Lavender:I fixed my hair one last time before I was satisfied with how I looked. It was a huge day for me. I was going to meet Easton. I wasn’t sure how he would respond to us being stepsiblings, but I was confident he would find a way to navigate through it—maybe a loophole for his brothers.Honestly, I wasn’t expecting too much from our meet-up when I used to think about it, but now I had a feeling it would escalate to something very intimate. We would be the only ones at the manor, and I was sure he would get closer to me, maybe even too far this time.I smiled at the thought of being under him. His affection would make me feel more alive. But I was a little worried now that I remembered Nikon. Nikon had told me, “One of the rules in the mafia is not to get involved in forbidden love. Never be seen with your friend’s, foe’s, or ally’s spouse or partner. Never catch feelings for someone who is related to you—that includes stepsiblings and a friend’s partner too. And finally, never
Lavender:“You are a fucking liar,” I hissed.I was breathing heavily, losing my mind. My body was shivering so badly that I didn’t know what to do to calm myself down.Reading his text gave me so much anxiety, and instantly, I remembered the words spoken to me by his own brother.Igor!He was right.Easton is a good actor.He had me in the chokehold of his love, and I believed it all.I had my hand on my forehead when I received another text from Easton.E-Tron: Are we meeting today? I’m really excited to see you.I groaned, clenching my fists.My hand flew to my chest as tears started spilling down my face even more. It wasn’t easy at all for me to settle it in my mind that yet another person in my life had played me.E-Tron: What happened? Where did you go? I want to know what time we can meet so I can make reservations for usI was gritting my teeth hard. Reading his text felt like he was reaching through the screen and slapping me hard.I started typing hysterically, writing what
Lavender:I had come downstairs and sat in the passenger seat of his car, just like he had asked me to, while he was still inside. I was worried someone would see me in his car before he arrived, and it would be another mess.After a while, I watched him come outside in a gray shirt and hop into the driver’s seat.He started the car and drove us to the same abandoned building as before. The minute he parked the car, he unbuckled his seatbelt and then leaned over to do the same for mine.His scent was so strong, his cologne amazing. But I was still reminded of the way he had slept with the other girls the same day.However, once the seatbelt was off, I found him holding my waist to help me out, probably intending for me to sit on his lap.That’s when I realized he was going for a steamy session.“Wait,” I steadily placed my hands on his hands to free my waist. He stopped and set me free, leaning back in his chair, looking so confused as to why I did that.“You gotta tell me what’s goin
Lavender:“We? Talk about yourself. I didn’t do all that with you because I wanted to bond with you. You made a fool out of me,” I began to panic once I realized he had played me.And then my mind went back to what Igor had told me. Did he know his brother would do that to me?“When I asked you about the models, you told me you don’t do all that. Why?” I wanted to grab his collar to make him look at me so badly, but I don’t think I could get that close to him again.“Because that was my personal business which you were trying to poke your nose into. I’m a model turned actor, I don’t go around telling everyone about my life,” he raised his voice. “And stop acting like I took advantage of you. Whatever we did was mutual. It’s not my fault that you caught feelings.”As he kept talking, I’d had enough. I opened the door and stormed out to avoid being scolded by him after getting cheated on.After a few seconds of me crying alone, he came out as well.“Lavender, I meet fans every day. Do y
Lavender:“Lavender, don’t make a scene out here,” he drove right beside me, rolled down his window, and looked at me.“You told me to fuck off, so please drive home. I can walk back. And it’s you who’s making a scene on a fucking abandoned road,” I said, no longer trying to be timid.Why do women get so happy when a man calls them innocent and sweet?Trust me, I used to feel happy too—until that night.I realized that when a man calls a woman innocent, he means she’s easy to fool. It’s not a compliment. Being a good girl is such a harsh scam. It’s often used for women who get taken advantage of, and my heart ached for them—and for myself.I’d rather be known as a cunning bitch now than be called innocent and sweet.“Lavender, you’re starting to make me angry,” he hissed, and I stopped walking.“Easton! Fuck off,” I bent down to the level of his window and yelled right in his face.The shock on his face was worth it. He could come out and kill me for all I cared. I felt so disgusted b
Lavender:Thankfully, he didn’t make me stay to answer his question.I mean, he didn’t have to. He literally told me he’d question me later.Did he see the whole interaction or just the part where Easton was driving behind me?It was the next day—a new morning, and definitely a new beginning for me.Another person I thought cared about me was gone.I was now completely alone.But I guess there are some perks to being lonely—you can’t get hurt.“You look a little pale.”The nurse, a middle-aged woman with kind green eyes, studied my face while preparing me for the blood transfusion.“That’s just my complexion,” I lied, smiling through tired, empty eyes.Her concern wasn’t wrong—I hadn’t eaten that morning since I had to catch a bus early for college and then head straight here for my appointment.My mom had been blowing up my phone, reminding me not to miss this transfusion.I hadn’t fully healed from my fall and the previous transfusion—but who was going to tell her that?And now that
