All Chapters of One Heart, Which Brother?: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The soft sound of birdsong outside my window was the first thing I heard that morning.Peaceful.It had been four days since the kidnapping… since the blood… since Ruben carried me into the emergency room screaming for help while I bled out in his arms.Four days since I thought I’d never open my eyes again.And yet, here I was. Propped up in bed, the white linens pulled to my waist, my body aching in a hundred small ways… but alive.Very much alive.The wound on my shoulder throbbed with every movement, but the pain was dulled by the cocktail of meds the family doctor had me on.He checked in every morning without fail, followed by two more nurses Ruben personally hired. I hadn’t even seen them before this, but now it felt like they lived in the house.Daph came next always a few minutes after my vitals were taken. She never showed up empty-handed. Today, she brought fruit, some random magazines, and the messiest, most beautiful pink-and-blue bouquet I’d ever seen.“Tell me you’re bo

I woke up to the quiet hum of movement downstairs a sound that was both foreign and strangely comforting. The scent of something sweet drifted up from the kitchen, but I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening.The soft sound of shoes against marble floors. Voices in low, respectful tones. The rustle of folders and papers being sorted.I blinked slowly.Today was my first day of college.Except… my college now existed inside the four walls of Ruben’s estate.When I finally gathered the energy to get out of bed, I found a note on the nightstand. Ruben’s handwriting, neat and firm:"I’ll be upstairs after my call. Everything is ready. Be kind to your tutors they’re not your enemies. Love, R."I rolled my eyes but smiled despite myself. He always knew how to toe the line between infuriating and sweet.After showering, I dressed simply jeans, a soft sweatshirt, and tied my hair up. I didn’t want to look like a Delwunco today. I wanted to feel like Lia again.As I stepped out into

The sun filtered through the sheer curtains of the grand estate, painting soft gold across the marble floors. For the first time in weeks, Lia woke up without pain, without fear but not without confusion. The mansion had grown quiet, almost peaceful. Even the air felt slower, like the house itself was holding its breath.Ruben had been careful with her. Gentle, even. Not hovering, but present every step of the way. And now, as she walked down to the breakfast table already laid out for her, Lia couldn’t ignore the butterflies that fluttered nervously in her chest.She found him at the table, sleeves rolled up, scrolling through something on his tablet. A cup of untouched coffee sat beside his elbow.He looked up the second he sensed her presence. “Morning, Lia,” he said softly. “I didn’t want to wake you.”“You didn’t,” she murmured, taking a seat across from him. “Smelled the croissants.”He gave a short smile and gestured to the plate. “They’re your favorites. From that bakery you l

It had been a week since the garden night.And Ruben had kept his promise.No pressure. No forced affection. No questions when she pulled away. Just soft touches, careful words, and eyes that lingered a little longer than before.It felt… dangerous.Because Lia knew how easy it was to fall for kindness when you were starved of it. And Ruben Ruben was beginning to feel like a warm fire on a cold night. Comforting. Addictive. But maybe still capable of burning her to the ground.She closed her laptop after her last class of the day and stretched. The villa was quiet, except for the occasional passing footsteps of guards in the hall. Her fingers twitched she wanted to step out, to breathe real air, to be somewhere normal.But normal wasn’t in her vocabulary anymore.She wandered downstairs, barefoot, in one of Ruben’s oversized shirts she had stolen from his closet days ago. The scent of him still clung to the fabric, a mix of cedarwood and something darker, something distinctly him.In

Ruben left before I woke up.I could still feel the warmth on the other side of the bed, though. His cologne lingered faintly on the sheets, woodsy and dark, like everything about him.I didn’t wake up with a weight on my chest. I didn’t have to brace myself before opening my eyes.And when I walked downstairs, the smell of fresh coffee greeted me.There he was, shirt sleeves rolled up, hair still damp from a shower, flipping through his tablet at the kitchen island like it was just any regular morning and not a scene out of a dream.“Good morning, wife,” he said without looking up.I narrowed my eyes. “You're suspiciously...domestic today.”He grinned without shame. “You say that like I didn’t just install two espresso machines so you’d stop crying over your instant coffee.”I blinked. “You what?”“Check behind the fridge.”Sure enough, hidden in a corner was a machine that looked like it belonged in a five-star café.I turned back to him, stunned. “You remembered.”His eyes met mine