EVAN'S POV
Madison's nails dig into my arm like claws.
"Smile," she hisses through her perfect teeth, waving at someone's phone. "Your mother is watching."
I scan the ballroom and find Mom in the corner, glass of champagne in hand, nodding with approval. Dad stands beside her, already talking business with Madison's father.
I'm trapped in a cage made of expectations and designer suits.
"I need air," I mutter, trying to pull away.
Madison's grip tightens. "We haven't taken our official couple photo yet. Everyone's waiting."
"I said I need air."
I yank my arm free harder than I meant to. Madison stumbles in her heels, her face flashing with anger before the mask slides back on.
"Five minutes," she says coldly. "Then we're announcing our engagement. Your mother already approved the photographer."
Engagement. The word tastes like poison.
I push through the crowd, loosening my tie. I can't breathe. The ballroom is too hot, too loud, too full of people who want pieces of me I don't have left to give.
That's when I see her.
Nora Winters stands under the mistletoe in a red dress that makes my brain short-circuit. Her curly hair catches the Christmas lights. She's talking to her friend, laughing, and for a second she looks like she belongs here.
Then I see the expression on her face change. She checks her phone and goes pale.
Someone's threatening her. I know it in my gut—the same person who sent me that message about her using Ash.
I should walk away. I should let my brother have his chance with her. I should do what I've always done—sacrifice myself so Ash can be happy.
But my feet move toward her instead.
I don't understand why. I've been cruel to this girl for two years. I've made her cry, humiliated her, pushed her away every chance I got—all to protect Ash, to make sure he never knew I saw her first.
Because I did see her first.
Two years ago, first day of sophomore year, I walked into the campus bookstore and saw a girl standing on a ladder, shelving books and singing quietly to herself. When she reached for a high shelf, she wobbled. I caught the ladder.
She looked down at me with those amber eyes and smiled. "Thanks. I'm Nora."
"Evan," I said, and felt something shift in my chest.
Then Ash walked in. Saw her. And told me later that night, "I think I just met the girl I'm going to marry."
So I killed whatever I felt. Became the villain. Made sure she'd never look at me the way she looked at my brother.
But now she's standing under the mistletoe, and something is pulling me toward her like gravity.
Her friend drags her forward for a photo. Nora looks nervous, clutching her phone. She doesn't see me approaching.
I should turn around. This is wrong. Ash is somewhere in this ballroom, probably working up courage to talk to her.
But then she looks up, and our eyes meet.
She thinks I'm Ash. I can see it in her face—the way her expression softens, her lips parting slightly.
She thinks she's been waiting for my brother.
The smart thing would be to walk away. The right thing would be to get Ash.
Instead, I step up beside her under the mistletoe.
"Well," I hear myself say. "Looks like we're under the mistletoe together."
Her eyes go wide. She recognizes me now—Evan, not Ash. The boy who torments her.
"I should go," she stammers.
Every instinct screams at me to let her. To step back. To protect Ash's chance.
But her friend—not realizing who I am—pushes Nora forward. "Kiss him! It's mistletoe tradition!"
The crowd gathers. Phones come out. Everyone's watching, waiting for a show.
Nora's trapped, and I did this. I put her in this position.
"Go ahead," I say quietly. "Everyone's watching. You wouldn't want to embarrass yourself, would you?"
I mean it as an out—give her an excuse to run, to escape this disaster I've created.
But something flashes in her eyes. Defiance maybe. Or courage.
She rises up on her toes and kisses me.
The world stops.
Her lips are soft and tentative, like she's afraid I'll push her away. Like she's expecting me to humiliate her again.
I freeze, my brain unable to process what's happening.
Nora Winters is kissing me. The girl I've loved from a distance for two years. The girl I've been cruel to so she'd never know. The girl who's supposed to be my brother's.
Then something inside me breaks.
I kiss her back.
I cup her face, my thumb stroking her cheek, and pour everything into this kiss—two years of wanting, of pretending, of hating myself for hurting her. She tastes like cinnamon and hope and everything I can't have.
Her hands clutch my suit jacket. She makes a small sound that destroys me.
I forget Madison. Forget my parents. Forget every rule I've ever followed.
