The Slave Of Love

I was pregnant when I discovered that my boyfriend, Liam Barnes, had been letting his twin brother, Lucas Barnes, sleep with me for the past three years.

It was all part of his plan to avenge his first love, Vivian Quinn.

"This is the punishment for her bullying Vivian." I heard my boyfriend said with a arrogant laughter.

I turned to look at the man kneeling in front of me, identical to him. "Is that true?"

The man holding my foot kissed it reverently. "I am not like him. You have my loyalty."

1.

The rain poured down on me, piercing through me like numerous icy needles.

I clutched the pregnancy test report, now wrinkled from the rain, much like my shattered heart.

Half an hour ago, I had been imagining Liam's face with joy when he heard the news.

We were supposed to try on wedding dresses next week, and this child would have been the perfect gift for our wedding.

But now, every word from the private room felt like a venomous dart piercing my heart.

"If she finds out that it's been my twin brother who's been sleeping with her for the past three years, she might just lose her mind." Liam's voice was filled with teasing laughter, starkly different from the gentle tone he usually used with me.

I halted my steps instantly. My fingers were gripping the cold door handle so tightly that my knuckles turned pale.

Three years?

Had this all been a deception from the start?

The "Liam" who held me tightly during my every sigh and climax was actually his twin brother, Lucas?

"It would be great if she did lose her mind," Liam's voice came again, laced with drunkenness, yet colder than the pouring rain outside.

"Since she bullied Vivian, letting her fuck my brother is getting off easy for her."

Vivian, Liam's first love, had been indulged by him since she was little.

"Sad that we didn't get any video," Liam said, handing a pinhole camera to Lucas. "You know what to do tonight."

I felt my tears welling up in my eyes.

The boyfriend I had loved for three years was now cruelly declaring the end of my happiness.

Their faces bore a satisfied smirk, leaving me feeling like a puppet at their mercy.

I didn't know how long it took before I dragged my feet to leave.

The rain hadn't stopped, and I roamed the streets aimlessly like a ghost.

I crumpled the pregnancy test report into a ball and clutched it tightly in my hand.

When I returned to the apartment, I was soaked to the bone.

The icy chill seeped from my skin into my bones, yet it was nothing compared to the chill in my heart.

I didn't turn on the light and stood in the darkness for a long time, until I heard the sound of the key turning.

Liam was back.

He reeked of alcohol and another woman's perfume.

Seeing me standing in the living room, he frowned.

"Why aren't the lights on? You're soaking wet. You might catch a cold."

His tone was still gentle, but to me, it was painfully shrill.

I didn't speak, continuing to pretend I knew nothing of what had just happened.

I watched him enter the bedroom and then send a message.

Not long after, the doorbell rang.

I hid in the kitchen, watching.

Lucas had arrived.

"Same as usual tonight," Liam said and patted Lucas on the shoulder.

He reminded Lucas with a calculating look in his eyes. "Don't mess it up. Remember to hide the camera well."

Lucas nodded with a smug grin and headed into the bedroom, while Liam turned and left the apartment.

I heard the rustle of Lucas undressing in the bedroom.

Taking a deep breath, I quietly retrieved a sharp knife from the kitchen and hid it behind my back.

As soon as I entered the bedroom, Lucas pulled me into his arms and gently kissed my lips.

My heart pounded in my chest and my palms were clammy with cold sweat.

I could feel the familiar air of Lucas.

For three years, I had fallen asleep surrounded by it.

But now, it only made me feel nauseated.

I suddenly turned around and pushed him away.

Lucas stumbled, looking at me in surprise. "What's going on, Victoria?"

I didn't answer. The blade of the knife in my hand gleamed coldly under the light, and my gaze was as icy cold.

"Who are you?" My tone was calm but carried a pressure that no one could defend.

Lucas' expression changed instantly. He was shifty-eyed now. "What... what are you talking about? I am Liam."

"Really?" I sneered. Then I picked up the knife, slowly stood up and walked towards him.

Then I lightly slit Lucas' cheek with the knife, leaving a shallow cut with blood oozing.

Lucas froze, not daring to move.

"Stop pretending," I said, my voice as cold as ice. "You've been fooling me around in the past three years. Have fun?"

Lucas' lips moved slightly. "No. We..."

"Shut up!" I suddenly pressed his shoulder, forcing him onto the sofa with such a force that Lucas winced in pain.

