~Candy~

As soon as Axel leaves for the night, my husband turns to me. He walks slowly, purposefully toward me.

I take a few steps back, afraid. Ansel's eyes flame with hate and jealousy. I recognize that look. His vengeful rage has taken over his body.

"I didn't know he was going to be here," I start to explain.

But he doesn't care about my explanations. In his mind, he has made up his own scenarios.

Ansel grabs me by the throat, squeezing hard. I kick around, slapping his hand, kicking my feet but it's all useless. He's too powerful.

He knows how to squeeze with just the right amount of pressure to make me lose consciousness. He likes to let me know he holds my life in the palm of his hand. He can take it any time he liked. He likes to see me terrorized.

"I swear I didn't know he was coming back. He just showed up!" I stammer, my voice breaking up from the tight grip.

"You let him into our bedroom?" Ansel questions, angrily.

This is it. He's going to kill me.

"Nothing happened, I swear. I was waiting for you. I didn't hear him in come. I thought he was you. I swear it to you. Please, Ansel, you are killing me!"

My vision gets blurry and just as I'm about to pass out, Ansel loosens his grip. I fall to the floor and lay at his feet, coughing and struggling to breathe. He kicks me square in the ribs. A sharp pain reverberates around my body.

I'm used to Ansel's cruelty, his choking, kicking and many other creative ways of leaving scars all over my body. But now that Axel's back, I know it's only going to get worse.

He leans down and strokes my hair gently at first. Then, without warning, he wraps my hair around his fingers and yanks it hard, dragging me upwards to meet his face. My painful cries can be heard all over the house.

"You're mine, Candy! Mine! Don't you ever forget it and if I even smell him around you, I will fucking kill you," he snarls.

A final warning. He doesn't need to tell me twice. I already know he can make good on his promise.

*

The next morning, Axel comes over for breakfast. My husband is getting ready for work. The domestic staff are back this morning so we can see the gardeners pruning the hedges and the kitchen staff setting the table.

I don't work anymore. I haven't worked since I married Ansel. Before that, I was in college studying political science. I wanted to work in DC with hopes of rising in the political ranks.

But now, I'm just some rich asshole's trophy wife. The only time I get to do any kind of political work is when I host dinner parties for Ansel's connected political friends.

Axel arrives shirtless. The summer's just starting out. Even though it's hot, I'm dressed in long wool dress with a designer kerchief tied as a necktie to hide the bruises Ansel's hand left around my neck.

"Morning, sunshine! What a beautiful day!" Axel calls out, spreading his arms. He has a large wingspan. His muscles ripple as he moves. I roam my eyes around his body. He looks like an Adonis, a gorgeous Greek sculpted god. His entire body is testament to some god out there, molding superior specimens.

"Good morning, Axel. We were just about to have some breakfast. Come, join us," Ansel says.

Axel walks over. As he brushes past my chair, his finger pinches my skin around the neck area. I freeze. A shower of goosebumps descends on my body. My nipples harden.

He takes the seat facing me while Ansel sits at the head of the table. The kitchen staff had displayed an array of foods on the table. Axel picks a strawberry, throws it into his mouth and chews with pleasure.

"God, I've missed all of this."

"Well, of course you did. Digging around the forests of Asia and Europe, I don't know what you were trying to prove!" Ansel scoffs. He's always hated that his brother chose the 'rough' life over the luxury pleasures of their childhood.

"Proving that I'm tougher than you. Bro, you would not have survived some of the trails I hiked. Believe me," Axel retorts. He likes pissing his brother off. The two brothers had the worse case of sibling rivalry I've ever seen. They love nothing more than to make each other mad.

"But you are back now. That's what matters!" I chime in, hoping to defuse the situation but it only earns me angry glares from my husband.

Axel must have noticed my deflated mood. His leg stretches out under the table, caressing mine. I swallow hard, struggling to maintain my composure and hoping that Ansel doesn't see what his brother is doing under the table.

He caresses my shin, moving slowly. The thrill wets my pants. Just the fact that I am able to flirt with him right under Ansel's nose is enough to send me spinning.

But the pleasure doesn't last. Our breakfast is interrupted by the arrival of our butler, Ian, announcing the presence of a visitor.

"Irina Snow for Mr. Baldwin, sir," Ian says.

I look up at the woman entering the dining area. She is tall, blonde-haired with sharp green eyes. A model-like beauty. She is carrying the latest Birkin bag.

Ansel stands up and hugs her. I notice Axel stand too, but his body is rigid.

"Irina, what a pleasure to see you again. Axel, I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of arranging this breakfast so you can get to know each other better."

I drop my fork, confused.

"What's happening? Who's Irina?"

Ansel turns to me and with considerable twisted sense of pleasure, he smiles and says:

"Candy, I'd like you to meet Irina Snow. She's Axel's fiancée. She's the reason he came back home! Looks like our bad boy's getting caged at last!"

My heart sinks.

