"We'd like to go live with our father," I said, not looking at anyone except the social worker.

Silence followed what I said. I looked up and glanced at our brothers, who were all staring at the floor while standing with their arms crossed.

Father stood up and smiled widely.

"Are you serious?" He asked, looking between me and Rose.

"Alright," Claire said, as she wrote something on the papers before her.

"When are they leaving?" Lucian asked, looking up at her with a cold glare.

'He's so eager about you leaving.'

"Anytime they want."

"By evening?" Father asked, to which I shrugged.

Lucian looked at my reaction and nodded. He looked at the excited older man, then at the door and started walking.

Damien was glaring at the floor with his fists clenched so hard, I was preparing myself for the sound of a crack.

The boys walked out one by one, without looking up from the floor.

"Okay, kids. I'll see you in the evening," Father said, smiling sweetly before nodding at the social worker, who was getting ready to leave.

Father led her out. He turned to us, standing in the open door.

"I can't wait to spend time with my daughters." He smiled at us, before leaving.

My shoulders dropped a little. I really wish this is a good decision.

I turned around to see Rose standing there, looking at the door. She shifted her gaze to me.

"I've never been so doubtful about something. It feels like-" She cut me off to complete my sentence.

"Like you're stuck between the two choices and they're pulling you with equal force and you're afraid of making the wrong move," She said.

"Yeah," I said, sighing and looking at the stairs.

"Don't stress about it, Levi," Rose said, making me nod.

Besides, it'll take just a few days to know what we've stepped into but I really hope it's better than anything. As selfish as it sounds. I've just gotten out of one sad pit and I don't really want to fall into another.

I started walking up the stairs, towards our room.

Once there, I closed the door and watched as Rose sat on the bed.

"He sounds so much like Dad," She said, almost hesitantly.

"Yeah. He reminds me of him," I muttered, before thinking.

"I hope he is like him," She said.

Father wasn't really home and since we were five when we last saw him we don't remember much. But now that we're seeing him and how he's behaving, we know he's being good so far. He's acting so much like Dad, it's getting painful with the memories swirling in my mind.

A knock on the door made me jump, as Rose stopped her movements to look at the door.

"Yes?" I asked, loudly. The door opened to reveal Asher.

"Did you start packing, sweetie?" He asked, looking at me with a smile.

"No. We don't have anything to pack." I furrowed my eyebrows together.

"What?" He frowned as he entered the room and shut the door behind him softly.

"We don't have anything to pack," I repeated.

"There's a whole closet," He stated, pointing his hand towards the closet.

"That was your money," I muttered. Now that we're leaving, we shouldn't take the stuff.

"Nonsense. You're taking every single thing with you." He shook his head before moving towards the closet.

With his tall height, he raised his hands and heels and a suitcase appeared from above the wooden shelves.

"You have our numbers saved in your phones, okay?" He began as he started folding clothes and packing them. "Just give me a call, if you have any problem or if you simply want to chat."

"You still want to be in contact with us?" Rose asked, while I stared at him packing things.

"We got in contact after eleven years, I'm not losing it again," He said, smiling at us, sadness visible in his eyes.

"Why didn't you contact us before?" I said, in a clipped tone.

Asher sighed and shook his head.

"There were some things going on," He said, simply. It was clear from his suddenly cold tone that he didn't want to talk about this.

Well, it doesn't matter anymore.

I saw as Rose climbed out of bed and started helping him.

"You haven't even got your clothes out of the bags." He sighed, grabbing another bag and getting the clothes. "I really wish things could be different."

Me too. I wish I didn't get ripped of happiness as soon as I started enjoying my life.

"You would call me, right?" He asked, looking at Rose who was kneeling down near another suitcase. "Once a week, at least?"

Rose looked at me with a questioning look on her face.

"Thank you for how you've treated us, Asher," I answered, making him look up at me. "But we can't promise anything."

Asher has been nothing but nice till now.

"We'll try." Rose said, smiling at him. His smile seemed to brighten when he looked at her smiling face.

"I'll look forward to it," He said, before resuming what he was doing.

"Bye," Asher said, just as I opened the door. There was still a smile on his face, as he stood there, a few feet away from us, with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his gray sweats.

"You have our numbers," Josiah said, as he descended down the stairs and leaned against the railing.

I nodded and opened the door wider for Rose to walk out. I walked out behind her.

Father was leaning against the hood of his sleek black mercedes, in a business suit and shades on. He nodded at us and smiled.

"Ready to go?" He asked, opening the door for us.

I nodded letting Rose get seated first before climbing in myself.

Father got in the passenger seat and ordered the driver to start driving. I looked out at the house for a second before turning my gaze again to look at Rose.

Father isn't trying to scare us into following his orders.

Besides, it's easier to fight against one person than to fight against five. What if they teamed up and tried to hurt Rose?

The ride to Father's house was painfully long, maybe because of the dread in my stomach.

Asher couldn't be acting, could he?

"We're home!" Father said, just as huge metal gates appeared. The gates opened to let the car in.

The mansion was ginormous. A little smaller than Lucian's but still ginormous.

The car came to a halt before the gates. Before I could open my door though, someone did it for me. I stood before them, while Rose climbed out.

Taking her hand in mine, I looked around cautiously.

There were tall walls surrounding the mansion and guards roaming around the lawn, with guns in their hands.

"Come on." Father smiled as he led us towards the door.

"We're home." He yelled as soon as we stepped in.

My head snapped towards him.

I was still processing why he yelled that, when we heard the click of heels against the tiled floor.

A lady appeared from somewhere, with a bright smile on her face as she looked at Father.

She came over and got on her tiptoes before him. Father leaned down to peck her lips once.

Rose gagged beside me, reminding me again that she was still a naive innocent girl, unlike me.

