MasukVeronica’s POV:
It has been a week since I broke up with Chase.
I did cry over him for the first two days, mourning the good moments I had with him.
Why? Why did he have to become a womanizer?!
But then, he showed his true face again by sending me threatening text messages from new numbers, despite blocking him multiple times.
“Come back to me, Veronica! Or else I’ll tell your father, and trust me, he’s gonna make you come back to me again. You really have no choice in this!”
The audacity of him! He actually thinks my own father would take his side after knowing what he did to me! I realized then that he was a very good manipulator.
I do want to tell my father, but I don’t want to upset him with the bad news… not yet.
For the next five days, I stayed at my friend Penny’s mansion, in her personal room. I sat on the couch watching rom-coms about breakups and cried even more.
Soon, I noticed that even my parents were trying to call me, but I just ignored them.
How could I face them yet? They would be hurt to know that my engagement was off.
Then, a week later, Penny started showing me some tough love. “Come on, V. You’re being too pathetic! Just get dressed and let’s go outside.”
I protested, but Penny literally threw one of her party dresses at me and dragged me into her luxury car.
She took me to a high-end bar where only elites mingled.
“Not here,” I groaned. “People can recognize me here! They’ll ask me about Chase.”
But Penny shushed me and led me up to the exclusive lounge, which was full of lights, music, and young people drinking and dancing.
I was in no mood for any of that. I felt too dull, like I had no energy left in me.
“Hey… Veronica! How are you doing?” a familiar female voice called out, and I turned to see Selena… one of my family friends.
“I’m fine,” I said for the sake of it, though it was a lie.
“So, we’re here to celebrate our fifth anniversary! My husband’s over there, celebrating with his friends,” she said, pointing toward him.
“Congratulations! I’m happy for you,” I squealed and hugged her.
Selena got married to the love of her life, the wealthy industrialist Hamilton, five years ago, and they’ve been living like the perfect, ideal couple in Manhattan’s elite circle. They regularly post selfies and vacation pictures that have a huge following.
It could have been me and Chase, too… but that bastard ruined it all.
“So next, I’m planning on getting pregnant,” she said, and again I squealed with her, and Penny too joined us.
“So,” I asked, lowering my voice, “how is your relationship this successful?”
Selena smiled at me. “He shares everything with me, and we have deep communication. We never keep secrets.”
Opposite of what I had with Chase! My relationship with him was full of lies, cheating, and illusions.
However, as I looked at Selena, it gave me hope that maybe true love exists… even though I was unlucky enough to witness only the dark side of love.
“Perhaps I should take a break from this dating,” I blurted out to Penny, who was now seated on the barstool next to me. “Cause you know, I wasn’t able to attract a healthy relationship like Selena. Something must be wrong with me, isn’t it?! I mean, what are the odds?”
“V…” she let out a sigh. “You are just overthinking this. Don’t blame yourself. It is all his fault. Chase is the cheater here, not you.”
“But, why wasn’t I able to find it sooner… for heaven’s sake, I lived with him for 3 years.”
As I took two shots, it only made me more chatty, as I started ranting out to Penny, who patiently listened to me.
But then something in the room shifted, as if everyone in there went quiet, except for the music sound. I looked over my shoulder to see the reason behind it.
Two men have just entered, and they're the kind of men who make every head in the room turn. They move with the type of confidence that comes from knowing you own everything you see. They're clearly together… brothers, maybe, based on their similar bone structure and the easy way they move in sync.
They wore Designer suits, watches that gleam with real gold, and an aura of power that makes everyone else in the room seem insignificant by comparison. Even through my alcohol-induced haze, I can appreciate the way they carry themselves… like the predators who've never known what it means to be prey.
The first man is tall and broad-shouldered, with bright blue eyes and shoulder-length dark hair styled like a pop star's, along with tattoos covering his neck that seem to continue down his back. His face is all sharp angles and strong lines, the kind of masculine beauty that graces magazine covers. He surveys the room with eyes so blue they're almost electric, and when his gaze sweeps past our section of the bar, I feel my breath catch.
The other one looks like the opposite version of the dark-haired man. He has neat blonde hair and green eyes that give off a sweet and intelligent aura. He has no tattoos or any sign of rebellion on his body, unlike the other one.
"Holy shit," Penny breathes beside me, and I realize she's staring too.
The men pause just inside the entrance, scanning the room with the practiced ease of people who are used to being the most important wherever they go.
I go completely still, my glass frozen halfway to my lips.
"V," Penny hisses under her breath, "they're coming over here."
I force myself to turn back to my drink, gripping the glass tighter than necessary. I shouldn’t be focusing on them. I just had a bad breakup, and I should work on myself… instead of getting diverted.
But my eyes shift to the other one with sweet green eyes, and he locks his gaze on me too, giving me the warmest smile I've ever seen in my life… like sunshine and rainbows.
Those two seem to have very distinctive personalities that contrast against each other, and that's what makes them both even more attractive. It's as if they both offer very different things… like one is fire and one is Ice.
