Chapter 2 — Two Husbands
Chapter 2 — Two Husbands
Nicholas stopped inside the apartment.
His gaze moved from Grace to the disturbed pillow, then toward the shadows beside the wardrobe where Nathan had hidden.
“You’re home,” Grace said.
Her voice sounded steadier than she felt.
Nicholas closed the door.
“I thought I heard someone.”
Grace forced a confused expression.
“You called my name before you left.”
He studied her carefully.
“Did I?”
“You know you did.”
Nicholas placed his keys on the table and glanced toward the bed.
“Why is the pillow on the floor?”
Grace’s mind raced.
“I dropped my earring.”
His smile remained, but his eyes changed.
For three years, she had mistaken that cold stillness for patience.
Now she recognized it as calculation.
“Did you find it?”
“No.”
Nicholas approached her.
Behind him, Nathan remained perfectly silent.
Nicholas lifted one hand and brushed Grace’s hair away from her face.
She fought the urge to recoil.
“You seem nervous.”
“You poured something on my pillow.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Silence swallowed the room.
Nicholas’s expression did not change.
Then he smiled.
“It was a sleep treatment.”
“In a black vial?”
“You’ve been having nightmares.”
“I never told you that.”
His hand remained against her cheek.
“You talk in your sleep.”
Grace stared at him.
“What do I say?”
Nicholas leaned closer.
“You keep calling for Nathan.”
Her blood went cold.
A soft vibration came from behind the wardrobe.
Nathan’s phone.
Nicholas’s eyes shifted instantly.
Grace reacted before she could think.
She slapped Nicholas.
The sound cracked through the room.
His attention snapped back to her.
“What was that for?”
“For lying to me.”
Nicholas’s jaw tightened.
For one second, the charming mask disappeared.
Then he laughed quietly.
“You’ve always been dramatic.”
He turned toward the wardrobe.
Grace grabbed the black vial from the dresser and held it up.
“What is this?”
Nicholas stopped.
“Put it down.”
“Tell me what it is.”
“Grace.”
His voice sharpened.
“Put it down.”
The fear in his face gave her courage.
She threw the vial against the wall.
It shattered.
A bitter chemical smell filled the room.
Nicholas lunged toward her.
Nathan burst from hiding and struck him across the jaw.
Grace screamed as the two identical men crashed into the dresser.
Nicholas recovered first.
“You should still be in the ground,” he hissed.
Nathan drove him backward.
“You buried the wrong brother.”
They fought with terrifying familiarity, anticipating each other’s movements. Grace grabbed her phone and backed toward the door.
Nicholas reached into his coat.
A small silver gun appeared in his hand.
Nathan froze.
Nicholas smiled.
“Grace,” he said softly, never taking his eyes off his brother. “Come stand beside your husband.”
Neither man moved.
Grace looked at both identical faces.
Then Nicholas added, “Choose carefully.”
May you like
Grace slowly stepped forward.
And walked toward the wrong man.
