"Love Substitutes: The Twin Game" Chapter 8
Over the next twenty days, he drank heavily into the dead of night, pushed his racing cars to their absolute limits, and threw himself into all kinds of extreme sports.
He squandered his time and energy carelessly, no longer needing to exhaust himself playing someone else, no longer having to deal with the trouble at home. Even breathing felt far more liberated.
Inside the VIP lounge of the high-end nightclub.
The music blasted deafeningly, the neon lights blurred, and champagne flowed freely.
Caspian leaned halfway against the sofa, the collar of his black shirt thrown open carelessly. His eyes were half-closed, his gaze fixed onto the amber liquor swirling inside his glass, lost in unknown thoughts.
A beautifully made-up girl, relying on her attractive looks, boldly wrapped her arms around his, pressing her body close to his side.
The woman reached out to take the glass from his hand, her voice sweet and cloying, "Second Young Master Vanderbilt, drinking alone is so boring. Let me drink with you, alright?"
As she spoke, she leaned down to touch his glass.
In the next instant, the hazy, unfocused look in Caspian's eyes turned violently sharp.
He violently jerked his hand back, throwing both the glass and the woman entirely away from him, "Ugly. Get the hell away from me!"
With a loud crash, the shattering glass mixed with the woman's terrified shriek, instantly plunging the entire lounge into dead silence.
Everyone present was a master at reading the room. Someone immediately signaled the waiter to drag the weeping girl out of the room.
Another person stepped forward eagerly, "What kind of woman do you like to drink with, Young Master? I'll arrange it right away."
Caspian lowered his eyes, murmuring the sentence back to himself before speaking slowly.
"I want someone who looks pure. When she looks at you, her eyes should be damp and soft. Her voice needs to be sweet and gentle, not too loud."
He lifted his hand, gesturing below his chest to specify:
"Her height should be right around here. Her waist needs to be soft, the kind you can completely grasp with a single squeeze... Also, there needs to be a small red mole on the right side of her neck."
Before he could finish, Caspian snapped his mouth shut.
As if suddenly realizing something, his expression turned as dark as ink.
The temperature in the lounge dropped instantly, and everyone could perceive that Caspian was in a terrible mood.
People exchanged silent glances, secretly guessing whether this man was about to unleash his fury again.
Standing nearby, his closest friend, Felix, felt his eyelids twitch violently.
The person Caspian had just described was exactly Seraphina, wasn't it?
He knew a bit about the situation between the Vanderbilt brothers and Seraphina.
He also knew that Seraphina had gone to the UK after the divorce.
Caspian had already had enough of his revenge and had agreed to hand Natalia over to Christian once her surgery was finished, as Christian had requested.
ADVERTISEMENT
But now...
Perceiving the heavy hostility spreading around Caspian, Felix quickly changed the subject to discuss recent gossip within their high-society circle.
Yet there was always someone oblivious enough to run straight into the gunfire.
A young playboy holding a glass walked unsteadily over to Caspian, speaking with a voice reeking of alcohol, "Cas, I heard you're already tired of playing with Seraphina. When are you going to let the brothers have a taste of her?"
Failing to catch Felix's warning look, the playboy continued on his own, "To be honest, I've been craving Seraphina for more than just a couple of days. Cas, what does it feel like to sleep with Seraphina?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the entire lounge fell completely silent, everyone holding their breath.
Perhaps in the past, they would have chimed in to ask as well.
But over the last few days, Caspian had been murmuring Seraphina's name from time to time whenever he got drunk.
Anyone with half a brain knew Caspian couldn't let her go.
They were all men, so they naturally understood the ugly possessiveness deep within a man's heart.
It was exactly like a possession you didn't even care for—even if it rotted and broke, it still belonged to your territory.
No one else was allowed to touch it even once.
Caspian narrowed his eyes, a smile touching his lips. "You want to know?"
"Yeah," the playboy asked excitedly, "is she tight down there, or does her voice—"
Before he could finish, Caspian violently grabbed an empty liquor bottle from the table and smashed it right over his head.
