Miss Perfect and Her Brothers (Part I&II)

2. Rapunzel

I froze, but quickly turned around to face Dylan. His lips curled into a mocking smile, yet there was still a dark aura emanating from him.

Only now did I realize his height. Ignoring his impressive muscles, his towering figure successfully intimidated me, making me forget that I hadn't done anything wrong.

I shook my head in denial, unable to utter a word. Dylan chuckled softly and brushed past me, lazily making his way downstairs. I watched him, rooted to the spot. He'll probably tell the others soon that Hailie is lurking around, eavesdropping on their conversations. They won't like that, and I didn't want to make such an impression on my newfound brothers. So, I quickly followed him, determined to defend myself.

"You're all careless. Maybe you'd like to immediately initiate our new little sister into your secrets?" Dylan called out, throwing himself onto the massive corner sofa in the living room, where the sounds of conversation, of which I caught a fragment, emanated. 

It immediately fell silent upon his entrance.

I paused at the threshold. In such a large house, I would have expected colossal dimensions for the living room, but this room was surprisingly cozy. Apart from the corner sofa, there was also a small sofa on the side and an armchair. In the middle there was a low coffee table, on which Dylan had just placed his feet. Between the corner sofa and the armchair stood a modern, slender fireplace, in which a colorful electric flame danced cheerfully. The windows were huge, and the heavy gray curtains seemed to serve only as decoration because, despite the impenetrable darkness outside, no one had drawn them shut.

But what caught my eye the most was the huge TV. It hung on the wall, framed in a thick, intricately carved golden frame, like a work of art. The PlayStation logo had just appeared on the screen as Dylan fished out the controller from the cushions and turned it on.

My gaze quickly shifted to the three people standing next to the fireplace. I hadn't examined them closely yet, but I already knew they must be my other brothers. There was just something about their demeanor that I had already noticed in Will and Dylan.

Currently, they were digesting the words of the latter. Two of them were almost identical young boys. I knew my youngest brothers were twins, but for some reason, I hadn't expected them to look so much alike. Meanwhile, both had short, rather tousled dark hair, strong jawlines, thick eyebrows, and light eyes. Although they weren't dressed the same, their outfits shared a similar, casual style. I was relieved to see a small black earring in one of their eyebrows. I decided to latch onto it as a distinguishing feature to help me tell them apart.

The third person was the oldest of those present. He stood with his back to me, but when Dylan's words reached him, he turned and locked his blue gaze on me, under which I immediately regretted the decision to leave my room.

He had dark, neatly combed-back hair and was dressed in a classic black shirt and pants of the same color. He was tall and sturdy, which apparently was a characteristic of all the Monet brothers. He also exuded natural elegance and aloofness.

After a moment, I became the center of attention for everyone present. Silence fell, accompanied only by the silly sounds of Dylan's game intro. Oh God, how uncomfortable I felt! I should have stayed in bed until morning. I almost hugged the wall, crushed by the weight of all those gazes, which assessed me from head to toe. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was an intruder here.

Alright, Hailie, time to speak up.

"I didn't hear anything, really," I coughed to get rid of the hoarseness. "I stopped on the stairs because I didn't want to disturb..."

I mainly looked at the oldest man. He was the one who dominated here, and he was the one I most wanted to convince of my innocence, so I was relieved when he nodded.