Chapter 2

He somehow found out about Celeste's incredible family fortune and brazenly wormed his way into her life, taking advantage of her vulnerability.

But he was still my brother.

I couldn’t let him fall into a trap I’d personally dug.

The moment Liam came home, I cornered him. The faint, unfamiliar scent of his cologne still hung in the air.

“You know that’s my girlfriend,” my voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

When I first ‘escaped’ home, nightmares haunted me every night. I’d scream Celeste's name in my sleep.

It was terror, a shiver etched deep into my bones.

Liam, though, mistook it for profound love. He rushed forward, slapped me hard a few times, his eyes red as he grilled me about every single detail of my time with Celeste.

“Julian, just let me have her,” he suddenly changed his demeanor, blinking with wide, wet eyes, like an innocent puppy. “You’ve always been the best big brother to me.”

Always the same.

Ever since we were kids, our parents always favored him.

They always told me, as the older brother, to take care of Liam.

We were twins; I was only born a few minutes before him, yet I was expected to bear the responsibility of looking after him for his entire life.

My favorite toys, the candy apples I loved, the drawings I saved up for – if he so much as hinted he wanted them, they were his.

He’d been raised with a spoiled, selfish streak.

“Do you even know what kind of person Celeste is?” I asked him. Just thinking of that woman made my throat tighten, a lingering physical memory.

“The Blackwood heiress? You think I don’t know that?” His eyes gleamed with astonishing brightness. “I know a lot more than you think.”

“Now that Celeste lost her memory, I’ve been pretending to be her boyfriend and taking care of her for days.”

Liam couldn't hide the smug satisfaction from his lips. He’d always dreamed of marrying into a wealthy family, and now, opportunity had practically landed in his lap.

My eyes widened instinctively.

I thought he was just helping out. I never expected him to steal my identity.

“Don’t you know you’re going to get yourself killed?”

My voice held a tremor I hadn’t even realized was there—a mix of anger and a secret thrill.

His stupidity would only drag him into the abyss.

A thin layer of anger flushed Liam’s face. He suddenly lunged, grabbing for the chain on my wrist.

The bracelet Celeste had given me, the one I hadn’t had time to take off.

“Give it to me!” he snarled, using all his strength, yelling at the top of his lungs. “This was never yours to begin with!”

Mom and Dad were traveling overseas, but I still worried his piercing voice would be heard by the neighbors. And if it was, I’d be the one getting yelled at.

I let go, watching him snatch the silver bracelet.

If he wanted to be Celeste’s boyfriend so badly, then let him.

“This bracelet, and Celeste, they’re both mine now.” Liam put on the bracelet, swaggering as he flashed it at me.

His eyes crinkled with a smile, like a child who’d gotten the whole world, already deeply immersed in the beautiful dream he’d woven for himself.