3. I'm The Nicer Twin.

Nadia’s POV.

I should have made more effort to convince Mom. I could have even tried running away or something.

I can’t kneel. The moment I knelt, my life here would be over. Yet, I was starting to see my life flash before my eyes. Tears were still rolling down my cheeks, and none of that seemed to change Ares' mind.

His face was blank, but the anger in his eyes was hard to ignore.

I had to choose between my pride and my life.

“Brother, that isn’t a nice way to welcome our new sister, is it?”

I couldn’t turn my head to see who spoke, but the person didn’t keep me in suspense for long as his hands grabbed Ares' arm and yanked it away from my neck.

I fell to the floor, then I struggled to catch my breath with deep gulps of air and heavy pants.

Once I was sure that my airways were working fine, I pushed myself up and immediately put distance from the two figures that were standing in front of me.

I looked at my savior and for a moment, my mouth fell open at the sight. Aside from his hair being longer and hanging on his shoulders while some unruly curls framed his face, he looked no different from Ares.

“You are much prettier than Ares made you out to be,” he said with a wink and then stretched his hand out for a shake.

I kept my hands to myself because there’s no way I’m trusting a man who looked exactly like Ares.

Angels and good people don’t look like this.

As though he sensed my distrust, his mouth curled up, and he turned to look at Ares.

“Such a lovely sister, and you have already scared her away.”

Ares scoffed. “Lovely?”

“Guess we can’t trust you to handle company matters anymore, Luca.”

“Your judgment is slipping.”

And then, without another word, Ares shot me a dirty glare and walked away.

“Allow me to apologize on his behalf, Nadia. Ares can be very distrustful.”

"I promise I'm the nicer twin," he added immediately.

I gave a quick nod and then turned away. Although Luca had a smile on his face, his eyes were gleaming with amusement, and some part of me strongly felt that he was no better than his devil of a brother.

I didn’t want to spend any second near either one of them.

“You would get lost very quickly. Let me show you to your room.”

I slowed down. That wasn’t a lie. I didn’t even know which of the three staircases was the right way.

Why the hell did they need three staircases?

Luca nudged his head at the staircase to the right and then, with one long stride, caught up to me and stood beside me.

“The middle staircase leads to the public spaces, while the left and right ones are meant for the family. Because of Ares, Sam thought it was best to let you stay on the right wing,” Luca explained as we climbed the staircase.

That was good news. The more distance between us, the better for me.

Right now, my mind was already turning with escape plans. If Mom doesn’t agree, I’ll have to leave her here.

Mr Callaghan would most likely keep her safe.

We climbed two more levels and then when we got to the third floor, we turned two hallways before Luca finally stopped in front of a door and turned the knob.

“Here’s your room,” Luca announced as he pushed the door open.

Luca stepped inside, and once his broad frame wasn’t blocking the door anymore, my mouth fell open at the view in front of me.

Oh my goddess!

Luca laughed. It was completely different from Ares' dark chuckle. It was airy, light, and somehow made me smile, too.

“Yes, Dad got a little excited at the idea of having a princess, so he went all in.”

“A princess?” I couldn’t help but feel like there was something I was missing here, and my eyes met with Luca’s ones which also seemed to share my confusion.

“You don’t know?” He asked, and I shook my head hurriedly.

This time, his laughter was hard to read but definitely not as funny as the one from before.

“Starting from when our parents tie the knot, you would become the Royal Princess of Cresvane.”