Page 146 of Lust & Lies
I was built for this. I was ruthless. Cutthroat. Fast and precise with my kills. I never harmed the innocent. But I brutally tortured those who tried to take down the Park family and who came after those close to me.
But that wasn’t all the Watchdogs did. We weren’t the Park’s loyal pets like Ellie thought we were. We handled missionsworldwide, protecting those society deemed unworthy of protection. I was a protector.
I had earned my rank and codename. But lately, I’d been wanting to let go of this life. I’d been wanting to change and be something more. I wasn’t just a killer. I wasn’t just a weapon Grandpa Park had sharpened and honed.
I was also a woman in love who liked pretty things just as much as the next girl. I wanted to be a wife and a mother. I wanted to get my hair and nails done and wear girly clothes. I wanted a house out in the country with a garden and a swing on the front porch.
I wanted to get married and live a quiet life with my husband. And I deserved that just as much as Ellie did. Why couldn’t she see that? Why couldn’t Grandpa Park see that? Yes, I owed him for the care he’d shown me all these years, but did I have to pay for that care for the rest of my life?
“I’m done talking to you,” I told Ellie. “Just know this. I may not fight you for other things, but I will fight for Aiden. You cannot have him. He and I will have a life together.”
“You’ve been dead for years, Noe. How can you suddenly have a life? Your name, your life, it all ended the night those men came for your family. You’ve been hiding ever since. Grandpa Park has kept you in the shadows for so long, you don’t even realize how invisible you are.”
I glared at her back, my nails digging into my palms as I struggled to keep myself from moving closer to her. To keep myself from slamming her face into the wall. I’d never wanted to hurt her more than I wanted to in that moment.
The way she casually discussed what happened back then, as if she felt nothing at all for the lives lost that day, made me want to beat her ass until she was unrecognizable. But Grandpa Park’s voice drifted through my mind.
“Don’t hurt, Ellie. It’s your job to protect her. She’s weaker than you. Her feelings get hurt easily. If you harm one hair on her head, don’t blame me for punishing you. You have to ignore her childish ways, you’re tougher than her.”
Blinking back tears, I whispered, “It’s not my fault that I was raised differently from you. I didn’t ask to live like this.”
“This is your destiny. And marrying Aiden is mine. Did you really think Grandpa Park would let a ruthless killer marry his grandson? You knew the Watchdog rules when you signed the contract. You must always wear your mask when on missions so no one knows your true identity. You must earn a codename, and until then, you’ll be called a number. You must kill anyone who finds out who you really are. Only your Watchdog colleagues and the Parks can know your true identity, and if any of them reveals it, they’ll be executed. That was how you’ve lived all these years. So tell me, Noe. Did you really expect Grandpa Park to let a faceless person with no identity marry his grandson?” Ellie turned to face me with a bright smile on her face. “Did you, sister?”
I blinked as her face came into focus. No. No, that couldn’t be right. I had to be seeing things. Yet Dream-Me didn’t seem shocked at all. The woman before me looked just like me, only a softer version of me.
But she had the same eyes, nose, mouth, and features as I did. This woman was me. How was that possible?
Her expression softened just slightly, but her words didn’t. “You were never going to be the one by his side. That was never your path to walk, sister. You’re the one he loved first, sure. But I’m the one he will learn to love and the one he’ll cherish forever.”
“He’ll never love you.”
“In time, he will. He’s already in love with this face,” she said, touching her cheek. “Making him fall in love with therest of me will be easy after we’re married.” She faked a yawn. “Chatting with you always tires me out. You’re here to see Grandpa Park, right? Go up and see him. Have your little discussion with him. But let me give you a heads up. He already knows about Aiden booking two tickets to Seoul.”
He knows? How did he know? I hadn’t even agreed to go with Aiden yet.
“He has already talked to Aiden about it. Already threatened to shut down his hotels if Aiden didn’t make the right choice. Your precious fiancé was given an ultimatum, and guess what he chose?”
I shook my head, not believing her.
She laughed. “He chose the business he’s worked hard for. He chose the woman who could help him achieve his goals. Don’t believe me? Go talk to Grandpa Park. He’ll tell you. I’m heading out. Grandpa wants me to stop by Aiden’s to talk about our wedding. Expect an invite soon.”
My twin sister, someone I’d shared a womb with, my only living relative, walked past me, headed to meet with my fiancé and discuss their wedding. Not happening. I turned to go after her. Fuck the rules. I needed to show her that I wasn’t someone she could walk all over.
“Noe!” Grandpa Park’s voice rang out.
I froze, years of training preventing me from taking another step forward. I glanced toward the staircase to see the old man standing there, holding his cane. Next to him was Seo-Jin.
“In my office. Now,” Grandpa ordered.
Tears blurred my vision. Was she really going to Aiden’s to discuss their wedding? Impossible. Aiden already said he’d leave it all behind for me. He didn’t care about the family businesses.
He hadn’t changed his mind, all because I told him I needed more time to consider leaving the country with him, had he? My sister stopped near the door and turned to deliver one last verbal jab.
“I’ll soon be Mrs. Park. Mrs. Noelle Park,” she said, smiling cruelly. “It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it, sis?”
Laughing, she left the house, leaving me staring after her, wondering which one of us would really walk down the aisle with Aiden.
I shot up in bed, chest heaving, shirt clinging to my skin, body drenched in sweat. My heart was racing. My mind was spinning. My heart felt like it had been tossed into a fire and dragged through a storm.
