Chapter 2: Stark Reality.

This is bad… This is really, really bad.

The cold wind hits my bare skin and as I shiver, I realize I'm naked. We’re both stark naked and we’re staring at each other, frozen like statues in an ice-cold museum. 

I just slept with my boyfriend’s brother.

I refused to have sex with Levi for three years, but I just had sex with his brother - I just gave away the one thing I was meant to keep for the man that would one day become a piece of my life.

“Lyra.” My name sounds like a foreign word in my ears.

My body begins to tremble and I feel like I'm suffocating. A scratchy baritone calling my name once again stops me from passing out, “Lyra!”

I take in a deep, shaky, breath and look up, eyes filled with tears and rife with panic. “I…” Each explanation I can think of disappears the moment it gets to my tongue. “I didn’t…”

I jolt when Christian sits on the bed and places a hand on mine, “It’s okay, Lyra,” his voice is a deep yet comforting rumble as he speaks. “You don’t have to say anything.”

The feeling of his large palm on my skin just makes the reality of what happened moments ago all the more real.

I just slept with Levi’s brother!

Fresh tears spring to my eyes in a matter of seconds, because I can’t believe I did this. 

I can’t believe I did something like this. I just… I just betrayed the love I have for Levi. I betrayed the love and trust he has for me.

My body begins to tremble again, but this time with regret and shame.

Levi has been patient enough to wait and not force me into having sex with him. I’ve held this from him for three years! He’s always respected my wishes, but I just betrayed him in the worst way possible, and on his birthday, worst of all.

My voice cracks with sobs as words come pouring out, “I thought the person sleeping on the bed was Levi. I would never have done something like this with you. I…” 

Christian’s expression suddenly goes dark and fright builds up in me, and I stutter from fear, “I.. I asked Levi if he would be having anyone over today and he said he wouldn’t. He said he’d be the only one home.”

Christian’s eyes clear at once, calming into an unreadable stare. He gets up from the bed, and as he walks over to the bathroom, I feel even worse, because there’s no way I should have been able to confuse Levi for anyone else.

Christian is taller, broader around the shoulders… He’s Christian Storm.

I sit on the bed, dazed and trapped in the woes of my mistake until Christian walks out of the bathroom with a robe on. Looking at his face and the outline of his body again in the light of the room… I feel more sorrow begin to sink in.

No one would ever believe that I mistook Christian for Levi. 

This betrayal is going to crush Levi so much, and damn it… I love him.

I love Levi, and this… Tears drop from my eyes as a soft weight drops on me. I snap to attention in fright thinking it’s Christian again, but it’s not.

It’s a blanket.

I’ve been naked all along in front of him, and I never even thought to cover some part of myself with my hands or anything.

Christian’s tone when he speaks is calm, and it compels me to listen even through the grief currently flooding me. “I texted Levi today and told him I would be coming here after work to rest. 

He said it was okay, since he had a friend’s party he wanted to attend, but he must have forgotten to tell you, didn’t he?”

My lip quivers miserably, “He didn’t. He… He told me no one would be here tonight.”

I must look disgusting right now, sniveling and stuttering after betraying my boyfriend with his brother. I look up to confirm what my mind tells me, but I can't see anything like disgust in Christian’s eyes.

I can’t see anything at all, and that calm somehow makes me feel less panicked. Struggling but succeeding, I stop sobbing and lessen the flow of tears dropping from my eyes.

Christian speaks the words I may have been wanting to hear all along, “I’m not going to mention anything about this to Levi.”

Like a coward, my heart shudders in relief, but then the shame from that makes me unable to meet Christian’s gaze as he continues, “I won’t be telling anyone else either, so don’t feel scared, Lyra. No one will find out unless you want them to. It’s going to be alright.”

I take a deep breath, but it’s all shaky and wrong.

I just betrayed Levi, and now I’m planning to cover up my betrayal with the person I betrayed him with. How horrible can I be?

My eyes fall on a beautifully wrapped package at the foot of Levi’s bed. 

From the cherry red leather and delicate flower petal handles peeking out from under the wrapping, I see that it’s a handbag. A women’s handbag. The ribbons have been tied to form a large bow, and Levi must have gotten that for me. He got me a present, even though it’s his birthday?

Oh… How am I ever going to make this up to him?

My eyes brim with tears again but I do not cry. My life hasn’t been so soft or rosy that I don't know how to handle bad situations, and that’s what this is, a bad situation.

Christian’s right. We can’t let his brother find out about this. It’ll only hurt him… and I don’t want to hurt Levi. 

Getting up with the blanket still covering my body, I head to Levi’s bathroom, and once in there, I wash my face, wipe my tears, and flush all evidence of my presence down the toilet. When I’m done I put on the nightgown again and step out.

Christian’s eyes immediately lock onto mine and a sudden heat enters his gaze, but it’s gone as fast as it came. Our gazes hold and we nod to each other in silent agreement. 

I say the words we both want to hear, “Levi doesn’t have to find out, and between us, we’ll act like nothing ever happened.”

I walk over to the door, glancing one last time on impulse at the room and the man in it. 

Embarrassment fills my guts and goosebumps break out on my laps as I open the door and leave. Yet the moment I step out, I bump into a solid body.

My legs go weak and sweat breaks over my skin when I look up.

Levi.