Glass shards flew everywhere as a sharp pain struck the playboy's head, fresh blood instantly gushing from his temple and pouring down his cheek.
The playboy turned deathly pale, instantly sobering up as he stammered in terror.
"Cas... Cas! Didn't you say before... that when you were tired of her, you'd let us..."
Caspian's eyes were bloodshot, completely triggered by something. He grabbed the man's collar, pinned him to the floor, and rained punches down on him, every single blow packed with lethal force.
"My woman... who the hell do you think you are to touch her?!"
The dull thuds of fists hitting flesh, the agonizing screams, and the metallic stench of blood spreading through the air intertwined violently.
The others didn't dare to intervene, quickly slipping out of the room one after another.
Felix tried everything to pull him away but couldn't. Just when he thought someone was going to die—
Caspian stopped his hands.
Beneath the dim lights, his pale face was splattered with blood, his eyes terrifyingly hollow, as if he had just pulled himself out of some uncontrollable frenzy. It left everyone shivering with fear.
His voice was raspy, carrying a trace of drifting slowness, "What... time is it right now?"
Felix froze for a moment, unable to grasp the purpose behind his sudden question, but he still checked his watch.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Eleven-thirty at night."
Hearing the time, the dead silence masking Caspian's face vanished instantly, revealing a trace of sharp relief.
He raised his tone slightly, hiding a hint of anxiety, "Then I have to go home first. Seraphina set a curfew for me. I must be back before midnight, or she's going to throw a tantrum with me again."
Chapter 13
In the end, Felix still brought Caspian back to the marital villa he had shared with Seraphina.
He had already heard that Mrs. Higgins, who used to take care of the place, had left.
Caspian had stubbornly insisted that he was used to living here, even going so far as to offer ten times the market price to force Mrs. Higgins to contact Seraphina about selling the property.
Seraphina had agreed readily enough, but she had not spoken a single word to Caspian, merely relaying through the staff that she would accept the money and abandon the house entirely.
Felix helped Caspian onto the sofa, casually pulled a cashmere blanket over him, and prepared to leave.
Caspian violently threw the blanket aside, the usual hostility completely gone from his alcohol-glazed eyes, leaving behind only a dazed, vulnerable softness as he stared toward the staircase, calling out repeatedly.
"Sera, I'm home."
"Sera..."
"Sweetheart, are you asleep?"
"In the future... I won't come back this late again."
There was a trace of anxiety laced within his voice.
In a trance, his mind drifted back to the past, when he had lied to Seraphina about working late at the company when he was actually racing cars at the bay with his friends.
By the time he returned to the villa after having his fun, it was already one in the morning.
The moment he pushed the villa door open, he saw Seraphina sitting quietly on the sofa, dressed in a white lace nightgown.
The gown fell just to her knees, revealing her slender calves.
Her long hair was draped loosely over her shoulders, and the corners of her eyes flushed with a vivid crimson.
She wasn't crying, yet she exuded a sense of fragile, broken grievance, staring directly and unblinkingly at him.
That appearance of hers was as pure as a piece of soft candy, yet so alluring it made a man's heart tremble, a sight no man could possibly resist.
Caspian's throat swallowed hard. Ignoring everything else, he rushed over, pinned her against the sofa, and leaned down to kiss her.
But this time, the usually gentle girl violently pushed him away.
Caught entirely off guard, he stumbled backward, crashing against the edge of the cold coffee table.
A sudden surge of fury rushed up, and he was on the verge of snapping at her.
But he abruptly remembered his current identity, forcing himself to suppress his temper as he coaxed her with forced patience.
"What's wrong, Sera? We were perfectly fine, why won't you let me touch you?"
Seraphina didn't answer, staring straight at him.
"Christian, didn't you say you were working late at the office? Why is your forehead covered in sweat?"
