Who's Exiling Who Now, My Dear?

Tanya Vale's friends often said that men who didn't show interest or seemed to have low libido were bad in bed. Tanya, however, thought the opposite. The man on top of her—cold, detached, and never interested in women—was an entirely different story. In bed, he was a beast. They'd spent the whole night together, five or six rounds, each one more intense than the last. Tanya had never been with anyone before—at 22, she was still a virgin—and her first time left her legs shaking. She was satisfied, but the man who was demanding so much from her was not someone she could afford to cross. Back in high school, when she stayed at Hawke Manor, she fell hard for Aries. She had secretly pined for him for three years. On graduation day, unable to hold back any longer, she confessed her feelings. But instead of the fairy tale ending she had dreamed of, she was met with a cold sneer from Aries. "You think you like me?" At that moment, Aries was a tall 6-footer, casually leaning against the balcony railing, his long lashes fluttering as his eyes, full of disdain, met hers. "Well... I think you need to wake up. Cuz I'm your brother, sister." The reason Aries was considered her brother went back to their parents' complicated history. To sum it up, Aries' father, Gawaine Hawke, had once been in love with Tanya's mother. But Tanya's mother, who was a mess, had racked up massive debts and fled the country, leaving Tanya at Hawke Manor for Gawaine to look after her. However, Aries' mother, Lydia Hawke, mistakenly believed Tanya was Gawaine's illegitimate daughter—and Aries did too. Even though Gawaine showed them a DNA test proving Tanya wasn't his daughter, Lydia refused to believe it. She claimed it was all fabricated. Those three years Tanya spent at Hawke Manor were tough. Lydia constantly made her life miserable, and Aries looked down on her like she was beneath him. Still, despite everything, Tanya made the mistake of confessing her feelings to him, and the entire school found out. Her "scandal" made headlines in the student gossip section. Lydia found out too. And in the blink of an eye, Tanya was on a plane to Mirelia, sent away to study abroad. Now, four years later, she was back—right here in this bed. This wasn't Aries trying to win her back. It was part of Gawaine's plan to make her dreams come true. Tanya had just stepped off the plane when she was asked to pick up a drunk Aries from The Velvet Haven. Aries had clearly been drugged, not caring who helped him. He grabbed her and dragged her into a room. Once the door was closed, he shoved her against the wall and kissed her—brutally, urgently. His hands were everywhere, ripping her clothes apart. His movements were frantic, like he was trying to devour her whole. He even bit her lips in the process. Tanya clung to his shoulders, scratching his muscles with her nails, but he didn't let up. His strength was overwhelming. Then, with a single pull, his powerful hands shredded her brand-new green dress. Eight thousand bucks down the drain—Tanya was absolutely heartbroken. At that moment, the only thing on her mind was whether she should ask him to pay for the dress afterward. As the night went on, Tanya's mind started to slip. 'Maybe it won't be so bad. Eight thousand isn't a huge price to pay for... This.' And besides, if Aries found out it was her, he'd probably have a meltdown. So, she stopped resisting, letting him take her in his drugged-up state, like a wild animal. After the final round of relentless passion, Aries collapsed next to her, exhausted. Without a word, he turned his back, his muscular frame facing away from her. "Tell me your name. I'll take responsibility." Responsibility? Tanya nearly laughed at the idea. She wasn't about to let him know who she was. She even disguised her voice when replying, "I don't think so." Luckily, she was good at voice acting, able to mimic different tones, so it was hard for anyone to figure her out. And thanks to Aries' recent injury—he'd been blinded by someone who threw poison in his eyes—he couldn't see her anyway. Just as she was thinking this, Aries suddenly turned back around. With his sharp, chiseled features, his high cheekbones and perfect jawline seemed even more striking in the dim light. Maybe it was because of his family's mixed heritage, but his brows, eyes, and nose were more refined and aristocratic than anyone else's. He turned and raised one long, graceful hand, propping it beneath his flawless profile. His thick, dark lashes fluttered up, revealing eyes that glowed like stars in the night. "Why?" Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes locked with his, drawn to the hypnotic allure of his gaze. Aries didn't look blind at all—Could he be faking it? Tanya was terrified. She lifted her trembling, sweaty hand and waved it in front of his face. His eyes didn't move an inch. She breathed a sigh of relief and kept up the charade. "My boyfriend would be mad," she said, hoping it would make him back off. The second those words left her mouth, Aries' gaze went from cold to ice-cold, like a storm brewing. "You have a boyfriend?" Back in school, Aries always had that power over her—one look, and she'd be a mess. Even now, she couldn't hide her nervousness, but she nodded. "Yeah..." Aries' expression darkened, but he managed to keep his cool, his voice laced with ice. "Was that your first time?" He had felt some resistance when he first entered her, but now he wasn't sure if she was a virgin.