CHAPTER 74: THE ANGEL WITH GOLDEN HAIR

Lucien’s eyes widened as he tried to pull free from Silas’s embrace, but the alpha’s strength kept him locked firmly against his chest.

Silas held him close for another breath, inhaling his scent with a deep and satisfied hum.

"You know trespassing is a crime, right?" he sighed, voice low and warm against Lucien’s ear.

"What the hell? I should be the one freaking out. Get off me. You are sticky and drenched in blood and it is disgusting," Lucien snapped, twisting to get away.

He knew Silas must have been interrogating the Giant North, or maybe he had just returned from a mission.

But the last one seemed unlikely. The Twinster was infamous for clean and efficient work. They did not spill blood without purpose.

Silas chuckled and finally released him. "My bad. Where is Adrian?"

Lucien turned with an annoyed grunt, watching the man smile at him as if nothing were wrong.

"I knocked him out, he was clinging too much without any consideration for me. You should teach him the world ’boundary’ once in a while, Silas." The omega rolled his eyes while the alpha laughed and shook his head.

"That’s how Adrian is. He is just like an overgrown puppy. But careful though, if you mess with him too much he will turn into a wolf."

"Nah, he won’t dare hurt me."

"Hurting you?" the alpha smirked and tilted his head, "He will break your soul and make you into a living doll for his entertainment."

Lucien grimaces at how sick in the head the Twinsters are. He was now sure that both of them needed therapy instead of guns and daggers.

Those hazel eyes that look like molten gold keep observing Lucien, before he asked: "Do you fear me now that I am covered in blood?" Silas asked, eyes soft with amusement.

Lucien let out a loud laugh. "Fear you? Please. I have seen worse than anything you have done."

He jabbed a finger toward the walls. "What you should be worried about is this. Burn it. Now. This is creepy and a complete violation of privacy."

"No. Do you have any idea how expensive and difficult all this was to collect?"

Silas leaned closer, speaking slowly. "You are the Don of Lucero. We sacrificed a lot to get this."

Lucien frowned as he glanced around. The room was coated in photographs of him, every inch covered except for the furniture and a small patch of floor.

It felt suffocating, like stepping into a shrine built by obsession instead of affection.

He groaned and dragged both hands through his hair, then dropped onto the sofa and slumped back.

Silas followed and sat across from him, completely unfazed.

"Tea? Maybe snacks? I know you love coffee cakes like tiramisu," Silas offered calmly, as if he had not just been exposed as a stalker.

Lucien narrowed his eyes. "Of course you know," he scoffed.

"I can’t eat after that shock. And here I thought your hobby was reading books."

"Men can have more than one hobby. And this is not nearly as creepy as what Edmund planned," Silas replied casually.

"Baby trap me?" Lucien raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you know and you are fine with that?"

"I will not get pregnant," Lucien said firmly. "But he has other matters to discuss, Silas."

He hesitated, trying to decide if he wanted to continue. The alpha watched him closely, trying to read him without saying a word.

"You saw the photo in Adrian’s room, did you not?"

Lucien was startled. "How did you know? And yes. I want to know about it."

Silas leaned back, tapping his fingers against the armrest as if weighing a difficult decision.

"You do not need to know. The past is in the past. Some things are not worth remembering."

Lucien recognized the expression immediately. He had seen it once before, the gentle melancholy in Silas’s eyes, the way his brows softened, the quiet smile that trembled as if he might cry.

"So you think both of you are not important to me?"

The question made the alpha flinch. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath.

"You forgot us. Is that not enough proof?"

Lucien’s mouth closed tightly. He could not answer. He wanted to say it felt wrong, but he could not tell if that was true or simply wishful thinking.

"No. Until I remember, I can’t know what your worth was to me," he said quietly.

"But the fact that I let you touch me, sleep with me, trust you with my body, is that not enough to show your place in my life?"

Silas’s eyes widened. His smile softened into something real, brightening his sun-tanned face as golden light spilled through the window.

"You are right. But it hurts you, does it not? Your head aches whenever you try to remember us."

"Yes. But I am twenty-seven, I am the Don of Lucero, and my ass takes three thick cock’s alphas every night," Lucien said with a slow smirk.

"Trust me. I can handle it just fine."

Silas burst into laughter, dimples deepening, then fell quiet with a gentle smile.

"Alright. If you think you are ready, then listen. But if your head hurts, tell me immediately."

Lucien nodded and leaned forward, listening closely as Silas began the story, hoping the memories would return just like they did once in the endless field of flowers.

***

Silas and Adrian never had real names. They were born and raised in the Red District, where no one cared enough to remember who belonged to which mother, and fathers were only rumors.

People simply called them the twins. Twins A and Twins B. That was all they had, and they held onto it like a lifeline even when they weren’t connected by blood.

Life in the darkness where sunlight never reached was not kind, but having each other and a meal a day was enough to survive.

The Madam who ran the brothel raised them because they showed potential. Pretty faces meant profit, and she planned to make gigolos out of them.

From the moment they learned to walk and talk, they moved together, two bodies sharing one world, clinging to each other like brothers made from the same heartbeat.

Some of the prostitutes treated them gently, while others found twisted entertainment in teaching them things no child should learn.

By the time they were five, the Madam sold them into a private auction, the kind that fed on sickness disguised as wealth.

They were stripped naked and forced forward, hands bound, bodies numbered like cattle to be purchased. Men and women touched them without asking.

The twins did not scream or cry. Growing up in the slums taught them that crying only encouraged worse things, that tears excited monsters.

So they stood silently, hands locked together, fighting to keep breathing.

When someone tried to cover their eyes with a cloth, Adrian began to tremble. The darkness reminded him of a punishment cell they were once locked in for stealing a cookie. He screamed there until his throat bled.

"Mister, please do not cover his eyes. He gets scared of the dark," Silas pleaded quietly.

The drunk man struck him across the face. "Shut up. Stop nagging me."

Silas tasted blood but said nothing else. He only gripped Adrian’s hand tighter, trying to steady the shaking.

The room echoed with voices shouting numbers, the sound of bidding rising higher and higher.

Their bodies were shoved forward onto the stage, lights burning their eyes through the cloth.

"Sold!" someone finally shouted.

Silas felt Adrian flinch. Their hands tightened again. It did not matter what happened next, he thought, as long as they stayed together. They would endure it. They always had.

And then another voice cut through the chaos. Young, high, loud enough to silence the entire room.

"One hundred thousand dollars for both of them!"

The crowd exploded into surprised murmurs. Even the host sounded stunned.

"Sold to the boy with golden hair. You may claim your prize!"

A man behind them whispered excitedly. "You two are lucky. That boy is from a renowned family. Wealthy and powerful."

They were then being pulled back behind the stage by him. Boots approached quickly across the floor, sharp and clean compared to everything else in the room.

"Why are they naked? Mikhail, give them clothes," the boy snapped.

He sounded angry, disgusted in a way that had nothing to do with them. "This place is revolting. How can they sell human beings? Is slavery not banned?"

Warm fabric wrapped around Silas’s body, softer than anything he had felt in his life. Someone removed the cuffs, then lifted the cloth from his eyes.

Light stabbed into his pupils. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust. Shapes blurred, then sharpened.

A face came into view, framed by sunlight through the window high above. Golden hair. Purple eyes. A smile bright enough to look unreal.

"Oh wow, you are not as bad as I expected. What is your name? I am Lucien."

Silas stared at him, stunned and silent. For the first time he could remember, Adrian loosened his grip on his hand.

They both looked at the boy in front of them, unsure if he was real or a hallucination born from desperation.

The boy looks like an angel.