Lavender:“Why can’t I go with the others?” I complained while following him.He stopped abruptly, causing me to bump into his back and step back to create some distance between us.He turned around and glared at me with his eyebrow raised before hissing, “Ask anyone who wants to go with you. Go ahead, do it,” he said, and then nudged me, pushing me toward the living room.I quickly stepped away because I knew he wasn’t wrong. My mother wouldn’t want to go with me. Nobody would. So I should be grateful that at least someone was volunteering to take me with them.I noticed how well-dressed Nikon was for the dinner party. It must be a big one. Everyone would be there—the rich and famous people too. And when I would be introduced as their stepsister, it would be a moment of victory. All those people of Isola Vira who had looked down on me would finally be silent.I was sure the news would reach every ear, and that’s how we would be secured from now on.“Earth to Lavender,” he snapped his
Nikon:I stayed in my car, watching them drag and throw her into the other vehicle.I have never met someone who found out who I was and still disobeyed me.This new sister of mine had successfully gotten under my skin in just two days.First, she was nasty enough to leave a bag full of sex toys, with one turned on and out in the open. And then she had the nerve to refuse me.“Hello,” I answered the call, now on my way to the dinner venue.“Did you get rid of her?” Igor asked, clearly interested in the matter.I didn’t want him involved because I knew he would be careless. Igor didn’t understand the weight of our lifestyle. We had to stay low-key, but he sometimes did things just to scare people off.“Don’t worry. She’ll be taken care of for the night,” I said. “And next time she dares raise her head against me, I’ll cut it off.”It was pretty clear she had bruised my ego when she refused to hand over the documents.“What about the documents? We need those,” Igor muttered. “I’m still
Lavender:They had thrown me in the car and covered my eyes. The blindfold, along with all the other restraints, made me feel lifeless. On top of that, they had headphones over my head with loud metallic music playing.I didn’t like loud noises—they triggered me. But I had to remind myself that I was in a situation where I couldn’t get any anxiety medicine or even a breath of fresh air.I was probably going to die tonight. That car ride was strange. I felt the car moving, but other than that, I had no idea what was happening or where I was being taken.I felt myself being carried again, and this time, I was thrown into something hard and cold. The moment they took the blindfold off, I realized where I was.I was lying in a tiny boat. My heart started skipping beat after beat, wondering what would happen next.Would I die from starvation here?My hands, feet, and mouth were still tied. I couldn’t do much except lie there, trying not to move too much and flip the boat over. I kept stari
Lavender:"Sir, if you need anything, let me know," I said in a calm voice, while the sound of waves still echoed in my ears.I wasn't able to sleep last night. Lying down with my head on the pillow didn’t help with the noise I could feel deep in my ears while lying on the boat.I didn’t stay behind for breakfast with "family."I didn’t complain to my mother either. She wouldn’t listen, and besides, Mr. Volkov had been glued to her like they’d been married for years."No, I just want you out of here so I can rest," the old man hissed, coughing as he waved me off.I gave him a nod, my smile still on my face, and walked out. My hands were folded under my stomach and my uniform was neatly pressed.Once I stepped out of his fancy bedroom, I sighed and dropped the fake smile."They should’ve let the old one stay behind," I heard a man in a suit say on his phone as he walked past me toward the room. I realized he was talking about me."The young one’s got such a tight ass on her."My body f
Lavender:"When he’s alone but there are too many caretakers around, that’s when you inject him with this. Use gloves, don’t touch anything, and don’t be seen around him that day. If you can, have someone else hold the needle for fingerprints. He’ll die slowly,” Nikon explained again, trying to teach me how to become like them.I listened quietly, keeping calm and not lashing out before the time was right.Once they were done talking, they waited for me to respond. Igor leaned his back against the wall while Nikon narrowed his eyes at me.“No!” I said, and noticed Nikon’s eyebrow raise.“There’s no way I’m killing anyone,” I stated, loudly and clearly.The look on their faces terrified me, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill someone.“There you go, such an ungrateful brat,” Igor muttered under his breath, tapping his phone against his palm.Nikon’s lips pressed into a thin line before he sighed. “You know, she’s killed someone before. But now she wants to act all empathetic.”Nikon’
Lavender:"Help! Somebody, please help me!" I screamed while running away from it. However, soon I realized it had caught up to me, so I stopped and turned around to swing my arm. With that, I tossed the coyote a little further away to get a head start.I began to run like crazy, not knowing the woods at all.The cold wind was blocking my nose. And since I woke up in such a panic, I felt like half of my brain was still asleep.I don't know how long I ran, but I stopped to catch my breath when I saw the woods end. Before me was a giant road. It felt like victory. Wheezing like a desperate kitten, I ran toward the road. The moon had cast such a light upon it that the atmosphere made it even scarier.But it wasn't long before my senses picked up on the vibe, and my sight landed on a car parked in the middle of the road, horizontally, with a man in a black suit standing in front of it.He leaned casually against the car, one hand in his pocket, and the other holding a cigar.It was none o
