Chapter 3

It was morning, and my brother was still fast asleep.

 I had a crazy idea. I knew it would get both of us into massive trouble, especially me, but I didn't mind. I couldn't just sit around and watch my brother get bullied anymore.

I was going to disguise myself as him, go to practice, and deal with those jerks. Since I was trained in kung fu, taking them down would be a piece of cake.

My brother and I are identical twins. The only real differences were our eye colors and my long hair. He had green eyes, while mine were blue. Plus, I was short-sighted, which is why I usually wore glasses. But with a pair of medicated contact lenses, I was good to go.

I sneaked into his room, grabbing his oversized hoodie, a pair of short knickers, and his sneakers. Moving back to my bedroom, I took off my glasses and carefully popped in the green contacts. 

Next, I tightly wrapped a piece of cloth around my chest to flatten my breasts, slipping on a tank top before pulling his heavy hoodie over my head. To hide my hair, I plaited it flat against my scalp, secured it with a net cap, and threw on the short wig I had bought at the shopping mall earlier that morning. I really meant business.

Looking in the mirror, I gasped. Voila. I looked exactly like my brother. There was no difference at all. To clear any lingering doubt, I grabbed some makeup and carefully painted dark smudges on my skin, faking the fresh bruises my brother had brought home the day before.

"I'm off to see Charlotte! Check the fridge if you're hungry, and don't forget to microwave the food!" I yelled toward his closed door to cover my tracks.

"Okay, mummy," came his faint, sleepy reply.

I smiled, making my way out to our car. I always liked saying our because we shared everything, including the vehicle. After opening the gate, I drove out, stepped out to lock it back up, and then hopped back into the driver's seat to head toward the ice rink.

Deep down, a knot of anxiety twisted in my stomach. If I got caught, my brother could get expelled, or worse, arrested. In this country, impersonation is taken very seriously. I could literally end up in jail. But I didn't care about myself; I was only terrified for him. 

I wanted to protect him, not make his life more complicated.

When I reached the facility, I pushed open the heavy doors and walked straight into the locker room. The guys were already gearing up for practice, but Nico was still standing around in his towel.

Water dripped from his messy hair down his bare chest, tracking paths over his muscular shoulders and down his tattooed neck. If he weren't such a massive jerk, I probably would have been crushing hard. Instead, just looking at him made my blood boil.

The room suddenly went quiet.

 Everyone stared at me like I was an alien. For a terrifying second, my heart dropped into my stomach, thinking they had seen right through my disguise.

"Look who finally showed up. It's loser man," Nathaniel scoffed, breaking the silence. He was already fully dressed, casually leaning on his hockey stick. "I guess you really have no dignity left, coming back here after what happened yesterday. Then again, the money your dad paid for this spot was so huge, I guess you couldn't let it go to waste."

My jaw tightened, but I ignored him. I walked straight to Jace's locker and pretended to look for my gear. It was a trap; I was just waiting for them to make the first move.

"You look a little tall today, or did you suddenly grow overnight?" Liam sneered, his footsteps echoing as he closed the distance between us.

I glanced over my shoulder, watching him approach with a cocky grin. "You talk too much for a man," I snapped.

Liam froze, staring at me like he had just seen a ghost. His head tilted in pure amusement, utterly stunned by the sudden retaliation. He was clearly used to Jace being a silent doormat who swallowed every insult.

"What did you just say, loser man? Did weakling Jace actually just speak?"

I stopped pretending to look through the locker and turned around fully, locking my eyes onto his. "I said you talk too much, jerk. Or did you suddenly go deaf? My surname is Silverman. Whatever stupid names you invent just reflect your own miserable lifestyle."

A collective gasp echoed through the room. The entire team shifted their full attention to us. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nico watching intently, his expression showing far more surprise than the others.

Liam’s face flushed red with humiliation. For someone who always had the upper hand against my brother, losing control of the room was clearly eating him alive.

He scoffed, taking a dangerous step forward. "Did I slam you too hard against the locker yesterday? Looks like you forgot your place." He tried to tower over me, but I stood my ground with my arms folded, refusing to flinch or back away.

~Come on, jerk,~ my mind dared him. ~Move closer. Just try to touch me once.~ That was exactly what I was waiting for.

"Your breath stinks so bad I think it wiped my memory," I whispered, a dark smirk spreading across my lips. "So please, remind me of my place one more time, baby boy."

That comment drove him completely over the edge. His eyes flared with rage as he raised a hand to aggressively flick my forehead. It was his biggest mistake. The moment his arm swung upward, I intercepted it mid-air, gripping his wrist tight, and twisted it with full force.

A sharp, agonizing scream ripped through the locker room, accompanied by the distinct sound of popping joints. Liam bit his lip violently, his face contorting as he tried to bear the sudden pain.

"Let him go, you loser!" Theodore yelled, charging straight at me.

Without releasing my grip on Liam, I pivoted and delivered a swift, powerful kick right into Theodore's chest, sending him flying backward across the room.

The remaining players stared with wide eyes, completely paralyzed. They couldn't wrap their heads around how the quiet, isolated Jace, the guy who always shrank into corners and let everyone walk all over him, was suddenly dismantling them.

"Let me go!" Liam whimpered, trying desperately to hold onto a shred of pride, but I wasn't about to let him keep it.

"I can't do that, Liam. If you want me to let you go, you have to earn it," I murmured, twisting his arm just a fraction more.