I leaned down. My face was only a few centimeters from his now.

There was no love in my eyes, only cutting sarcasm. "You like acting, don't you? You've pretended to be Liam to enjoy my affection, haven't you? Now it's my turn."

I yanked off Lucas' tie, forcing him to lift his head and look into my eyes. "From now on, you will repay what Liam owes me, with interest. He made you deceive me for three years, so you will repay my three years of suffering. You can't run away, Lucas."

The blade halted just beside Lucas' cheek, its cold glint reflecting off his suddenly pale face.

I felt no sympathy in my heart, only a cruel sense of satisfaction.

He was finally afraid, realizing I wasn't the fool to be kept in the dark and manipulated at will.

I twisted his wrist and clicked shut the handcuffs.

I stared at Lucas' hand secured to the headboard, his knuckles pale because he was clenching his fist.

His struggling, helpless demeanor reminded me of Liam's smug face.

Very well. Since the two of them conspired to deceive me, they should share the pain.

I gripped the leather belt, its texture rough in my hands.

I swung it down, listening to the sound as it struck his back.

"Ugh!" Lucas grunted, the sharp pain spreading along his spine.

Once, twice... The belt fell more rapidly.

He curled up, cold sweat trickling down his temple. Finally, he spoke, gasping.

"What do you want to let me go?"

Let him go?

When he and Liam emotionally cheated me and plotted to embarrass me publicly on our wedding day, did they ever think about letting me go?

I paused and looked down at him, a cold smile playing on my lips.

As memories of Liam's betrayal flashed before my eyes, anger was boiling within.

Perhaps making this man, who shared Liam's face, my tool and letting Liam be betrayed by someone closest to him would be the sweetest revenge.

I pulled out an agreement from my purse.

"Sign it." I tossed the document in front of Lucas and ordered, my voice devoid of warmth. "This is a contract for keeping you as my pet, sign it. Maybe when I'm in a good mood, I'll let you go."

Lucas struggled to look down. His eyes were scanning the densely packed clauses, each like a heavy chain: Unconditional obedience to Victoria's every command. No disclosure of the agreement's contents to anyone. In case of breach, all assets would belong to Victoria...

The most glaring part was the compensation section where was boldly stating "one dollar a year."

"This is totally a slave contract!" Lucas snapped his head up, his eyes full of defiance. "This is all Liam's fault. You should go after him!"

Seeing his intense reaction, I smiled with satisfaction.

On my way back, I had already had a lawyer draft this document.

Every clause was a custom-made shackle for Lucas.

I wanted him to understand that the cost of betraying me was far heavier than he imagined.

Yet he claimed it was Liam's fault to shirk all the responsibilities?

I leaned down and gripped his chin, forcing him to look at me.

I leaned close to his ear and whispered with a chilling tone. "When you were pretending to be him and sleeping with me, did you not think about this?"

I paused and tightened my grip, then watched Lucas' brows knit in pain.

"Liam is still waiting for the wedding in a week, right? Does he plan to propose to his first love at the wedding, making me a laughingstock?"

Even though Lucas might be aware of me knowing the truth, he still widened his eyes in shock hearing me speak it out loud.

"I need you to play a role." I released him and straightening up, looking condescendingly at him.

"Play my 'loyal dog,' and help me get back at Liam and Vivian.

I noticed the flaws because you were so unconvincing. So, if you mess up again..." My tone carried a hint of menace. "Oh, you didn't think I was just an ordinary woman, did you?"

Having been raised in the Omni Alliance, a criminal organization, I was brutal and commanding like a predator.

Lucas was my prey at this moment, and if he dared to move, I'd ruin him completely.

My fingers brushed over the blade at the headboard, and my gaze was as cold as ice. "I can have you stand here safely like this or make you disappear from this world without a trace. I can make you lose everything at any moment if I want. Then, the agreement won't even be necessary."

As Lucas recalled the breach terms on the agreement, his body trembled uncontrollably.

He opened his mouth and, deflated in the end, said his compromise with a hoarse voice. "I... I'll sign it."

I watched his dejected demeanor with a quick flash of amusement in my eyes.

What? So easy to deceive him?

I tossed a pen to Lucas and pushed the agreement closer to his hand. "Sign it. Oh, one more thing."

I picked up the one-dollar bill and brought it to Lucas' mouth. "Hold it in your teeth and say the last line of the contract."

