A Sunday afternoon nap is the best way to kill boredom, so Hannah falls asleep on the bed. Hannah does not intend to wait any longer for Joseph, who promised her he would stop by and even stay the night when he returned to New York.
The brunette is plunged into a delicious sleep and doesn't even hear when he crosses the bedroom threshold and smiles devilishly as an idea for an unusual way to wake up his girlfriend runs through his head.
From his pocket he pulls out a fairly large spider, powered by batteries, then turns it on and places it on the brunette's cleavage. With amusement in his eyes, he watches — as the gift he prepared for her — moves across her body.
Hannah is tickled, so she touches the artificial spider with her fingers and opens her eyes wide as she senses the disturbing shape. The horror on her face is so great that in an act of panic she throws off the toy and starts screaming like a man possessed.
— Why are you doing this to me? — she asks in a pained voice when she notices Joseph standing at the door. She feels like crying when she imagines that a similar situation could happen with a real spider. She shudders at the thought of it. — I'm sure I'll die because of you in the future. Why can't you be like other boys and wake me up with a kiss on the lips? You are a beast.
The girl looks at his amused face.
— The worst beast knows a little mercy. I'm not a beast, so I don't know it.
He throws himself on the mattress and grabs Hannah, squeezing her so tightly that at first the girl can't catch her breath.
When he stops greeting her through torture, he lies down on her back, putting his arm around her. The girl keeps her head on his stomach, staring at the ceiling.
— Why did you buy me a spider instead of flowers?
— Can you imagine me with a bouquet of roses? A real guy gives his girlfriend spiders as a gift — he says with amusement in his voice.
— A real guy is not afraid to give flowers to his beloved. Boys, on the other hand, toss spiders to their girlfriends.
Joseph is offended by her words.
— Only guys who have something behind them buy their women flowers, which are to be thrown away the next day anyway.
— Why do you only see the dark side? Add more pink to your life.
— You and your "Hello Kitty" are poisoning me enough with an excess of pink. Seriously… when will you finally grow out of it?
The boy is unequivocally crooked.
— You like the color black, and I'm not picking on that. So get away from pink and my kitty.
— Your cat? So I'm not your kitty?
Hannah bursts into artificial laughter.
— You are the tarantula that has been poisoning my life with its venom for seven years.
His attack is unexpected, so the girl starts laughing as he playfully bites her ear. He leans on his elbow, then pinches her chin with his fingers. He squints his eyes and looks closely at her face for a long moment.
— You are hiding something from me...
— What! — Hannah is confused that he sensed it so easily. — What are you talking about?
— Remember that you will not hide anything from me, and I know you well enough that even your voice will betray you.
The girl swallows her saliva nervously and, despite everything, decides to keep the information about meeting her childhood friend to herself. She realizes that revealing the truth to Joseph about how she spent Saturday afternoon is not the best idea.
She knows what a jealous person he can be. He's getting worse by the day.
— What would I supposedly hide from you?
— Do you think I will believe you that you spent the whole day shopping? Even more so without company?
— I was with Mariah and Bella....
— But for a short time — she interjects, and Hannah mercifully blinks her eyelids. — You'd better tell the truth if you don't want our trust to slide below zero.
— Bella turned me in, didn't she? She wants to suck up to you at all costs!
— So you admit it after all — he claims, tickling her chin. Hannah is angry that she fell for his trick again. — I think we're both starting to lose trust in each other. Not good. — Joseph shakes his head, letting her know that this does not bode well. — You've been hiding more and more from me lately.
— And how can I tell you everything when you immediately explode with anger?
— Have you spent time with Jin? I'm not stupid. I see you've been getting along great with him lately. — The girl crinkles her eyebrows. — I preferred it when he had secrets from you.
— Are you jealous of your friend?
— You can't trust other guys a hundred percent, even your best friend.
Hannah sighs with resignation. She won't win with him. She doesn't want Joseph to resent Jin for secretly spending time with her when that's not true.
— It wasn't Jin who accompanied me. I met a friend who came back from abroad — she says quietly, running her eyes to the side. She does not dare to look him in the eye.
