My best friend and I had been abducted by the Pendragon brothers—a duo consisting of a religious CEO and a top-billed movie star.

We became their secret lovers against our will.

"I'm pregnant, Lilith," my best friend said, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Me too, Lindsay," I replied softly, caressing my belly. "But I won't go through with it."

The brothers heard us. Their control tightened. They watched us during mealtimes, while we slept, and even during our bathroom breaks. We could not endure it any longer, so we fought back.

In their anger, the brothers kept mistresses who resembled us. We thought we were free until one day, they found us.

They called us homewreckers and hurled insults at us. They broke into our house, scarred our faces, broke our legs, and kicked us until we miscarried. It did not matter how much we tried to explain ourselves.

They removed our clothes and paraded us in the street.

Finally, the Pendragons arrived. They raised their marriage certificates and declared, "Lilith and Lindsay are our wives!"

My best friend and I grew up in an orphanage. As university students, we worked in a hotel to earn money.

What we didn't expect was to end up in a one-night stand with two of the city's most elite brothers. One was an award-winning movie star, and the other was a CEO renowned for his piety.

They were possessive and controlling—completely unhinged.

They were animals.

Once again, I found myself in the arms of Zagreus Pendragon, known as "the Faithful", forced to remove my lingerie.

But this time, I snapped. "Can you stop treating me like a doll?! I'm a person of flesh and blood, not your pet! I deserve a dignified life—respect my right to freedom and agency!"

In the next room, I heard Lindsay shriek. She had kicked away a drink that Zion Pendragon—the movie star—had given her.

"I told you I don't want to bear your kid! I'm not taking this or atosiban!" she shouted.

A stainless steel cup clattered to the floor as Zion scowled and stormed out, his brother following. The two exchanged a look, then got into their car and drove off.

…

The next day, Lindsay and I saw those two on TV, caught flirting with women who looked just like us.

We celebrated—finally, the Pendragon brothers were going to leave us alone!

But suddenly, we heard a commotion outside, including the sound of trumpets.

While not everyone in the Pendragons' villa neighborhood was a billionaire, most were still respectable members of Hanttye City's elite. No one would do something so uncivilized here.

What was going on?

"Be our witness, everyone! I'm here to visit my husband's mistress today. Let's see who she is!" someone shouted.

At the front of a makeshift parade, a pink banner reading "Wives Meeting Mistresses" was proudly displayed.

A group of older folks beat marching drums and blew into trumpets.

The villa we were staying in remained calm, though Minnie Stein looked displeased.

"Hit the drum harder, Ruth! I didn't ask you to come here to chat!" she snapped at an older woman who had started chatting with the curious neighbors who had gathered.

"Oh yes, I heard the two brothers were married," one neighbor whispered. "I didn't expect them to have affairs!"

The neighbors shook their heads, and one of them tried to reason with Minnie. "Only legally married couples can stay here, young lady. Maybe there's some misunderstanding..."

Minnie's anger flared, and she looked ready to throw a punch.

"What did you just say?" she shouted, standing akimbo. "Are you suggesting 'I'm' the mistress?!"

The neighbor waved frantically. "No! Of course not!"

Others saw how unyielding and unreasonable she was and decided not to interfere any further.

The drums, horns, and trumpets grew louder, filling the air with an intense, almost suffocating energy.

Minnie shouted through a megaphone, while the crowd gawked at the scene unfolding before them.

The noise was starting to give me a headache.

Lindsay put her book down and suggested, "I'm gonna check it out."

I grabbed her wrist, frowning. "Hold up! If those two find out we stepped outside the house... we won't be able to withstand their wrath!"

Lindsay hesitated but finally picked up her book again, relenting.

That night, after the brothers had ravished us, Lindsay and I had rejected their offer to keep us. We had protested, insisting that we were students.

Unfortunately, all that had done was provoke their thirst for conquest. They began locking us up like prisoners, forcibly making us their partners.

We had tried every possible means of escape—including suicide and arson.

But all of those had failed!

…

One day, we heard a noise in the neighborhood. Out of curiosity, Lindsay and I looked outside, only to see a worker from neighborhood management mowing the lawn.

We didn't speak to him. We didn't even make eye contact.

But the next night, the Pendragons took us on an "excursion". They brought us to a remote wooded area. There, lying on a pile of dried leaves, was the worker, his head bloody.

The men laughed scornfully. "Look properly! Are you seeing this?!"

