1
Leon
“I still think you should hand in your resignation and stop this,” Lucius grumbles as he leans against the bathroom door frame and watches me intently.
“And if I do that, how are we gonna make rent?” I frown, looking away from my reflection in the bathroom mirror and locking eyes with my twin. It’s almost as if I was still staring at the mirror...albeit, some sort of funhouse mirror that twisted my slender omega body into that of a muscular, taller, more chiseled alpha.
“I’ve already told you I’m pursuing several opportunities that could be good for us,” Lucius continues. He folds his arms across his chest, making his biceps bulge beneath the tight sleeves of his t-shirt.
I bite the inside of my lip and fight back against the blush rising in my cheeks. Hastily, I look down at the makeup spread across the bathroom counter before me. What kind of narcissist gets turned on by their own twin?
I clear my throat and grab some mascara. Just enough to lengthen my lashes and highlight my eyes. My entire makeup routine is super subtle. Evening out my skin tone and highlighting my natural features is still me…only better. My clients don’t want a dolled-up omega. They want someone who’s naturally cute and cuddly, who will give them a good time and laugh at their jokes. That’s me. That’s who I’ve been for the last four years while Lucius was away at college.
“Look, Lucius.” I take a deep breath and set the tube of mascara back on the counter. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. This is fine. It’s my job. It’s what I do. I’m very good at what I do.”
But I don’t look him in the eye because I can’t bear the guilt that he’s been leveling at me ever since he came home a few days ago. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
“If I’d known this was what would happen, I never would’ve gone away,” Lucius says, standing up tall and squaring his shoulders. “This wasn’t what I wanted for you. For us.”
“I chose this, Lucius.” I clench my hands tightly and turn to face him as anger rises in my chest. “I chose to take this job. I chose to follow this path. I chose to stay here while you went to school. I chose to be the one supporting you from the sidelines. You can’t just come home and invalidate everything I’ve done over the last four years.”
Lucius blinks and steps back, clearly not expecting such a strong reaction from me. What can I say? I’ve grown up a lot since he left.
“That wasn’t what I was trying to do,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away in shame. “I knew you were working hard while I was gone. The money you sent helped pay for my degree, my apartment, my food...you gave me the ability to focus on my schooling and not have to worry about the particulars. I just, I never even stopped to ask what it was you were doing to earn all of that. While I was off studying until my eyes burned, you were...you...”
“I was working, Lucius.” I roll my eyes. “What does it matter how I earned the money? Does it change anything at all?”
“You shouldn’t have had to do those things.” Lucius’s shoulders slump as he backs away from the door and leans against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway. “You shouldn’t have had to...to...”
“Why is it so hard for you to say?” I challenge. “Are you really that ashamed of me?”
“No, never.” Lucius’s head snaps up, and his expression is full of pain. “I could never be ashamed of you. We’re family, a team, we’ve been through hell together. I’m ashamed of myself. We could’ve found a different way to make things work. I could’ve tried harder.”
I exhale slowly and calm myself. I know he’s trying to be reasonable but he doesn’t understand. I don’t think he’s fully capable of understanding. I chose to work as an escort at Omega for Hire because it was the best way to earn a lot of money. I chose to take clients and receive money in exchange for going on dates. I chose to be arm candy for rich alphas who probably don’t remember my name when the night is over. I have no shame, no regrets.
Well...I have one regret.
“I’m happy, Lucius.” I turn to him with a soft smile. “The only thing I wish I’d have done differently was tell you sooner. I shouldn’t have just dropped this on your head when you came home. So, for that, I’m sorry. But that’s the end of it.”
He just shakes his head, unable to speak.
“Now, I’ve got to finish getting ready or I’m going to be late.” I turn away and check my reflection one last time. “You need to stop worrying about stuff that you’ve got no control over. If you really want me to quit my job, then you’ve got to put that fancy new degree of yours to work.” I give him a sidelong wink.
“That’s actually what I originally wanted to talk to you about.” Lucius perks up a little, though the internal conflict is still heavy on his face. “I just...I forgot you were still working, and my brain went into defensive mode. I know you’re capable of making your own choices, but I’m not used to the idea of sharing you with anyone else.”
My heart thuds to a stop.
I know what he means. It’s always been just us. Lucius had plenty of chances to ditch me when we were still in foster care. It would’ve been easy for a young alpha with good genes to find a family willing to take him in. There’d been a few families who were willing to take both of us, but it was clear they were mostly interested in Lucius. I was just the skinny, awkward, freckle-faced accessory that came along with him.
Lucius never stood for that.
We ran away from more foster homes than I can count. Eventually, people stopped looking for us. We sustained ourselves on odd jobs and dumpster diving. Drifting from place to place was normal until we finally found an apartment we could afford. Our lives had been on an upward trajectory until, at age nineteen, Lucius decided he could solve all of our problems if he could get a business degree.
Not that I didn’t agree with him. An education would make him infinitely more employable. He was attractive, young, and ambitious, so it wouldn’t be hard for him to land a position within a good company. He’d be on the fast track to the top in no time. I had no doubts about it.
But I’ve always been a little bit more of a realist than my brother. College is expensive and financial aid only goes so far. I knew that for Lucius’s plan to succeed, he was going to need help from the outside.
All our lives, everything we’ve done has been for each other. For our combined future. When Lucius talks about how he doesn’t want to share me, that isn’t exactly out of the ordinary. But, for some reason, it’s sending butterflies through my stomach. It takes a lot of work to push them down and maintain my poker face, but I manage.
“You’re not sharing me with anyone.” I force a dry laugh. “None of my clients get to see the real Leon. I’m not going to run away and marry any of them either. You don’t have to worry about that.”
He scoffs and faces away from me so I can’t see what he’s really thinking. The words that are probably written on his face as they always have been since we were little.
I start putting away my makeup and cleaning up the mess I’ve strewn across the bathroom counter. “But anyway, that’s enough of that.” I shut down any more conversation on the topic because I’m tired of having to defend myself. Even if Lucius means well, he’s getting on my nerves. “What’s this thing you wanted to talk about?”