All Chapters of One Heart, Which Brother?: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The morning after I overheard everything, the world still spun like it didn’t care I’d just unraveled.Birds chirped. Sunlight poured into my room with the audacity of joy. And the staff moved around the Delwunco estate with their usual swift efficiency setting up chairs for meetings, checking floral deliveries, arranging linens I no longer cared about.But I was different.I stood in front of my closet like a soldier about to choose her armor. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t feel like a puppet.I felt... awake.I wore black. Not just any black. Sleek. Clean. Dangerous. The kind of black that demanded space and offered no apologies. It clung to my body like the truth, zipped high at the back and cut low at the front barely appropriate for a bride-to-be, but I no longer cared for appearances unless I controlled them.I found Ruben in the garden that afternoon, discussing photo setups with a celebrity wedding planner. He glanced over his shoulder when he saw me, lips parting into

Come in,” he said, offering his hand.I didn’t take it.Instead, I followed him in silence.The house was breathtaking. Minimalist, but luxurious. Art lined the hallways, not just paintings but sculptures, real ones, museum-level pieces. I didn’t understand how this place wasn’t on the cover of every magazine.“What is this place?” I finally asked.“Our getaway,” he said simply.I blinked. “Our what?”“Our honeymoon home. One of them,” he added with a shrug, like it was normal to collect getaway mansions. “But more than that… I thought it could be your place. Your sanctuary.”He led me to the back patio where the view took my breath away. An infinity pool sparkled beneath the sun. The ocean beyond it stretched wide, endless. There was a hammock strung between two olive trees. A library visible through a glass wall. Everything was perfect.Too perfect.“I wanted you to see it,” he said. “Because after all this madness, the wedding, the public stuff you deserve somewhere that’s just for

I felt the shift in the room instantly, journalists sitting straighter, board members clapping, whispers echoing like static. This wasn’t just about a wedding.This was about a deal.A very public, very strategic deal.I smiled, because that’s what was expected of me. But inside, something cracked.Ruben leaned down and whispered through his teeth, “It’s just branding, Lia. You’re safe. I promise.”But I wasn’t listening anymore.I could hear the voice in my head instead. The one that had been trying to scream this whole time. The one that whispered the truth:This isn’t a fairytale. It’s a business contract.Later that evening, when we returned to the main estate, I locked myself in my room. I changed out of the designer gown, wiped off the flawless makeup, and stood barefoot in front of the mirror.Who was she?The girl in the reflection?She didn’t look like Lia anymore. She looked like someone who’d been painted, polished, and handed over like a pawn in a billion-dollar game.I sa

Seven days.That number clung to me like perfume, sickly sweet and impossible to shake.Seven days until the wedding.I woke up to the soft, persistent knock at my bedroom door. Before I could even sit up fully, it creaked open and in walked Daphnie, carrying a tray and grinning like she’d just won the lottery."Good morning, sleepyhead!" she chirped.I blinked at her. “What time is it?”“Too late to still be in bed. Come on, get up!” She marched straight to my curtains and yanked them open, flooding the room with sunlight that immediately attacked my headache.I groaned. “Daph, please. I haven’t even had coffee yet.”“Exactly why I brought you this.” She set the tray down beside me fresh coffee, warm cinnamon rolls, and orange slices arranged like tiny suns on a porcelain plate. “Breakfast fit for a bride-to-be.”I sat up slowly, eyeing her suspiciously. “You’re awfully chipper for someone who’s been up all morning.”She flopped onto the edge of my bed, the mattress dipping with her

Two days to the wedding.One day to the court wedding.Somehow, it felt like time was folding in on itself every hour passing like a heartbeat, quick and unsteady.And today… Today was the bridal shower.It started early. I was still curled beneath my sheets when Daph burst into my room, grinning like she was on a sugar high.“Get up, bride-to-be!” she sang, yanking the curtains open with flair. “You’ve got a party to slay.”I groaned. “What time is it?”“Time to be fabulous.” She tossed a pair of satin slippers at me. “We leave in thirty minutes. Wear something light you’re changing when we get there.”“The location’s still a secret?”She grinned mischievously. “Obviously. You’re not planning this, you’re surviving it.”I rolled my eyes but smiled. I hadn’t seen Daph this alive in weeks. Maybe she was forcing the cheer, maybe not but I was grateful either way.Half an hour later, we were in the back of a sleek black SUV, driving toward whatever surprise she'd spent weeks planning. Da