Zagreus whispered in my ear, "If you look at another guy again, he won't get away as lightly as this one, with just his limbs chopped off and his eyes removed."

Zion laughed quietly in Lindsay's ear as well. "Promise me you'll only look at me from now on, okay? A family has lost their primary breadwinner because of you. I feel bad for him… iIf only you hadn't looked at him!"

…

Lindsay and I remained silent.

Meanwhile, Minnie glared at the front door.

Where were the people inside?!

She was growing impatient.

"Break the door down!" she yelled to her mob. "Anyone who manages to do that gets 150 bucks!"

Money was truly a prime motivator.

Miley looked around at the neighbors' faces, putting on an air of helplessness. She took her older sister's hand. "Minnie, maybe this is too much. If we're too loud, it might..."

Minnie was having none of it and shook Miley's hand off.

"What are you worried about?" she asked incredulously.

She thrust some photos, taken by a private detective, in Miley's face. "Look! That woman looks like me. And this other woman's aura feels like yours! Don't you get what this means?

"It means those two found replacements for us while I was away on a business trip and you were off filming!"

Minnie was not about to listen to more of Miley's advice.

"Zagreus is mine and mine alone! I won't allow even a replacement of me to take my place!" she declared.

With a wave, she commanded her men to storm the villa, and the front door was broken down.

Minnie led her household retinue, while Miley followed helplessly. Only after they were safely out of the neighbors' view did she reveal her true feelings.

The sound of the door being torn down shocked us.

I was just about to look through the peephole when a force burst through the door, knocking me off my feet.

Lindsay tossed her book aside and helped me up. "Lilith, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," I replied, waving her off.

Some belligerent women stormed inside.

I shielded Lindsay and demanded loudly, "Who do you people think you are?! Don't you know a break-in is a crime?!"

Minnie took the lead. "A crime? Why, it almost sounds like you think you're the mistress of this house just because you happen to look somewhat like me."

I grabbed Lindsay's hand and stepped back. "Who are you to Zagreus?"

Minnie bristled at the sound of me calling Zagreus by his name.

"Ruth! Get them!" she screamed.

Ruth answered from outside, waving as several younger maids moved to corner us.

I pulled Lindsay by the wrist. We had to run upstairs!

But they caught us by our feet and dragged us down the steps, ignoring the painful thuds as we fell. They pulled us to the ground and forced us down.

Minnie pinched my cheeks and sneered. "Your face disgusts me!"

Now that she was closer, I recognized her. She—and the young woman behind her—were the substitutes the brothers had found!

Minnie shot a look at Ruth, who nodded and ran off to gather supplies.

"No, don't! If you do anything to us, Zagreus and Zion will make you pay!" I shouted.

"Ha! Zagreus and Zion will make me pay?" Minnie mocked, imitating my voice.

She scowled. "You're just a fake standing in front of the genuine article. Get that through your head!"

Ruth returned, carrying several pink clay mugs. "Miss Minnie, there's nothing fragile here. These mugs will have to work as makeshift knives."

Zagreus and Zion had gone to extreme lengths to prevent us from harming ourselves or each other once they realized how much we despised the children they forced us to bear.

They had placed trackers on us, thrown away anything sharp or dangerous, and even lined the floors with bubble wrap.

The only things left made of breakable clay were these mugs, shaped like rabbits.

Minnie nodded. "Smash them."

"No! Zagreus made these himself!" I cried out.

She laughed scornfully. "Are you kidding me? Zagreus—the famously stoic man from the Capital? Just because he's been staying in Hanttye, you think he's turned into some goober who makes things for little girls?"

Ruth raised a mug high.

I struggled as hard as I could to free myself. I had to catch it!

The mug smashed against the floor just before I lunged for it.

Ruth picked up a shard and smirked at me.

I remembered when Zagreus had first handed me the mug. "You have to protect this mug, Lilith. If someone so much as chips it, oh... I'll break their entire skeletons, haha!"

Minnie snickered. "So he made that? Big deal. He'd give me all the stars in the sky and name them after me if I demanded it. A mug is nothing!"

She shot a look at Ruth, who nodded. The older woman grabbed my cheeks and drew the piece close to my face.

Lindsay struggled to free herself from her captor. "Lilith!"

Minnie turned to Miley, who stood near the door. "Don't just stand there! Have you forgotten that without the Pendragons, your career as a movie star is over?"

