My twin brother has a severe identity disorder; he thinks he’s me. Everything that’s mine is his, including my fiancée, the formidable head of a powerful syndicate. The ninety-ninth time he disguised himself as me and climbed into Seraphina’s bed, she finally lost her patience and had him abandoned in a remote, primeval forest. But then someone discovered the transparent glass cabin deep within the woods. They captured photos of my brother pressing Seraphina against the floor-to-ceiling window in a passionate embrace and plastered them all over the internet. Seraphina came to me that night to explain. “The doctor said the only way he might recover is if he’s allowed to experience everything you do,” she said, her voice cool and measured. “You’re his older brother. Surely you won’t hold it against him.” A cold, bitter laugh rose in my throat. Of course I wouldn’t. So the next time she was pressed against that same glass, lost in pleasure with my brother, I pressed a button. The glass wall began to retract, slowly sliding upwards into the ceiling. From my hiding spot, I watched with cold eyes as a large black bear lumbered out of the trees, drawn by the scent. Seraphina had probably forgotten. Besides being her fiancé, I was also an accomplished survivalist and explorer. He wanted to be me so badly? Fine. He could have it all. 1 I tossed the remote control into the underbrush, hoisted my pack, and prepared to leave. But Seraphina and her men appeared, blocking my path. Her brow was furrowed as she looked me up and down, a hint of exasperation in her voice. “Jian, there’s a limit to this childishness.” When I didn’t respond, she stepped closer, reaching for the survival pack on my back. “Kaelen is doing much better lately. Once I have his child, he should make a full recovery. Then, we can finally get married.” A humorless laugh escaped my lips. I sidestepped her hand. “You’re tainted. What makes you think I’d still want you?” The smile on her face froze, but her voice remained steady. “Jian, do you really think I don’t know you? If you truly didn’t care, you wouldn’t have come all this way to pull a stunt like this.” My fists clenched at my sides. Why was I here? She knew better than anyone. The day my mother was dying, we were trying to honor her last wish: to be carried to this very forest. But before we could even reach the tree line, she closed her eyes for the last time, her final words a whispered breath: “It’s no use, Jian. I’ll never make it there.” I had collapsed, my grief a raw, physical force. Seraphina held me, her arms a tight circle of comfort. “We’ll bury her here, Jian. We’ll fulfill her wish.” Today was the anniversary of her death. Of course I had to be here. Dealing with them was just a bonus. “Kaelen is your brother, Jian. He’s just sick. He’s not trying to take your place as my husband.” She paused, her eyes meeting mine. “But you raised the glass. You terrified him, and it’s caused a relapse. He won’t hold it against you, but I can’t play favorites. You need to be taught a small lesson.” She took the remote, which one of her men had found, and toyed with it. With a flick of her wrist, two of her men understood. They shoved me aside and strode toward my mother’s grave. One of them raised a sledgehammer. As it swung towards the headstone, my heart stopped. I lunged forward, but two other men pinned me to the ground, my struggles useless. In a single, sickening crack, my mother’s gravestone shattered into pieces. My vision went red. I glared at Seraphina, pure hatred burning in my eyes. She had been the one to pick out that very stone, to have it set. Now, she had destroyed it. “Next time, Jian, it won’t just be the headstone,” she said, her voice like ice. “It’s up to you whether your mother gets to rest in peace.” Her men released me. In a flash, I was on my feet, my knife in my hand. I launched myself at her, plunging the blade deep into her shoulder. “Seraphina,” I snarled, my teeth gritted. “I am not your pet. You want to hurt me? You’ll have to get through this blade first.” She didn’t even cry out, though her eyes darkened with pain. Her men stood frozen, not daring to breathe. But when her gaze fell on my face, the killing intent in her aura seemed to melt away, replaced by a sigh. She gently touched a scratch on my cheek. “If you would just behave, you wouldn’t have to suffer like this.” Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she reached into my pack, her movements familiar, and pulled out a tube of antiseptic cream. She began to apply it to my face, her touch surprisingly gentle. It was just like that night, years ago. We were both covered in blood as we carried my mother from the house. Neither of us had made a sound, not wanting to scare her. Only later, after my mother had fallen asleep, did Seraphina, with red-rimmed eyes and trembling hands, tend to my wounds. “I swear, Jian,” she had whispered, “I will protect you. No one will ever hurt you again.” Her own injuries had been far worse than mine. After that, she clawed her way to the top of her family’s organization, becoming the ruthless leader everyone feared. And no one dared to touch me again. Until today. Seraphina