CHAPTER 66

Back at the mansion, the atmosphere somehow became worse as time passed

Aaron had moved from sarcasm into full-time emotional support disguised as stupidity

Which honestly should have been studied scientifically

I sat at the kitchen island staring blankly at my untouched drink while Kael’s mother cooked something nearby

Lina helped quietly

Livia kept stealing food directly from the pan despite repeated threats

And Aaron sat on the counter eating chips while acting like he paid bills there

You know what’s bothering me most? he announced suddenly

Nobody asked

Aaron ignored that detail completely

The fact that Kael somehow accidentally reunited with his childhood fiancée without knowing she was his childhood fiancée

Livia gasped dramatically, Wait that IS insane

Thank you

I dropped my forehead against the counter Please stop talking

No, because imagine explaining this to normal people, Aaron continued. Oh yeah, we met again after childhood memory loss caused by a criminal organization

Lina looked stressed already. Aaron…

Then we accidentally fell in love while threatening each other constantly

We are not in love, I muttered immediately

Aaron looked at me with pure disappointment

See? Denial again

Livia pointed at me seriously, Honestly at this point you should just accept your fate.

I hate all of you

Kael’s mother laughed softly under her breath while stirring the food

That sound somehow settled my nerves slightly

Then the phone rang

Instant silence

Every single person in the kitchen looked toward it immediately

Kael’s mother answered quickly

Hello?

Her expression changed almost instantly

My heartbeat sped up immediately

She nodded once slowly

Okay, Call me when they land

Then she ended the call.

Well? Aaron asked

Their flight just took off.

And suddenly the room felt smaller

Two hours later, I was pacing aggressively.

Aaron watched me from the couch with visible concern mixed with amusement

You’re wearing a hole into the floor

I stopped immediately

Then started pacing again

Livia looked up from her phone. Honestly she’s making me nervous now

Lina nodded slightly, Same.

I pressed both hands against my face roughly

What if they don’t recognize me?

That shut everyone up.

The room became quieter immediately

Kael’s mother looked toward me from across the room gently

Sweetheart—------

No seriously, I continued before I could stop myself. What if they look at me and don’t feel anything? What if I don’t feel anything?

Aaron sat up slightly now

You will

You don’t know that

No, he admitted calmly. But I know people don’t spend years destroying themselves searching for someone unless love is involved

That surprised me enough to look at him properly

Aaron noticed immediately and looked offended,

Stop acting shocked every time I become emotionally intelligent

Livia nodded seriously. It’s rare but beautiful.

Aaron threw a pillow at her head.

She threw it back immediately.

Kael’s mother walked toward me slowly then stopped directly in front of me.

Your mother never stopped loving you for a single second, she said quietly. Neither did your father. Neither did your brothers.

Emotion tightened painfully inside my chest again.

Then she touched my face gently.

And the second they see you, they’ll know.

Before I could answer—

Headlights appeared outside

Everybody froze

No one spoke

Lina stood first

Livia slowly lowered her phone

Aaron muttered, Oh God

My heartbeat became violent instantly

No.

Too soon.

Kael’s mother looked toward the window briefly before inhaling slowly.

They’re here.

I couldn’t move

Literally could not move.

Outside, black cars rolled through the gates slowly before stopping in front of the mansion.

Doors opened

Men stepped out first

Security.

Then—

A woman.

Dark coat, Elegant posture, Beautiful even from a distance.

And something inside my chest reacted instantly.

Violently.

Behind her stepped a tall man beside two younger men.

My brothers

I knew somehow immediately

The front doors opened downstairs

Voices entered the house first

Elena laughed softly while removing her gloves. If you dragged us across Europe for another one of your emotional emergencies—

Her words stopped immediately

Because she finally looked up.

And saw me.

Silence

Elena froze completely near the entrance

The smile disappeared from her face slowly

Like her brain genuinely could not process what she was seeing

Behind her, Marco looked confused at first.

Then serious

Then completely shattered

Neither of them moved,

Neither did I

My entire body felt numb

Xavier frowned slightly looking between all of us. What’s going on?

Nobody answered him.

Elena’s eyes never left mine

Never.

Her breathing changed first.

Then her expression.

Then suddenly her hand covered her mouth shakily.

No.

The word barely came out.

Marco stepped forward slowly now staring at me like he was terrified to blink.

Adrian looked confused.

Xavier looked more confused.

Then Elena whispered again, weaker this time.

Aria?

That name broke something inside the room instantly

Xavier went still immediately

Adrian’s expression changed completely

Elena took another slow step toward me like she was scared I would disappear if she moved too fast

Tears filled her eyes instantly

No no no…

Her voice shook harder now.

Marco finally looked away from me long enough to stare toward Kael’s mother.

I..........I don't understand this, what is happening??

Kael’s mother was crying already

And somehow that confirmed everything without words

Elena looked back at me again

Then suddenly she was crying

Her knees almost gave out before Marco caught her quickly.

Oh God…

My chest hurts

Because the way they were looking at me—

It did not feel fake not forced

It felt like grief colliding with hope so violently they did not know how to survive it

Xavier spoke first somehow

Impossible

But his voice already sounded broken

Adrian still looked frozen

Completely frozen

I swallowed hard trying to speak

Nothing came out

Elena finally walked closer again

Slowly

Carefully

Then stopped directly in front of me

Her shaking hands lifted toward my face hesitantly

Like she was asking permission without words

I didn’t stop her

The second her fingers touched my cheek—

she broke completely.