ADVERTISEMENT
You May Also Like
-
CompletedChapter 10
I Came Back from a Business Trip and Found My Office Belongings in Trash Bags in the Lobby
Belle Carwin returns from a business trip with a $4.8 million contract—and finds three years of her life stuffed into garbage bags in the lobby. Her boss has fired her, handed her accounts to a well-connected replacement, and told their biggest client she quit without notice. For years, Belle let someone else take credit for her work. Now the twenty-eight-year-old Black consultant has no job, no access badge, and no intention of signing away her future. Then the client calls. He knows who earned his business. And he wants Belle working for him. Days after being thrown out, she walks back into the same conference room and takes a seat beside the client. This time, her former boss has to explain the work she claimed was hers.Dark Humor|Dark Secrets|Glow-Up9.9k words5 7 -
CompletedChapter 10
She Fired Me Before a $950 Million Deal, The Patent Was Mine
Maya Perry spent six years helping build a company that now wanted to erase her. Minutes before a $950 million acquisition, her CEO fires her in front of the buyers. Security waits by the doors. Another executive stands beside a presentation stripped of Maya’s name. They expect the Black engineer they kept out of the spotlight to leave quietly. Instead, Maya asks one question. “Has your team verified that Blackidge owns the foundational Cascade Shield patent?” The buyer puts down his pen. Because the patent is hers—and Maya never signed it away. Now the executives who wanted her gone need her signature. But as their offers turn into threats, Maya discovers that stealing her work may be the least dangerous thing they’ve done.Dark Humor|Human Nature|Dark Secrets|Glow-Up9.8k words5 7 -
CompletedChapter 10
Arrogant CEO's Wife Grabs My VIP Seat at a Gala — So I Canceled Their $2.9B Investment
Addison Bishop has a verified invitation, her name on the place card, and every right to sit at the gala’s VIP table. But the CEO’s wife takes one look at the quietly dressed Black woman and decides she doesn’t belong. Vivienne Kincaid crushes Addison’s name card, claims her seat, and orders security to remove her. Around them, wealthy guests watch without intervening—until a terrified executive rushes across the ballroom. The woman they just humiliated holds the final approval for their $2.9 billion investment. Now Vivienne’s husband wants a private conversation. His lawyers want to contain the damage. And Addison wants answers. Because the more they try to explain away what happened at that table, the more they reveal about the company she was supposed to trust.Human Nature|Dark Secrets|Glow-Up10.5k words5 6 -
CompletedChapter 10
He Fired Me from My Father's Company, I Came Back as His Boss
Elena Bennett had just delivered her department’s strongest quarter in three years when her CEO fired her in front of the entire management team. Her replacement was already sitting at the table—with her proposal under his name. Martin Reed said she lacked leadership. He ordered her to surrender her badge and had security escort her out of the company her father built. For years, Elena had watched her work earn other people promotions. As a Black woman in rooms where her confidence was called an attitude problem, she had learned to choose her battles. This time, she chose to stop asking for recognition. Two weeks earlier, her father’s trust had given her control of ninety percent of the company’s voting power. Martin thought he had dismissed an employee. When Elena returned and took the seat at the head of the boardroom table, he ordered someone to call security. The company secretary looked at Elena instead.Billionaire|Dark Secrets|Glow-Up10.5k words5 1 -
CompletedChapter 11
My “Straight” Roommate Keeps Sabotaging My Dates
My roommate is straight. He’s told me often enough. He also holds my hand, dries my hair, and treats every man I like as a personal threat. Cole Bennett is the campus basketball captain, my best friend, and one of the few people who understands my sign language. When I finally meet a cute guy, asking Cole to help us communicate seems like a brilliant idea. Until he starts changing what I say. A dinner invitation becomes an excuse to leave. My movie date gets interrupted by a barrage of messages—and Cole himself, waiting outside with my favorite drink. He calls it looking out for me. Then I ask him to translate a confession. Apparently, there are limits to how helpful my “straight” roommate is willing to be.Dark Secrets|Glow-Up|Sweet Romance9.6k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 10
