1 I'sm Sorry

Lyra unconsciously stood up from her seat by the vanity table when she recognized the man at her doorway.

He didn't say a word nor move a muscle, only looked at her.

When their eyes met, Lyra tried to pull away, but found herself locked under the domineering pressure of his gaze.

At that moment, the whole world seemed to stop. The anxious voice of her sister echoed into the background as she slowly moved the phone away.

He was supposed to be sleeping in the living room, not standing in front of her. Yet here he was, in the middle of her room, wearing a half-buttoned shirt that was still wrinkled from his earlier nap on the couch.

She dared to hope he didn't hear anything, but the expression on his face said everything.

Lyra took a step forward. "Kurtis, let me explain-"

"Stay where you are!" The thunder in his voice shook the entire room and Lyra accidentally let the phone slip from her fingers.

"Who are you even?"

His eyes were cold, completely void of the warmth she was so accustomed to seeing.

Lyra went stiff for a moment before gathering the courage to say what she wanted to say from the very moment she stepped foot onto his island, before living in his villa, before getting to know him, and before falling in love with him.

"I'm Angela's…twin sister, Lyra."

How she wanted to tell him so many times, but when she finally did, she wished with all her heart that she didn't.

But it didn't matter. The man in front of her already knew. He asked, because he was counting on a very last miracle that he was wrong.

Kurtis's stern gaze once again fell on the girl who looked so familiar with her petite face and big brown eyes. This time however, he didn't expect to notice how her lashes were just a little longer, how the angle of her small nose sloped a thread line more upward, and how her lips curved a little more rounder.

Those things were there all along, he just didn't see it. He didn't want to.

"Why couldn't you just have lied one more time?" he asked, covering his eyes with his hand. Even though it was subtle, Lyra could see that he was shivering like an injured animal, resembling nothing like the man who stood like a lion just seconds before.

Lyra couldn't stop her own tears from rolling down. "I'm so sorry," was all she managed to whisper.

In a split second, all the grief Kurtis felt switched over to anger.

"Sorry? Sorry for what? Playing with my heart?" he barked, unable to control his volume or his temper. "Sorry for teaming with your sister to lie to me?"

"I didn't originally team up with my sister. I never planned to hurt you."

Kurtis's eyes were red with fury. The feeling of being played by the very person who meant the world to him rendered him a broken man. But seeing the stranger in front of him apologize like that pushed him off the edge to a whole new side of anger.

There was a boiling feeling stirring inside him, threatening to pour out. His clenched fists began to shake uncontrollably and he could sense the imminent danger if they stay any longer in the same room.

Focusing all his discipline, he managed to force his body to take the first step towards the door. The anger was still rampant, but he knew he would be able to suppress it until he gets out.

Kurtis never felt so much anger in his life and not know how to handle it. He knew he had to release the pent up energy one way or another and when he does, Lyra should NOT be anywhere close to him.

But just steps away from ensuring her safety, all self restraint broke loose when he felt the warmth of her body press against his back in a sudden embrace.

"I should've never pretended to be her. I should've never travelled to this island," Lyra said, holding onto his shirt tighter because her arms couldn't wrap all the way around him. "I'm sorry I'm not more like my sister…I'm sorry it's me instead of Angela here with you…I-"

Kurtis heard enough.

Turning around, he grabbed her wrists and pulled them over her head before slamming her against the wall, using his own body as a barricade.

She wasn't scared by his force, just surprised. This reaction only fueled his desire to ruin her. Only that way would she begin to understand the pain and confusion she was causing him.

"You like pretending to be Angela?" Lyra suddenly felt the weight of his body press against hers and looked up. "Since she's not here, you might as well continue pretending," he said in an icy voice, with equally cold eyes.

Before Lyra could register anything, Kurtis yanked her arm and pushed her down onto the white sheets of the bed. Seconds later, his body hovered over hers, sealing off all means of escape. With one swift movement of the hand, he popped open the top three buttons of her blue sun dress, exposing her bare chest.

Lyra didn't struggle, because she was scared paralyzed by the savage look in his eyes. Confusion and anger bred a dangerous wildness that could transform even the nicest of men into wild beasts.

She knew that. She also knew it wasn't Kurtis on top of her, it was a beast.

And there was no way she could win against one, so she shut her eyes as tight as she could and pressed her cheek against the soft cotton as far away as she could stretch.

[It will be over soon], she told herself as she balled her hands into tiny fists.

[Don't cry] she kept on repeating to herself.