Lavender:I woke up in my attic, worried and confused about how I got there, until I opened my eyes and saw Nikon sitting on the chair with a book in his hand.I sat up and swallowed hard.“Glad you’re awake,” he said, not looking too bothered as he kept reading the book.I had bought that book for myself.It was my damn course book that he was reading like it was some novel.“You passed out on the road,” he said casually. “I brought you here. Now thank me so I can leave.”The demands he made with a straight face were always strange.He was so full of himself.All of them were.“Thanks,” I said, steadying myself.“Hmm, you don’t have to. It was the right thing to do.” With that, he shut the book and gave me a fake closed-lip smile while I stared at his face in disbelief.“Now, what was it that I saw last night?” he asked, crossing one leg over the other.“I was out on a walk when your brother offered me a ride, but I said no,” I lied. I couldn’t tell him I’d been having something clos
Lavender:“I feed you such good food. I bet you haven’t had fruits like this before. And this is how you massage me?” my mother snapped, kicking me before putting her foot back in my lap.I was in pain because of the blood transfusion, but she didn’t care.She had made me sit in her room for two hours now. My arm hurt so much for some reason.“I actually gave blood today,” I said. I didn’t have to remind her—she already knew.“So? You give blood all the time. Don’t make excuses,” she hissed.I sighed and started massaging her foot again. Mister Volkov wasn’t around yet, so she was making me stay in her room.I’d heard he was having a meeting with his sons.I just wanted him to come back to his room so I could go back to mine.Finally, when my hands couldn’t keep going, Mister Volkov’s voice echoed from the hallway. My mother sat up like she’d been caught with another man and snatched the oil out of my hands.She grabbed my hand and stretched it out, quickly pouring oil on it. It was h
Christine:“And then—and then they kicked us out,” Normani had been crying on the phone with me for about an hour. I’d already heard her story and everything twice. She would finish it, and then start it all over again.“Make sure you do it right this time,” I kicked the nail artist as a warning not to mess up. Last time, she ruined my toenails. This time, I wanted my pedicure to be perfect—because I was going on a date with Easton.He had been blowing up my phone nonstop. I’d studied Levi’s texts like it was a coursebook. I noticed she always replied coldly, letting him do the chasing and begging most of the time.It was like she’d trained herself to act this way so he would stay more obsessed with her than she was with him.And it seemed like Easton was fascinated with her.‘With me!’ I corrected myself as I giggled.Ugh! But now I had to deal with this crying girl on the phone.“Hmm. That’s sad. But you should’ve been more careful. This is a world full of technology. Didn’t you kno
Lavender:“Lavender! You don’t forgive us?” my mother had knelt down in front of me, demanding that I speak with her.But I couldn’t even look at her.“So what would it take for her to accept her mother’s apology? Who, by the way, didn’t do anything wrong. She knows both her daughters—Lavender has always lied to her and caused her trouble. So when Normani said something, of course Sumi believed her,” Mister Volkov hissed at me while I turned my head to the other side.I wanted to talk to my mother, but not in front of anyone.And somehow, Igor noticed it.“Maybe we should give them some space,” he suggested, and Easton looked over at me.“I was about to say that,” Easton muttered under his breath. Nikon searched my face for a reaction—he always did that. Always trying to read something from everyone’s expressions.After a moment, he finally nodded and motioned for his father and Sabrina to leave us alone. However, my mother held onto Sabrina’s hand and stepped in after the others had
Lavender:Mister Volkov stayed seated, his eyes fixed on the ground. Sabrina kept inching one step closer to the door, looking for an excuse to leave.“Nobody is leaving,” Nikon said when he must have noticed his father uncross his leg, ready to get up.“What do you want us to do then?” Mister Volkov asked Nikon.“Apologize?” Nikon gave him a look, getting up slowly and walking over to me. He was in his black suit like always, his shoes shining so brightly that I could see my reflection in them as he stopped right in front of me.I kept my head down, but the moment his finger touched my chin, I gave in to the pressure and looked up.With a gentle touch, he ran his thumb over the mark on my chin and then brushed his fingers over my bruised cheek.“You all are going to apologize to her,” his eyes narrowed at the sight of the wounds on my face. He was so sharply observant, noticing every single injury.“Fine, I’m sorry,” Mister Volkov said with a shrug.Nikon pulled his hand back and sta