Miley frowned, irritated, and turned to her maid. "Go and help keep those two under control, okay?"

A crowd of four or five answered her call, pinning Lindsay and me hard against the floor. We couldn't move.

"You are our substitutes! How dare you treat us like this?!" I shouted.

Miley silenced Minnie before she could shout back and replied coldly, "You are the substitutes getting in other people's way."

A thought struck me. If they could bust down doors, they might not be just any kind of substitute.

"We're not anyone's substitutes, and we're not here to ruin anyone's relationships! We were abducted and locked up here!" I pleaded desperately, trying to look hopeful. "Please, let us go! We're victims!"

Minnie slapped me hard. My cheek burned from the sting.

"You think I'm just gonna let you go? Think again! Ruth—get it started!" Minnie commanded.

I felt my head yanked back, and blood began to ooze from cuts on my skin, pooling together before dripping off my cheek, down my collarbone, and onto my chest.

I shrieked in pain, and Minnie shot Ruth an irritated glare.

The older woman took a rag cloth from the kitchen and shoved it into my mouth.

Lindsay fought to break free and help me, but Minnie shot Miley a warning look.

With a cold expression, Miley ordered her maid, "Slap her."

Lindsay endured blow after blow. Her cheek was swollen and sore, with a chapped corner of her lip bleeding.

I choked back a sob. "Y-You bitches… You're just jealous of us!"

Minnie, enraged, snatched the broken piece from Ruth and began cutting my face wildly.

Ignoring the pain, I said mockingly, "I'm right, aren't I? You're jealous of us!"

My blood seemed to fill Minnie's gaze with fury.

"How dare you compare yourself to me, you stupid fake!" she screamed.

Miley tried to pull her sister away. "Stop it! There's no need for you to dirty your own hands over this!"

Miley's words cut through the chaos.

Minnie stopped, tossing the piece aside and wiping the blood off her hands before pushing little strands of hair back from her forehead.

"You're right, Miley!" she replied. "Ruth! Slap her until she stops speaking. That disgusting mouth of hers needs to be fixed up good."

The sound of lashes rang through the room.

Trying to boast, Minnie flashed her silver bracelet at Miley and complained loudly, "God, that wench's disgusting blood has stained my bracelet! Do you think Zagreus is going to be mad?"

The bracelet looked familiar. I spat out some blood from my mouth and smirked.

Ruth was stunned and loosened her grip.

The rag fell from my mouth, and I sneered. "Check the bracelet. It has the letters 'L-I-L-I-T-H' carved onto it, right?"

Minnie removed the bracelet, doubt creeping in as she examined it. Her face turned stormy.

"Let me and my best friend go, and I promise you, we won't ever show up in Hanttye again! We won't even be on the Pendragons' radar!" I said.

Minnie was so irritated by our presence that she wanted us to disappear immediately.

But Miley whispered flatly in her ear, "She's trying to provoke you into letting them go, sis. They are just the brothers' toys. If we let them go, though? We'll be overtaking the Pendragons' authority over their property."

My motive had been exposed!

In a fit of fury, Minnie kicked me, and I collapsed.

"How dare you try to trick me?!" she yelled.

The maids leaped out of my way as I started rolling, causing my body to crash into Lindsay.

Alarmed at the injuries on my face, she immediately shielded me with her back against Minnie's onslaught.

Then the doorbell rang.

Minnie frowned and looked up. I raised my head and glanced at the clock.

It was 11:30 a.m. Our housekeeper, Mrs. Harris, always visited us at this time. As usual, she pressed the bell three times before opening the door with her own keys.

The key barely slid into the doorknob when the wind blew it slightly ajar.

Remembering what her employers had instructed her, Mrs. Harris pushed the door open quickly and rushed inside.

"Who the hell are you?!" Minnie demanded.

Mrs. Harris sized her up. "Aren't you… Miss Minnie Stein?"

Before Minnie could do anything rash, Miley stepped in between them.

"Yes," she replied flatly.

Mrs. Harris glanced at us lying on the floor with blood on our faces. Horrified, she rushed toward us. "Oh God, Ma'am! What happened?!"

Her path was blocked by one of Minnie's maids.

Furious, Mrs. Harris tossed her groceries to the floor.

"What the hell is this supposed to be, Miss Stein?! Both of my mistresses are pregnant! If my employers find out that you've been harming their heirs, you can bet your life is over!"