“Chasel''s nothing like Ethan... Aside from their faces, you couldn''t find two people more different..."


    Cassius kept his head bowed, voice thick with pain, rough and barely above a whisper. “Chasel isn''t actually all that gentle. He''s reckless, stubborn, spoiled, throws tantrums—sometimes he''s even more dramatic than a teenage girl..."


    "But God help me, I love him. I just can''t stop loving him."


    Evadne squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back tears.


    Honestly, Chasel reminded her of herself—if she''d been born a guy.


    And the way her brother loved Chasel... it was just like how Thaddeus used to treat her: indulgent, endlessly forgiving, the kind of love that spoiled you rotten. You don''t treat someone like that unless you love them down to your bones.


    "Evie... I screwed up. I messed up, big time."


    Cassius'' broad shoulders shook. “Yeah, I was drawn to Chasel because he looked like Ethan. But what I fell for... was his soul."


    “But I''m terrified. I''m scared that if Chasel finds out about my history with Ethan, he''ll leave me. So I kept it all bottled up. I couldn''t bring myself to tell him. I wanted to give him a perfect love story."


    "That was my mistake. God, if I''d only known... if I''d only known..."


    Cassius choked up, unable to go on. The rose he was clutching-its thorns dug deep into his palm, blood beading between his fingers.


    Evadne steadied herself and asked quietly, “Cass, before you came here, you got a phone call. Who was it?" n... He''s the guy Ethan called his brother back at the orphanage. But they were closer than blood. Both of them were my right-hand men when I was in charge at Cloudtop Security."


    "Has thisn guy been bothering you all along?"


    Cassius shook his head. "After Ethan died, I shut Cloudtop down. I haven''t heard fromn since."


    Evadne frowned, suspicion ring.


    “So he''s been quiet all this time, and he just happens to show up today? On your birthday, no less—just to make it ''unforgettable''?"


    The more she thought about it, the fishier it sounded.


    Cassius and Chasel''s rtionship had been all over the tabloids back in the day-the kind of scandal that trended on Twitter for weeks.


    Thisn must''ve known ages ago that Cassius was dating someone who looked just like his dead brother. Yet he waited a whole year to make a move, and now he picked today to blow everything up. Was it really just about revenge for Ethan?


    She couldn''t shake the feeling that things weren''t so simple.


    "Cass, let''s talk about thister. You''re hurt. I''m taking you to the ER."


    She tried to help Cassius up—but she was still recovering herself, barely stronger than a wet noodle. There was no way she could support his weight.


    "Evie... I need Chasel."


    Cassius'' eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down his scarred faces One eye was swollen shut from pain. "I don''t love anyone else. Only Chasel. Please... bring him back."


    “Cass, you need a hospital first!”


    Evadne''s heart twisted at the sight of his battered face. "I''ll talk to Chasel for you, I promise! He loves you too. He wouldn''t just walk out on you."


    Cassius wanted toe with her to find Chasel, but she firmly refused. For one, Cassius'' eye looked seriously bad-he needed treatment. And honestly, after everything that happened, the two of them needed to cool off before they saw each other again, or it''d just make things worse.


    Jason took Cassius to the hospital. Evadne tried calling Chasel, but got no answer.


    Elmsworth was a huge city; even


    she called in favors, it''d be like


    ????


    l.ne


    searching for a needle in a haystack. AndShe was terrified Chasekmight do something stupid.


    Desperate, she reached out to Elvis.


    An hourter, Elvis Waverley messaged back:


    "Dr. Bright''s in the departures lounge at Elmsworth Airport. He''s got a red-eye ticket to Country M-the flight leaves in one hour!"


    Evadne didn''t waste a second. She jumped into her sports car and floored it toward Elmsworth Airport.


    The night was pitch ck. Even with the headlights on, visibility was trash. The roads were slick from fresh snow. Driving this fast was crazy dangerous.


    But Evadne didn''t care.


    For her brother''s sake, she had to catch Chasel before he got on that ne.


    The highway was almost deserted. Evadne''s heart thundered in her chest as she pushed the speedometer past 110 miles per hour, then higher.


    She was a hell of a driver; even with the icy roads, she was sure she could make it before the ne took off. "Chasel, don''t go... please, don''t leave us..."


    She whispered under her breath, eyes stinging as she blinked away tears.


    Suddenly, a cold, blinding sh of white light flickered in her rearview mirror.


    Evadne frowned, ncing back.


    Nothing. Just an empty stretch of highway behind her.


    At that moment, a ck sedan shot up on her right, moving like a predator. Without warning, it veered sharply toward her car.


    Evadne''s eyes widened—she yanked the wheel hard to avoid a collision.


    BAM-!