There's only Nora, kissing me like she means it, like this matters.
When we break apart, I'm staring at her like she's a miracle.
"Nora," I whisper, and her name sounds different in my mouth. Real. Important.
Then reality crashes back.
The crowd is cheering. Someone's recording. Madison is screaming my name from across the ballroom.
And Ash—
Oh God, Ash.
I see him over Nora's shoulder, standing frozen with flowers in his hands. His face is shattered, destroyed, exactly like it looked the night I found him in the bathroom seven years ago with pills scattered on the floor.
I did this. I kissed his girl. I broke the one promise I made when I saved his life: I'll never hurt you again.
Nora's still looking up at me, confused and hopeful and so beautiful it hurts.
I do what I always do when things get real.
I run.
I shove through the crowd, ignoring Madison's screaming, ignoring my mother's outraged expression. I run through the hallway, past the bathrooms, out the side door into the freezing December air.
My hands shake as I pull out my phone.
Me: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It didn't mean anything.
I don't know if I'm texting Ash or Nora. Maybe both. Maybe neither.
The message won't send. No signal.
I lean against the cold brick wall, trying to breathe, trying to understand what I just did.
I kissed Nora Winters in front of everyone. I kissed my brother's girl. I kissed the one person I've spent two years pushing away.
And it felt right. It felt perfect.
It felt like the first honest thing I've done in years.
My phone finally connects. Messages flood in.
Madison: You just humiliated me in front of EVERYONE. We're done. My father is pulling out of the merger. Your mother wants to talk. NOW.
Mom: Get back here immediately. You've ruined everything.
Ash: ...
That last one destroys me. Ash texted nothing. Just three dots. Like he started typing and couldn't finish.
I scroll up to see if he sent anything else.
He did. One hour ago, before the gala.
Ash: I'm going to tell her tonight. I'm going to ask Nora to dance. I think she might say yes. For the first time in years, I'm not scared. Thank you for being my brother. For saving me. For always protecting me. I love you.
The phone slips from my hands.
Ash was going to confess his feelings tonight. Was going to finally be happy, finally step out of the darkness that's haunted him since his suicide attempt.
And I destroyed it.
I destroyed him.
The side door slams open. I expect Madison or my mother or security.
Instead, Ash walks out.
He's not crying. That's what scares me. His face is completely blank, empty, like someone turned off the lights inside him.
"Ash—"
"Did you know?" His voice is quiet, dead. "Did you know I was going to tell her tonight?"
"No. I swear, I didn't—"
"Liar." The word cuts like glass. "You've always known. You've watched me sketch her for two years. You've listened to me talk about her. And you still kissed her."
"It was a mistake—"
"No." He steps closer, and I see it—the rage hiding under the emptiness. "A mistake is accidental. You chose to walk up to her. You chose to stand under that mistletoe. You chose to kiss her knowing I loved her."
"I'm sorry—"
"Stop saying you're sorry!" He's yelling now, and Ash never yells. "You're always sorry! Sorry for being perfect, sorry for having everything, sorry for being the twin everyone loves while I'm the broken one they pity!"
"That's not true—"
"You saved my life seven years ago, and you've been holding it over my head ever since!" His hands shake. "Every time I want something, you take it first to 'protect me.' Every time I try to be happy, you decide if I'm allowed. You're not my savior, Evan. You're my prison guard."
The words hit like punches.
"Ash, please—"
"Stay away from Nora. Stay away from me." He turns to leave, then stops. "Actually, no. Do whatever you want. Clearly, you always do."
He walks back inside, leaving me alone in the freezing cold.
My phone buzzes one more time.
Unknown Number: Well done. You just destroyed both of them. Phase one complete. Wait for further instructions.
My blood turns to ice.
This wasn't random. This wasn't an accident.
Someone set this up. Someone wanted me to kiss Nora. Someone wanted me to destroy my brother.
And I walked right into their trap.
The phone buzzes again with an attachment—a photo.
It's me and Nora kissing under the mistletoe.
But someone's drawn a red X over both our faces.
And written underneath in blood-red text:
ONE DOWN. TWO TO GO.