You’re alive.

That was it.

Just those two words spoken like her entire world stopped making sense

And suddenly—

mine did too.

Because no one had ever looked at me like this before

Like losing me destroyed them

or.... finding me brought them back to life.

Tears burned my eyes instantly.

I tried stopping them, but I couldn't

Elena pulled me against her suddenly, crying softly into my hair while holding me so tightly it almost hurt

But I didn’t pull away

I tried but couldn't

Because something inside me recognized her before my memories did.

Marco pressed a hand against his mouth roughly while looking away briefly.

Adrian finally moved then

Xavier looked angry and emotional at the same time which honestly felt strangely familiar

How? he asked quietly

Nobody answered immediately

Because Elena still couldn’t let me go

Her hands kept touching my face, my hair, my shoulders like she needed constant proof I was real

Marco stepped closer slowly afterward

His eyes looked suspiciously wet now too

You look exactly like your mother

Behind him, Xavier suddenly laughed once without humor before dragging both hands through his hair

This is insane

Adrian still looked at me carefully like he was trying to memorize every detail

Then quietly—

You really are her??? he asked

And somehow hearing that from him hurt differently, because they had spent years believing I was dead.

Years.........

Kael’s mother wiped her tears quietly nearby while Aaron stood awkwardly beside Livia looking emotionally overwhelmed for once in his life

Livia was openly crying already,

Lina too.

Aaron noticed me looking toward him and immediately pointed at himself defensively,

I’m only emotional because everyone else started first.

Then the front doors opened again

Kael, Lucian, Their father.

All three walked in mid-conversation before stopping immediately after seeing the scene in front of them.

Kael’s eyes found me instantly.

Still in Elena’s arms, Still crying.

And his expression shifted quietly

Not anger Nor jealousy, Something softer almost painful.

Marco noticed Kael's father immediately

Their eyes met briefly across the room, then Marco walked toward him slowly

Kael's father straightened automatically

But before he could even speak—

Marco pulled him into a rough hug

Thank you.

He froze completely

The entire room did honestly

Marco pulled back slightly afterward, emotion still heavy in his voice

For bringing my princess home.

“I knew it,” she whispered through tears. I knew you weren’t gone, I knew it…

“No.”

Everyone looked toward Xavier

His expression hardened instantly

“No,” he repeated sharply, “Absolutely not.”

“Xavier—” his mother started

She’s dead

She died eight years ago, he continued harshly, staring directly at me now like he was angry at the sight of me. “We buried her.”

Pain flashed across his mother’s face immediately

“Xavier…”

No, His voice got sharper. “No one does this to us again.”

I stared at him quietly

And honestly?

That hurt more than I expected

Because this wasn’t anger

This was grief, the kind that never healed properly.

The calmer brother stepped forward carefully. “Xavier…”

“No, Adrian Think about this.... His breathing was heavier now “We identified her body ourselves"

No, Kael’s mother said softly.

You identified what they wanted you to identify.

Xavier laughed once without humor and stepped back again

“This is insane.”

Lucian looked between everybody slowly “Well.... This went badly fast”

Xavier’s eyes landed on Kael then narrowed instantly

“You.”

Kael frowned slightly

And then recognition hit both of them at once

“Oh no,” Aaron muttered immediately. “Not this too.”

Xavier stepped forward sharply. “You knew?”

Kael’s expression hardened instantly. “Not until yesterday.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Yes.”

Xavier looked ready to explode again.

“You brought us here for what exactly?” he snapped. Some sick emotional experiment?

Kael’s father stepped forward calmly then. “Enough.”

That single word shifted the room immediately.

Xavier looked toward him sharply

And froze slightly

" ...Sebastian?" Xavier’s father finally spoke again too, staring properly now. “What is going on?”

Sebastian exhaled slowly “Your daughter was never dead.”

She was taken by the organization years ago,” he continued calmly. “The body you buried was staged using her DNA.”

My mother started crying again immediately

But Xavier still looked furious.

“No,” he said again. “No, I watched my mother destroy herself over that grave

Pain crossed the entire room at that

“She stopped eating,” he continued harshly. “My father stopped speaking for months, Adrian almost killed someone during the investigation, and me????....I buried my sister.

"And now suddenly she’s alive?”

Xavier looked at me again “You look like her, but you are not Aria.

Something painful tightened inside my chest

Because he said it like it hurt him

“I am her,” I said quietly before I could stop myself

The room went silent again

Xavier stared at me for a long second,

Like he couldn’t handle hearing it.

Kael noticed instantly

He walked forward slowly. “Xavier.”

“Don’t" You disappeared too, Xavier muttered.

Kael’s jaw tightened slightly. “I know.”

The room shifted quietly at that

Because suddenly it wasn’t just about me anymore

Two boys who survived hell differently

One escaped,

One stayed behind grieving

Xavier looked exhausted now more than angry

Kael stepped closer slowly, Come outside with me

For a second it looked like Xavier would refuse,

Then finally—

he turned sharply and walked outside.

Kael followed after him immediately

The front door shut behind them

Silence settled again.

Livia looked around awkwardly. “So… nobody’s going to talk about how insane this family is?”

Lina covered her face immediately

Aaron looked thoughtful. “Actually I think insanity might genetically run through all of you.”

Elena was still holding my hand like she was scared I would disappear if she let go.

Marco sat beside her quietly now, studying me carefully.