, and I braced myself.

‘What the fuck did you do to your hair?’