CHAPTER 2: How It Ended up Like This

The pain woke him before the sunlight did.

Milo winced as he shifted beneath the silk sheets, his body aching in places he didn’t know could hurt. Every inch of him throbbed—shoulders, back, thighs, wrists. Bruises bloomed like wilted flowers down his skin. The hickeys might fade. The fingerprints might not.

He was alone. Again.

No trace of the man who did this to him. No apology. No guilt.

Just emptiness.

He stared at the ceiling with red-rimmed eyes, whispering to himself.

"How did it end up like this?"

"Was loving him my fault?"

"Why?"

FLASHBACK – YEARS AGO

Bangkok, Age 10

Milo remembered laughter. Endless summer afternoons running barefoot through his family’s villa gardens, holding hands with Win and Mimi as they played tag among the flower beds.

Win was always between them—protective, sweet.

Mimi was always smiling.

And Milo… Milo just felt lucky to be loved by both.

They were inseparable. Childhood best friends.

Two rich families. One perfect trio.

Back then, Milo believed things would always stay like that.

Until Win left.

He was thirteen, tall for his age, smart beyond his years. His parents sent him abroad to study in London. A future heir, groomed for greatness.

The night before he left, he hugged both siblings tightly.

“You two better not forget me,” he joked, ruffling Milo’s hair, then turning to Mimi. “Especially you. Don’t stop smiling.”

Milo watched Mimi beam, while something in his own chest quietly ached.

And then Win was gone.

The Shift

Time changed everything.

Mimi grew colder, sharper, but always wore her angelic smile around others. She started dressing how Win liked—laughing the way he liked—texting him constantly while Milo faded into the background.

“You're still pining for him?” she scoffed one night when she caught Milo staring at an old picture of the three of them. “Pathetic.”

Milo stopped replying to Win’s messages. Not because he didn’t miss him, but because it hurt too much. He watched Mimi lie to their parents, lie to Win, and lie to the world—always the perfect daughter, while painting Milo as jealous, bitter, unstable.

And people believed her.

Even Win.

Three Years Ago – The Night Mimi Died

The rain was heavy that night.

Milo had followed Mimi up to the rooftop terrace after another ugly argument. She was on edge—angry, paranoid, accusing him of trying to ruin everything.

“He’s mine, Milo!” she snapped. “He loves me! You’ll never be anything but a mistake to him.”

“You manipulated him,” Milo shot back. “You played him for years and made me look like the villain.”

“You are the villain,” she hissed.

Then—chaos.

A third person was there. Someone Milo didn’t recognize. Voices raised. A struggle.

A gun appeared.

A scream.

A single shot.

Mimi fell.

And Milo was the one holding the weapon when the lights came on.

Present Day – 2 Months Ago

Win returned to Bangkok—taller, sharper, and powerful enough to silence a nation.

He came looking for Mimi, diamond ring in hand. He’d come to propose. To marry her, just like he’d promised her years ago.

Only… she was dead.

And all fingers pointed to Milo.

There were rumors. Whispers. A mysterious CCTV clip that showed Milo with the gun and Mimi falling.

And then—Win’s sudden announcement:

“I’ve fallen for Milo.”

He told the families he wanted to marry the surviving twin. And the families agreed. The alliance was too valuable to question.

Milo didn’t get a say.

Only a date.

And a wedding.

And a night filled with pain.

He lay in bed now, blinking at the ceiling.

His voice cracked in his throat.

"I didn’t kill her..."

But no one believed him.

Especially not the boy he once loved.

To be continued...

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