~Candy~

I can't breathe. My breath stalls somewhere inside me.

I stare at the woman, Irina, and back at Axel.

He knew this was happening when he fucked me last night? He knew he was about to become a husband.

A wave of betrayal surges inside me. I feel used. Just like every other girl in his life, Axel has used and discarded me. It's so crazy that I even thought he had changed.

Irina struts over to me. She looks like she had just walked off the Vogue magazine, like she could walk Victoria Secret runway. Her make-up is perfectly matched; every shade fits her. Her dress fits her snugly with boobs pressing up.

Her oval face is perfect, too. Her feline eyes and arched brows scrutinized me. She has long legs like a dancer, sinewy with tight muscles and golden long hair flowing down her back.

She never has to worry about her weight or wearing the wrong shade of makeup. She's perfect. Perfect for Axel. A blonde just like the girls he used to mess around with in high school. His type.

Me and my flaming red hair don't fit his type at all. Never did. I don't know why I deluded myself into believing I ever did.

"Candy, how lovely to meet you. I've heard so much about you," Irina coos.

I swear I can detect a faint tone of mockery in her voice. She has this syrupy accented voice that sounds so expensive.

"Ansel, you dog! You never told me you had such a gorgeous goddess for a wife!" Irina continues, punching my husband playfully on the upper arm.

I watch Ansel beam at her, enamored. He has never beamed at me like that. How many times, exactly, have they met up to know each other so well? My mind begins to race.

"Yeah, Ansel, no one told me I'd be getting a new sister-in-law," I try to chime in. Ansel glowers at me, as if to tell me to shut up while his new 'bestie', Irina, looks me over with the bored expression of a rich housewife shopping for a new bag.

Under her scrutinizing gaze, I suddenly feel inadequate in my morning robe. The woman is fucking gorgeous. Her long lashes alone knock everything about me out of the park.

"Oh boys, that is so disappointing. You should've introduced us a long time ago," Irina chides, sweetly. My husband, my scary husband, doesn't glare at her. At all. Irina gets to see his sweet, pretentious side.

I turn again to Axel. He has suddenly mellowed, gone mute. He can't even keep a straight gaze or meet my eyes.

"Irina, we were about to have breakfast. Would you like to join us or do you want to take a quick look around the house with your fiancé? Axel, you could show your fiancée around," Ansel says.

Fiancé. I choke. The word is so foreign, so weird to describe Axel. Axel, the rebellious one. Axel, the bad boy. Axel, the player. Being a husband does not suit him.

I pulse with rage, betrayal.

"Suddenly, I've lost my appetite. I'll be upstairs. Irina, it was lovely to meet you again," I say in a tight voice, fighting back tears.

"Oh, sweetie, we're going to hang out. I want all the gossip and tips on how to deal with these two," Irina says, winking at me.

I muster just enough smile to get the hell out of there. On my way upstairs, I can hear their laughter billowing. A single line of tear spill down my cheek.

How could Axel do this to me? How could he fuck me like I'm the only thing he wants in the world and then turn around ----

Oh, screw it, of course he did! This is definitely such an Axel thing to do. He had done it in high school when he used to screw around with all those girls knowing I liked him. He had only confessed to me when it was too late...when I'd already agreed to walk down the aisle with his brother.

Maybe this is payback for rejecting him all those years ago. This is all my fault. I'm the one who set a high expectation, dreaming about all the ways he would save me after just one night.

Axel doesn't save anyone. He is just like his fucking brother. They don't care about anyone but themselves.

Back in the bedroom, I lie down on the bed and cry. I don't know how long I stayed there when a knock comes on the door.

I wipe my eyes and open the door. There he stands.

Axel.

His face is subdued. His hair is tousled and rough. He runs his fingers through it, attractively.

"Where's your fiancée?" I ask in a bratty tone. Yeah, I mean, what the hell is he doing here?

"She's gone. Left with your husband," he replies sarcastically, putting a great emphasis on the word 'Husband' as if to remind me that I am still otherwise engaged.

I roll my eyes. "She's perfect for you."

Axel shakes his head. "I didn't know how to tell you."

I take a deep breath. "You don't have to tell me. It's none of my business so you can just go. You don't have to explain a thing to me."

I try to close the door, but Axel puts his foot sharply in the doorway. "Don't pretend as if this isn't happening."

My anger surges. "What do you want me to say? You are engaged to Irina and I'm married to your brother. Last night was just a one-time thing. It's never gonna happen again. We don't need to pretend around each other. We don't need to say anything. Just go be with your fiancée and I'll go back to my life."

Axel's eyes darken, his jaws twitch. "Candy..." he calls out my name softly.

My heart skips a beat, or two. My name in his mouth sounds like melted butter. It takes everything in me not to throw myself at him, to kiss him and feel him whisper my name into my mouth.

But no, I should put an end to this now. All of it. It's over. It never even began but it's over.

"Bye, Axel..." I say, closing the door. I can literally hear my heart breaking into a million tiny pieces.