The Triplet Alphas' Forbidden Temptation

Maverick couldn’t believe his eyes. The thought of Kaden drawing Yuki felt so absurd that, for a moment, he failed to process what he was looking at. Yet his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

The painting was indeed Yuki, with the same golden-blonde hair and deep emerald eyes.

She sat on what appeared to be the edge of a cliff, her silver hair whipping violently around her in the wind as she gazed up at a star-filled night sky. The angle was low, almost as though the artist had been looking at her from somewhere below.

It wasn’t polished in the same painstaking way as the others. Some of the strokes were rougher, the details less refined, as though Kaden had painted it quickly before the image disappeared from his mind.

But it was unmistakably her.

Maverick stared at the canvas for several seconds before the name slipped from his lips. "Yuki?" The name left him before he could stop it. His fingers reached out to touch the surface.

Kaden was beside him before he could take another step. His fingers closed firmly around Maverick’s wrist, stopping him.

"Don’t touch it," Kaden warned, his voice low enough to make the air between them tighten.

Maverick looked down at Kaden’s hand around his wrist before slowly meeting his eyes.

"Hold on." He pulled his arm free and looked back at the painting. "Is this really Yuki?"

Kaden snorted. "Are you fucking blind?"

Maverick ignored the insult. "Why did you paint her?" he asked, looking genuinely confused, although there was something else beneath his confusion. Curiosity.

Kaden’s jaw tightened. He looked back at the canvas, his expression becoming increasingly guarded. "You’re standing in a room filled with unfinished paintings, and that’s the question you choose to ask? Does anything I paint make sense?" Kaden sneered.

"Yes," Maverick replied simply. "Because this one is a painting of the mate you were eager to reject, despite knowing there was a chance you might never have a second-chance mate. You could even lose your right to the throne. Yet you hate her that much?"

Kaden glared at him. Maverick didn’t move. He merely waited.

"I understand she’s the sister of the woman who destroyed your family, and you’re justified in hating her, especially when she turned out to be your mate." He drew in a deep breath, then pointed at the painting, which felt so realistic that it was almost as though Maverick could feel the gentle breeze moving through her hair.

"It wasn’t a random painting. There’s emotion in it. Maybe emotions only the painting can describe." Maverick’s gaze remained fixed on the canvas. "But this is different, Kaden Ravencourt."

Eventually, Kaden exhaled through his nose and turned his attention back to the painting. "It just happened." He tried to sound casual, but there was nothing casual about his voice.

Maverick’s brow rose. "That explanation is terrible," he snorted.

"It’s the truth." Kaden’s fingers flexed at his side. "I was painting. Halfway through, I realised the woman looked like her. By then, I’d already started, so I finished it. Then, boom, it was a painting of Yuki from the night I raided the party she snuck out to after Xavier messaged me that they were playing truth or dare with a drink junk bucket." Kaden explained it in a single breath and immediately regretted it.

He had overspoken, and Maverick’s dumbfounded expression was proof of that. Maverick stared at him, clearly unconvinced and in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that?" he asked.

"I don’t particularly care what you believe," Kaden replied flatly.

Maverick opened his mouth to respond, but something else caught his attention. He suddenly turned away from Kaden.

"Wait a moment," Maverick called out before crossing the room quickly and grabbing the painting of Yuki.

Kaden frowned as Maverick approached one of the older canvases, the one depicting the familiar faceless silver-haired woman. Maverick looked at the painting, then back at Yuki’s portrait. His expression slowly changed.

Without saying anything, he grabbed the edge of the first canvas and positioned it beside the newer one.

Kaden’s eyes narrowed. "And?" he asked, still confused.

Maverick didn’t answer immediately. His gaze moved between the two paintings several times, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

"Don’t you find this strange?" he finally asked.

Kaden folded his arms across his chest. "What exactly?" Kaden hissed, already finding this conversation pointless.

"The model." Maverick pointed between the two paintings. "They have almost the same build."

Kaden’s gaze shifted reluctantly towards the canvases. Maverick stepped closer, studying both paintings as he spoke. "Look at the shoulders, the waist, even the chin. They’re different paintings, different scenes, but the frame is almost identical," he pointed out.

Kaden gave a short, dismissive laugh. "There is no fucking way."

But the laugh died in his throat. He stepped closer. For the first time, he studied the paintings without looking for differences.

Maverick was right.

The resemblance wasn’t exact, but it was there.

The same delicate shoulders. The same narrow waist. The same allure that drew people in.

Kaden’s gaze slowly moved from the faceless woman to Yuki’s painted profile. Something tightened unpleasantly in his stomach as the similarities became harder to dismiss.

"Weird," he muttered.

Maverick watched him carefully.

Kaden’s expression darkened as he stared at the two canvases, his arms slowly falling to his sides.

He didn’t like the conclusion forming in his mind. Not one bit. He shook his head because it was ridiculous. The faceless woman was always dressed in a style he wouldn’t describe as Yuki’s. People could have similar frames.

Then a voice rang down the corridor.

"Maverick..."

Kaden immediately snatched the painting from Maverick’s hand, flipping it against the wall before the door was pushed open and Yuki appeared there. Her hair was slightly damp, and she smelled like amber, masking her usual vanilla and rosewood scent because she had just taken a shower using his products.

Kaden glanced at Maverick, then sneered. "Don’t keep the Ravencourt princess waiting," he said in a mocking tone.

Yuki didn’t miss the sarcasm. She glared at him before looking at Maverick.

"Come on, let’s bounce. I have more productive things to do than stare at Kaden painting the same faceless woman over and over again," she retorted.

Maverick’s lips twitched. He gave Kaden a look before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

"This way, Miss Ravencourt," he teased.

Her cheeks burned. Maverick led her to the car outside. Yuki got into the passenger seat, buckled her seat belt, then waited for Maverick to get in.

He started the car, but just as he was about to drive out, Maverick made a request that puzzled her.

"Can you do me a favour?"

Her brows pulled together. "Sure..." she said hesitantly.

Maverick released a light breath before speaking.

"Please don’t tell a soul what you saw in that room, although I doubt they would believe you anyway."