**** 11 YEARS AGO ****
{ Lily, 15 years old }I don't think my mom knows what the hell she's doing. She got married to her boss after only dating him for five months.Mom said she got into this relationship solely for the money, but Harry is very handsome, not a wrinkled old man, and I've seen them kiss each other. I don't think money can buy that type of chemistry.I think she actually likes him. And to be honest, he has been nice to me so far, so I like him too.And he’s the reason why I'm here. Living in the rich side of Altamira, in a HUGE mansion by the beach with three random boys around my age.One of them is sweet: Dean.One of them is terrifying: Damon.And the other one is... I don't know yet. Aiden is an enigma.I haven't been able to really get a read on him. I think he wears a mask most of the time.But the worst part is how insanely hot all three of them are. Tall, built and beautiful, they all look a lot like their father. Brown hair, olive skin, amber eyes, thick eyebrows.Dean is beautiful in a slightly feminine way, with softer features and a slender frame.Aiden is handsome in a rough, manly way, with a sharp jaw and big shoulders.Damon is just plain gorgeous, like a movie star. Perfect in every way. He’s just… very aesthetically pleasing.I can’t stop looking at him as we all eat together in my new house. Mansion, actually.God, I still can't believe I'm in this situation.We've never been poor, but after my parents' divorce, we were struggling.That's why my mom got a job as a model. Quickly after that, we were able to rent a nice apartment and I really liked it... but I was only able to enjoy it for a few months before my mom had a whole new husband.Harry Carrington, owner of a company named Tundra Models. A model agency, of course.Apparently, there's a lot of hot people in Altamira, starting with him and his kids. And my mom."We're going on our honeymoon," Harry tells us, snapping me out of my thoughts, "You guys are going to stay home, but don't think for one second you'll get to do whatever you want. Uncle Soren will be coming from time to time to check on you. Also, the driver is instructed to take you to school and back home every day. I'll be calling him to ask if you guys went inside the school or not.""How long are you guys gonna be away?" Damon asks."Two weeks," my mom answers, making me let out a shocked sound. How the hell is she going to leave me for two whole weeks? In this house with these boys I don’t even know?"I know it's a lot of time," Harry says, looking at me with a grimace, "But once we come back, we will all go on a trip together. I promise. Where do you want to go, Lily?""Disneyland?" I ask, Aiden groans a little and Harry’s eyes fly to him."Yes!" Dean cheers, looking at me with an excited smile, “Disneyland!”"Fuck no. We should go skiing," Damon says, "I miss St. Moritz.""You'll love St. Moritz, Lily. I'll take you shopping when we’re there," Harry promises, making my shoulders fall. Of course he cares more about Damon and Aiden’s opinions. I share a disappointed look with Dean, but he shrugs, as if he’s used to disappointment."We can discuss that trip later," Harry continues, dismissing the subject with a hand wave, "We'll be leaving this Friday, so I hope you guys behave. And take care of Lily.""We'll behave, father. Like we always do," Damon says with a sarcastic tone. Harry gives him an unamused look."Come on, you know you have nothing to worry about. I'll keep everyone in line," Aiden promises and I guess he’s the good son because Harry nods and relaxes a little bit, as if he trusts him. Even my mom relaxes.But when Friday comes and our parents leave early for their honeymoon, I see Damon smile like a snake and do some weird manly handshake with Aiden, as if they’re a team."How much are we going to fuck shit up?" Damon asks, making me feel anxious."Bad. It's been a while since we've had a pool party," Aiden says with a smile. This is the first time I see him with his mask off, "Let's go to school today, invite everyone.""I like the way you think, brother," Damon says and he winks at Aiden before walking away, ignoring me and Dean completely. We’re still sitting at the table, having breakfast together."Hey, kids," Aiden says, walking to our side and stealing a piece of toast from Dean's plate, "We're having a pool party today so you two should stay in your rooms.""Why?" I ask, looking up at him as he eats the piece of toast. I think this is the first time I’ve said anything to him directly, "Why aren’t we invited? We're sixteen."I’m actually still fifteen for another month, but it’s the same thing. Both Damon and Aiden are seventeen, not much older than us at all."No losers invited. Sorry, kid," he says with a chuckle. Awesome, so he’s really as much of an asshole as his brother, "You guys are welcome to hang out together.""What if I tell our parents about your party?" I ask, making him lift his eyebrows in surprise. Dean pinches my leg as if warning me to shut up."You really want to make an enemy out of me this early?" He asks and there’s something in his eyes that makes me backtrack immediately. I prefer him when he’s wearing his ‘Good son’ mask."No, you’re right. I think we should all be friends, so I'll keep my mouth shut,” I say, forcing a smile."That's smart of you, sis," he nods and then his eyes roam down my body. I get uncomfortable instantly, very aware of the fact that my uniform is a size too small and my boobs are stretching the buttons to the max, "Your tits are bursting out, by the way. You should fix that... unless that's the look you're going for? A slutty look?"My face gets hot. Boiling hot."My mom got me the wrong size," I mutter, trying to make myself smaller to hide my body, "I'll buy another one soon.""Stop being so annoying, Aiden," Dean growls, "Leave her alone. Also, she's your sister now, you shouldn't notice her tits.""I was trying to help. If I notice, other guys will notice too," he says, "I don't want my sister to be the talk of the school because of her huge tits. That's embarrassing.""Fuck off, Aiden,” I let out, my embarrassment turning into anger, “I thought Damon was the mean one.”"He is," he says with a chuckle, "I'm the smart brother, Damon is the mean one... and