chapter 4

The moment Mara’s words fell into the suffocating silence, the entire room froze.

“I’m taking my baby home.”

Her voice was calm and steady.

For the first time since arriving at the mansion, Mara sounded like a mother prepared to fight the world for her child.

Kenny turned sharply toward her. “Mara…”

The baby slept quietly against her chest now, his tiny fingers wrapped around the fabric of her dress as though he understood every dangerous emotion in the room.

“I said I’m leaving,” Mara repeated firmly. “I won’t stay somewhere I am blamed for everything. Nobody truly wants me, just my son you all treat like a possession.”

Celestine let out a broken laugh through her tears.

“No one wants you?” she cried. “You destroyed my marriage and now you’re acting innocent. Do you want my husband to marry you too?”

Mara slowly lifted her blind eyes toward the sound of Celestine’s voice.

For once, she did not shrink.

“You think I wanted this?” Mara asked quietly. “You think I dreamed of becoming the woman caught between twin brothers?”

Celestine opened her mouth, but Mara continued before she could speak.

“I lost my dignity long before I stepped into this house.” Her fingers tightened protectively around the baby. “Danny and Kenny played me like a fool just because I am blind and unable to differentiate between the two. Do you think I have some kind of power to truly know who is sharing my bed? In my marital bed, with my in-laws present?”

Her breathing trembled painfully.

“Before you all judge me, be ashamed of yourselves. Taking advantage of a blind woman just for some useless pact. Am I not human enough?”

The room fell into heavy silence after Mara’s outburst.

Even Danny said nothing.

Kenny moved closer immediately, kneeling beside Mara’s chair like a man terrified she would disappear if he let go for even a second.

“I’m truly sorry, Mara. It is I who failed you as a husband,” he said desperately. “Please… don’t go.”

Mara’s chest tightened painfully.

Kenny’s voice carried something she had never expected from him before. Fear and regret.

But she refused to soften so easily. She was tired of being pushed around like a helpless thing.

“You heard your mother before,” Mara whispered bitterly. “I’m blind. A big embarrassment to this family.”

“You are my wife,” Kenny said instantly.

His voice cracked.

“And I love you. You are part of this family. Let me see who dares hurt you again.”

The dangerous promise in his tone sent a chill through the room. Even without seeing him, Mara could feel the terrifying authority behind his words. This was the man half the city feared.

He reached carefully for Mara’s trembling hand.

“You and our son are the only real things I have left,” he admitted hoarsely. “Don’t walk away from me.”

Mara swallowed painfully.

Her mind drifted unwillingly back to the tiny house she once called home.

The endless criticism from her own family.

The cruelty from her sister Clara. The constant feeling of being a burden nobody truly wanted.

At least here, her son would never lack anything.

And despite the madness surrounding her, both brothers protected the child with terrifying devotion.

Especially Danny.

Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the baby as she remembered the panic in Danny’s breathing earlier when the child cried.

That fear hadn’t sounded fake.

Suddenly, a sharp sound echoed through the room.

Celestine had collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

After a long silence, Danny finally spoke to her.

But there was no warmth in his voice.

“I warned you long ago not to mistake our marriage for love.”

The coldness of his words stunned the room.

Even Mara felt it.

Celestine’s breathing hitched painfully.

“You can’t mean that…”

Mara felt the atmosphere shift again.

Then Danny’s voice came once more, calm and terrifying.

“She stays here.”

Kenny stood immediately.

“Don’t test me, Danny.”

“And what exactly will you do?” Danny asked calmly. “Pretend she didn’t belong to me at a certain point, at least, the baby could be mine?”

The air turned deadly with Danny’s claim.

Mara could hear the violent clench of Kenny’s fist.

“She is MY wife.”

Danny gave a low, humourless laugh.

“We both know that......”

“Enough!” Kenny roared angrily, not letting Danny finish his words.

The baby stirred restlessly from the shouting. Instantly, both brothers fell silent.

The sudden synchronization unsettled everyone.

Even Mara noticed it.

The room became quiet except for the baby’s tiny sleepy sounds.

Then…

A soft creaking sound echoed from the staircase.

At first, nobody reacted.

The suffocating tension between the twins still filled the room while Celestine’s quiet sobs continued in the background.

But slowly, the sound of approaching footsteps drew everyone’s attention.

Braine stopped halfway down the staircase.

Mara could feel the strange silence that followed her arrival.

For once, Braine did not speak sharply or mock anyone.

