The Triplet Alphas' Forbidden Temptation

"Who was he?" Yuki asked quietly.

Her heart was still racing. The memory of that strange place had refused to fade, no matter how many times she had tried to convince herself that perhaps it had all been some feverish dream.

She could still see the endless meadow stretching beneath the strange twilight sky, the flowers glowing beneath her feet and the man who had felt too surreal to be real.

His waist-length, snow-white hair had been the first thing she noticed. Then there had been his face. The resemblance to Aevia had been impossible to ignore. Who could he possibly be? He had claimed he wasn’t her father, so who was he?

Across from her, Aevia went completely still. Her fingers remained curled around the edge of the tray, but the slight pressure made her knuckles pale. Her gaze drifted away from Yuki for a fraction of a second before returning, and her lips parted as though an answer had already formed but she was searching for the safest way to deliver it.

Yuki knew that look. Aevia always did that when she was trying to think of what to say. Her sister’s eyes would shift, her fingers would find something to occupy themselves with, and there would be a tiny pause before she answered. It wasn’t something most people would notice, but Yuki had grown up watching her. Aevia knew something. There was no doubt about it.

Yuki curled her fingers into her palm as the memory flashed through her mind again. The man’s voice. His strange certainty. The way he had looked at her as though he already knew something about her that she didn’t know herself. Aevia finally released a quiet breath.

"I don’t know," she said. The answer was too quick. Yuki’s stomach tightened. "Mum should know," Aevia continued, forcing a small smile. "She was the one who named you Yuki, after all. That was so long ago. Perhaps she simply remembered someone from her past."

Every word sounded reasonable, but none of it sounded true. Yuki stared at her sister. Aevia held her gaze for a few seconds before her thumb began rubbing against the edge of the tray. Another little tell. Yuki almost sighed.

"You know something," she said quietly, suspicion creeping into her voice.

Aevia’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you suddenly so curious about this?" The question caught Yuki off guard. She hesitated. Aevia noticed immediately. Her brows drew together, and the softness that had been in her expression disappeared beneath something more cautious.

Her shoulders straightened, and she watched Yuki with the careful attention of someone trying to work out what she wasn’t being told. Yuki looked down at her hands. She rarely asked about her parents. She had learned very early that certain questions changed Aevia’s expression.

There would be pain in her eyes, followed by an excuse to change the subject. Yuki had never wanted to reopen those wounds. But this time was different. She had seen him. She was certain of it. "I know I don’t usually ask," Yuki admitted, her fingers twisting together. "But something happened to me."

Aevia didn’t interrupt. She simply waited. Yuki swallowed. She could still taste the mango. It had been impossibly sweet, unlike anything she had ever eaten. Even now, remembering it made her mouth water. She could remember the texture beneath her teeth, the juice on her tongue and the strange warmth that had spread through her chest as she watched that impossible meadow. It hadn’t felt like a dream. Dreams didn’t leave memories that vivid.

"I saw him," Yuki whispered.

Something sharp flickered across Aevia’s face. It was there for barely a heartbeat. Her eyes widened, her fingers stopped moving and her lips parted before she quickly covered the reaction with a soft laugh.

"Come on," Aevia said, trying to sound amused. "What do you mean you saw him?"

But the laughter didn’t reach her eyes. Yuki stared at her. Aevia’s expression remained composed, but there was a faint tension around her mouth now.

"I mean exactly what I said." Yuki’s voice became firmer. "I saw him."

Aevia shook her head lightly. "Yuki, are you sure you weren’t dreaming?"

"I wasn’t dreaming, Aevia," she deadpanned, and Aevia’s smile disappeared. Yuki leaned forward slightly. "I know how it sounds. I know you’ll probably think I’m confused because of everything that happened, but I remember it."

Aevia remained silent. Yuki continued, "I woke up somewhere that wasn’t a hospital. It was a glass villa located in the middle of an endless meadow. The sky looked like it was stuck between night and evening, and the flowers were glowing. Not reflecting light. They were actually glowing," she recalled.

Aevia’s face didn’t change. Yuki watched her closely. There was no disbelief in her eyes or confusion. Not even the faint smile people usually gave when they thought someone was telling them something impossible. Aevia simply listened.

"I found mangoes there," Yuki added. "I ate one." Her sister’s gaze remained fixed on her. "It tasted real." Aevia’s fingers tightened around the tray again, but she said nothing.

"And then I saw him." Yuki’s voice softened as the memory returned. "He looked like you." Aevia’s eyelashes lowered for the briefest moment. Yuki caught it.

"He had hair that reached his waist. It was completely white, almost silver under the light. And his face..." She paused, struggling to describe it. "I’ve never seen anyone who looked like that."

Kieran immediately came to mind. For the longest time, Yuki had thought Kieran was the most beautiful man she had ever seen before she met his brothers. His features had a sharpness that made it difficult to look away from him. But that man had been different. His beauty had been almost unreal. Even the Ravencourt brothers couldn’t compare. Yuki shook the thought away.

"He told me he wasn’t my father," she continued. "So I don’t know who he was. But he knew who I was."

Aevia’s expression remained strangely calm. That was what unsettled Yuki the most. Her sister wasn’t reacting as though she had just been told something absurd. She looked almost as though she had been expecting it. Yuki narrowed her eyes. "You believe me?" she muttered.

Aevia finally looked directly at her. "Yes." The answer came without hesitation. Yuki blinked.

"That easily?" There was doubt in her tone.

Aevia’s lips curved into a small smile. "Why wouldn’t I?"

"Because what I’m telling you sounds completely ridiculous."

"Perhaps." Aevia reached for the tray again, but her movements were unhurried. "But that doesn’t mean you imagined it."

Yuki stared at her. There was something about the answer that didn’t sit right. Aevia lowered her gaze. "Did he tell you his actual name?" she asked.

Yuki froze. That wasn’t what she expected. She had expected questions about the place. About how she got there. About what the man looked like. About what he had said to her. Instead, Aevia wanted his name. Yuki’s lips parted. Nothing came out. Her mind immediately returned to the conversation. Every time she had asked the man who he was, he had avoided answering. Even when she had asked about his connection to her, he had given her just enough information to leave her with more questions.

"He didn’t," she admitted. Aevia’s eyes narrowed sharply. Yuki noticed.

"Why are you asking about his name?" she questioned. "Why aren’t you surprised?"

Aevia’s gaze remained on her for several seconds. "I already told you. I believe you," she said simply.

Yuki’s brows pulled together. Aevia reached across the table and gently touched the back of Yuki’s hand. "But believing that you saw him doesn’t mean you should believe everything you experienced there."

Yuki’s stomach twisted. "What does that mean?" Aevia’s thumb brushed lightly over her knuckles before she withdrew her hand.

"Sometimes our eyes show us things our minds aren’t ready to understand," she explained. Yuki stared at her. Aevia gave her a small smile, but there was something guarded behind it now. "The eyes can be deceptive, Yuki."

The words settled heavily between them. Yuki’s gaze dropped to the tray. She knew her sister was hiding something. The strange thing was that, for the first time, she wasn’t sure whether Aevia was protecting her from the truth or protecting the truth from her.