Chapter 2 Two dangerously irresistible brothers

Veronica’s POV:

It has been a week since I broke up with Chase.

I did cry over him for the first two days, mourning the good moments I had with him.

Why? Why did he have to become a womanizer?!

But then, he showed his true face again by sending me threatening text messages from new numbers, despite blocking him multiple times.

“Come back to me, Veronica! Or else I’ll tell your father, and trust me, he’s gonna make you come back to me again. You really have no choice in this!”

The audacity of him! He actually thinks my own father would take his side after knowing what he did to me! I realized then that he was a very good manipulator.

I do want to tell my father, but I don’t want to upset him with the bad news… not yet.

For the next five days, I stayed at my friend Penny’s mansion, in her personal room. I sat on the couch watching rom-coms about breakups and cried even more.

Soon, I noticed that even my parents were trying to call me, but I just ignored them.

How could I face them yet? They would be hurt to know that my engagement was off.

Then, a week later, Penny started showing me some tough love. “Come on, V. You’re being too pathetic! Just get dressed and let’s go outside.”

I protested, but Penny literally threw one of her party dresses at me and dragged me into her luxury car.

She took me to a high-end bar where only elites mingled.

“Not here,” I groaned. “People can recognize me here! They’ll ask me about Chase.”

But Penny shushed me and led me up to the exclusive lounge, which was full of lights, music, and young people drinking and dancing.

I was in no mood for any of that. I felt too dull, like I had no energy left in me.

“Hey… Veronica! How are you doing?” a familiar female voice called out, and I turned to see Selena… one of my family friends.

“I’m fine,” I said for the sake of it, though it was a lie.

“So, we’re here to celebrate our fifth anniversary! My husband’s over there, celebrating with his friends,” she said, pointing toward him.

“Congratulations! I’m happy for you,” I squealed and hugged her.

Selena got married to the love of her life, the wealthy industrialist Hamilton, five years ago, and they’ve been living like the perfect, ideal couple in Manhattan’s elite circle. They regularly post selfies and vacation pictures that have a huge following.

It could have been me and Chase, too… but that bastard ruined it all.

“So next, I’m planning on getting pregnant,” she said, and again I squealed with her, and Penny too joined us.

“So,” I asked, lowering my voice, “how is your relationship this successful?”

Selena smiled at me. “He shares everything with me, and we have deep communication. We never keep secrets.”

Opposite of what I had with Chase! My relationship with him was full of lies, cheating, and illusions.

However, as I looked at Selena, it gave me hope that maybe true love exists… even though I was unlucky enough to witness only the dark side of love.

“Perhaps I should take a break from this dating,” I blurted out to Penny, who was now seated on the barstool next to me. “Cause you know, I wasn’t able to attract a healthy relationship like Selena. Something must be wrong with me, isn’t it?! I mean, what are the odds?”

“V…” she let out a sigh. “You are just overthinking this. Don’t blame yourself. It is all his fault. Chase is the cheater here, not you.”

“But, why wasn’t I able to find it sooner… for heaven’s sake, I lived with him for 3 years.”

As I took two shots, it only made me more chatty, as I started ranting out to Penny, who patiently listened to me.

But then something in the room shifted, as if everyone in there went quiet, except for the music sound. I looked over my shoulder to see the reason behind it.

Two men have just entered, and they're the kind of men who make every head in the room turn. They move with the type of confidence that comes from knowing you own everything you see. They're clearly together… brothers, maybe, based on their similar bone structure and the easy way they move in sync.

They wore Designer suits, watches that gleam with real gold, and an aura of power that makes everyone else in the room seem insignificant by comparison. Even through my alcohol-induced haze, I can appreciate the way they carry themselves… like the predators who've never known what it means to be prey.

The first man is tall and broad-shouldered, with bright blue eyes and shoulder-length dark hair styled like a pop star's, along with tattoos covering his neck that seem to continue down his back. His face is all sharp angles and strong lines, the kind of masculine beauty that graces magazine covers. He surveys the room with eyes so blue they're almost electric, and when his gaze sweeps past our section of the bar, I feel my breath catch.

The other one looks like the opposite version of the dark-haired man. He has neat blonde hair and green eyes that give off a sweet and intelligent aura. He has no tattoos or any sign of rebellion on his body, unlike the other one.

"Holy shit," Penny breathes beside me, and I realize she's staring too.

The men pause just inside the entrance, scanning the room with the practiced ease of people who are used to being the most important wherever they go.

I go completely still, my glass frozen halfway to my lips.

"V," Penny hisses under her breath, "they're coming over here."

I force myself to turn back to my drink, gripping the glass tighter than necessary. I shouldn’t be focusing on them. I just had a bad breakup, and I should work on myself… instead of getting diverted.

But my eyes shift to the other one with sweet green eyes, and he locks his gaze on me too, giving me the warmest smile I've ever seen in my life… like sunshine and rainbows.

Those two seem to have very distinctive personalities that contrast against each other, and that's what makes them both even more attractive. It's as if they both offer very different things… like one is fire and one is Ice.

One is like an angel and the other is a demon.