The whole race track was filled with dust, cheers, and loud noises from the competing bikes. Amidst the din, one name stood out - "Zane". Riding his bike, Zane led the race, with a significant distance between him and the other competitors. With a reputation as the most popular and unbeaten racer in Berlin, Zane was known for breaking his own records every time he raced, whether it was on a bike or in a car.
As the race came to its final lap, the crowd erupted in cheers, and Zane finished with a flourish. The announcer declared the end of the race, and the crowd began to disperse.
Approaching Zane, his best friend Alec posed a question, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "How come you always win?"
A mischievous grin played on Zane's lips as he teased, "Perhaps it's your lack of practice that keeps you in second place, my friend."
Alec's expression soured slightly. "We practice together, though. Unless... you've been practicing secretly," he mused, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
Zane laughed, displaying his complete white teeth and playfully hit Alec's arm. "It's talent, my friend, pure talent."
Shifting the conversation, Alec questioned, "Will you be joining us at the after-party?"
Zane nodded affirmatively. "Wouldn't miss it."
After stowing away their bikes, Zane checked his phone and discovered multiple missed calls from an unknown number, accompanied by a voicemail. Pressing play, he listened intently, his features contorting in disbelief at the message's contents.
"Is this Kaizane Ashworth? If so, I'm your twin, Kaisen Ashworth. It's not right to say it on the phone so please meet me personally. I'll send a time and location."
Bewildered by the content of the voicemail, Zane can only think if it is some kind of a scam. In his 27 years of existence, he knows no siblings what's more of a twin.
Zane was skeptical about the authenticity of the message but couldn't shake off the feeling that it was genuine. He was known as Lythar Vander, he's using his mom's last name. But his whole name, that his mom told him to not tell anyone, was Kaizane Lythar Vander Ashworth.
And the mysterious caller knows the name, Kaizane Ashworth. This shouldn't be real.
Despite his reservations, Zane decided to attend the after-party. He sat away from the crowd, sipping his drink and lost in thought.
"Must I ask grandma?" he mumbled, then shook his head after a while. "No, I can't even talk to her. She hates me."
'But mother... she's been dead for 20 years already, so it's impossible to ask the dead.'
"Did something happen? The others are looking for you." Alec, with a glass of alcohol in his hand, sat on the other end of the sofa.
Zane hesitates for a moment but this is his very best friend so he starts to open his mouth, fabricating a story of a friend's friend. "So, I have a friend and uhm... his friend consulted him for something but my friend asked me to help him give him advice."
Alec gives him a deadpan look. He sips on his glass, "Situation?"
"Ah, so my friend's friend has a broken family and all his life he only knows that he was an only child but one day, someone called claiming to be his twin and that twin wants him to go to him and meet him."
"Is that why you look so bothered?" Alec can only tolerate his obvious lie about a friend's friend thingy.
Zane nods his head rapidly and waits for Alec's response.
"It must be some sort of a scam, don't you think?"
"Hmm, I thought so too." Zane agrees.
"But?"
"But the person who claimed to be his twin mentions his other name which none but his mother only knew."
"You have another name?"
"Me? No. Not me! Are you even listening? It's my friend's friend's problem." He defended.
Alec chuckled. "Then tell your friend to tell his friend that the only thing to figure out whether it's true or not is to see it himself. Drink now, worry later."
The following day, Zane delved into his mother's belongings stored in the attic, searching for clues about his father and the elusive twin. After a moment of searching, a heart-shaped box caught his attention.
He immediately grabbed it. One can say that it's an old box because of the rust it has on the lid which made Zane take a long time to open. He sits with his leg crossed and puts the box on his lap and tries to open it. The box made a popping sound as it burst open spilling the papers that were in it.
It's a box full of pictures of a man and a woman. His mom, and the man must be his dad. He picks up the scattered images and looks at it one by one.
At the back of every photo, there are dates that have been hand written. Then his hand stops at the sight of two identical newborn babies. Zane's heart pounds louder and louder by the passing seconds, and he starts to sweat in anticipation.
"December 16, 19**," he reads. At the back below the dates are the names of the babies, Kaizane and Kaisen Ashworth.
Zane released his breath, not really aware that he was holding them. "So, I really have a brother. A twin. But why did mom never mention him?"
Recalling the voice message, Kaisen must have left a message on where they could meet so Zane checked his phone for messages. After a moment of scrolls because of the spam messages from his colleagues, he finally found the unregistered number of yesterday.
The location sent was New York. Zane raised his hand to his forehead and let out a sigh. That's 9 hours ride in airplane from Berlin and note that he hates riding planes. He doesn't like riding boats either, he preferred land among all.
After minutes of contemplating, the ringtone of his phone envelopes the room which pertain that someone is calling. It was Alec.
"Hangover?" Alec asks the moment Zane picks up the phone.
"None. Can you drive me to the company? I'll be gone for a while. I'm going somewhere." Zane puts his phone on a loudspeaker and throws it on the bed. He decided to go anyway. This is not first time he'll do something he hate anyway and he really want to meet his twin.
"Suddenly? Where to?" Alec asks, Zane can only imagine his brows furrowed.
"New York, I have to handle some family business."
"Family business huh." Alec already has an idea based on what they talked about last night at the party. "I'll be there in thirty, be sure to be ready or I will leave you behind." Then Alec hung up not having a chance for Zane to ask questions on why he called.