He Fired Me as “Dead Weight.” Then His Company Needed My Permission to Run
For nearly nine years, Emma Langford helped keep Nexora Systems running. The new CEO needed nineteen days to decide she was “dead weight.” A brilliant Black systems architect, Emma was used to having her warnings dismissed and her ideas praised only after someone else repeated them. But being escorted out with her belongings in a cardboard box still hurt. Then a reminder appeared on her phone. The company’s core service agreement was about to expire. The business that owned the service was hers. Emma sent the notice. She offered a temporary extension. The CEO refused to approve it. By Monday morning, he was calling her. He wanted his employee back. Emma was ready to discuss whether she wanted him as a client.Dark Secrets|Glow-Up10.0k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 10
My Boss’s Son Fired Me. Then They Begged Me to Come Back
Eleven years of loyalty. One cardboard box. Lily Harris built Cole International’s client services department from nothing. Then the founder’s son became CEO—and fired her in front of her entire team. He called her lazy. Told her she wasn’t important. Ordered her to leave her badge at reception. Lily walked out. The next morning, the company’s biggest pending partnership stalled. Her phone started ringing. Suddenly, everyone remembered her name. But this time, the Black woman they had underestimated wouldn’t return on a promise. She wanted authority. Recognition. Everything in writing. And the man who fired her couldn’t stand the price of bringing her back. Getting her job back was only the beginning. Keeping her reputation would mean confronting someone determined to destroy it.Dark Secrets|Glow-Up10.3k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
I Built My Adoptive Father’s $75 Million Company. He Chose His Real Son
For twelve years, Lisa Harper gave everything to her adoptive father’s company. She rescued it from collapse, invested her own money, and built it into a business worth $75 million. Then, at a dinner she thought would celebrate her success, her father smiled and announced that his biological son would take over. Lisa would train him. Surrender her office. And be grateful. As the Black daughter of a white family, Lisa had spent years believing that being indispensable meant she belonged. Now her brother would inherit the credit, while she was reminded how much she owed the people who raised her. But Lisa never agreed to resign. When her family arrives at the office expecting a signature, they find a woman who is finally prepared to say no—and records her father can no longer afford to ignore. They taught her to be grateful for a place in their family. They’re about to learn what happens when she stops paying for it.Dark Secrets|Glow-Up9.7k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 10
My Daughter Proposed to the Man Everyone Feared
My four-year-old daughter walked up to the man everyone feared and announced she was going to marry him. I thought she'd just cost me my job. Then Alessandro Romano laughed. The wealthy widower hadn't welcomed a child into his silent mansion in years. But Sophie wasn't afraid of his tattoos, his sharp orders, or the men who went quiet whenever he entered a room. She only noticed his sad eyes. So she gave him her most precious possession: a little gray pebble. He kept it. I should have been thinking about keeping my job. Instead, I started noticing the meals he saved for me, the stories he read to my daughter, and the way he said my name when no one else was listening. Then Sophie recognized a woman in an old photograph. “Mommy, why does he have Grandma’s picture?” My mother had never mentioned Alessandro Romano. And whatever connected our families had been buried long before we arrived.Billionaire|Dark Secrets|Glow-Up11.5k words5 3 -
CompletedChapter 10
Her Family Stole My Father’s Legacy. I Bought Theirs
Victoria Delacroix slapped me in front of thirty wealthy guests and ordered security to throw me out. She thought I didn’t belong in her family’s luxury boutique. She didn’t know I already controlled the company. One phone call ended her evening. An old sketchbook changed everything I thought I knew about my father. He was a Black tailor from Queens who died believing his greatest opportunity had ended in failure. But the designs that made the Delacroix name famous carried his handwriting. Her family had taken his work, denied him payment, and erased his name. Now her father was offering me two million dollars to keep it that way. He should have asked what I wanted before putting a price on my silence.Human Nature|Glow-Up9.8k words5 3