The Twin's Forbidden Desire

Prologue

Sophie

I looked in the mirror, smoothing the skirt of the green dress I was wearing, and my gaze could only rest on the huge diamond I was wearing on my finger, which was shining under the artificial lights of the bedroom in which I had prepared myself.

My bedroom.

Or rather, what would have been my prison for the rest of my life.

I sighed, bent my head to the side, and watched me from head to toe.

For that evening, I chose a bright green dress with two bands that covered my breasts, creating a wide v-neck that ended with the beginning of the hem of the skirt just above the navel, showing the groove between my breasts. The skirt fell soft on the legs and, on the right side, had a large slit that let you see a leg. Its back was completely exposed.

My blond hair had been styled by a high-fashion hairdresser, who had placed it in soft curls behind my back, some strands had been woven to make a crown that started from above the head and ended behind the neck, creating a sort of band from which two strands were freed that went to decorate my pale face.

They tried to make me up, but I refused categorically, opting for a simple trick made of a little pencil and mascara to highlight the blue irises of my eyes.

I put red lipstick on my lips to give her a little more of a hint and maybe not to mention how pale I really was.

The night before, I had not slept, I had spent time tossing and turning in that huge bed among the soft and fragrant blankets, but no matter how comfortable it was, it would not be able to calm the agitation that governed my body.

I had moved the day before, I had taken my old life and locked it in a box forever to start what would be my new life.

A life made of ceremonies and events alongside my future and soon husband: Alexander Williams.

A very rich and famous entrepreneur. Alexander was one of the richest men on this planet, and my father was very surprised when he agreed to help him. He was grateful and almost fell at his feet before knowing Williams' price.

Me.

In return for his favor, Alexander had asked my father for my hand, the chance to make me his wife and Mrs. Williams, even though he was over fifty and I was twenty.

At first, when Alexander asked for my hand in marriage, my father thought he wanted to marry me to one of his twin sons, he could never think that Alexander was so selfish and despotic that he wanted a wife much younger than him. My father refused categorically, but I agreed for his sake.

Dad didn’t want me to ruin my life, to end up in the clutches of a man like that, but what other choice did I have? Let the company go to a broken bank? Let Dad go to jail?

I couldn’t allow it. If I had to sell my body to a man I felt only loathing about to save my only family, then I would.

And now I was in that bedroom in that giant penthouse in the city of Chicago, about to attend my engagement party with the richest and most disgusting man I’d ever met.

I sighed again, went to the console with the mirror, sat down on the velvet chair, and took the Cartier box that Alexander had given me that afternoon, declaring it as a gift for his future wife.

I opened the box, and my eyes landed on the pair of diamond earrings inside. I knew exactly what he expected with that gift, he thought I’d give in to his advances and spend the night with him, despite our agreement.

When I agreed to marry him, I made one request: we wouldn’t share a bed until we actually married. He had proposed to us in a couple of months, but I made up an excuse saying that it would take at least a year to plan a wedding.

So we agreed on the date and terms of the wedding, which gave me at least another year to get used to the idea of having to give myself to him.

I put my earrings on my earlobes and looked at myself in the console mirror. At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," I said, and the door opened, revealing Alexander.

He didn’t look bad. He had gray hair pulled back and green eyes that looked like two emeralds, a gray beard uncultivated, and were tall with a well-placed body. But there was a light in his eyes that made me shiver, the way he looked at me every time, it wasn’t the way I wanted to be looked at by any man, as if I was some piece of meat and he wanted to eat me, and not in a good way.

"Are you ready, my dear?" he said in a voice that wanted to be persuasive but only made me close my stomach.

"Of course," I answered almost in a whisper, I got up and went to meet him, taking care not to trip over the skirt of the dress while the heels of my decollete resounded on the marble floor of the room.

Alexander looked at me from head to toe, and I saw at that moment how his eyes were resting a little too much on the neckline of my dress, and at that moment, I regretted choosing it. Maybe I should have used a less low-cut dress, maybe a burka, all to avoid that lustful look on my body.

He turned and offered me his arm, I put mine on his elbow, and Alexander bent over to give me a kiss on the cheek. "My dear, you’re stunning," he said.

The smell of his aftershave invaded my senses and made me dizzy from how strong he was.

"Thank you," I said, a little doubtful, "you’re fine too," I hastened to add.

He wore a dark blue suit with a silver tie that stood out on the white shirt. Together we walked down the stairs to the large entrance where the guests were surely waiting for us. Alexander had wanted to wait to announce our engagement, but tonight he would have. What better time to announce that you will be married to a girl who could be your daughter’s age than when you celebrate the acquisition of a multinational corporation that will carry billions of dollars in your pockets?

"The twins are here," she said as we walked up the stairs.

I frowned, "I thought they weren’t coming," I said.

"They changed their minds when I told them about the announcement," Alexander replied.

The twins were his only two sons, the 26-year-old who would inherit all of their father’s estate as soon as he retired.

Noah and Ethan Williams.