Zane shrugged and starts packing. Zane lived by himself when he turned 18 at his late mom's house. His grandma was in a separated house and they are not close so Zane can leave easily. He is as free as a bird. A bird that doesn't like flying, that is.
When Alec came, he helped Zane put his baggage in the car and drove him to the company which Zane asked for vacation leave. It took a moment to entirely convince the boss to approve his request thinking that there might be unexpected big racing when he's not around.
"Want me to accompany you?"
They are now driving towards the airport to catch his flight that Zane hurriedly prepared online. For a person that doesn't like riding planes, he's quick to buy ticket.
"No. I can't ask you for that. Besides Anneliese will be sad if you're not home." Anneliese was Alec's younger sister.
They share a few more exchanges before they arrive at the airport.
"I can manage from here on. Thank you, Alec." I gave him a reassuring smile to ease his worries.
"Call me when you arrive. Keep safe." Alec taps Zane's shoulder before turning around to leave.
Zane nodded. "You too."
Seeing Alec's disappearing back, Zane can only reminisce how long they've been friends. They have known each other since grade school, they're not friends back then, rather they're enemies as kids fighting for toys and friends. They have common friends which introduced them in racing which eventually made them closer. They share the same high school where Zane's first heat cycle happens in school. Thankfully it was Alec that found him and Alec is a beta so he's not affected by the heat pheromones. Zane, with no exact course that he wants to study, copies whatever course Alec applied.
The sudden announcement of his flight interrupted Zane's nostalgic reverie. He hastily gathered his belongings and hastened onto the plane. The flight from Berlin to New York was tiring for Zane and he is sleepy as hell but he refuses to take a blink. He is afraid that he might woke up in a ditch somewhere because the plane had crashed.
After the 9-hours flight that felt like forever for Zane had finally take off. As he stepped out of the airport, a gentle, warm breeze caressed his face, serving as a stark reminder that he was no longer in the chilly climate of his hometown.
Zane pulled out on his reverie and immediately hailed a taxi destined to go to TH hotel where Kaisen had sent him. It wasn't far from the airport and there is no traffic so they arrived almost immediately. When the taxi pulled over, he thanked the driver and pay for the fare, drag his luggage out of the car and went to the hotel's entrance.
It was a grand hotel and an expensive one at that. Zane was greeted by a staff member when he entered the hotel. Kaisen included a suite number and passcode in his message so he only asked the staff about the suite's floor number which she answered brightly.
Arriving at the door of the suite, Zane's chest was pounding loudly with anticipation. Although he already knew the passcode of the suite, he still rang the doorbell for courtesy and to announce his arrival. He waited for a couple of minutes before Zane decided to input the door passcode and welcome himself inside.
Upon entering the suite, he found it spotless and immaculate, but eerily empty. No one was inside. Disappointed, he throws himself to the sofa lying on his stomach. "Coming here and not even a shadow of him is in here." Zane mumbled.
When his body relaxed, he felt his eyelids grew heavy in each passing seconds. It won't hurt if he sleeps now, does it? Besides, the person he came for was not here at the moment, he must be outside for something and will be back later so it should be okay to sleep while waiting.
The sound of a phone ringing shattered the silence, jolting him awake. "Alec! Phone!"
Zane immediately lifted his head that was burrowed to the sofa in realization. Alec is not here but in Germany and he's in New York. When he was in Germany, he often sleeps in Alec's house and it became his habit to let Alec answer his phone calls when he's sleeping.
Zane left out a grunt as he lazily rose up to search for the phone that's been ringing nonstop. It would stop from time to time but will start to ring again.
Zane searched and searched, almost overturning the whole suite because of a goddamn phone. After a long noisy and frustrating search, he found the phone under the sofa. Ha! Zane was astonished that searching a phone could drain the energy out of him.
The phone was silent when he picked it up. When he turns it on, a photo of a fluffy white cat was on display and 27 missed calls and 156 messages. This seems to be his twin's but why would it leave it here?
The phone rang once more. The registered caller was Ms. Jang. Zane contemplated whether he answer or not since it's not his phone anyway. But at the end, he slides the screen to answer the call.
Zane speaks. "Hello?"
"You finally answered! My god! Goodness gracious! You... I have been calling you so many times already! Where are you? Do you know how worried I am going to your hospital room and found no one? My heart almost explodes! Explodes, Kai, explodes! Gosh! I might pass away earlier than expected!"
Zane only winced by the loud voice coming from the other line. Is she some sort of Kaisen's aunt? Or guardian?'
"If you're feeling fine now, come home to your suite. I am helping you pack your things. I'm already at the hotel, I'll wait outside your suite. Come fast!" Then the call ended.
"Was he in a hospital when he contacted me? And I wasn't even given a chance to tell him that I am not Kaisen but his twin." Zane mumbled as he stares at the black screen of the phone.
After a while, a message popped. 'I am outside your suite. Know that I am not leaving without not seeing you here.'
Zane released a sigh and went to the door. He opened up the door and a woman in her 40's was standing with her eyes on his phone. The woman immediately raises his gaze when Zane opens the door.
"Do you know the word message? Huh! You should have sent me a message on whether you're still alive. It won't hurt to send one or two!" The woman lectured as she barged herself in, a small suitcase in one hand. "Oh, you packed already? Thought it would take you a very long convincing to pack. Is that all? Then we should go now."
"Go where?" is the only thing Zane was able to ask.
"What where? Of course, to your husband's house. Today is the day you move in with him."