THE KINGSTONS DESIRE

AWOKEN

MADDISON'S POV

Jared’s voice came from the study, the cool indifference in his tone a stark reminder of the life I was now bound to. “Maddison, if you could, get the door I have a guest outside.”

His voice carried a note of authority, nothing like the intimate tone he’d used the night of our wedding when he had drawn every bit of pleasure he could from me. Three weeks had passed since that night, and the soft moments I’d hoped for had been replaced by something far more mechanical. I had tried to be what he wanted, even indulging in the toys he brought home after just a few days of marriage. I thought maybe, just maybe, it would soften him. But I should have known better.

The reality was painfully clear, Jared had no intention of seeing me as anything more than an object of his desire. Every night it was the same, a lust driven gleam in his eyes, a hunger that didn’t speak of affection but of possession. And I? I had allowed it because it was the only way I knew to survive in this loveless marriage. He was never cruel, but his touch never carried warmth either, just control…

I swallowed my frustration, as I made my way out from the kitchen and as much as I wanted to retreat into my thoughts I couldn’t ignore his command. I hurried toward the door, shaking off the lingering ache that had settled in my chest over the last few weeks. This was my life now, and if there was anything I could do, it was to maintain composure.

Through the blurred glass of the door, I could see a figure pacing outside. My heartbeat picked up, a sense of curiosity swirling in my gut. Who could it be? Jared rarely had guests at the house, and certainly not ones who would make me open the door and just then the door bell was rung impatiently.

“I’m coming!,” I called out, quickening my pace, trying to banish the nerves fluttering in my stomach. When I opened the door, I was met with the most intense pair of emerald eyes I had ever seen.

For a moment, I stood frozen, staring into those eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. His features were familiar but different, they were softer, kinder than Jared’s, yet undeniably strong. My breath hitched as I took in his broad frame, his slightly tousled dark hair had streaks of grey in them making them look unnatural, and the way he seemed to stare at me with the same intensity I felt creeping up inside of me.

Who was he?

Then it clicked. Mrs. Kingston had mentioned Jared’s twin once, briefly during a family dinner and I wondered why he wasn't present at their wedding or at the dinner, it was as if he was a ghost and no doubt this had to be him. This had to be Jeremy the realization only heightened the strange sensation curling in my chest, and for a brief moment, I forgot myself.

“I’m Maddison Crawford, now Maddison Kingston,” I said, extending my hand to break the awkward silence that had settled between us. He blinked, as if snapping out of his own thoughts…

“Jeremy Kingston, his twin,” he muttered as if the words ‘his twin’ were an afterthought as he stepped into the house brushing past me. His cologne filled the air, something woodsy and rich, and I found myself momentarily stunned and even smiling, a genuine smile.

I turned to watch him as he moving in the wrong direction, his steps slightly hesitant amused I called after him, “He’s in his study, to the left. Nice to meet you, Jeremy.”

Jeremy paused briefly, acknowledging my words with a slight nod, before continuing down the hallway. The air seemed to shift the moment he was out of sight, and I stood frozen for a few seconds longer than I should have, my mind replaying the encounter.

His eyes. That was all I could think about. Jeremy’s eyes were nothing like Jared’s. While Jared’s piercing blue gaze held nothing but lust, Jeremy’s emerald eyes were filled with something else, something I couldn’t quite name, it had a certain depth, an emotion and it oddly intrigued me.

I shook my head, closing the door and leaning against it for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. I shouldn’t be thinking about him like this. Jeremy was Jared’s brother, his twin. And yet, in the brief moment we had shared, something had sparked inside me that I hadn’t felt in a long time, maybe ever.

No. I couldn’t allow myself to think like that, I couldn’t afford to. My life was with Jared however cold and distant he was,I was his wife, and that was all there was to it.

Still, as I made my way back toward the living room, I couldn’t shake the image of Jeremy from my mind. The way he had looked at me, the way his voice had sounded when he said his name,it lingered in the air around me, filling the empty spaces that Jared’s absence left behind.

I had been craving something, anything that would make me feel alive since I got here again and now this felt like that, this strange feeling that Jeremy had stirred in me even in such a brief moment, it felt dangerous. But in a way that both frightened and thrilled me.

I heard faint voices from the study as Jared and Jeremy finally started their conversation, but I couldn’t focus on their words. All I could think about was the contrast between the two brothers the one I was bound to and the one who had made me feel something I hadn’t expected to feel again.

Sitting down on the couch, I pressed my hands against my face, trying to steady my racing heart. This was insane. I was insane for even entertaining these thoughts. Jeremy was Jared’s twin, and whatever spark I thought I had felt, it was probably nothing more than a fleeting moment of attraction.

But even as I told myself that, I knew deep down that it wasn’t just a fleeting moment. I had been awoken and the more I thought about it the more terrified I became.

Yet... it also gave me hope.

A small part of me, a part I had tried to silence for so long and wondered if maybe, just maybe, there was something more out there for me. Something beyond the cold, passionless life I had resigned myself to with Jared.

But that was a dangerous thought. A thought I couldn’t afford to entertain.

I hated the conflict the name "Jeremy Kingston" was steering in me.

The name echoed in my mind…

Something I knew I wouldn’t be ab

le to forget even if I really didn't want to. f**k me.