The King's Twins

Chapter 5

Angelina's POV

Lila’s face bore the fingerprint of that asshole. It was the first time anyone had ever slapped her. “Lila, are you really okay? That bastard didn’t do anything else, right?” I asked softly.

“No, he just slapped me twice and tried to kiss me, but you showed up just in time,” she replied, her voice trembling. It’s my fault. If I’d come out sooner, nothing would’ve happened to my sister.

When we entered the food court, James immediately noticed the slap mark on Lila’s face and my injured knuckles. Without saying a word, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the parking lot. Everyone else followed us outside, and then, suddenly, James slapped me hard.

I instantly realized he’d misunderstood, thinking I was the one who slapped my twin. Just as I was about to explain, Xavier, Adam, and John joined in, slapping me too. My brothers, who I hadn’t seen in fourteen years, slapped me without even hearing me out. I couldn’t believe it. I thought after Aaron’s death, the abuse would be over—Aaron, who was just my stepdad—but these were my real brothers, the ones who had promised no one would ever lay a finger on me.

My sister is a monster,” Adam said. “No, she’s not my sister,” Xavier added. “How could you do this to your twin?” John asked, while James just glared at me. Lila tried to explain, but I squeezed her hand and shook my head, signaling her to stop. She tried to argue, but I insisted. Adam noticed me holding Lila’s hand and slapped me again. It wasn’t the pain from the slap that hurt—it was their betrayal. My trust issues deepened.

I knew Lila wanted to explain, but if they couldn’t trust me, there was no point in trying to convince them.

When we arrived at the mansion, Xavier dragged me out of the car and pulled me toward a dark room. Adam opened the door, and Xavier shoved me inside, knowing full well how much I hated the dark. I couldn’t stand being in that room for more than five minutes. “You’re sleeping in this room tonight. Tomorrow morning, Xander will decide your punishment,” James said. Lila tried to protest, but I shook my head again. Then they locked the door.

I started to panic. I couldn’t breathe. Desperately, I called Avery, the only one who could help me during a panic attack. “Av… I can’t breathe,” I gasped.

“Shhh, baby girl, follow my breathing. One… two… three… right, love, please, just follow my breathing,” he soothed. After five minutes, I started to feel better.

“Are you okay now?” he asked.

“Yes, thanks, bro,” I replied.

“Now, please tell me what happened,” he urged. I explained everything to him—from the plane ride to being locked in this room. Saying he was furious would be an understatement.

“I’ll kill them,” he snapped. “How could they do this? I thought they loved you. But now, you can’t stay with them. Baby girl, please, Lila is safe with them. You know they’ll protect her. She doesn’t need you anymore. You’ve protected her for eleven years. Now, please, just this once, do something for yourself. Tell them everything, and tell Lila about Aaron. I know she’s sad about his death, but that asshole doesn’t deserve her sympathy. I can book your ticket for tomorrow morning to London. Please, come back, love,” he pleaded.

“Okay, I’ll come back and tell them everything,” I agreed, hearing him grin like an idiot on the other end of the line. Ten minutes later, we ended the call.

I can’t forgive my brothers. They abandoned us for fourteen years, and now they don’t trust me. They’re no longer my brothers. Even if Alexander had been here, nothing would’ve changed—except maybe I’d have another slap to count.

I’ll sneak out early tomorrow morning. But first, I’ll teach them a lesson. There’s no laptop in this room, so I used my phone to hack the mall’s CCTV cameras and get the footage. Then I started writing a letter to all my brothers and Lila. Once everything was ready, I placed my phone and the letter on the nightstand, then quietly snuck out of the room.

Goodbye, Italy and family. London, here I come…