— A childhood friend? Charmingly. — His voice is too soft, and it's already clear that hell awaits both her and Taylor. He won't give her peace until she gets to know him and judge him in her own way, and will probably find some reason to denigrate him in her eyes.
He will never change.
*
Hannah tries to snatch a packet of onion chips from her boyfriend, so he finally viciously lets her go, and the entire contents spill out on her. Joseph pulls the chips from her cleavage, and his facial expression shows that he enjoys this more than eating them out of the packet.
She glares at him, for a moment regretting that she loved such a mean guy.
With her arms crossed over her chest, she stares at the TV, pretending to be interested in the sadistic movie he has chosen this evening. The horrible torture and the amount of blood spilled keep a smile on his face at all times. Hannah sometimes wonders if he doesn't have the genes of a sadist.
Who knows who his biological parents are?
She ignores the teasing taunts of the boy, who continues to take revenge on her for not telling him right away that she spent time with an old friend.
The girl takes the phone in her hand when she notices that she has received a message. Surprised that it is a text message from an unknown number, she immediately reads it. She gets strangely hot and is overcome with anxiety.
Joseph notices that something is wrong and wordlessly snatches the cell phone from her hand.
— She seems quite a sweet person — he announces. He raises an eyebrow, surprised by the vulgarity Danielle used towards her sister. — Apparently she didn't miss you, since she indicated in the message that she would pull out all your hair.
— This is not funny. I told you about her. You know how unpredictable she is. I won't be surprised at all if she does it, but I don't understand... what does she mean? Does she still resent me for what happened seven years ago?
The girl looks at him with a concerned gaze, unable to find any reason for her sister's recent anger.
— Come on. You won't think about it now. Just let her put her little finger on you, and I'll make her hair a bonfire. I'll burn her brain, and at least her neurons will be renewed. — Hannah curls her lips in a slight smile. — I have no intention of looking at your worried face, so delete this message and just oil her. Apparently, you both have head problems.
— With my head, everything is fine. I only had a temporary disturbance. I am not a worry for society, but my sister is — she explains hastily, feeling offended that he still thinks mental illness is a threat to her. — If, according to you, I have something wrong with my head, why are you still with me?
Joseph embraces the girl and rests her head against his chest. He lifts the corners of his mouth upward.
— Don't be angry, baby. I just like crazy women. Apparently, men choose wives who resemble their mothers. — He shrugs his shoulders.
Hannah tilts her head to look at his face.
— You're just as recalcitrant as my sister, so please... after all, don't think about setting her hair on fire.
— I already told you once that I am not fond of people who are similar to me in character. It's better that Danielle doesn't stand in my way because I'll be happy to find another victim. Your sister will be perfect, since she looks like you. I'll be able to reminisce about the old days.
— Joseph! — The girl pretends to be indignant, yet she struggles to suppress her laughter. — I can't allow my sister to become your rival. There is a very thin barrier from hatred to love.
— Really? Do you mean us? And all this time I thought I was sleeping with the enemy.
Hannah tightens her lips and angrily punches him in the arm.
— From love to hate is definitely a shorter way, so be careful — she warns him with her finger. — I have many admirers who can replace you.
— You signed a contract with the devil, so you will stay in hell for all eternity already. You will not escape from me.
The girl laughs throatily as their fooling around leads Joseph to fall off the couch. He leans with his hands on the floor, and Hannah triumphantly pats him on the butt.
He manages to make the girl stop thinking about something that is troubling her rather quickly. And now she also erases the strange text message from her sister from her memory, focusing her thoughts solely on the boy she loves.
She still can't believe that she has been in a relationship with him for more than three years, and more importantly, that she is happy. For the moment, she can't imagine life without him, despite his strange moods, which she has also managed to get used to.
And who would have thought that this dark devil would turn out to be a great guy who can do anything for her? Hannah doesn't have to worry about anything. She knows that Joseph will always stand up for her. He will protect her, even if the sky is falling. And it will be better if Danielle decides to stay away from her because she will be able to see firsthand how cruel a man Joseph Scott can be, especially when he is trying to protect someone he cares about.