Lavender:I stood behind the couches, keeping my spine straight as the brothers sat down. My eyes briefly moved to Easton, who wore a gray shirt, his hair messy, and his handsomeness filling the living room. I had to shake myself out of such thoughts and looked around to make sure nobody had seen me watching him.Then my eyes landed on Nikon, who had a weird, distasteful look on his face. A very mild smirk appeared on his lips. He seemed almost proud of himself. And then there was Igor, least interested, with his leg over the other, shaking it nonchalantly.Mister Volkob sat right next to my mother, holding her hand happily. And then there were my sisters, who had no clue why they were sitting in the living room. But I knew what was going on.Soon, the news was going to play on the TV. The rich family was supposed to sign off a piece of their expensive land for charity. However, there was a twist. A twist created by Nikon.The grandfather was going to be announced dead today, which wo
Nikon:When I watched her stand behind the couch and stare at the TV, I felt like I could burn her alive. The anger I felt toward a woman for the first time like that was unimaginable. I don’t think I can ever hate another woman so much.Lavender!She was nothing like her name.This girl was so meticulously cunning that she had me fooled. She must have switched the poison with medicine. And she made sure she didn’t deny it because then I would have gotten it done through other means.That irked me, and I lost control. Easton didn’t care; he was too busy with his phone. But Igor had warned me about being wary of this girl. She was not as timid and naive; she was fragile, yes! But fierce.That’s when I had to teach her a lesson. I grabbed her by the hair, put my hands on a woman for the first time, and dragged her away to the attic. But she didn’t apologize or beg for my forgiveness.She was so defiant that she looked me in the eye and said what nobody—not even my family—could ever dare
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:“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:“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: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:“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 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:I instantly deleted the message from both our chats, but his response came as a shock.E-Tron: I read it.I pouted.Levi: No, you didn’t. ;PLevi: If you did, tell me what it was.It was so amazing being playful with him. Our little flirtation would go on for hours usually. There were days when he’d text me nonstop like he was truly interested in me.E-Tron: How about we meet and I say it in your ear? All you have to do is meet me. I’ll knock on the door of your chest, and you’ll ask for the password. I’m sure when I say the right one, you’ll have to let me in.I felt heat rush to my cheeks. Did he really mean it? Was he asking me to meet him?E-Tron: Levi, please don’t hide anymore. I really want to meet you, to see you once.I began to smile ear to ear, hugging my phone. Maybe my life was finally getting better. Even though I had never had anyone love me so dearly, Easton’s love would be enough for me. I’m sure he will compensate for everyone else.Levi: Okay. Tell me when
Nikon:“Did you check your email? I sent you the picture of the man to look out for. He seems to be working with—” I was busy helping Igor learn a little more since he really wanted to be a part of my business but didn’t have any idea where to start.Even when I had given him smaller tasks and he had done them a few times before.“Igor—” The door slammed open, and in came Easton, all teeth bared and eyes glowing with rage. That would be the first time I’ve seen my brother lose his composure.Easton was usually the calm one among us. He was always reasonable and would do things more quietly and steadily.So when he arrived so angrily, I immediately turned my attention to Igor, wondering what he had done this time.“Yo!” Igor smirked, his grin so intimidating. He was leaning back in the chair, one leg over the other.Easton came straight in after he had slammed the door shut hard.“How did you let him do that?” However, he didn’t confront Igor and turned to me, hissing at me.I was caug
Lavender:I came back home happy and all smiles. But my family was waiting on the second floor for me."Where were you? Normani told me you went out with Easton. Why?" My mother had such an angry look on her face that I began to wonder if any excuse I came up with would be enough.It was just that they couldn't stand to see me happy."Umm, he—" I shut up when Normani started touching my hands, trying to check them."What are you doing?" I groaned, slowly pulling away from her."He said he was taking you out to buy books. Where are they?" she asked, her eyes showing how ready she was to lose it."Mom, you know I wanted to go buy some stuff too, but he refused to take me," Normani threw a tantrum, stomping her feet nonstop."Maybe it's not our stepbrother's fault. Maybe Lavender said she wanted to go alone?" As always, Sabrina spoke less but still managed to make my mother even angrier."Did you ask him not to take my daughter along? And where the heck are the books? And why the hell do