blew softly on the scratch. “Jian, can’t you just let it go with Kaelen? You may not accept him as your brother, but even your mother did…” SLAP! The sound echoed through the silent forest as my hand connected with her face. 2 Her men instantly turned their backs, refusing to witness their leader’s humiliation. Seraphina wiped a trickle of blood from her lip, her eyes chillingly cold. “You need to think this through. But rest assured, I will marry you.” She quickly discovered the remote was broken. After a long silence, she took my survival pack and led me back to the glass cabin. She tended to her wound with practiced efficiency. When the roar of the bear echoed through the trees again, she ordered her men to grab the spare survival kits from the cabin and get ready to move. “Well, Jian,” she said with a tired sigh, “it looks like we’ll need you to get us out of here.” I shot her a look but said nothing. Kaelen glared at me, his face a mask of resentment. That night, we took turns keeping watch. I sat by the fire, turning an old, worn compass over and over in my hands. Kaelen came and sat beside me. I slipped the compass back into my pocket and casually tossed another log onto the fire. He looked healthy, rosy-cheeked, not at all like a man in the throes of a debilitating illness. The gentle smile he’d worn during the day was gone, replaced by a venomous stare. “You think Seraphina really loves you?” he sneered. “It’s just a sense of duty. She loves my skin, smooth and flawless. She says yours, with all its scars, disgusts her. I told you I would replace you completely.” He pulled open his collar, revealing a chest covered in a dense pattern of love bites. Marks of Seraphina’s affection. I had always known his illness was a sham, but she had refused to believe me. “If I were you,” I said, my voice dangerously low, “I wouldn’t be provoking the only person in this group who knows how to survive out here.” He flinched, then glanced over at the sleeping Seraphina, his voice dropping to a taunting whisper. “All talk. You’re just jealous that I can give her a child, while you’re just a useless…” I grabbed a heavy rock from beside the fire and smashed it against the side of his head. “Let Seraphina teach you the rules of being a pet,” I said coldly. He staggered back, his hand coming away from his head covered in blood. A shrill scream tore through the night, waking everyone. Seraphina immediately ordered her men to treat Kaelen’s wound. Then she came to sit beside me, her anger a palpable force. “Jian! He is your brother, and he is sick! How could you hurt him?” “I did,” I said flatly. “So what?” I stared at her, unblinking. My defiance seemed to push her over the edge. “Just because you can’t be a father,” she roared, “does that give you the right to take that away from someone else?” My eyes widened in disbelief. I couldn’t believe those words had come from her. Years ago, when she was just the illegitimate daughter, the heir to her family’s syndicate had left her for dead in this very forest. I had used my survival skills to find her, half-frozen and near death. But her family had followed, determined to eliminate her for good. I hid her, and for three days and three nights, they tortured me, but I never gave up her location. When she finally awoke and saw my broken, scarred body, she had gone on a rampage, leading a bloody coup that made her the head of the family. I was saved, but the damage was done. I was covered in scars, and I could never have children. I slapped her again, so hard my arm went numb. She didn't move, but a dark red welt immediately rose on her cheek. It took her a moment to realize what she’d said. Her eyes filled with tears. She pulled me into a fierce embrace, the metallic scent of blood still clinging to her from the wound on her shoulder. “Every time I look at him,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “he looks so much like you, but without a single scar. And I can’t help but think… if it hadn’t been for that, you could have been just like him…” A wave of nausea washed over me. I shoved her away, my voice filled with disgust. “You’re pathetic.” 3 The conversation ended there. I wanted to leave them to their fate, but Seraphina wouldn’t let me. She knew better than anyone that without me, they were all dead. I laughed to myself, a cold, bitter sound, and began to lead them through the forest. When I returned from scouting for a water source, I saw the strange looks on her men’s faces. My heart sank. Beside the dead fire, my pack was empty. The ground was littered with the shattered remains of my equipment. Kaelen shot me a triumphant glare. “This is all mine now,” he declared loudly. “And I can destroy it if I want to.” Seraphina stood nearby, watching him with a gentle smile. “That’s right, darling. It’s all yours. Do whatever you want with it, as long as you don’t upset yourself.” “Seraphina!” I bit out, my teeth grinding. I took a step forward, but her men blocked me. She turned to me, the warmth in her eyes vanishing. “You hurt him yesterday. He’s had a relapse. If he doesn’t destroy these things, he’ll only get worse. They’re just trinkets. We have plenty of