*
The temperature is hinting at thirty-five degrees when Hannah emerges from the company and takes a moment to observe the people fanning themselves in the sweltering heat. Everyone looks tired of the oppressive weather, and she is the only one who is happy because she has been warm enough for several days. She gets the impression that others are looking at her as if she were an alien, as she is dressed in a long-sleeved shirt.
The girl heads to the parking lot. She takes out a remote control from her purse, with which she intends to unlock the car, but then someone grabs her arm and forcibly turns her in his direction. The brunette opens her eyes wide when she notices her twin in front of her.
The redhead smiles cynically, making balloons out of chewing gum.
— You look like a good girl from a rich house. It's clear you're living happily ever after, sis.
Hannah is horrified. Seeing Danielle, who has been pretending to be dead for many years, is quite harrowing, and only now she can believe that Jin's stories are not lies and her memories are no illusion.
She is alive and now standing in front of her, glaring at her with his arrogant smile.
— What did you mean when you wrote that you would pull out all my hair? — asks Hannah in a stifled voice, measuring her from the bottom up. She is shocked at how daringly Danielle is dressed. The short top barely covers her bra, and the high-waisted skirt is so tight that it's wonderful she can move in it at all.
She combed her fiery red hair with her hand, while resting the other against the hood of her car.
— There are many reasons why I should teach you a lesson. One: I still can't forgive you for wanting to betray me, while I trusted you with my plan. Second: you took advantage of the whole situation and befriended Jin, when now I am the worst one in his eyes.
— Are you surprised? He calls you a monster for a reason.
Danielle grabs her sister by the hair and pushes her into the car. She, in turn, sits behind the wheel.
— What are you doing? This is my car!
— What runs in the family doesn't die, and sit tight if you don't want to go bald after meeting me. I'm trying to control my nerves, but if you're such an annoying panicked, I'll dump your ass somewhere in the middle of the road.
There are many guys who are attracted to naughty girls, and Danielle is definitely one hundred percent a disobedient, arrogant person who pulls trouble on herself at every turn.
Hannah looks horrified as she watches her spanking tricks on the street. The brunette clings tightly to the handle above the door, feeling her heart go up to her throat.
Danielle is an even worse devil than Joseph.
— Can you at least tell me where we are going? I met you after seven years, when all this time I thought you were dead, and you drag me by the hair into the car and without a word decide to drive somewhere?
The redhead corrects the rearview mirror, then breaks sharply when she spots a red light at the last moment.
— I took you with me to finally interrupt this ordinary, orderly life of yours. I don't like the fact that you have no worries. How would you say it? I feel bad about the idea that you are happy, while I am constantly overcoming some obstacles.
— After all, you chose this life for yourself! Why should I suffer through it? I've overcome enough hardships over the past seven years anyway, and it's because of you!
The redhead glances at her from the corner of her eye and smiles cynically.
— Twins are like two halves of a whole, right? Don't you think you should be by my side and help me get out of this shit? I guarantee you that with me, you will have a wonderful time, and you will finally stop being a whiny ninny who is afraid of everything. You will gain confidence and stop hiding behind guys' backs. They don't like fragile creatures like you. They prefer strong women who can take care of themselves. I'm sure your lover has had enough of your girlish, virtuous nature. Show him that you are a woman, not a girl who loves the color pink.
At one point, Hannah's thoughts stop around the sentence Joseph said to her in jest. What if in his eyes she is actually childish? There's a reason he keeps talking about her love for Hello Kitty. Maybe he's actually sick of it?
The brunette pulls her phone out of her purse, intending to take a call from Joseph, but her sister warns her and snatches the device from her hand, tossing it into the back of the car.
— What are you doing?
— Stop being a sheep who takes every call from a lover. — Danielle clasps her hands on the steering wheel, driving her sharp gaze into the street in front of her. — This way, you will never become an independent woman.
Danielle is sure that she will destroy Hannah's well-ordered life. As a last resort, her sister will be left with nothing, sitting by her side with her tail tucked.