The Triplet Alphas' Forbidden Temptation

His eyes were dark, almost like an endless abyss, and Yuki found herself unable to look away. There was something unsettling about the intensity in them, something she had never seen when they were younger.

Her heartbeat quickened as the realisation slowly settled in. This was not the annoying little sidekick she had known all her life. Terence had grown up, and standing this close to him, she was suddenly seeing that for the first time.

She swallowed and tightened her fingers around the handle of her walking stick. "I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about," she insisted, trying to keep her voice steady.

A deep laugh rumbled from Terence’s throat. It was nothing like his usual playful laugh, and the sound sent a shiver down her spine. Yuki instinctively straightened against the wall as she studied him again.

She had been so used to thinking of him as the boy who followed her around that she had never really stopped to notice the man he had become. His curly brown hair clearly came from Lydia, while his deep eyes and strong features made him look more striking than she remembered. His mother’s face softened the resemblance to his father, but there was no mistaking the warrior’s physique he had inherited from him.

His shoulders were broad, his frame was solid, and he was much taller than the boy she remembered chasing after her.

Yuki quickly looked away when she realised she had been staring. Her nails dug into her palm as embarrassment crept up her neck. This was Terry. She had practically grown up with him. He was the last person she should be standing here and noticing in that way.

"Are we really going to play this game?" Terence asked, his voice carrying a faint edge of amusement.

Yuki frowned. "What game?" she asked.

"Don’t fucking do this to me. You know what I am talking about," he hissed.

"I really don’t." She forced a small laugh and tilted her head. "Terry, you’re being ridiculous. Just snap out of it."

Whatever amusement had been in his face disappeared. His jaw tightened as he looked at her. "Stop brushing me off, Yuki," he said quietly.

She shifted her weight against the wall. "I’m not brushing you off. I genuinely don’t understand what you’re trying to say."

"You do," he insisted, his expression growing darker the more confused she seemed.

"I don’t," she retorted.

His eyes remained fixed on hers. "I’m not the teenager you knew anymore," he argued.

Yuki’s brows lifted, and she felt another flutter of unease in her stomach. "Terry, I know you’ve grown up, but that doesn’t explain why you’re acting like this."

"What is so special about him?" he asked, his voice becoming sharper as he ignored her confusion.

Yuki blinked. "Who?" she blurted.

"The man you were actually drawing. The one who inspired every damn sketch." Her heart skipped at the name. Terence’s jaw tightened. "What is so great about him? Apart from being a Ravencourt and, I suppose, not exactly difficult to look at."

Yuki’s stomach churned. There was something behind his words that made her uncomfortable, something she didn’t want to identify. She tightened her grip on her walking stick and shifted it beneath her palm. "Why are you asking me this?" she whispered, her eyes searching for answers on his face.

"Because I want to know," Terry stated.

Her brows furrowed because he wasn’t making any sense. Why was he so keen on Kieran?

"Why are you so hung up on someone who probably wouldn’t even notice you?" Terence asked, his voice carrying a bitterness she had never heard from him before.

Yuki stared at him in disbelief. "Why does it matter to you, Terry? It’s my life, not yours. You don’t get to decide who I like," she defended herself.

His nostrils flared, and a growl vibrated in his chest.

"Stop this," she continued, frustration replacing some of the fear creeping through her. "You’re acting completely insane. What is wrong with you?"

A humourless laugh left his mouth. "What is wrong with me?" he repeated, his eyes narrowing. "Do you really want me to spell it out?"

"Yes," Yuki snapped before she could stop herself. "Because I genuinely have no idea what is going through your head."

Terence’s gaze dropped briefly to the walking stick in her hand before returning to her face. "It’s because of your hobby and precious sketchbook?" he hissed.

Yuki’s stomach dropped, remembering how much he had been bringing it up earlier.

"What about it?" she asked, her fingers tightening around the walking stick.

"It’s every single page, Yuki," Terence said, his voice quieter.

Yuki swallowed, unease settling in her stomach. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop acting like you don’t know. You know exactly what is in those pages," he stated, his eyes fixed on hers.

She shook her head, confusion flooding her face.

"He was the only one in it," Terry said in a low tone.

Her lips parted, but no words came.

"Page after page, it was him," Terence continued, his voice carrying a trace of hurt. "You drew him so often that sometimes I wondered if you even realised you were doing it."

Yuki’s gaze dropped. "You’re exaggerating," she murmured.

Terence’s expression tightened. "Then tell me when you last drew something that wasn’t him."

Yuki opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Terence noticed the hesitation.

"You don’t remember, do you?" he chuckled in disbelief.

"I had other sketches," she argued, though even she could hear the weakness in her voice.

"Of the house. The garden. Random things you saw before you went to Xyrus University." He gave a small scoff. "Now, whenever you actually sat down and started drawing someone, it was him."

Yuki looked away. "Since you met him, he was the only person you seemed to notice. You’d sit there with your sketchbook, and before you even realised what you were doing, you’d be drawing him. Sometimes you’d be talking to me while your pencil was moving across the page." Yuki’s fingers tightened around the handle. "You even did it without thinking."

"You are making a big deal out of nothing. They are just sketches."

The answer came so quickly that she looked back at him. His expression had changed again. The anger was still there, but beneath it was something that made her chest tighten.

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