Dean is the gay one.""Shut the fuck up!" Dean yells, "Stop bothering us. Go suck Damon's dick or something."Oh, god. Even I know that was the wrong thing to say.Before I know it, Aiden is grabbing Dean’s face in his big hand, squishing his cheeks. It looks painful."Watch your fucking mouth when you're talking to me, fag," Aiden warns in a cold tone, making my heart stop and Dean’s amber eyes start to get wet immediately. I think this will start a fight or something and I really don’t want to be here for it, but just a second later, Aiden rolls his eyes in annoyance before tightening his grip on Dean’s face, "Come on, fight me. Don't fucking cry.""Sometimes you're worse than him," Dean whispers, not fighting Aiden at all, "I'm not a fag.""I know that, Dean, but you have to be better at defending yourself. You should've punched me, not cried," Aiden complains with a disappointed shake of his head before slowly letting him go. He even pats Dean’s face in a sweet gesture."Just go," Dean grumbles and turns to me again. His eyes are still wet and it breaks my heart, "Lily and I will stay in my room tonight. You guys can do whatever you want.""We will. And you should let her know the way this house works, too," he says, giving me a final up and down look before walking away.**** 11 YEARS AGO ****The drive to school is painfully awkward because Dean is still mad at Aiden. I'm riding in the passenger seat next to the driver and the three boys are sitting together in the backseat. I look over my shoulder. "What happened?" Damon asks in a bored tone when Aiden tries to touch Dean but he slaps his hand away. Dean is sitting in the middle, "Why are you sulking?""Aiden hurt me," Dean complains, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Knowing what I know about Damon I think he might just punch Dean or something evil, but he actually laughs and wraps his arms around Dean’s neck to pull him to his chest and hug him."Poor little Bean boy," he says in a baby voice, making Dean growl and try to get away, but Damon doesn't let him, "Don't be a pussy, man.""I'm not! But it hurts," Dean complains and finally sets himself free, "Look, my cheeks are still red! Everyone is going to ask what happened to my pretty face.""So? Tell the truth. I did it," Aiden shrugs,
**** PRESENT *****{ Lily, 26 years old }I wake up in the middle of the night, feeling pissed off. I hate that being back in Altamira has brought up those memories from the past, when my life went from bad to worse. I try to go back to sleep, but an hour later I have to give up. I just stare at the ceiling and try to think back... did I have any friends in Altamira other than Dean? The answer is no. Not real ones, anyway. I've never been someone who makes good friends. Except Brian Lannister, apparently, even though I don't remember much about him since I only see him when I'm drinking. Still, I send him a text just to check if he still wants to be my friend and maybe visit me sometime. It's six in the morning, but he answers my text almost immediately. "Hey, of course I want to be your friend, maybe even more than that. I wasn't lying. How's it going with your daddy?" He texts back, making me chuckle. "Not that bad yet. Why are you awake so early?" "I'm a reporter, I guess you
{ Lily }"Wake up, dear. The day has finally come," my mother says, out of nowhere.Literally, out of nowhere. I haven't seen this woman in TWO years. I haven't spoken to her in... months. I almost don't understand what she means because I'm hangover and she just woke me up, but then I realize what she means.The day.I think she means 'the day' she promised me ten fucking years ago. The day when my revenge against my stepbrothers will begin. I guess we’re powerful enough to actually take them down now."How did you find me?" I ask, groaning as I get up. Then I look down at the guy in my bed… I don't know who he is, "How did you get inside my house?”"This is my house, smartypants," she laughs, looking momentarily at my naked form before I grab my robe and cover myself up, "I can explain later. The day has come, just like I promised. Today, we will start the downfall of those sick boys.""How?" I ask, blinking and trying to keep up. My mother is not a jokester and she doesn't waste
The building is icy cold and I shiver as soon as I step foot inside but my mother walks in front of me with all the confidence in the world. I try to mimic her, but I’m too hungover for that. My head hurts every time her heels go clack-clack.And much sooner than I’m ready for, we arrive at a glass-walled boardroom. I can see three men inside. Men I know very well.“You can do it,” my mother says without looking at me before opening the door for me. I swallow my fear down and walk inside, repeating her words: you can do it, you can do it.Damon and Aiden are seated at the table and I can feel their eyes on me as soon as I enter, but I don’t pay attention to them yet. My eyes land on the man who stands up with a smile to greet me.Harry. Forty-five years old. A tall and athletic body, warm amber eyes, neatly styled light hair and a face that belongs in an action or superhero movie. Harry is still as handsome as the last time I saw him, but that’s no surprise. This family’s genes ar
I walk out of the building like something is chasing me. I’m very overwhelmed by seeing the two guys that ruined me, but also because… what in the fuck am I going to do as the CEO of a company? I've never had a job. I dropped out of college. I don't know anything about math. Or finances. Or business. Or science. Or anything, really. "Mom, what the hell?" I say when she finally gets in the back of the Escalade next to me, "I can't be the CEO of anything.""Of course you can. Horizon is the smallest company we have and it's easy stuff. Think of yourself as the manager, you’ll just make sure everything is running correctly. You don't have to handle finances or legalities or technicalities, just overseeing production and making sure they deliver what they need to deliver to those three stores. That is literally it."I know it sounds easy, but that's still to much responsibility for someone like me. And I kind of liked being unemployed. Think I said that last part out loud because my mo