Chapter 4

ASTRID

Home was nothing like I imagined it to be. This was no home. This was probably a mansion in heaven.

Never had I seen nothing so grand with walls stretching so high it almost resembled a fortress.

Or the sprawling estate that extended for miles, more than the eyes could see.

This was what he casually called home? What universe did I just walk into?

As the car rolled to a stop, Arman found my eyes from the front seat. “How do you like your new home?”

For a moment, I was tongue-tied. Another part of me was scared. Why were these people being kind to me and what did they want?

I swallowed, nodding. “Why am I here? You said you were taking me home.”

A smile broke out on his handsome face. “This is home. Wait until you meet the old man, my brothers and niece.” He made to get down but stopped and looked at me. “You have nothing to fear, princess. You’re safe with us.”

Taking him at his word, I simply nodded.

He jogged round to my side of the car and opened the door, holding a hand out to keep me on my feet.

It did feel wobbly but after a while, I got used to walking.

Ahead, there were people waiting for us; two guys who had a striking resemblance to Arman, and a little girl.

“She does look like her,” one of them whispered aloud, staring at me in awe. “Welcome home, sweetheart. I’m Kian. This is my brother, Kaveh.”

Too stunned to speak, I nodded like a damn fool. How did so many good-looking men end up in one place?

The one whose name was Kaveh gave me a small nod. “Nice to finally meet you, Astrid. This is my daughter, Soraya. Baby, say hello.”

Soraya looked up at me from her bangs and shook her head. “I don’t like her.”

Arman dragged a hand down his face, then wagged a finger at Kaveh. “This is exactly why I warned against letting her visit her mother during the spring break. You just never listen.”

“She learned the bad manners from you, not her mother,” Kaveh fired back.

While they bickered like kids, Kian came up to me, offering a hand as he took us away from the scene.

He rubbed a hand behind his neck, rather awkwardly. “Brothers, ey? They don’t fail to disappoint.”

The corners of my mouth lifted on their own. “I don’t think I can relate. I don’t have siblings.”

His grin dropped into one thin line. “That sucks. Well, that’s about to change now because you have three brothers you can always count on. Just don’t be as annoying as Arman.”

We laughed at that.

But I found myself considering the possibilities of having siblings like them.

He led me in through the grand double doors serving as an entrance, giving me the shortest tour possible to a long hallway filled with doors.

He picked one at the long end of the hallway. “This one is yours. It was short notice but we had it quickly prepped for you.”

It clicked open and we walked in.

If the exteriors were beautiful, then this was ethereal. Warm hues of ocean green swirled in every corner of the large room.

High ceiling and a large bed with a four-poster canopy. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen.

Why would anyone give this to a stranger they helped and tell her ‘this is your home?’ It was unsettling.

Without thinking, I asked, “Who are you people?”

Just as he was about to speak, shouting erupted outside. Kian glanced through the window once and cursed under his breath.

“Not again.”

Before I could ask anything, he dashed off, leaving me to wonder what the hell was going on.

When I took a look at the window, there was a red-haired woman in the driveway, anger was practically radiating off her as she yelled at Arman and Kaveh.

“You think I wouldn’t find out?” She shrieked. “You really have guts, I’ll give you that. I told you I was coming to see my daughter and that’s when you decided to bring in one of your fāheše.”

What the—

Her voice climbed higher and higher, rising above the others that it almost drilled a hole into my head.

How could someone be so loud, yet so wrong?

Arman said nothing, only because Kaveh made him keep quiet. She wasn’t listening to him either.

“Of all places, you brought her here to fuck? In the presence of our daughter?!”

Oh, that explained the attitude then. Arman was right afterall.

Kaveh kept his hands up like he was trying to calm a wild animal.

“I want to see her! Saraya, take me to her!” She demanded, looking up at the windows. “Where is she? Don’t lie to me.”

I managed to catch a phrase from poor Kaveh. “…not what you think.”

“Oh, I know exactly what I think!” She snapped. “You disappeared all night and the next day and suddenly, there’s a woman in the house?”

My stomach dropped. Wait. She was talking about me.

Like she heard my thoughts, her gaze snapped up and our eyes locked.

“I know she’s in there! I can see her. Tell her to come out or else when I get to her first, I’ll scratch out her eyeballs.”

Yup, she definitely was talking about me. Perhaps, coming here was a bad idea. I couldn’t be the reason why a man and his wife would have issues.

Before long, Kian joined them outside. I, too, wasn’t far behind.

“You’ll be doing no such thing,” I heard him say.

The harshness on Arman’s face revealed more than he opened his mouth to say.

“This is not the time, Roxana. What are you doing?”

She rounded in on him at once. “Oh now it’s what I’m doing? Protecting my child from evil, that’s what! Ask your brother why he’s bringing women home like I don’t exist!”

Quietly, I went to Arman’s side. “That’s enough. I’ll just leave.”

His face softened when he turned to me. “No, princess. You are not the one who should leave. You belong right here with us. As for her, she has no place in this house.”

Like a raging bull, the woman rushed toward me with intent to slap me but Kian pushed her away a second too late.

The side of my mouth burned when she was carried away. Touching the sore spot, I realized she had scratched me.

A car pulled up soon and out stepped a tall man, looking to be in his sixties. With the way able-bodied men flocked behind him, he was probably the Patriarch.

“The only reason why you’re still allowed entrance through my gates is because of your father. Keep up with this and I’d soon have you thrown out,” he said to Roxana.

“Baba!” Soraya squealed, running into his arms, ignoring the tension between the adults.

Roxana, still fuming, pointed a finger at me. “How could he bring in a stray around my daughter? I was only trying to protect her since her father is failing at it.”

“Who are you calling a stray?” The old man’s face twisted into a bitter scowl. “Is that why you had the guts to lay a hand on my daughter?”