Chapter 2

Pulling into the parking lot of the Starsign Club, I shut off the engine and closed my eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath and calming my nerves. The rain was beginning to pitter-patter against my windshield, reminding me about the storm coming in that Helen had warned me to be careful of. Climbing out of my car, I scurry towards the front door and flash the guard, David, a smile. He waves me on through, much to the annoyance of the waiting club goers.

“Sorry guys, but she is V.I.P. and friends with the owners.” David says, and I catch him shrugging his shoulders unapologetically. Owners? Did he just say Owners? I thought only Sheryl owned the Starsign Nightclub.

Confused, I make my way through the club, squeezing past the dancing crowd holding my purse to my chest. It doesn’t take long to reach the steps that lead to the V.I.P. section, and I nod to the two bouncers standing on either side, watching as shock, then pity, flicker through their gazes before allowing me to pass. I hesitate, finding their gazes odd, but nonetheless, I thank the two men before climbing up the steps.

The music slowly fades as I make my way to the back room where I know Sheryl, Liam, and their friends would be. My heart beats fast as I think about announcing my pregnancy to the room and whether I should appear happy or sad. Liam never mentioned wanting kids, always putting his work above all else, even me.

It doesn’t take long for me to reach the back room, finding the door slightly ajar. Deciding I wanted to film Liam’s reaction just to be on the safe side, I take out my phone and take a deep breath. After pulling up the camera app and pressing record, I place my hand on the door, positioning the camera at Liam, who I can see through the small crack, and prepare to push the door open.

"Had enough fun?” Liam’s voice rings out, cold and distant, with a slight slur to his words. I pause, confused by his question, when another voice answers, this one all too familiar to me.

“Not yet. Being with Aurora is fun.” This voice, the one that sounds like the loving, pampering version of Liam that I have grown to know, says with a smirk.

“Hope you’re having too much fun, we need to switch back soon before she becomes suspicious.” Liam answers with a scoff, bringing a glass of whiskey to his lips, the ice inside clinking on the glass. Wanting to know who Liam is talking to, I slowly push the door open further, moving to the side to get everyone in the room into view of the camera. My hand flies to my mouth, covering it before I can let out a gasp as I find a man sitting across from Liam, looking exactly like his carbon copy. Everything from the hair to the clothes to the way he sits is exactly like Liam. So who was he?

“We can switch soon, Liam, so don’t worry.” This mystery man says with a chuckle before downing what I assume is a beer.

"You didn't touch her, right Dominic?" Liam says, his brows furrowing in a frown. Dominic pauses, slowly lowering the beer bottle from his lips and placing it on the table beside him.

“You know our rules, we agreed to them a year ago.” He continues, studying Dominic with cold, calculating eyes. Dominic reaches for the beer once more, taking a swig from it before giving Liam a reassuring smile.

"Don’t worry, brother, I haven’t touched Aurora.” Dominic answers, but I notice the way his mouth twitches as he takes another swig. It's one I have seen many times when Liam lies to me.

"But even if I did, you wouldn't care, would you?" He asks, pointing the head of the beer bottle at Liam. I watch as Liam’s expression changes, watching the way he looks towards the window on the left before his lips twitch into a smirk.

"Of course not, Dom. It would make Aurora dirty, and I don’t like dirty things, that's all." The room burst into laughter with Liam’s answer, and hurt fills me. Liam would think I am dirty if I slept with another man. But the only one I slept with was him, right?

"Seriously, Dominic, you’re playing with your brother's girl?" Someone asks. I find Mathew Cross, the son of a Jewelry designer, nudging Dominic, breaking me from my thoughts, and I return my focus to the room. I can feel hurt later, right now I need to know what the hell is going on and why I seem to be left out of this small gathering.

"Come on, who wouldn't want to, with that face of Michelle's?" Another person calls out with a chuckle. This time, I recognize the voice as Sheryl’s brother, Harold Crow.

"Her body's insane with that bouncy ass and perky breasts. I bet that pussy is just as sweet too.” Harold continues, eliciting laughter among the group.

"Only Liam, who's always cold toward women, would stay away from her." Mathew says. A feminine laughter comes from the woman seated next to Liam, and I notice the familiar blonde hair of Sheryl, the female leaning against my so-called boyfriend.

"Why does Aurora sound like a public toilet, open for all to use?" Sheryl asks, making the men in the room chuckle, well, all but Dominic. A look of anger flashes through his eyes before he hides it by drinking from a new bottle of beer. Liam leans down, pressing a kiss to Sheryl’s head, and a pang of jealousy flickers inside me. I knew Sheryl and Liam were childhood friends, even sweethearts at one point before she introduced me to Liam, but I never thought a look of pampering would cross Liam’s face until now.

"So.” Mathew starts, slamming his empty glass onto the table and leaning back in his seat.

“Whose idea was it to take it this far and mess with that charity case Aurora?" He continues, a smirk on his lips. Sheryl grins, running a hand through Liam’s hair as she pulls him closer for a kiss.

“It was me.” Sheryl says once the kiss had ended, leaning back against Liam with a smirk on her lips.

“I was bored and in need of entertainment, and Liam was ready to indulge me without asking questions. Besides, Aurora would never have imagined that Liam had a twin brother since we never really brought it up in the last three years.” She continues with a giggle, accepting a glass of red wine from a waitress and taking a long sip of it.

“Hey, your clever ideas of entertainment have left us wanting to know when the finale will be.” Mathew says, raising his glass in a toast to Sheryl.

“Easy. It will happen on their wedding day.” Harold answers this time, a smirk on his smug face.

“Sheryl already told me Liam and her plan to expose their game, their lies, on the wedding day. After that, Sheryl will announce she is with Liam and break Aurora completely.”  He continues, his words cutting into me sharper than any knife. I knew that being with Liam was a plan, a joke that Sheryl was playing. She always played with those she deemed poor and unworthy for her entertainment. I just never thought that she would share such plans with anyone else, let alone Liam and Dominic, the twin brother I never knew my boyfriend had.

"That’s right, my dear brother. We plan to push her into the abyss right when she's at her happiest. It’ll be so much fun!” Sheryl agrees instantly, bubbly laughter leaving her lips. I catch Liam shakes his head helplessly, smiling down at Sheryl with indulgence in his eyes, a look I realize I never saw before.

“You’re still so childish.” He whispers lovingly to Sheryl, and in that moment, I realize the man who whispered loving words into my ear was never Laim. It must have been Dominic then.

"Childish or not, haven't you always given me whatever I wanted?” Sheryl retorts, pouting slightly with tears in her eyes.

“Yes, because I love you.” Liam agrees readily. I catch sight of Dominic looking away, his jaw clenched, and I wonder what he is thinking. I know just by reading his body language that he wasn’t paying attention to the two snuggled up on the couch together, his mind lost elsewhere, deep in thought.

"Good!” Sheryl says, her tears gone and a satisfied smile on her face.

“You guys better be careful not to get her pregnant by accident before the finale. Poor girls like her are hard to get rid of once they're knocked up."

"Don't joke like that. None of us ever touched her. Even if she did end up pregnant, she can get lost and fuck right off with that bastard. Right, Dom?" Liam reassures Sheryl, his words piercing through my heart.

“Sure.” Dominic says dismissively, barely looking at his brother. I close my eyes, holding back the tears, and take a deep, shaky breath. I know that coming here was a mistake now, but I am glad I did. I learned just what Liam’s true nature is, and that I was nothing but a game to these rich bastards.