"Welcome back, honey," The lady said, in a sugary sweet voice.

My jaw clenched.

"You didn't tell us about your girlfriend!" I snapped, taking the attention of the couple.

"My wife," He corrected before smiling sweetly. "I thought it didn't matter. You just wanted to live with your father. I wanted my daughters home with me. Here we are."

"Well you thought wrong, Father," I gritted, clenching my hands into fists.

"I'm Alessia," The lady said, smiling sweetly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm glad you're going to live here now."

A curt nod was all she got from me while I hid Rose behind me.

"Let me show you your rooms." She said, stepping back. Her heels clicked as she started walking towards the stairs.

We followed her, with me keeping my arm wrapped around Rose's shoulder protectively.

I took a deep breath when Alessia opened a door.

"This is your room, Aurora." She said, looking at Rose with a kind motherly smile.

"We'd like to share a room," I stated, making her look at me. Her smile dropped for a second when she looked at me, before it returned in a second.

"Okay. As you wish," She said, stepping aside, allowing us into the room. "I'll see you later. I'll be downstairs. So if you need anything just call for me, okay?"

She left us alone after that. I sat on the desk chair facing towards the bed where Rose sat.

My legs were crossed so my left ankle rested on my right knee while I looked at the painting on the wall opposite the bed.

"She seems nice," Rose said, watching me worry about the fact that we didn't know we'd be living with a stepmother.

"People can pretend," I repeated the same thing. It's always been like this. Those who are nice don't stay long. Those who are acting show their true colors soon.

Rose nodded, fiddling with her fingers.

'And you say you're the one taking decisions and never disappointing her. What are you gonna do now? Whatever decision you take, it is going to be bad.'

Third POV.

Asher dropped his hand when Amira shut the door behind her. His smile vanished and his face dropped.

He couldn't believe this happened. He lost them again after finding them. All he wished for was a call, even if it is once a week. But a call would suffice.

He turned around and walked back towards the living room.

As he turned the corner, he stopped abruptly.

"Lucian?"

Lucian was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground.

He looked up at Asher then stood up straight again.

"It wouldn't have hurt if you said a goodbye," Asher muttered, looking at him with disapproval clear on his face.

Lucian just shook his head and started walking to the living room where the others were.

It would've hurt. As much as he'd deny it and assure himself that he didn't care, it would've hurt bad.

It shouldn't hurt. He knows them for what? Three days?

The five years didn't count for him. He was being given work and training to be the perfect heir. He never talked much to any of his siblings.

He was their guardian for three days and he felt like he couldn't breathe. The house felt empty. Unwelcoming. Despite the twins spending almost all of their time in their rooms. It felt silent.

Damien sat in the living room, with Jayden. His thumb hovered over their contacts trying to decipher if it was a good idea to call them and apologize.

Maybe if he apologized for everything he did knowingly and unknowingly, they'd come back. For Asher, if not for anyone else.

He didn't mean to scare Rose so much. He was just trying to get her attention. He apologized but she didn't listen. He thought it was easier to talk to Rose in Levi's absence. It was easier to get through to her.

Yes, he lost control and hurt Levi but he couldn't find it in himself to not care if they lived with him or not.

He was worried. His actions were wrong, he admitted it. But he was worried. Anything could've happened. It would've taken one second for her to get kidnapped after being seen with the brothers.

Asher walked into the room. The TV was on and a movie was playing on low volume.

What did Dad do in one day for them to choose him?

That's what was going on in everyone's mind.

But it wasn't what he did, it was their actions, direct or indirect, that scared Levi and Rose enough for them to leave. They were scared for each other and wanted to be on their own.

Damien's phone ringing felt like a loud blaring in the gloomy silence.

"What?" He asked, as soon as he picked up.

"We found something weird on the footage, sir," The man on the other side said. Damien looked up at both of his older brothers before he got up.

"What is it?" He asked, impatiently. He didn't have time for any nonsense.

Ironic because all he was doing was sulking.

"Send it," He said, climbing up the stairs towards his room. He hung up, not paying it much attention.

Turning on his computer, he opened the file sent to him.

----

"Lucian!" Damien said, as he barged in the kitchen.

Lucian was sitting on the counter, sipping on the strongest coffee he could make.

"What?" He asked, plainly.

Damien took a seat beside him and pushed the laptop before him. Lucian straightened up and looked at the screen with furrowed eyebrows.

The footage of the hallway near their rooms.

Levi entered the frame, turning the corner with her hands stuffed in her pockets.

She stopped abruptly, causing a frown to appear on Lucian's face.

Her expressions changed to a horrified one as she started running.

"What is she doing?" He muttered. Damien stayed silent.

Lucian's frown deepened when he saw her punching thin air, then putting her hands on the wall beside her.

"The question is what is she seeing?" Damien muttered, looking at the screen with confusion.

"She's hallucinating?" He asked, as he saw her back away and curl up on the ground.

His hands twitched to torture whatever imaginary thing she was seeing.

"She's having a panic attack." Lucian stood up abruptly. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, like it was at that time that she was having a panic attack.

"Calling her?" Damien asked, ceasing Lucian's movements.

"No." He lowered his arm, almost slumping back down his seat.

Damien looked at him for a moment, knowing that was exactly what he was about to do.

"It's all my fault." He muttered, making Lucian glance at him sideways.

"Did you apologize?" Lucian asked, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother.

"No. I tried but Bunny wasn't listening." He mumbled, wanting nothing more than to rip his hair out in frustration.

Lucian sighed, his hand flying to his eyes to rub them a little.

"I have a meeting." He said, standing up from his seat. He buttoned his coat then strode out of there.

So much went wrong in such a short span of time. It was like they had to be extra careful with the sisters, which they weren't, hence making things worse.