CHAPTER 2: NO ESCAPE

My sister and I had been attached at the hip since the womb; we had literally never been apart. She was the naive, hopelessly gullible type, the kind of girl who’d get swindled out of her shirt if left to her own devices. So if she was running, there was zero chance I was staying behind.

We cut loose across Europe: from the Eiffel Tower to Venice, from Pisa to Rome, and straight on through Versailles. In short, we turned running for our lives into a grand vacation. Eventually, humoring my sister’s penchant for classic romance, we settled down in ancient, misty London.

Then, four months after our total vanishing act, Zhian randomly fainted.

The blonde, blue-eyed doctor gave us a warm smile and announced, “Congratulations. She’s pregnant.”

I completely went numb. Four whole months without a period, and she had naively assumed her cycle was just messed up from emotional stress. OK. I was fine. Totally fine! Ten months later, little Nuyen made her entrance into the world, absolutely adorable and sweet as pie.

Raising a baby was hell on easy mode, but thankfully, Andrew, the handsome obstetrician next door, and his older brother, James, stepped in to help. James was the ultimate tall, dark, and drop-dead gorgeous CEO with an aura that commanded every room he walked into.

By the time Nuyen turned two, she inexplicably started calling both Andrew and James “Daddy.”

My sister and I traded a long look. After a three-second silence, we reached a mutual consensus: Were we really supposed to stay chaste for those two Huo men for the rest of our lives? Hell no. Might as well start picking our new consorts.

We divided them up with perfect logic: “I’ll take the younger brother, Andrew, his eyes look like polished cat’s eye gems.”

“Then I’ll take the older brother, James,” Zhian agreed. “Long legs, killer frame, he’s got a bright future written all over him.”

The words had barely left our lips when the brothers simultaneously confessed their feelings. Talk about flawless timing!

We had been dating for less than a week when Christmas rolled around, and the brothers invited us home to meet their parents. It was moving faster than overnight delivery, but with little Nuyen giving her toddler seal of approval, we nodded and agreed.

On Christmas Day, they picked us up in a stretch limo that pulled up to a breathtaking, sprawling castle.

Seeing our wide-eyed bewilderment, James offered a smooth explanation. “My father was granted a dukedom by the Queen.”

My sister and I froze solid. We just wanted to have a little harmless fun, and we somehow landed the sons of a literal Duke. Was my dad’s fake story about us having “royal blood” actually true?!

While James took Zhian on a grand tour of the estate, I stayed behind with Andrew to watch Nuyen. Andrew leaned down close, his voice low and warm against my ear. “Ninh… after we get married, shall we have another daughter together?”

A rush of heat flooded my face, my heart doing frantic flips in my chest. I shyly looked away, only for the smile on my face to instantly turn to ice.

A pair of dark, deep eyes were staring right at me, dripping with lethal coldness.

Huo Lantu.

God knows how long he’d been standing there, quietly watching me. The corners of his lips were pulled back in a subtle, mocking smirk.

Every drop of color drained from my face.

Help! Someone please explain: Why on earth was Huo Lantu here?!

—

Zhian and I stood in the middle of the grand castle hall, both of us paler than chalk. We immediately initiated an intense eye-contact broadcast:

“Did you see Huo Lianzhou?!”
“Did YOU see Huo Lantu?!”

Fantastic. Both uncle and nephew appearing at the exact same time, if this wasn’t a coordinated capture mission, I didn’t know what was.

I leaned in and whispered under my breath, “Do you want to fix things with him?”

She sighed. “Nah. James is great, funny, easygoing, no head games.”

Sisterly solidarity came above all else. If she wasn’t going back, I wasn’t going back either!

In the middle of the lively party, James and Andrew blissfully dragged us over to meet their parents. James gave a clueless smile. “Zhou and Tu are also from China. I thought you ladies might feel more at home around them.”

At home? Darling, this is a literal battlefield!

I plastered on a flawless high-society smile, taking one step after another straight into the abyss. Lantu stood there, his icy gaze fixed tightly on my hand where Andrew was holding it. On the surface, he looked cool and collected, but I could tell he was gritting his teeth hard enough to shatter them.

Just as Andrew opened his mouth to introduce me. “Father, this is…”, a cold, commanding voice cut him off instantly.

“She is my wife. Khương Ninh.”

Before I could react, Lantu yanked me sharply into his side.

On the other end, Lianzhou refused to be outdone. In one swift movement, he pulled Zhian into his arms, their fingers laced together in a tight, inescapable grip. “And this is my wife. Khương Zhian.”

Four men, four completely different expressions. The Duke’s sons looked shattered into a million pieces; the two of us were internally screaming. Only the old Duke burst into a hearty laugh. “Ah, Tu! You and your lady are so affectionate!”

I looked into Lantu’s eyes and saw a horrifying mix of tenderness and absolute danger.

Conclusion: London was no longer safe. We had to run again!

—

That very night, we grabbed little Nuyen and caught the first flight straight to Hawaii.

The second we touched down on the beach, we fired off quick apology texts to James and Andrew. But before our guilt could even fully settle, my daughter tugged hard on my shirt.

“Mommy… that mister keeps staring at you.”

I whipped my head around.

It was them. Again. Like relentless ghosts that refused to be exorcised!

Lianzhou let out a dry, mocking laugh. “What a coincidence. Aren’t these our two ‘drowned’ wives?”

Caught red-handed, we decided to just go down fighting. I crossed my arms and puffed out my chest. “Yeah, it’s us. What about it?”

Zhian took it a step further, aggressively barking, “You wanna kill us? Go ahead!”

The immediate consequence of our mouths running faster than our brains was that a second later, we were both scooped up and thrown over their shoulders like sacks of potatoes.

Lantu slung me over one shoulder while effortlessly scooping up little Nuyen with his other arm, single-handedly carrying both of us straight to the penthouse suite. Because he was ridiculously handsome, little Nuyen was effortlessly bribed with a handheld game console and sent outside so the adults could “talk.”

Only the two of us were left in the room.

Lantu sank into the sofa, loosening his tie with one hand. His posture was lazy, but the suffocating pressure radiating off him was overwhelming. He looked at me with an expression that said he wanted to devour me on the spot.

“Explain.”

Knowing there was nowhere left to run, I cautiously crept closer, softening my voice to a sweet purr. “Hubby… Uncle… if I told you I died and came back to life, would you believe me?”

Judging by the darkening storm on his face, he didn’t buy a single word.

After a few seconds of agonizing silence, his voice came out raspy and dark, asking a question that left me utterly stunned:

“Who… is the father of that child?”

Ah. I finally got it.

He thought Nuyen was mine.