spares in our packs. Take what you need.” Kaelen’s smirk widened. He picked up the compass I had been holding the night before, threw it on the ground, and raised a rock to smash it. “No!” I screamed, diving for it, but I was too late. Seraphina’s face paled. She lunged forward, grabbing Kaelen’s arm just before the rock came down. “Are you crazy?” she hissed at me. “It’s just a compass!” Her careless words struck me like a physical blow. That compass was the only thing I had left of my mother. She had clutched it to her chest while my stepmother rained blows down on her, refusing to let it go, just so I would have something of my mother to remember. That compass was something we had both bled for. The cracks in its glass were still stained with our dried blood. And to her, it was now "just a compass." My vision swam. I shoved her aside, grabbed a knife from one of her men’s packs, and lunged at Kaelen. Seraphina stepped in front of him, taking the blade in her back. She let out a muffled grunt of pain. The image of her shielding him, so fiercely, was a mirror of how I had once shielded her. Back then, she was the small, skinny illegitimate daughter, despised by everyone. When a group of other children had beaten her nearly to death, I had thrown myself over her, taking the blows meant for her. “Jian,” she had sobbed, “one day, I’ll protect you just like this.” But this… this was a knife twisting in an old wound. “Why didn’t you move?” Kaelen shrieked at her. “You could have just kicked him away!” Seraphina ignored him. She turned, her fingers trembling as she wiped a tear from my cheek. “Don’t cry,” she whispered. “Are you feeling better now?” I looked down, realizing my own tears were falling onto the back of my hand. 4 “His identity disorder is an act. Do you believe me?” My voice was hollow. I pointed at Kaelen. Seraphina frowned, her displeasure evident. Kaelen, emboldened, shot back, “An act? You keep accusing me. When will you just give up?” I ignored him, my eyes locked on Seraphina. “You haven’t answered me.” “Kaelen is sick, Jian,” she said, her voice tight with suppressed anger. “He’s suffered enough. Why must you keep questioning him? He’s your brother.” I couldn’t help it. I laughed. She knew perfectly well Kaelen was my stepmother’s son. My stepmother, who was my father’s mistress at the time, had given birth at the same time as my mother. My father had brought Kaelen home and forced my mother to claim him as my twin. He wasn’t my brother. He was a symbol of my mother’s shame, an open wound that never healed. Seraphina had known. She had held me and promised, “Jian, I will never let you suffer another injustice.” Her men, seeing the situation escalating, quickly gathered up all the weapons. But they underestimated me. An explorer’s greatest skill is improvisation. I broke a branch from a nearby tree, sharpening one end to a deadly point. With a sneer, I lunged, driving the makeshift spear into Kaelen. Blood bloomed across his shirt, mingling with the faded love bites. He collapsed, writhing and screaming Seraphina’s name. “A rat from the gutter,” I spat, “belongs in the gutter.” A powerful force yanked me backward. The rage in Seraphina’s eyes was a living flame, threatening to consume me. I had seen that look once before. After my mother died, my stepmother had taken control of the family fortune, locked me away, and tortured me daily. When Seraphina found me, broken and bleeding, her eyes had held this same fire. Without a word, she pulled a knife from her belt and plunged it into my thigh. The searing pain was blinding, radiating from my leg to my very core. I bit down hard, my body trembling, but I refused to give her the satisfaction of a scream. “Whether he’s a rat from the gutter is for me to decide,” she said, her voice lethally soft. “If you don’t want to end up like your mother, you’d be wise to learn some restraint.” The veins in my neck bulged. I glared at her, my vision turning red. My mother, after being forced to accept Kaelen, had finally snapped when my stepmother’s taunts became too much to bear. She had slapped her, and for that, my father had severed her Achilles tendons. My mother, who lived for the freedom of the wilderness, was crippled, a prisoner in her own home for the rest of her life. Seraphina had known that, too. She had held me and promised, “You can go wherever you want, explore any corner of the world. I will always have your back. All you need is your freedom.” “Seraphina…” I ground out her name through clenched teeth. She laughed, a cold, empty sound. “When we get out of this forest, you’re going to learn how to get along with Kaelen. Otherwise, I might have to reconsider our wedding.” My eyes darkened. “Seraphina,” I said, my voice dangerously calm, “did you really think I would walk into this forest alone and let you do whatever you wanted with me?” I pushed through the pain, forcing myself to my feet and stumbling away from them. A strong wind suddenly whipped through the trees. I stood in its path, laughing. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with. Get ready for my little parting gift.”
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