Lavender:Igor had been a great help. But I wouldn’t base my opinion of him on just this one incident. People around me had a tendency to change like the weather in no time.He made sure to hold my hand to help me walk without falling to my knees as we headed to the living room.I didn’t want to go anywhere with them. The issue should have been resolved once they punished me. Or were they planning on punishing me every few hours?I didn’t understand the purpose behind being presented before Nikon now.Standing in the living room with my sister smirking at me was so hard to swallow. Igor had walked me in and sat me down on a sofa facing everyone. Easton stayed beside me the whole time.Sabrina was visibly smirking. I had been informed that Valerie claimed to be an eyewitness and basically told the same story as Normani.Normani was sitting on a couch with my mother, who was constantly checking on her. Now that Normani had cleaned up, I noticed my wounds were much worse than hers. Yet m
Lavender:Everything happened so fast that I couldn’t even react properly. I couldn’t defend myself. But even if time were reversed and I got another chance, I still wouldn’t be able to protect myself against such big and dangerous men attacking me.I woke up in Igor’s bedroom, his soft mattress bringing a little comfort to my wounds. I had bandages everywhere, and some bruises were left uncovered but had been treated well.The door opened—this time, it wasn’t the doctors or nurses, but Easton. I immediately held onto my blanket and pulled it over my chest.“Lavender!” He tried his best to sound like he was on my side, but right then, I didn’t want him around me.“Where is Igor?” I don’t know why his name slipped from my lips like that, but the moment it did, Igor stormed out from behind Easton.He rushed past his brother to get to me first.I might have still been in a daze, but I remembered the arms that saved me.If Igor hadn’t shown up when he did, I wouldn’t be alive now.“What i
Igor:“Valerie—why did you lie in there?” After Valerie gave her statement, I couldn’t sit in the same living room. The others celebrated like it was suddenly just about proving Lavender wrong.“I didn’t,” Valerie stopped right when she was near her car. “I didn’t like how you doubted my words back in there. Why did you bring me here if you didn’t even believe what I said?” She started raising her voice after she realized I really was doubting her.“Valerie—” I grimaced, grinding my teeth because I just had a bad feeling.“Why is it so hard for you to believe Lavender could do something bad?” she asked me, putting her body weight on one leg.“It doesn’t matter, Valerie. The thing is that them beating her up is still assault.” I raised my voice and clenched my fists, which she noticed.I knew she would be offended now.“So first, it was that she didn’t lie to go to the club where her stepsister got attacked because of her. And now that it’s confirmed it really was her, she’s the victim
Igor:“What’s going on in your manor?” Valerie asked, jogging to keep up with me. “Let me be honest with you—ever since this new family moved in, it’s been one issue after another. And that girl Lavender... now I get why everyone dislikes her. She brings trouble wherever she goes. Remember Bora Island?”Valerie was gossiping like we weren’t dealing with someone who had just been brutally beaten—like Lavender’s pain didn’t matter.And yet, I couldn’t help wondering... why did this affect me so much?It’s not like I hadn’t seen worse.Since I was a kid, I’d grown up surrounded by torture and murder. Hell, I’d committed my fair share too.So why did she, the girl I thought I’d care least about, suddenly feel so important to me?“Valerie, it’s this perception people have of her—that she’s alone, that no one will stand up for her. That’s why they feel entitled to violate her rights,” I told her as we reached the main entrance. “At Bora, Raymond thought she had no one, so he attacked her. S
Igor:I took her to my own bedroom, all while my father kept calling after me. Once inside my wing, I sat her down on the bed and noticed how she refused to let go of my shirt.“Hey, hey,” I said softly, placing my fingers gently under her chin to make her look up.She wasn’t fully aware. I could tell. She was bleeding from her head too. They had punched and hit her without caring where they struck.I had a bad feeling she had a concussion.“I’m here,” I reminded her, to let her know I wouldn’t hurt her.There was no way—absolutely no way—Lavender got Normani assaulted. If anything, it had to be the other way around. Did they think we were stupid?“Calm down, you’re safe,” I repeated gently, taking out my handkerchief to clean her eyes.The blood from her forehead had run down into them. As I cleaned her face, she finally let go of my shirt and sat there, her eyes staring into nothing.She would start crying uncontrollably, then suddenly go numb.“I’ve called the doctors and nurses. T
Igor:“Sure, I’ll meet you tomorrow then,” I tried to hang up the call with Valerie for the fifth time, but she was in a great mood. She wouldn’t stop talking or let me end the call.“Wait, wait—I’m not done yet,” she almost yelled, causing me to sigh quietly as I arrived home.“Okay, what else?” I sighed, getting out of the car.“Ohhh! I was at a club tonight and some girl went crazy,” she laughed. Of course she did. Valerie loved a good gossip. But I didn’t know what made her think I wanted to hear her talk about some drama.I wasn’t really the type to talk a lot or listen to people. I liked peace and quiet.“Oh,” I replied because I had to, or else she would complain that I don’t listen to her.“And then—she started hitting her boyfriend when she caught him cheating on her. He took it for a while before he started hitting her back and oh my God, the drama—she started crying. Like, girl! If you can’t take hits, don’t hit someone either. Like come on—,” she laughed loudly, making me