Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 123575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123575 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Fear. Rage. Pain.
I’ve endured it all.
Seen it all.
I’m the bad brother, the evil one—the psychopath.
I wasn’t born this way. I was made this way.
Neglect, abuse, trauma, and pain really mess a person up.
Then the day I never thought would come finally does …
It’s time for revenge.
ARIES
Liar. Golden boy. Hero.
I thought I had it all figured out.
Then he showed up.
Arson is your worst nightmare brought to life and my twin brother.
He’s hell-bent on revenge and willing to hurt anyone who gets in his way, the person he wants to hurt the me, and he’s going to use Lilian to do it.
But if he thinks he plays a good villain, I can't wait for him to see just how ruthless I can be.
LILIAN
Fragile. Innocent. Broken.
With a rare heart condition, everyone in my life treats me like I’m seconds away from death. Everyone but him—my stepbrother.
What started as an annoying crush becomes an obsession when I realize Aries might feel the same. That is, until he rejects me, and I lose all hope.
When I arrive at Oakmount, I am determined to make him see me.
But the man I meet isn’t Aries, even if he looks just like him.
When I discover his secret for revenge, it’s too late.
There’s no escaping the psychopaths I’m falling for...
** This book can be read separate from the other books in the series, however for best reading experience it's better to start with book 1: The Wallflower. Please check the TW's at the start of the book. **
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Aries
Four Years Ago
Aknock on the door startles me from my textbooks—three hesitant taps barely audible over the music playing in my room at the Mill House. No one visits me here unannounced, and none of my friends would fucking knock.
This is someone else. I should be a little more hesitant, but if they know where to find me, chances are they know who I am. Opening the door, I freeze with my hand on the brass knob. Lilian, my stepsister, stands in the hallway, hands clasped nervously, looking simultaneously out of place and achingly familiar.
At sixteen, she hovers in that weird space between child and woman—still holding traces of teenage awkwardness but showing glimpses of the beauty she’ll become.
“Lilian?” Her name spills out harsher than intended, surprise sharpening my tone. I shove my shoulder-length hair out of my face to keep my eyes on her deep blue ones. “What are you doing here?”
She flinches but squares her shoulders. “I needed to see you.”
I check the empty hallway, suddenly worried I missed something. “Are Father and Patricia with you? Who let you in?”
“No one is with me.” A flash of defiance crosses her features. “I drove myself. Took the Audi. And I let myself in. It’s not like you guys lock your door. Also, there’s a naked girl passed out in the living room.”
The admission stuns me. Not the naked chick obviously...that’s common around here. Lilian—sheltered, protected, allegedly-fragile Lilian—drove herself to campus despite her mom’s objections to her even getting a license.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I say, even as I step aside to let her in.
The Hayes name means never leaving family standing in hallways, regardless of circumstances. Not with the kinds of secrets that leak through walls.
She enters hesitantly, taking in my room with curious eyes. I see it through her perspective—the antique furniture, stacked textbooks, evidence of a life deliberately separate from our home’s opulence. Lilian only knows one side of me, the side I show with our parents. She doesn’t know about the late nights, the parties, the sex. The brute I’ve learned to play around campus.
“It’s nice,” she offers, though we both know it’s not. “More...you than your room at home.”
I close the door, maintaining careful distance. She’s dressed with obvious care—a blue sundress I’ve never seen her wear before. Something is different—more sophisticated?—about her golden curls. Subtle makeup highlights her blue eyes, which dart nervously around the room, avoiding direct contact with mine.
“Does your mother know where you are?” I don’t know why I even ask because I already know the answer.
She shakes her head, fingers fidgeting with the strap of her small purse. “I told her I was studying at the library. She thinks Marcus is driving me.”
She lied to her mother. Lilian Hayes, the perfect daughter, never lies. Never rebels. Never secretly drives to visit her stepbrother at college without permission. Breaking the rules is a foreign concept. To be fair, I’ve been keeping my distance from her the past year or so as I prepared for college.
“You should call her,” I say, reaching for a lifeline in the face of my growing unease. “Tell her there’s been a change of plans. I can drive you home.”
“Not yet,” she says quickly. Too quickly. “I don’t want to leave…not when I just got here. Can’t we, I don’t know, talk? It’s been weeks since you came home.”
I don’t really feel like explaining it to her, and I don’t owe her an explanation, but part of me wants to tell her that it has nothing to do with her. That being in that house, surrounded by them, by my father, makes my skin crawl. And it would be a lie...well, it does make my skin crawl, but I’ve also been avoiding her and the way I can’t stop looking at her. And how disgusted with myself it makes me feel.
There’s something about Lilian’s body language, the careful way she speaks, with an excited puppy eagerness that makes red flags wave in my head. If she isn’t here with our parents, then why is she here?
I retreat to my desk, putting physical space between us. “What did you want to talk about that required a secret drive to the Mill House?”
She draws in a deep breath, gathering courage for whatever she came to say. Fuck. Don’t do this. This isn’t going to be good. I can feel it.
“I miss you,” she says, the simple statement hanging in the air between us. “I’m lonely. You hardly come home anymore, and when you do, you’re so...distant.”
I busy myself arranging papers on my desk, avoiding her gaze. “I’m sorry, Lilian, but I’m an adult. Adults are busy. I’m also a business major, remember? Father’s expectations.”
“It’s more than that.” She moves deeper into the room, perching herself on the edge of the bed, trying to look casual even though every part of her is tense. “Did I do something wrong? We used to talk, but now you can barely look at me.”