One is like an angel and the other is a demon.
Veronica's POV: I could feel everything in that position. His heartbeat against my chest, the rise and fall of his breathing over my neck... This position... whatever he called it... was amplifying the chemistry we both already had."Now we breathe together," Theo said as the next instruction.Then his eyes searched mine, making sure, and whatever he saw there must have satisfied him because he nodded slowly."Then we move together," he said. "Be slow and conscious with me. Don't stop matching the breathing with me... and most importantly... never lose eye contact. Just remember... this isn't about chasing pleasure... it's about sustaining it, circulating it, and letting it build until it explodes like a volcano into us. Do you get it?"I could only nod, as he clearly seemed to be an expert. While I was just his student!Then his hands moved to the hem of my shirt, and I lifted my arms, letting him pull it over my head. He took his time, his fingers tracing my skin slowly.Then his o
Veronica's POV:I couldn't believe my ears. "What? There was sex in meditation? Was it even possible to do it with eyes closed? How did that work? "Theo pressed his lips together, looking down at his shoes. "Well... this is a little unconventional for someone like you to understand.""Try me," I said immediately, leaning forward. "I am anything but conventional."That was true, wasn't it? I'd just spent a night at a cabin with Max exploring BDSM dynamics. I'd signed a contract to be courted by two brothers simultaneously.Conventional had stopped being part of my vocabulary weeks ago.Theo looked up at me, studying my face like he was trying to understand how serious I was. Then he took a deep breath."It's called tantric sex," he began. "It's an ancient practice that came from Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The core principle is about rising energy from the base of your spine... what's called the Muladhara chakra or root chakra... all the way up through each energy center until it r
Veronica's POV:"I know you must have been hurt that I went on a date with your brother," I said."But I didn't expect you to react like this. You're just... you're confusing me, Theo. One minute you seem completely indifferent, the next you're booking us on this trip together, working on my expo application. Just tell me... are we really over before we even started?"Theo let out a long sigh."Come inside," he said quietly. "Look at the 'girl' I'm sleeping with."He stepped back, gesturing for me to enter his room fully. I followed him.Theo walked to the TV mounted on the wall and picked up the remote. The screen came to life, showing a yoga video paused mid-pose. The instructor was a serene-looking woman in her forties, wearing loose yoga pants and a tank top, demonstrating a warrior pose with perfect form.But Theo didn't just show me the yoga video. He scrolled through the TV's recently watched list, revealing hours and hours of meditation tutorials, breath work exercises, and sp
Veronica's POV:Theo and I reached two days earlier than necessary for the global expo that was happening in New York. He'd said it was to give us time to prepare... to make sure everything was perfect before the big day.But as I stood in my hotel room... my separate hotel room... I couldn't help but wonder if there was another reason.Why didn't he book a room for both of us?! Weren't we supposed to be seeing each other, according to the contract?Or maybe he changed his mind after my date with Max. Perhaps he didn't really want me anymore...The thought lodged itself in my chest like a thorn.Why else would he book separate rooms?If he actually felt something for me, wouldn't he have at least suggested sharing a suite?! Or at least gotten connecting rooms?But he didn't even bother asking me. He'd paid for the rooms with his flashy card without even turning to look at me.I wondered what he was about to do with the contract that he created and signed. Even the paper records were w
Veronica's POV:I expected Theo to look at me with some hurt or even jealousy when Max and I walked through the door.We'd been gone all night... staying at that cabin, doing things that still made my cheeks flush to think about... and surely Theo would have noticed.But when Max strolled into the living room where Theo was working on his laptop, there was no tension. No awkward silence... or meaningful looks exchanged.Max just high-fived his brother like they were college roommates. "What's up, bro?"Theo barely glanced up from his screen. "I was checking code blocks for the new authentication protocol and—""Oh no... just forget I asked anything at all, brother," Max interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "Keep your nerd stuff to yourself."He walked away toward the kitchen, leaving Theo shaking his head."I should keep it to myself," Theo called after him, "or else I will become as dumb as you."I watched this exchange with disbelief.The drama these brothers were performing..
Max's POV:I woke up to the noise of her sobbing.For a moment, I was disoriented... the unfamiliar cabin, the empty space beside me in bed...Where the hell was I?!Then reality crashed back, and I was on my feet immediately.I found her on the balcony, standing at the railing without even a jacket on, her shoulders shaking as she cried."For fuck's sake, it's cold out here," I said, grabbing the blanket from the bed and wrapping it around her shoulders.When she turned to look at me, I felt like a complete asshole.Her eyes were red, mascara smudged down her cheeks.I'd done this. I'd pushed her too far, taken her somewhere she wasn't ready to go, all because I couldn't resist seeing how far she'd let me lead her.I knew I should have contained myself. Should have held back, been gentler, not dragged her into this mess of power dynamics and control games that I used to keep people at a distance."I warned you this would happen," I said. "I told you I was—""It's alright," she interr







