Claimed by Two Brothers

PrologueThe walls of the house had always grated on the nerves with their excessive luxury, pretentious grandeur, and—let’s be honest—a noticeable layer of dust. Makar had always preferred solitude, but with age it had begun to look less like a conscious choice and more like an illness. He could have hired at least a housekeeper, yet the only staff member left was an elderly cook who no longer had the strength to keep the place in order. After the death of his best friend, the old man had lost what little will he had left, as though he were simply waiting for this meaningless life to run its course.The brothers knew perfectly well why their grandfather had summoned them that morning, but the first hint of something unusual came when they realized their uncle—who, like them, had every right to the inheritance—was nowhere to be seen. Only the two of them, Makar himself, and the notary were present.“Grandfather, why did you call us here so early?” Stas asked, dropping heavily into the

The brothers had done their grieving the day before, the moment they received the news. There was nothing more to be done— their grandfather had been well into old age and had lived a long, full life. Still, it was painful to watch the once commanding man, who had loved life with such ferocity, carried along the narrow path in a coffin, soon to be lowered into a depth from which there was no return.The Darvins stood in silence throughout the ceremony, leaving all the arrangements to their uncle. Vlad’s attention drifted to a young woman standing on the opposite side of the grave. He clung to the hope, right up until the last second, that it wasn’t Nadya. But that hope vanished the moment Katerina stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter.Over the years, he had assumed the girl would change—grow into her looks, maybe even become beautiful. Apparently, no such miracle had occurred. Hideous, shapeless leggings. An oversized black T-shirt. The glasses he could tol

“We’re here,” the taxi driver announced over the roar of the rain. I stared at him in disbelief.“But my house is still a long way from here. I’ll be drenched,” I protested, handing him a couple of bills.“Don’t worry, miss. You’ll run fast,” he said with a shrug. Before I could even shut the door, the car sped off.The rain was coming down in sheets—a relentless wall of water—and running would have been pointless anyway. I was already soaked through, so I trudged home at a steady pace. Honestly, any enthusiasm I’d had about guests had completely evaporated, which gave me the perfect idea for how to avoid an unwanted meeting.The moment I stepped inside, Mom peeked out from the living room and gasped when she saw me.I had to summon every ounce of my acting ability to sell it. A loud, impressively convincing sneeze echoed through the spacious hallway, and I wrapped my arms around myself, dragging my feet as if every step took effort.“Oh, sweetheart, what happened? You could have call

I stared at the man, eyes wide, trying to figure out whether this was actually happening or if someone had somehow installed a miniature projector in my glasses and was now streaming complete nonsense straight into my field of vision. What the hell was Vlad Darvin doing in my room?I had to be beyond exhausted—there was no other explanation. This had to be a hallucination.I pulled off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. When I put them back on, the image remained perfectly intact behind the thick lenses. Worse, he looked just as stunned as I felt. As if he, too, had been teleported into my bedroom without warning and now stood there with his mouth slightly open, unsure what to do next.“What are you doing here?” I demanded, pushing myself to my feet.The moment I stood up, an overwhelming urge to cover myself swept over me. The way he was looking at me made my skin prickle.God, I was a model. I’d never felt self-conscious in front of a camera. So why did I suddenly want nothing more than

I took a deep breath and headed slowly toward the salon. I didn’t look back, but I could feel the scorching weight of his stare burning between my shoulder blades. Just wait, Darvin. Let my father come home, and all your little performances in our house will come to an end. Look at him—strutting around like he owns the place in front of two supposedly helpless women.The moment I stepped inside, my phone rang in my bag. Perfect timing. If I could convince Nina to meet me at the café right now, she’d literally rescue me—and Darvin would tuck his tail and disappear, since he couldn’t stand her. I still didn’t fully understand why. Nina had always been beautiful; back in school, guys practically tripped over themselves trying to get her attention. Only the Darvins… well, what can I say? Stas and Vlad had always been predictable.“Hi, Nadya, are you busy right now?” my friend’s cheerful voice chimed through the phone.“Hey. I’m at the salon picking up contact lenses. No plans after that.”