"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 11
The Wedding Toast That Buried Them
Four weeks before her wedding, family-law attorney Emma Hart sees her fiancé kissing her younger sister outside a roadside motel. Instead of confronting them, she preserves the evidence, protects her assets, and waits. Then her sister takes the microphone at the wedding and announces that she is carrying the groom’s baby. But when Emma’s mother demands forgiveness, she awakens a twenty-two-year-old secret powerful enough to destroy far more than one marriage.Human Nature|Glow-Up11.2k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Wife He Never Saw
For three years, Willa Hart Vale has lived in the shadow of Celeste Rowan, the first love her husband believes died in a plane crash. Adrian chooses Celeste’s grieving family for every holiday, every emergency, and every moment that should belong to his wife. Then Willa is diagnosed with Stage IIIA breast cancer. She tells Adrian three times. He hears her—and still chooses Celeste’s memorial over Willa’s surgery. But Willa has stopped begging to be seen. Before entering the operating room alone, she files for divorce, removes Adrian from her medical decisions, protects her parents and her work, and schedules one final email. At noon, Adrian will learn the truth about the wife he ignored. And when the woman he mourned suddenly returns alive, he will discover that some choices cannot be undone.Human Nature|Glow-Up|Second Chance11.6k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 15
Off Script with My Rival
Elliot Hayes takes the lead role in a queer romance series for one simple reason: he needs the money. He expects difficult scenes, long nights and enough kissing to make every future family gathering uncomfortable. What he does not expect is Roman Hale—Hollywood's untouchable golden boy, his former college roommate and the rival Elliot has spent eight years trying to forget. Their first staged kiss feels far too real. Their carefully choreographed intimacy leaves Elliot questioning reactions he can no longer dismiss as acting.Healing Romance|Glow-Up|Possessive Love|Redemption Arc|Sweet Romance|HE14.7k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
He Chose Her Lie Over My Father’s Life
Claire's powerful prosecutor husband buried the evidence that could have saved her innocent father—all to protect his first love's family. After her father dies and her brother is used as leverage, Claire stops asking to be believed. She preserves the proof, files for divorce, and disappears to London. But when the lies begin to collapse, Caleb learns too late that the wife he destroyed may hold the one recording capable of bringing down everyone he protected.Glow-Up12.2k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Son They Buried Came Back
The Hale family told the world their youngest son was dead. Six years later, Evan Caldwell returns at their charity gala—alive, famous, and carrying proof that his parents used his body to save their favorite child. As the family fights to silence him, Evan turns a stolen childhood, a forged medical record, and a buried ICU recording into a reckoning no amount of money can stop.Human Nature|Glow-Up12.1k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
The House He Never Owned
My seven-year-old daughter was asleep beneath an oxygen line when she asked, "Is Dad coming?" He had ignored seven calls. At that exact moment, his pregnant mistress was standing inside our home, wearing the last birthday gift my mother ever gave me. They had chosen my bedroom for themselves. They had chosen the guest wing for me. And they had chosen my daughter's favorite room for their new baby. I had spent months protecting what remained of my marriage. That morning, I stopped.Human Nature|Glow-Up11.7k words5 13 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Empty Place by the Door
My husband brought his mistress to our daughter's college meeting after she begged him not to. Then he told our eighteen-year-old daughter she needed to be mature about his new relationship. She came home crying. “It feels like Dad picked her,” she whispered. Three days later, my husband announced that he was bringing the same woman to our daughter's birthday dinner. He wanted the family to witness how calmly everyone accepted his choices. I could have refused. Instead, I told my lawyer, “He wants witnesses. I'm ready to give him witnesses.” That evening, his mistress arrived wearing a diamond bracelet I recognized from a company expense record. My husband raised his glass and asked everyone to move forward without bitterness. So I let him finish speaking. Then I told him what I had found.Human Nature|Glow-Up11.8k words5 0 -
CompletedChapter 11
The Woman in Black
Claire Bennett stepped onto the red carpet in black, and Ethan Whitmore’s fiancée blocked her before she reached the hotel. Madison Hale smiled for the cameras, then leaned closer. “You still had the nerve to show up?” Photographers crowded around them. Ethan froze beneath the wall of white roses. Claire didn’t look away. “I have nothing left to hide.” Madison glanced at Claire’s gown and laughed. “Pretty elegant for a woman who got dumped.” The entire red carpet went silent. Claire stepped forward. “And you accepted a man who came to you already used.” Madison’s smile vanished. “At least he chose me.” “Did he choose you, or did he just run toward whatever was easier?” Ethan suddenly moved between them, but Claire’s final words landed first. “A cheater doesn’t choose anyone. He just repeats his mistakes.” Camera flashes exploded. Furious, Madison ordered security to throw Claire out. Then the giant screen above the hotel entrance flickered...Human Nature|Dark Secrets|Plot Twist|Glow-Up|Redemption Arc15.4k words5 10 -
CompletedChapter 11
THE YEARS WE CANNOT RECLAIM
Claire Bennett gave Ethan Cole eleven years of love, trust, and ambition. Together, they built a marriage and one of Chicago’s most promising law firms. Then Ethan walked away from their firm, removed his wedding ring, and appeared to file for divorce while another woman gained access to their home. But the evidence was designed to deceive them both. By the time Claire uncovered the truth, Ethan’s silence and misplaced loyalty had already cost them something no apology could restore. She divorced him and rebuilt her life an ocean away.Human Nature|Glow-Up|Fake Relationship11.8k words5 29 -
CompletedChapter 11
THE WIFE THEY CALLED DEAD WEIGHT
They threw Claire out with one suitcase and called her a useless wife. Three days later, her former mother-in-law ordered her back to cook for the family—offering twenty dollars an hour as “charity.” Claire hung up and canceled every card they had been using in her name. By noon, $42,680 in luxury purchases had been declined. By evening, her ex-husband discovered an even bigger problem: the home he planned to mortgage did not belong to him.Human Nature|Glow-Up11.3k words5 16