Chapter 2 Love In The Shadows: Luxia's Romance Novels Vs Cassian's Twisted Obsession

• The evening air was quiet as Luxia finally closed the book in her lap, her fingertips lingering on its worn cover. Viola had given it to her—another one of those romance novels, the kind where a brooding mafia boss swept some innocent heroine off her feet in a whirlwind of danger and passion.
• A small sigh escaped her lips.
• "Sigh... I did it again. Read the entire day."
• She pouted slightly at herself, but the flutter in her chest remained. These stories were her secret indulgence, a way to dream beyond the gilded cage of her life. Maybe her own engagement wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe her future husband would be like the men in those books cold on the outside but burning just for her.
• A soft giggle bubbled up as she stood, smoothing out her dress. "Ah, right, I should ask Belle if she has any new books to borrow."
• Her twin always had the best recommendations.
• She padded down the hall to Belle’s door, the plush carpet muffling her steps.
• Knock-knock.
• "Belle? It’s me, Luxia. Uhm… I wanted to ask if—"
• "Go away!"
• The sharpness of Belle’s voice made Luxia freeze outside Belle’s door, her chest tight with confusion and hurt. The sharpness in her twin’s voice was unlike anything she’d ever heard before. 'Had I done something wrong?' she thought.
• She pressed her palm against the door, hesitating. "Belle... please talk to me. If I upset you, I—"
• "Just LEAVE, Luxia!" Belle’s voice cracked with frustration. "You don’t even realize it, do you? You’re the golden child, the one they’ll protect at my expense!"
• Luxia flinched. What did that mean?
• She swallowed hard, fingers curling into her dress. "I don’t understand... If this is about the engagement, I didn’t—"
• "OF COURSE IT’S ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT!" Belle’s muffled shout was followed by the sound of something hitting the wall, a book, maybe. "You get to marry some powerful mafia king, and I get to be your body double for the rest of my life! Your sacrifice if things go wrong!"
• Luxia’s breath caught. Body double? Sacrifice?
• Her mind raced, had their parents really ordered Belle to… replace her if needed?
• "Belle, I swear, I didn’t know—"
• "You never know anything!" Belle snapped. "Because you’re too busy being perfect while the rest of us suffer for it!"
• Silence.
• Luxia’s eyes stung. She wanted to argue, to plead, to make Belle see that she would never want this for her. But the venom in her sister’s words kept her frozen.
• Finally, she whispered, "I’m sorry."
• No response.
• With a heavy heart, Luxia turned away, retreating to her room like a wounded bird seeking shelter.
• Inside her room, Belle clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms.
• She hated this. Hated her.
• Hated how Luxia could sound so sincere, so innocent, when she was the reason Belle’s freedom had just been ripped away.
• "Stupid... stupid...!" she muttered, throwing herself onto the bed and burying her face in the pillow.
• But beneath the anger, something else festered, guilt.
• Because Luxia hadn’t known.
• And Belle had just taken all her fury out on the one person who didn't deserve it.
• Back in her room, Luxia sat by the window, staring blankly at the moonlit gardens below.
• She had always been close to Belle. They were twins, they shared secrets, dreams, laughter.
• But now?
• Now there was a wall between them. One built by their parents’ cruelty and Cassian’s schemes.
• Was this what her future would be? A gilded cage, a marriage to a stranger, and a sister who hated her for it?
• Her fingers trembled as she reached for the romance novel Viola had given her.
• "How ironic..." she muttered with a bitter smile.
• A story about a mafia boss and a woman who fell in love with him.
• Would her life become like this? Was love really like this? Or would it be something far darker?
• Questions swirl in her mind.
• Meanwhile, in the shadows...
• A figure watched from the estate gates, Cassian Ashborn, his cold eyes fixed on Luxia’s window.
• 'Soon,' he thought, smirking.
• 'Soon, she’ll be mine.'
• And no one, not her parents, not her brother, not even her twin, would stand in his way.
• "I don’t understand, why did you also request for that woman’s twin to be with her?" A woman asked as Cassian entered his car.
• Cassandra Ashborn, Cassian’s older sister, studied him with sharp, calculating eyes as their car glided through the darkened streets of Noxhaven. The question hung in the air, laced with curiosity, and something far more sinister.
• Cassian didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his lips curled into a slow, chilling smile, his cold gaze reflecting the passing city lights like shards of ice.
• "Cassandra," he mused, voice low and smooth, "what do you think the reason is?"
• A beat of silence.
• Then, Cassandra laughed.
• "Ah…" Her chuckle was velvet-wrapped malice. "I see."
• She knew her brother better than anyone. Knew the depths of his cruelty, his obsession with control, his hunger for breaking things just to remake them in his image.
• "Fufu…" She leaned back, crossing her legs with feline grace. "Make sure you give me a finished product too."
• Cassian’s smirk deepened.
• "Kuku… After all," Cassandra purred, her voice dripping with dark amusement, "the Castelos themselves are oblivious to their own bloodline."