Reborn Betrayed Twin: From Starlet to Billionaire Chapter 05

Reborn Betrayed Twin: From Starlet to Billionaire Chapter 05 The Birthday Trap

She tossed that in my ear and stormed off.

And for once, Evelina wasn’t wrong.

Killian was acting.

Acting very, very carefully.

Across the hall, he stood with a wineglass in hand, greeting guests like the perfect Sterling heir.

Elegant.

Controlled.

Untouchable.

But his eyes stayed on me the whole time.

Burning.

The second the crowd thinned, he curved two fingers at me, then crossed the room himself. Fast.

Before I could slip away, he caught my wrist and dragged me into a dim private lounge.

The door clicked shut.

“Bad girl,” he murmured near my ear. “I should punish you.”

His breath was warm with the faint sting of alcohol.

My ear went hot instantly.

That clean cedar scent on him wrapped around me next. Cool. Expensive. Dangerous.

Killian lowered his head and looked at me.

Really looked.

Those always-calm eyes had changed tonight. Something dark flickered under the surface. Something starved.

My heart skipped.

I turned my face away on instinct.

“Killian, what’s wrong?” I asked softly. “Did I do something?”

His hand came up.

Long fingers. Sharp knuckles.

He cupped my jaw and turned my face back toward him.

“Seraphina.” His voice stayed even. That made it worse. “I’ll give you one more chance. Be honest with me.”

A pause.

“Are you hiding something from me?”

My spine tightened.

I forced out a small, guilty smile.

“N-No.”

“Really?”

He took my hand.

Then he pressed it flat against his chest.

Heat slammed into my palm.

Solid muscle. Sharp heartbeat. Male body heat through a thin dress shirt.

My nose tingled.

Oh

my God. This is lethal. His chest is insane.

And just like that, my brain betrayed me.

I remembered all the shameless little crimes from the past few years.

Ever since I got used to sneaking into his bed to sleep beside him, things had gotten… out of hand.

For him especially.

He liked me there too much.

He’d pull the blankets over me.

Brush my hair back.

:

Tell me childish bedtime stories in that low, quiet voice of his.

When I mumbled that I wasn’t a little kid and didn’t want those baby stories, he’d only laugh.

“You are a little kid,” he’d say. “And a very restless one. Every time you fall asleep, you throw your leg over me.”

Then, just to prove it, he’d grab my ankle and set my leg right across his hard stomach.

Like he was presenting evidence.

Like he enjoyed it.

And then I’d lie there all night, eyes wide open, losing my mind.

If he ever finds out there’s a woman inside this body who’s lived three lives and is only a year or two younger than him mentally, will he die on the spot?

Men like him really should come with warning labels. Obsessive men were dangerous enough already. Looking like that was just unfair.

Wait.

No way.

Did he hear what I was thinking that night?

He couldn’t have.

I’d blocked him then. I was sure I had.

The thought hit me so hard I almost wanted the floor to crack open and swallow me.

Killian let out a low chuckle.

“What is it?” he asked lazily. “I haven’t even punished you yet. Already trying to run?”

Relief loosened my lungs at once.

Okay.

Good.

He didn’t hear that.

Thank God.

I looked up at him with my best innocent face.

“Killian, I’m really not hiding anything. The party’s ending soon. Can we please just go back out there?”

He stared at me for a long moment.

Something complicated moved through his eyes.

Then, unexpectedly, a flicker of hurt.

His fingers loosened.

I’d hit my nose rushing out of the room.

When we stepped back into the ballroom, the nosebleed I’d barely managed to hold in finally spilled.

I jerked my head back and clapped a hand over it in a panic.

At that exact moment, Evelina walked over with a champagne flute in hand.

Perfect timing.

“Oh?” she said, eyes bright with nasty delight. “A nosebleed? Don’t tell me Killian really hit you.”

Then she looked up and saw Killian emerging from the lounge behind us.

His face was dark.

He didn’t even glance our way before walking past.

That was all Evelina needed.

“I knew it,” she said, almost laughing. “So that whole loving-brother act was just for show. He still hates you. You’re so pathetic. It’s your eighteenth birthday, and your billionaire parents aren’t even here. And the only brother you’ve got can’t stand you.”

She leaned closer, smiling like she’d won something.

“What a failure of a life.”

“Who told you we aren’t here?”

The voice came from behind us.

Calm.

Heavy.

Authority in human form.

Arthur and Celeste.

My honeymoon-abandoning, billionaire parents had finally returned.

The second Celeste saw the blood on my face, she rushed over.

“Oh, baby!” She grabbed my shoulders. “Why are you bleeding? Come on, come with Mommy. Let’s wash it off.”

Then she frowned instantly.

“And your brother-honestly, where was he?”

I let her guide me away, very obedient.

Very delicate.

Very much the beloved youngest daughter.

Behind me, Arthur’s voice turned cold.

“Did you do something to my daughter?”

Even Evelina, with two lifetimes of failure stacked on top of this one, knew enough to fear that

tone.

Her face drained.

“No-I didn’t-Mr. Sterling, you misunderstood-

She waved her hands frantically, trying to explain.

Too late.

Monique had already rushed over after hearing the commotion.

“What did you do now?” she snapped, then immediately turned to Arthur with a fawning

smile.

Before Evelina could react, Monique shoved her head down in a hard bow.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Sterling. She’s young. She didn’t mean any harm. Please, just give her a break.”

Arthur’s brows drew together.

He looked at them like they were gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

“And

you

are?”

His gaze sharpened.

“Were you invited to my daughter’s birthday?”

Monique’s face turned white.

Because no, they were not invited.

They had bribed a servant and sneaked in.

But a woman like Monique could lie faster than she could breathe.

“We’re friends of your daughter’s. She invited us herself. They were having a lovely time together just now-I’m sure she’ll tell you.”

She forced a smile and shot Evelina a look.

Evelina didn’t dare disobey. She nodded stiffly. “That’s right, sir. We’re friends. She invited me.”

By then, I’d changed and come back downstairs—and I wasn’t about to let that slide.

“She’s lying. I never invited her.”

Every eye in the ballroom turned toward me.

The gown Celeste had chosen for me was a diamond-studded custom piece. Light sparkled with every step.

I looked like money.

And Evelina hated every second of it.

A gasp rose from somewhere in the crowd.

“Oh my God. Is that the Italian custom piece? The one-of-a-kind? The Sterlings clearly spare no expense when it comes to their youngest. She looks like a masterpiece.”