Lucas' body stiffened. Humiliation overwhelmed him like a tide.

But the pain I inflicted on him made him bow his head and bite the bill.

Though his voice was muffled, he articulated the words. "Please keep me as your pet, Victoria."

Lucas' hand trembled slightly as he signed the agreement, the ink smudging next to the terms of servitude.

My fingertips grazed over his tense back, where there remained red marks of belt whipping.

"Good boy," I whispered softly, though my eyes were devoid of any warmth.

HIs compliance was merely a facade born out of fear. I needed a more secure bond.

That evening, the bedroom lights were turned to a warm yellow, yet it couldn't warm the chilling air in the room.

I untied the velvet rope beside the curtains, which were softer than handcuffs, but just as binding.

As I wound them around his wrists, I could feel his fingers curl.

"Don't move," I commanded, holding down his arm as he tried to lift it. The velvet rope formed a tight knot on the bedpost.

The remaining length allowed him to barely prop himself up. But escaping from this small bed was impossible for him.

He could only kneel on the sheets, and I unbuttoned his shirt one by one.

His exposed skin still bore faint red marks, glaring under the warm light.

I took out the silver collar I had prepared and fastened it around his neck.

Coldness of the metal made him shiver.

The collar had a small tag engraved with "Victoria's Pet", which was swaying gently with his breath.

"Look up," I ordered, lifting his chin with my fingers while picking up the camera from the bedside with the other hand and focusing it on his reddened eyes.

He dared not look directly at the camera but couldn't avoid my gaze either.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and even his breathing was slightly trembling.

Later, I had him lie on the edge of the bed, and tied the velvet rope on his ankles from his wrists.

As my fingers traced the red marks on his back, I watched his body tense due to itch and shame, and listened to the muffled groans stifled in his throat.

The camera shutter clicked softly, capturing him with his head bowed and his hair obscuring half of his face, him forced to raise his neck where the collar leaving faint red marks, and him doing postures filled with humiliation he would never do of his own accord yet now all performed under my instructions.

Each detail captured by the camera had shattered my illusions over the past three years.

Watching his eyes filled with shame in the pictures temporarily smoothed the wrinkles of betrayal in my heart.

The next morning, the doorbell rang on time.

I touched Lucas' ankle bound under the bed to confirm that the cold chain was still holding him in place.

I leisurely went to open the door.

As expected, it was Liam, holding the breakfast I loved, wearing his usual gentle smile. "Sweetheart, did you sleep well last night?"

I deliberately glanced behind him, then faked a fleeting look of panic.

I asked with a perfectly fabricated confusion in my voice, "Who are you? You..."

Before I could finish, Liam had already stepped inside. "What are you talking about? Liam, your boyfriend..."

He halted his words abruptly when his gaze swept across the living room as he now saw Lucas emerging from the bedroom, with the chain still wrapping around his wrists and red marks beneath his collar.

Liam's smile froze and his pupils contract. "Lucas? What are you doing here?"

He stepped forward and grabbed Lucas' collar.

He said with a low voice betraying his disbelief and anger.

"What are you doing? Didn't I ask you to play along until the wedding? How could you let it come to this?"

Lucas sighed deeply, closing his eyes tightly.

He seemed to want to say something but remained silent under my gaze.

Liam's face turned pale as he looked back at me, trying to defend himself.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from outside the door.

Several police officers burst in, their expressions stern. "Someone reported unauthorized entry into this residence. Who is it?"

Liam immediately released his grip and hastily explained, "Officer, I'm her boyfriend. This is my girlfriend's house. I didn't break in!"

I hid behind Lucas and said with a tearful voice, "I don't know him! He suddenly barged into my house today!"

I pulled Liam's ID from my purse. "He even claimed to be my boyfriend! But this is my partner. Take a look. This is his ID card."

The police looked at Liam rattled, then at the ID in my hand, their faces growing darker. "Please come with us for further investigation."

Two officers stepped forward to restrain Liam, who still wanted to argue.

He struggled to look at me, his eyes full of anger and confusion, but could only be taken away by the police.

As the door closed, my feigned innocence melted into a cold, triumphant smirk.

Lucas stood by, clenching his fists.

I approached him, gently pinching his cheek. "Liam never imagined that the ID he gave you to deceive me would become the evidence sending him to jail, did he?"