I had never seen them, but I had heard of them. Their names were on the lips of all the most scandalous journalists. Twins did not have a good reputation in the world; they were known for their festive personalities and their few hobbies consonant with society.

Since I agreed to marry Alexander two months earlier, I had never met the twins, they had never shown up for any family dinner or other event, let alone called him.

I assumed they didn’t have a good relationship with their father, and I was curious why.

"Let’s hope the two of them don’t do something outrageous," said Alexandre, "The last thing I need is to get all over the tabloids for some of their bullshit," he continued.

I didn’t say anything, I just existed as I did in the last few months. We reached the top of the staircase and stopped, all the heads of those present turned in our direction, and I felt a panic. He could already see people’s thoughts forming in their heads. I didn’t need a magician to understand them.

Surely everyone thought I was the kind of woman, a starving woman looking for money which was sleeping with a man much older than her just to get her hands on her estate. And the worst part was that it was true. I decided to be with him just for a matter of money. I decided to step on my pride and sell myself for money. I was disgusted with myself.

Alexander began to go down the steps, and I followed them, trying not to cry over the expressions I saw painted on people’s faces.

I arrived at the end of the stairs, Alexander was approached by some people who took to congratulate him, while I remained in silence, attached to his arm as if I were a f*****g trophy, a prize that he hoped to touch as soon as possible.

I regretted agreeing to move in with him so much earlier than the wedding.

If I had stayed home at least, I could have kept doing my business, and that included my cooking sessions with the cook with me bent on the table, the gardener’s teachings of how many times I could come, and the chauffeur driving lessons, classes that were usually held in the back of our limo.

I was not a saint; I was twenty years old and chose to always sleep with men I trusted.

I’m going to miss Pier’s cooking class and how he made me scream.

I shook my head at the memory of my last lesson a few days ago and tried to focus on what a woman was saying to Alexander. She was telling him about funding for some project, and I couldn’t understand much. I should have started a course in Financial Management, but now I couldn't.

Alexander spent about an hour talking to everyone while I was attached to his arm, and I couldn’t even get something to eat. My feet were aching, and my stomach was growling.

I took a glass of champagne from a waiter, and you drank, and I got a talkative look from my boyfriend.

Oh yes, now I can not even drink?

I shook my head and let go with a sigh. I really wanted to be at my house at the time, by the pool with my friend Serena, eating pizza in bikinis and talking about the latest scandals involving the Chicago Elite.

I missed Serena so much.

"Father," I heard a voice say, and I raised my head, colliding with two pairs of green eyes similar to those of the man who accompanied me but equally different.

The sight of those two figures immobilized me and almost took my breath away. As soon as his eyes rested on them, I knew immediately who they were.

Noah and Ethan.

Beautiful. Both had black hair, one had pulled it back, while the other had dropped it in small soft waves on the forehead. They were tall, taller than Alexander, and had broad shoulders with muscular arms that were perfectly covered by the tuxedo they both wore. The face was the most perfect I’ve ever seen in my life, and both were a vision that no woman could stand.

Beautiful and dangerous.

"Noah, Ethan," Alexander said, returning me to reality.

I blinked several times and started breathing again. When did I stop?

"You seem sorry to see us," said one of them.

"I’d be much more sorry if you screwed up like your usual," Alexander replied without emotion.

"We just came to meet the new mommy," replied the other, putting his hands in his pockets.

He smiled, and I felt my knees suddenly give out.

What was happening to me?

"My dear, let me introduce you to my two sons, Noah," he said, pointing to one, who had a blue speck in the center of his right eye iris "And Ethan," then he said, pointing to the other twin who gave me an equally beautiful smile that showed a dimple on the left cheek.

I reached out, and they both grabbed her to kiss her, first Ethan and then Noah. When their lips touched the back of my hand, my body was overwhelmed by intense chills and went completely on fire.

"I see you didn’t save on the ring, Father," Ethan commented.

"Not even for Mom, you were so excessive," added Noah, and I frowned.

"It’s the least for Sophie, in the future, she’ll give me a lot of satisfaction," said Alexandre.

I turned my head to look at him frowning. What does that mean?

"I hope that these satisfactions don’t affect us," Noah said, and I looked over at them, realizing nothing.

My head was dangerously spinning, and my body was on fire because of those two men in front of me.

"We’ll see," Alexander said, then he took a glass of champagne and tapped the crystal cup with a teaspoon, "My dears," he said when the audience’s attention shifted to him.

The twins took a step back as people gathered around us, always sitting in the front row.

"I would like to make an announcement," continued Alexander "I take advantage of this evening when my closest colleagues and friends are present to announce that the young lady here, the beautiful Sophie O'Kelly, has agreed to become my wife," Alexander said.

The crowd burst into applause, and Alexander leaned over to kiss my cheek and whispered in my ear, "Behave yourself."

I swallowed with difficulty, and my gaze landed on the twins who, reluctantly, clapped. Their face was a mask devoid of emotion while their gaze was hot and scorching, and sent my body into rapture.

But it seemed that they were of another idea, it seemed that their eyes threw me promises and not of passion but of hate and pain.

What was I getting myself into?