I found a pair of male incubus twins at the black market, but because I was short on cash, I could only afford to buy one. So, I chose the younger brother, the one with the better physique. But he didn't like me. He wouldn't cooperate in bed, constantly ran away, and would sneak back to the black market to complain to his twin brother: "I don't want to stay with that woman at all. She's ugly and broke. I'm only going to suffer if I stay with her." His older brother sat in the center of an iron cage, the heavy chain around his neck rubbing his skin raw. Listening to his brother's complaints, he gently chided him: "Don't say that. The lady who bought you is very kind. Since she bought you, she definitely won't treat you poorly. Hurry back now, don't make her worry." I stood quietly by the door, listening. Suddenly, my eyes met his gentle gaze, and my heart skipped a beat. Later, I sold my house and bought the older brother, too. With nowhere else to go, I took the two incubi and moved into a basement apartment. Because there was only one bedroom, the older brother voluntarily grabbed a blanket and headed for the storage closet: "Master, I can sleep in here. I was only bought because of my younger brother, anyway." I frowned, stopped him, and after a moment of hesitation, pulled out a contract from a drawer. I looked at the brother who didn't like me and handed it to him: "It's too cramped in here. Why don't you leave? This way, you won't have to suffer with me anymore." The man was stunned. He stood frozen, his eyes slowly turning red: "You... you only want my brother, and you don't want me anymore?" 1 The incubus I was keeping was acting up again. He bit me. When I got up to wash my face this morning, I noticed the bite mark on my neck had turned a stark, bruised purple. It hurt just to touch it. I tried to tell myself not to care, that it would heal in a few days. But stepping into the bathroom and looking at my painfully average, ordinary face in the mirror, I couldn't help but tear up. Kaelen despised me. He despised everything about me. My looks, my voice. He even absolutely loathed the old, rundown house I lived in. We had a huge fight last night. He lost his mind and spat the truth at me during the argument. "Evelyn, you were the one who insisted on draining your savings to buy me! I didn't volunteer to come with you. If I had a choice, I would never acknowledge you as my master, nor would I squeeze into this godforsaken dump with you!" "You've been with me for a year. Up until now, do you really not feel even a little bit of affection for me?" I pressed, unwilling to give up. "No. Not a single bit." At the time, the man was tied to the headboard, completely immobilized. Yet his eyes remained sharp, his answer resolute. The last sliver of hope in my heart completely shattered. I splashed some water on my face, took a deep breath, and wiped away the tears threatening to fall. Then, I grabbed my foundation from the counter, pumped out a tiny drop, and carefully concealed the mark on my neck. 2 Kaelen was still tied up in the bedroom. Before heading to work, I planned to untie him. I pushed the door open. The man was quietly huddled on the rug, his head lowered, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. He was probably pretending to be asleep. I walked closer, crouched down, and began untying the slipknot around his wrists. "Kaelen." I called him softly. The man refused to acknowledge me, keeping his eyes tightly shut. "I have to go to work. I'll untie you, but can you promise me you'll stay home and wait for me to get back?" "Heh. If you don't want to untie me, just say so." Kaelen finally opened his eyes, looking incredibly impatient. I smiled helplessly and released the ropes immediately. The man seemed to be caught off guard. His striking, peach-blossom eyes stared blankly at me. "You really untied me? I didn't even promise to stay home and wait." He used to run away all the time. But since I held his contract, he couldn't run far. I only tied him up because I got sick of scouring the city to find him every time. I nodded, exhausted, and compromised: "Yeah. Just remember to take your house keys." 3 I bought Kaelen at the black market last winter. There wasn't any special reason. I just thought he was gorgeous. Tall, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted—he had a great body. At the time, I had actually also noticed his older brother, Kaelen. They were twins, looking almost identical. The only difference was that Kaelen was completely healthy, while Kaeden had a slight limp in his left leg. But my entire life savings was only enough to choose one. I figured if I was buying an incubus to stay with me forever, I shouldn't cheap out. So, I bought the most expensive one. But a year passed, and my mundane, quiet life didn't become any happier. Instead, it brought me a mountain of stress. Looking back, I was full of regret. If I had chosen Kaeden instead, would things have been different? But that shady shop had a strict "no returns, no exchanges" policy. I sat at my cubicle, zoning out for a long time, before pulling out my phone to check my bank balance. I only had a few thousand dollars left. Whatever. Better not to think about it. 4 "Evelyn, the boss is treating us to dinner tonight. You coming?" Right before quitting time, my coworker Sarah walked over and patted my shoulder. I shook my head. She let out a delayed "Oh!" and smiled teasingly: "I forgot, you have a handsome little househusband waiting for you! He's probably already got dinner ready, huh?" Kaelen cooking for me? It was a miracle if he didn't tear my house down. I gave a bitter smile. Just as I was about to explain, Sarah looked highly motivated again: "That's so nice! I have so much motivation to make money now. I'm totally going to buy a gorgeous guy to wait on me in the future." I didn't know what else to say, so I just offered a warning: "When you do buy one, make sure you go to a licensed, legitimate shop with a return policy. Whatever you do, do not go to the black market." "Got it! Duly noted!" Usually, I was the first one out the door when work ended. But today, thirty minutes past quitting time, I was still dawdling at my desk, organizing my things. I kept checking my phone, opening the security cameras in my house to take a look. Sure enough, Kaelen was gone again. I was so annoyed I decided not to rush home. I walked down the street, turned down a few alleys, and wandered. Without realizing it, I had found my way back to the black market. 