Instead, her footsteps slowly descended one careful step at a time until they stopped nearby.

Kenny sounded confused.

“Braine?”

She ignored him completely.

Mara instinctively stiffened.

She still remembered Braine’s cruel words. The humiliation and her mockery.

In this house, kindness always felt temporary.

But when Braine finally spoke, her voice sounded strangely soft.

“Is… is he sleeping now?”

The gentleness of the question caught everyone off guard.

Mara adjusted the baby carefully against her chest.

Braine stayed quiet for several seconds.

When she spoke again, her voice sounded smaller somehow.

“He’s so small…”

Nobody answered.

The atmosphere shifted quietly.

Then Braine gave an awkward laugh at herself.

“This is embarrassing,” she muttered. “Why do I suddenly want to cry?”

Even Celestine’s sobbing quieted slightly in disbelief.

Braine had always acted untouchable, spoiled, sharp-mouthed and overly dramatic.

Yet now she sounded strangely vulnerable.

Braine turned toward the twins.

“You know,” she said quietly, “when we were children, I used to beg Mother for another sibling.”

Kenny let out a faint breath that almost sounded like a smile.

Braine laughed dryly.

“But instead, I got THESE two psychopaths.”

A low scoff came from Danny.

The tension in the room eased slightly.

Then Braine spoke again, softer this time.

“Can I hold him?”

Mara froze. For a moment, she thought she had heard wrong.

Braine’s voice trembled slightly now.

“Please.”

Mara didn’t answer immediately. Not because she didn’t want to… But because nobody had ever asked her for anything so carefully before.

Braine noticed the hesitation and added quickly, “I won’t hurt him.”

Something warm tugged painfully at Mara’s chest.

For the first time, she noticed something beneath Braine’s spoiled personality.

Loneliness. A desperate need to belong somewhere real.

Then Braine spoke again, more quietly this time.

“I know I hurt you before and said terrible things. But… I wouldn’t hurt him.”

Slowly, carefully, Mara adjusted the baby in her arms.

“Support his head,” she whispered instinctively.

Braine nodded immediately like an obedient child.

The entire room fell silent as Mara finally placed the baby into Braine’s trembling arms.

The moment the child settled against her chest, Braine stopped breathing.

“Oh…”

The baby yawned softly before his tiny fingers curled around one of hers.

And Braine shattered.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“Oh my God,” she whispered emotionally. “He’s holding my hand.”

Nobody spoke for a moment.

Then Braine suddenly glared toward the twins.

“If either of you idiots traumatize this baby, I swear I’ll poison both of you.”

Kenny let out the first genuine laugh of the evening.

Even Mara smiled faintly.

Danny exhaled slowly in amusement.

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I AM dramatic,” Braine snapped immediately without looking away from the baby. “But now I’m dramatic with responsibilities.”

The baby made a tiny sleepy sound against her chest.

And just like that, the atmosphere inside the mansion changed.

For the first time since Mara arrived there, she no longer felt completely alone.

“Sister-in-law, you must be exhausted,” Braine said gently. “Please go back to your room and rest for a while. I’ll have the servants bring food for you. These two idiots would fight each other endlessly”

“The baby…”

Mara’s arms tightened instinctively.

She wasn’t willing to let him go even for a minute.

“Oh…” Braine laughed softly. “I’ll help you carry him upstairs.”

Her voice brightened immediately.

“My little nephew, I can’t wait to spoil you.”

Mara carefully stood from her seat.

Braine took a few excited steps forward before suddenly stopping.

“Wait.”

She extended one hand toward Danny and the other toward Kenny.

“I have to shop for my nephew.”

A quiet chuckle escaped Danny.

A card slid into Braine’s palm. A second one followed immediately from Kenny.

Even Mara could hear the servants gasp softly nearby. The billions in the black cards, just for the tiny baby!

“You two relax,” Braine said proudly. “I’ll help take care of the baby.”

Then her footsteps moved happily toward the staircase beside Mara.

Behind them, the atmosphere shifted again.

Celestine remained silent for a long moment before the servants carefully guided her toward the west wing.

Mara could hear the slow fading sound of her footsteps.

Meanwhile, Braine gently guided Mara toward the east wing of the mansion.

Behind them, silence stretched once more between the twins.

Dangerous and heavy.

But beneath it, Mara could almost feel the strange relief settling across the room.

At least Braine wasn’t leaving with the child, and the two had somehow stopped fighting.