Page 21 of Claiming Pretty

Alive.

The word echoed in my head, ricocheting like a bullet, but it only made the room feel like it was spinning faster.

I turned back to Ty, my chest tight, my pulse erratic. The sight of him, solid and standing there, did nothing to slow the storm in my mind.

“You’re alive,” I whispered, my voice hoarse, disbelieving. The words felt heavy, foreign, like they didn’t belong in my mouth.

Relief slammed into me like a freight train, so powerful it almost brought me to my knees. He was alive. My brother was alive. My twin. My blood. The part of me I thought I’d lost forever.

I took him in, piece by piece, the sheer brutality of his presence cutting through the room like a blade. His figure was harder, sharper, every line of his body carved with purpose.

The coldness in his glare was unrelenting, a stark contrast to the brother I once knew.

Black tattoos snaked across his forearms, dark and menacing, each one an unspoken story I didn’t recognize.

The boy I had grown up with was gone, replaced by a man I didn’t know—a stranger wearing my brother’s face.

“I’m alive,” he repeated, his voice low and bitter, as his lips curled into a humorless smirk. “Disappointed?”

Guilt slammed into me like a fist to the gut.

He was alive.

And I’d betrayed him in every way that mattered.

The memory of Ava’s lips on mine hit me like a slap, her warmth still lingering, her love etched into every fiber of my being.

My chest tightened as the truth threatened to choke me.

I had broken my promise. I hadn’t just touched her. I’d taken her, fallen in love with her, stolen her.

I couldn’t even deny it. I had kissed Ava like she was mine right in front of him.

And now Ty stood here, watching me like he knew every shameful thought running through my head.

“What is happening?” I demanded, my tone sharper than I intended as my confusion and panic bubbled to the surface. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t put the pieces together fast enough.

I turned to Ava, my gaze hard, desperate. “Where the hell have you been? I thoughtyouwere dead.”

She opened her mouth, but no words came out, her expression caught between guilt and something unreadable.

I swung back to Ty, unable to keep still, unable to think straight.

“And you…” I jabbed a finger toward him, anger and disbelief warring in my chest. “You’re supposed to be dead,too! What the fuck is going on?”

Ty’s smirk faded, his expression darkening, and the weight of his stare made my stomach twist.

I shook my head, trying to make sense of it all, but the answers felt just out of reach, taunting me.

Everything I thought I knew, everything I thought was certain, was unraveling before my eyes.

And the worst part? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the truth.

“Ava, darling.” Ty’s voice cut through the tension like a blade, calm but sharp enough to draw blood. “Perhapsyouwant to tell him.”

Darling?

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. Her glare could have melted stone, but Ty didn’t even flinch.

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