Page 13 of TAINTED by TWINS

"Your mom had an affair with our dad, Lian. She was his mistress. And the only way my mother could get revenge was to take it out on you."

"What? No... no way. Jade, please it's not funny—" A car skidded to a stop, creating tire marks on the grass as Jonah got out with a worried expression.

"What is going on?!" He exclaims, "You both aren't in class and I tracked Jade here? Jade, why would you take him here, this is our spot!"

Both of us were silent while looking at him, and Jonah noticed Jade's tears. "Jade... what did you do?"

I answered, "N-nothing—"

But Jonah knew better and marched towards his twin, grabbing him by the arm angrily. "What did you say to him?!"

"Jonah!" I yelled at him, stepping forward to tell him—

"I told him," Jade says with tear-stained cheeks. "I told him about our dad and his mom."

"You... you b*stard, why would you—!" Jonah grabs him by the collar harshly, and I jolted to pull him away from his crying twin.

"Jonah, don't hurt him!" My hands were on Jonah's chest, his blonde hair covering his eyes as he still scowled at me with shifting expression. "Your mother had men attack my house, endangering my mother! I need to know why... is it because my mom slept with your dad?! Am I—no... please no, please tell me I'm not an affair baby! T-tell me..."

I looked up at him, begging. My body is heavy, willing to kneel if it meant the truth. I stayed close against Jonah, never tearing my eyes away from him for fear he'll leave me without answers. I look pathetic, lost, like I was years ago.

Jonah looked at Jade first, before he tilts his head at me.

"If I give you the truth, will you pay me with a kiss?" I stepped back.

Both Jade and I looked shocked, but I froze looking at him.

Jonah's eyes closes half-way saying, "I've wanted nothing more than that... and it's just fair, isn't it? You want nothing more than to know the truth about who you are."

I'm desperate. With trembling breaths, I stepped forward, facing him once more. I took a glance at Jade who only looks down, possibly regretting ever telling me in the first place. I reached for Jonah's neck and pushed my ankles up. One kiss. Just one, right?

Truly, I am Jonah's first male kiss, and he did not waste time tasting the tears that stained my lips. His hands are on my jaw, holding me in place. What I thought was a curious peck, came to be a curious exploration of his desire. I can feel it... this boy not only wanted a kiss, but more.

And I'm scared. I'm scared to give in, I'm scared of what I'm getting into.

I pulled away—I had to, or else he would've gone too far and tore my heart along with him. I wiped my bottom lip, a bit swollen from his teeth, before looking at him straight in the eyes. "Now tell me, Jonah... what happened... to my mother?"

Jonah breathes in the cool breeze, riding out the high from the kiss he has chased all these years. He smiled into the heavens before he spoke, "All the time my mother thought she was infertile, it was my father the whole time. He couldn't get your mom pregnant. Your mother—"

Jade cut him off, "Jonah don't—"

"He paid to know the truth, Jade." Jonah smiles, his eyes full of happiness. "Your mother made our mom less lonely by being her lover."

"Are they from my husband?" Lady Deveroux asked.

"I arranged them myself," the maid said with a smile, bringing the flower vase to her vanity. But before he can pull away to stand straight, the lady grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit on the vanity, as if she was the most beautiful flower gifted to her.

They waltzed around Lady Deveroux's room as if they were angels in a meadow, their laughter echoing with the crackle of the fireplace. "Leilei, come... I have something for you..."

While sitting on the bed beside the mistress, the maid opened a box with the most beautiful jewelry she ever laid eyes on. Real, expensive, and as valuable as her smile. "Mina..."

"Nothing will ever touch this except you," the Lady presses their forehead together as those hands trace the diamonds in the box, space non-existent between them.

"I don't know what genes you and your mother have, Lian. But my mother loved yours... and then she betrayed her by sleeping with our dad. Twisting the knife, she pretended she was pregnant with our dad's, destroying their relationship. She then escaped the hospital when you were born. But our dad was infertile—the truth was, your mom got herself knocked up by another servant in the house to use your birth as an escape."

I stepped back from him, refusing to believe the slander against my mother. "No, my mother wouldn't—" but Jonah grabbed my wrists and kept it against his chest.

"No matter what you've done, you're pure and innocent in a way you're blind to what happened, unaware of what might happen. But don't worry, my darling..." Jonah whispers against his forehead, "We will protect you."

"Jonah, you're scaring him..."

