Chapter 1 : Daniel's Older Brother

The morning after the wedding felt like waking up inside a dream I didn’t want to end.

Sunlight streamed through my curtains, soft and golden, reflecting off the little pin-on bouquet Daniel had made for me last night. My sea-green dress was thrown across my chair, my slippers kicked under the bed, and my hair was still pinned in tiny curls that had half-fallen apart on the dance floor.

It was perfect.

For the first time in years, the house didn’t feel too quiet. It felt… full. Warm. Like I finally had more than just Dad to call family. Like I belonged to something bigger than the two of us and our tiny apartment life.

I stretched lazily and checked the time, 7:42 a.m.

Which meant Daniel was definitely still asleep.

I smiled to myself at the thought. He always stayed up too late after big events, pretending he wasn’t exhausted, then crashed like he’d been tranquilized.

I washed my face, tied my hair up, and tiptoed out of my room so I wouldn’t wake him. Maya and Dad had gone for their first official married-couple morning walk. Maya had insisted it would bond their souls. Dad said he couldn’t bond anything on an empty stomach, but he still went anyway.

The kitchen was quiet. Peaceful. Sunlit, with leftover wedding snacks spread out in clear containers. I grabbed a donut, took a bite, and savored the sugary calm of my new life.

Everything was fine.

Everything was finally… normal.

Dad was happily married. Maya was sweet and warm and overprotective in a way I secretly loved. And Daniel, the boy who used to chase me with toy snakes, had turned into my safest place. My constant. My favorite person in the world. My brother.

And for the first time in my life, nothing felt missing.

I opened the fridge to grab juice when a loud yawn echoed behind me.

“Ann… why are you awake?” Daniel’s voice was thick with sleep, the kind that came from staying up way past “just one more video.”

I turned around to find him in pajama pants, hair sticking up like he’d wrestled a tornado.

“Because I’m not a sloth,” I said, handing him a donut.

He took it, eyed me, and frowned. “You look too happy. It’s suspicious.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s called joy. You should try it.”

He grinned, wide and dimpled. “I am joyful. My parents finally got married. Which means we’re siblings now.” He paused dramatically. “Unfortunately for me.”

I smacked his arm, and he laughed.

We fell into our usual rhythm, arguing over who got the last chocolate donut, pushing each other around the kitchen, him telling me I snored (I didn’t), me telling him he talked in his sleep (he absolutely did).

It was perfect. Familiar.

Comfortable.

“Hey,” Daniel said suddenly, leaning against the counter. “You really okay?”

His tone was soft in a way he rarely used unless something mattered.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m good.”

And I meant it.

My life was simple. Happy. Uncomplicated. I had everything I needed.

I reached for the orange juice just as the kitchen door closed and opened again.

At first, I didn’t turn. Maya sometimes forgot things and came back. Daniel probably left and decided to come back to grab one more donut, Dad sometimes returned early from walks. It could’ve been anyone.

But it wasn’t.

The air shifted. Heavy. A totally new and different cologne, that smelled like peace and roses.

I didn't turn around assuming it was probably Maya who had changed her cologne. Cause I definitely would have known if it was Daniel or Dad, they were more predictable.

“Back from the walk?” I asked still assuming it's Maya.

But a low, unfamiliar male voice rumbled behind me.

“Can you move a bit? You’re blocking the fridge.”

I froze.

That wasn’t Dad.

Or Maya.

Or Daniel’s sleep-crusted teenage voice.

This one was deeper.

Older.

Rough in a way that slid right down my spine like heat.

Oh shit.

I swallowed and stepped aside automatically, because if a voice like that asked me to jump, I’d probably ask how high.

But when I stepped away from the fridge… I still didn’t turn. Not yet. The voice was too hot for me to want to see the person. I might just melt.

My heart was beating like I’d just run with Daniel again.

He moved closer. I felt it. The shift of air, the warmth of his body, the soft sound of his breathing.

Then.....

“Thanks,” he murmured, pulling the fridge door open.

Oh my God.

That voice had me dripping.

I finally turned.

Slowly.

Like I already knew this was a mistake.

And then I saw him.

And Who the hell.....

Holy.

Actual.

Hell.

He stood there, arm resting on the fridge door, sweat-damp shirt clinging to a chest that could not possibly be legal. Black curly hair, the kind that looked soft but wild, like he never tried to tame it. Pale skin that made the dark tattoos curling up his arm stand out even more. Ink trailing along his left forearm, disappearing under the sleeve of his black shirt.

And he was, oh my God.....TALL.

Tall enough that I had to tilt my chin up just to see his face properly.

And when I did—

Blue.

His eyes were blue.

Not baby blue.

Not sky blue.

A cold, icy, I will ruin your life and you’ll thank me blue.

Oh my FUCKING God.

A sound escaped my throat.

Something embarrassing.

Something dangerously close to a moan.

I flipped my hair backwards revealing more shoulders even though he wasn't really looking at me yet.

Because like Kill me now.

He closed the fridge slowly, like time wasn’t real for him, and looked right at me.

“Hi,” he said.

Just that.

Just hi.

But the way he said it....soft, amused, like he already knew I was malfunctioning, made my brain short-circuit.

“Hi,” I breathed.

He smiled.

SMILED. LIKE ACTUALLY SMILED....

And it wasn’t fair because his smile was beautiful. White teeth. Sharp jaw. A tiny dimple that appeared and vanished like it had no right being there.

God.

My type.

My exact type.

Created in a lab for my downfall.

His gaze flicked to the donut box behind me, then back to my face.

“Donut,” he said gently.

“Oh....OH...yeah...yeah..yeah-yeah the donut, yes, the donut,” I blurted, stepping back like an idiot.

He chuckled.

Actually chuckled.

A deep, warm sound that hit low in my stomach.

I wanted to die.

Or kiss him.

Preferably kiss him, then die.

He grabbed a donut and then twisted open the bottle water he had collected from the fridge, and leaned back against the counter opposite me.

“You must be Anna.”

I nodded.

Too fast.

Too eager.

“Yes,” I said.

Then, because my brain hated me: “Yes.

Yes, yes, fuck me. I’m Anna.”

Oh my God, why was I saying yes like I was accepting a marriage proposal?

Pull yourself together, Anna.

He lifted a brow, amused. “Good to know.”

I swallowed.

“You’re, uh… Daniel’s friend?”

Because that was the only way he would know me and also Daniel’s friends did not look like this. Daniel’s friends were boys.

This man was…

Well.

A problem.

Even Daniel would never bring someone this hot into the house. He was a kill joy, would never want me having a love life, let alone having a crush on his friend cause this man had my type written all over him.

He took a sip of water, throat bobbing and I imagined how that throat would bob on me.

“No,” he said.

Oh.

Oh?

Then who—?

He set the bottle down, eyes never leaving mine.

The air between us tightened.

“You should really stop looking at me like that,” he murmured.

My cheeks exploded in heat.

I bit my lip.

Big mistake, his gaze dropped to my mouth before rising again.

“I...I’m not....”

I absolutely was.

He pushed off the counter and smiled at me again revealing those teethsss.

“I’m Nicolas,” he said softly.

“Daniel’s older brother.”

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.