Chapter 1His, and His Brother's

"My twin sister and I were canaries for Caleb Hayes for five years. A perfect little arrangement in his gilded cage.

She slept with him, I handled the money. We had our roles.

The night we graduated from Columbia, my sister, Zoe, was draped over some male model with an eight-pack at a downtown speakeasy. She looked up from his abs, suddenly thoughtful.

“Chloe,” she said, “the wedding. Are you going, or am I?”

I swirled the ice in my drink, grabbing a pair of dice from a nearby table. “Let’s roll for it. Loser goes.”

Before we could settle the bet, a familiar, deep voice cut through the noise behind us.

“Bro, how was she? My little canary.”

“Serviceable,” another voice, identical, replied.

Staring at two faces—the exact same face—Zoe and I froze. We spoke in perfect, horrified unison.

“Which one of you is Caleb?”

* * *

We ducked behind a velvet curtain, peeking at the VIP booth, our minds racing.

“It’s the one on the right,” I whispered.

“No, the left,” Zoe shot back.

I stared at her. “You’ve been sleeping with him for years. You can’t tell them apart?”

“I don’t exactly look at his face when we’re in bed. And anyway, they’re identical!” she hissed, chewing on a fingernail. “Unless he dropped his pants right now, I’d have no clue.”

She had a point. It was an impossible situation.

Before we could solve the riddle, we saw the man we knew as Caleb—let’s call him Caleb One—smirk. The smirk was a lazy, cruel curve of the lips. He turned to his twin.

“So, bro,” he drawled, his tone dripping with mockery. “The wedding. You going, or am I?”

His brother—Caleb Two—paused for a fraction of a second. Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, he picked up the dice from the table. “Let’s roll for it. Winner takes the prize.”

“Deal.” Caleb One grinned, picking up his own shaker.

Their booth erupted in laughter.

“Better bring your A-game, Caleb,” one of his friends shouted. “Roll snake eyes and you’re the one walking down the aisle.”

“Hell, why don’t you both go?” another slurred. “Give Chloe a real surprise.”

“Can you imagine her face on the wedding day?” a third chimed in, his voice laced with venom. “When she finds out she’s been passed between the two of you for the last two years? Priceless.”

A woman perched on Caleb One’s lap giggled, covering her mouth. “That Chloe girl is so lucky, having two Hayes brothers fighting over her. I’m almost jealous.”

The whole table howled at the jab.

Caleb One took a sip of his whiskey, then tilted the woman’s chin up and passed the liquor from his mouth to hers. He laughed softly. “What, you want in on the action? Maybe my brother and I could take care of you, too.”

She melted against him, a puddle of feigned desire. “Oh, no,” she cooed, “I only have eyes for you, Caleb.”

Zoe and I locked eyes. The disgust was mutual. But beneath it, in her gaze, I saw a flicker of something else. A quiet, heartbreaking disappointment.