"He should be scared. His mother broke our mom's heart. And she's gonna take it out on Lian," he repeated what Jade said earlier.

I looked at the dark haired twin, only for him to look away with guilt.

"So please... darling, stay close to us. You can't trust those close to our mom, and you can't trust your boyfriend. He's probably feeding her information about you."

"But mom—"

"She's not innocent, too... broke a marriage and ran away to save herself." Jonah whispers against my ear, "Stay with us. We'll protect you... keep you safe. Your angel, and your devil."

"Wow... he's close with the twins, I'm jealous..."

"Isn't that teacher sucking up to them?"

"Jonah's too handsome for him, he has no chance..."

I silenced them from my mind. I made a lot of mistakes in class, a delinquent had to correct me on my grammar. I smiled at the student, "Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Keep up the good work."

"Awww shucks, makin' me blush, Mr. Miller..."

Sasha rolled his eyes, "You still shat yourself in 1st grade, Jackson. Don't act all cute." Him and his girlfriends high-fived as Sasha flirtatiously winks at me, so I immediately looked away.

The twins were silent; I couldn't even look at them. I just want to go home. I want to get this day over with and go home—

"Mr. Miller," a man knocked on my classroom door, a handsome one that made the girls squeal and some even push on Sasha because that's his crush.

"Guys, stop," he whispers as he fixes his hair and posture, making my face fall into cringe.

"Yes, Dr. Wayne?" I answered unenthusiastically, keeping myself professional.

"May I speak with you privately?"

"Unfortunately, doing so would cause me to leave my classroom unattended, and I would like to prevent physical and sexual assault within the class I'm responsible of." Professional translation for, No.

"Alright, may I ask why you were delayed in attending to class this morning and withholding communications from your superior?" You were late this morning and didn't answer my calls.

"I experienced unexpected car trouble this morning, and I would prefer to postpone this conversation to a more appropriate time," I answered. My car broke down and I'm not in the mood to talk.

He replied, "Could you clarify the reason behind that preference?" Why?

While the class looked amused, a female student loudly giggles, "It's giving married..."

Everyone laughs as I avoid the twins' gaze as much as possible. But I snuck a peak, and Jade is glaring right at the doctor. Jonah however, only had eyes on me while his finger is tracing over his lips, only thinking about what happened earlier. Should I tell Chris, or is he simply his sister's access to me?

"Everything is alright, doctor," I smiled at him.

All those days watching over me... was it because I'm his sister's target? I no longer felt safe in those eyes.

She is beautiful. A dark red rose with hair so dark and skin so white. But we don't look alike. I have her eye shape, but not the color. Not her nose, not her sharp features. Where did my cheeks come from, my nose, my lips, my smile? Where did I come from?

"Mom... can I ask who my father is?"

She laughed in a drunk daze, looking away. "What, am I not enough for you, Xiao Lian?"

I reached for the bottle and poured her a drink, but also poured on the second glass for my own. "You are everything to me, mom. But you don't tell me anything at all."

"You don't need to know anything..." she says.

"But I'm lost. It's like I don't even know who I am... am I the ugly photographer that everyone hates, or am I the painted flower everyone wants to pluck? How do I even know who I am when I don't even know where I came from?"

She stayed silent, drinking her wine in one swallow. I could barely smell mine, but I drank it all. With it, I became bolder, which is the courage I need.

"Tell me about your days teaching in that school... do you know who Dr. Christian Wayne is?"

She seemed to respond well to that name. "He is... a good friend of mine. Caring, funny... refuses to give me extra painkillers. He took care of me in the school. Up until I found out—"

"His sister," I continued, which sort of shocked her, intoxicated eyes widening. "You found out he is the brother of Velomina Deveroux."

I can see it—her world shrinking into the size of her heart. Her tears pooled into her eyes at the mention of that name. But she smiled, like the weeping rose she is. "How did you know that name?"

"You told me," I answered. "It's the name you called out when we were invaded. The name you refused to tell the police."

She laughed at me with tears in her eyes. "The police can't do anything against that family... they'd watch me get killed by them."

"But Velomina won't kill you," I tell her, drinking my own glass and reaching out for more. "Because she loved you, didn't she? And so did her husband?"

"Where did you hear this, Li-An?" She says, unaware that one tear has fallen. I poured her another drink, which loosened her up when she took it all with a smile. She held her head in shame, "Love... was that what they called it?"

"What happened, mom?"

