As Ugly as Sin

Evangeline instantly grasped the gravity of her mistake. The imposing figure standing before her in the shadows had to be Dominic, the eldest Vane son. She had blindly wandered into the wrong bedroom in the dark.

Before she could find her voice, the man spoke again, his tone cold and steeped in unyielding authority. "Open your eyes and see whose room this is."

Startled, Evangeline blinked against the heavy shadows. The faint silver moonlight spilling through the large windows revealed a starkly different layout from the guest room she had claimed earlier. The minimalist furniture, the darker walls, the exceptionally firm mattress beneath her—she really had invaded someone else's space. The lingering fog of sleep vanished in an instant. Panic flared in her chest.

She scrambled off the massive bed, clutching the thin fabric of her nightgown as her bare feet hit the cold hardwood floor. She hastily stammered out an awkward apology. "Uh, I'm sorry. I got into the wrong room. I didn't mean it."

Dominic did not move an inch. He simply stared down at her, his voice a deep, uncompromising, and chilling rumble in the dark. "Get out."

Thoroughly embarrassed, Evangeline did not need to be told twice. She darted past him and fled the room as fast as her legs could carry her, the heat rushing straight to her cheeks as she navigated the pitch-black hallway.

The very next morning, Evangeline walked downstairs fully re-disguised. She had spent extra time in front of the mirror ensuring her charcoal-shaded foundation was uneven and the ugly clusters of fake moles were securely glued in place. Just as she reached the bottom of the landing, she heard Finley laughing uproariously in the dining room.

"That woman is ugly, Dominic," Finley taunted gleefully, leaning back in his chair. "I heard from the servants that she entered your room last night. She didn't scare the hell out of you, did she?"

Evangeline frowned at the remark, pausing in the archway. Her rough guess from the night before was correct. The man in the dark was Dominic.

Sitting at the head of the long dining table, Dominic remained silent. He stared down at his black coffee, his mind vaguely recalling the strange encounter in the dark. He remembered the flawless, fair skin and the delicate silhouette of the woman standing before him, her hair hanging down loosely over her shoulders. But as he looked up and watched Evangeline descend the stairs, logic overrode his brief memory. Her skin was the shade of burnt charcoal, her face heavily marred by those hideous moles. He pursed his lips. The shadows of the unlit room had merely deceived his eyes. There was no other rational explanation.

Looking impeccably perfect and untouchable in his tailored black suit, Dominic stood up. His features were sharp, carved with an awe-inspiring precision that radiated pure power. "I'm off to my office," he announced in a husky drawl. He turned on his heel and departed the manor without sparing Evangeline a single additional glance.

The moment the heavy front door clicked shut, Finley turned his hostile sights back onto her. He pointed his silver fork in her direction. "No wonder you acted so ordinary in front of the four of us yesterday. Turns out you were just putting on a front to hit on Dominic! Tsk, tsk. I didn't expect you to be such a hard one to read, Evangeline."

Evangeline ignored his wild, unfounded assumptions. All she did was walk into the wrong room while half-asleep. Instead of justifying herself to a teenager, she quietly pulled out a chair, sat down, and began eating her breakfast.

Her infuriating indifference drove Finley up the wall. Exasperated by her silence, he marched over and slammed his hands on the polished mahogany table. "I'm telling you right now, Evangeline, Dominic will never like you. He already has someone he likes, so you had better stop dreaming." He let out a mocking sneer, leaning closer to invade her personal space. "Why don't you try hitting on me instead? If you please me enough, I might graciously allow you to stay a few days longer in the Vane Manor."

Evangeline stopped chewing. She turned her head and shot him a look of pure, unadulterated disgust. "You?" she stated flatly. "You're still a boy."

Finley was the youngest in the family, currently eighteen years old, while Evangeline was already nineteen.

Enraged at being so casually spurned by someone he considered far beneath him, Finley erupted. His face flushed bright red. "How dare you spurn me? Don't you ever fall in love with me, I'm warning you! I'll kill myself right away if you ever choose to get engaged to me!"

Sitting quietly beside them, Lucian silently observed the chaotic exchange. He watched Evangeline intently. Despite her atrocious countryside appearance and the ridiculous charcoal makeup, he could not help but notice the way she handled her cutlery. She sliced her food and ate her breakfast with the effortless, refined grace of a wealthy, aristocratic heiress. It was a jarring contrast. Lucian remained deeply conflicted, wondering if his own eyes were playing tricks on him.

Following their Grandpa Jeremiah's strict arrangements, Evangeline had been publicly registered as an eighteen-year-old high school senior. This conveniently placed her in the exact same grade as Finley.

After breakfast, Finley grabbed his backpack and aggressively barked at her. "Don't tell anyone that we know each other when we get to school, you freak!"

Evangeline threw him another disdainful glance before walking out the front doors. She bypassed the family chauffeur and climbed directly into Lucian's luxury car.

Settling into the plush leather passenger seat, she looked over at Lucian, confused by the sudden logistics. "Why couldn't the chauffeur just take Finley and me together? We go to the exact same school."

Lucian started the engine and let out a helpless sigh, pulling the luxury car away from the sprawling estate. "Grandpa explicitly wants us to bond with you. So, the five of us are forced to take turns ferrying you to and from school from Monday to Friday, and we have to spend dedicated time with you on weekends. Today was supposed to be Dominic's turn, but because he had a morning meeting, I took his place."

Hearing this detailed schedule, Evangeline leaned back against the headrest. The heavy clarity settled over her. The five Vane siblings were deeply, fiercely unwilling to participate in this forced engagement, yet they were bound by their grandfather's ironclad rules.

She turned her gaze toward the window, watching the lavish iron gates of the Vane Manor disappear behind them in the rearview mirror. She mused silently to herself.

It's not like I'm willing either.