She spoke in her home language, "Velomina and I were close, Lian. She... was lonely. Her husband always worked. I was there, listening to every secret, sharing every laugh. Did we kiss? Yes... share a bed? A child like you shouldn't know."

I'm not a child. I drank another glass of wine, while pouring her another one.

"Khalid knew; he watched me leave her room in the morning. After I put her to bed, he speaks to me about how well I take care of his wife, how important I am to her. Those late night talks... I don't know what came of me, but I also offered my lips to him. I wasn't aware my feelings came with it."

"You..." I asked, "You loved him more than her?"

"No, Xiao Lian..." her eyes trailed off as if recalling a daydream.

"My heart wasn't torn. It didn't need to decide. I was happy with either of them. When with Velo, I searched for him. When with Khalid, I yearned for her. I cannot explain the happiness one feels between two lovers. I was loved, with not one second of me being alone."

"Did they know? That you liked the both of them?"

"I'd like to believe I was the bridge between their marriage... that I held it together. But when Velomina found out I was sleeping with Lord Deveroux..."

"Lei..." she caught me leaving her husband's office without a tray of food, which means I was there to serve something different. The heartbreak in her heart was apparent. She mourned, she broke... but not for her husband. "Why...?"

"Mistress, let me explain—" the moment Lord Deveroux left his office, Velomina saw red.

"YOU B*STARD!" She grabbed a decorative vase from a nearby table and threw it at the door, stomping on the red roses to hit him with her delicate but strong hands. "How dare you lay a hand on her, SHE'S MINE!"

"Velo!" I cried out, trying to pull her off the Lord. She was taller, stronger than me, and in her desperate attempt to harm her husband, she threw me to the ground in a fit of rage. But Lord Deveroux was a man, and he managed to grab her by the waist and held both her arms with one hand.

"You are scaring her, Mia!" He scolds her, and she finally looks at me crying on the floor with shock and worry.

"Lei..." she pulled herself off him and knelt to embrace me, "I'm sorry... my love, forgive me..."

"I-it is you that should forgive me, Mistress..." I cried, "I... I betrayed you. I slept with your husband..."

She glared at him while still embracing me. "You seduced her! Took advantage of an innocent girl! You can have all the women you want Khalid, you've HAD all the women you can shove your d*ck into, but you just HAD to touch this one, you just can't let me have my own?!"

"She enjoys my company as well, Cara Mia. Let the girl have a little fun..."

"She doesn't need you! You were jealous of us and had to get your slimy hands all over her! How dare you force yourself on—"

"I did not force myself on her!"

I watched them fight; not because of infidelity, but because of me. I felt unworthy, disgusting. When Velomina stood up to yell at her husband, I tried to stand up. "P-please stop fighting..."

While Velomina was still screaming, Khalid loudly asks me, "Tell her who treats you better, Dolcezza. Which of us do you want most!"

"I—" I shook my head, before grabbing the glass of wine to drink until it's clear. "I chose both, of course. I told them I couldn't choose between them, and I'd rather leave than do so."

I looked at my mother's dark onyx eyes, reflecting my own. "What happened then?"

"Oh, they had to tolerate each other. None of them wanted to let go of me," she was smirking with the knowledge of her beauty holding the Deverouxs in a chokehold.

"I thought it was heaven, finally having an affair with the both of them without hiding. But outside the bedroom was nothing but fighting. Deep down... I knew I was tearing their marriage apart. I had to leave for them to have peace."

"How... did you leave?" I asked, watching her take another drink I poured. "How did you leave, mom?"

"I wasn't easy... I had to finish college first, around your age. Then I got pregnant with you and left."

I didn't need to clarify the fact that she made them believe I was Lord Deveroux's son so they'll take care of her until birth. I don't want her to relive that kind of suffering, she's already happy and proud she managed to escape.

But then, everything in her eyes came crashing down, and my drunken mother is crying against the table yet again. "Oh, Lian... I loved them, I loved them so much... but I had to leave, I couldn't stay... I couldn't... could you get another bottle from the pantry?"

I left the table to take a bottle out of the pantry, but not before drinking a load from it to make sure she doesn't drink too much. Just enough for her to sleep. When I handed her the bottle, I hugged her tight and nuzzled my head on her neck.

"I don't need to know who my father is... you are enough, mom... I love you," I drunkenly mumbled against her neck. "Thank you for telling me, mom... I know you a lot more now..."

She held my arms as she sobbed to me, "Stay away from them, Lian. They'll take you away from me... I don't want them to take you away from me."