5 This place was a chaotic mix of the worst kind of people. Dirty and lawless. Beastmen merchants were everywhere. Some sickly ones were locked in tiny iron cages by the side of the road, the antlers on their heads half-sawn off, looking incredibly pitiful. "Hey, hey, miss! Care to take a look? A rare male elk beastman, name your price and he's yours!" I only glanced twice before a burly merchant called out to me. Unfortunately, I was dead broke. I couldn't help even if I wanted to, so I quickened my pace and walked deeper into the market. Following my memory, I found that shady shop from last year. It was still open for business. The boss was dozing off in a chair by the front door. I walked in, but he didn't wake up. So, I slowed my steps and quietly sneaked around to the backyard. As soon as I stepped in, I heard a familiar male voice: "Brother, has anyone tried to buy you these past few days?" It was Kaelen's voice. So, he was sneaking out to see his brother. 6 I stopped moving and stood behind the door, continuing to listen to their conversation: "A customer came last week and looked at me twice, but ultimately didn't pay. I'm disabled. No one wants me." "Brother, if you hadn't tried to save me when we were kids, the traffickers wouldn't have broken your leg. It was my fault for being greedy and running off to play. I dragged you down." "Brother, I'm so sorry." "It's okay, Kaelen. It wasn't your fault." Kaeden was locked in a large iron cage, a heavy iron collar around his neck. He gripped the iron bars with both hands. Even though the collar was choking him, making it hard to breathe, he still comforted Kaelen with a gentle smile. "I've never blamed you. I only want you to live well. You're free now, you're not a commodity in the black market anymore. Forget about all the unhappy things from the past." Kaelen squatted outside the cage, resting his arms on his knees, and let out an angry huff: "I'm not exactly free. That woman who bought me is terrified I'll run away, so she keeps me on a tight leash." Hearing the young man mention me. I slowly clenched my fists, my heart beating uncontrollably faster. "She's really annoying. I'd rather stay here than be bought by her." Kaelen frowned as he spoke: "She's ugly, and she's broke. The clothes she buys me are cheap knockoffs, they're so uncomfortable." "It's only been a year, and I can't even imagine spending the rest of my life with her. My life is going to be so miserable..." Before he could finish, Kaeden interrupted: "It won't be. It's normal for things to be tight in the beginning. The lady who bought you looked like a kind person. She definitely won't treat you poorly in the future." "Kind? What's kind about her? She ties me up every day! Look at this, I still have rope burns on my wrists." Kaelen rolled up his sleeves, pointing at the two faint red circles on his wrists. "I've really had enough. You have no idea what my life is like. If I could, I'd want us to switch places. You can go deal with that ugly woman." "She's your master. It's her right to discipline you. And she's not ugly. Stop talking nonsense." "I'm just telling the truth. Who's talking nonsense?" 7 Those words were like knives. They entered through my ears but slashed my throat. Making my throat swell and burn with acid. I couldn't bear to listen anymore and was about to leave. My foot kicked an empty soda can, making a loud clatter. Drawing the attention of the two men inside. Kaeden looked at me first. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he gave me a gentle, obedient smile. Kaelen, on the other hand, looked awful. He stood up, looking a bit embarrassed: "You... why are you here?" I tried my hardest to look calm: "I came to take you home." But before he could respond, I quickly turned and fled the backyard. 8 "Hey, Evelyn!" Kaelen jogged after me and grabbed the hem of my shirt. "Why are you walking so fast?" I ignored him, pried his fingers off my shirt, and kept walking. But my mind was entirely consumed by Kaeden's friendly, gentle smile from just moments ago. Turns out he and Kaelen were actually a bit different. He had a tiny teardrop mole under his left eye. When he smiled, the mole would subtly shift upward. "Were you standing there the whole time?" "Did you hear everything my brother and I said?" Kaeden's leg wasn't a birth defect. He was crippled because he tried to save his younger brother. How pitiful. Much more pitiful than Kaelen. "Hey, I'm asking you a question! Why are you playing deaf?" The man's voice suddenly rose behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I couldn't help but frown: "I heard you. I heard everything." Kaelen's breath hitched. A flash of unease crossed his face, and his voice dropped significantly: "Everything I said was the truth... you literally tied me up every day." "Yeah, it's the truth. I'm ugly, I'm broke, and I abuse you. In your heart, I'm just an irredeemable, evil woman." For once, I didn't argue with him. I just agreed with his words. Kaelen fell silent. Maybe he was angry. He lowered his eyes and didn't speak again. On the walk back, I kept glancing up at the young man, who was much taller than me. He had elegant brow bones and striking features. Even among incubi, a species known for having the highest average attractiveness, his beauty was god-tier. But the black hoodie he was wearing was a cheap knockoff. It was the same style as mine, and because it had been washed so many times, it was already pilling. Indeed, if he hadn't been bought by a broke loser like me, his life would have been much better. If he wants to resent me, let him. 9 We returned to that rundown old house. I didn't grab a rope and tie his hands like I normally would, nor did I scold him and forbid him from running away again. Instead, I quickly washed up, crawled into bed early, and locked the bedroom door. My mind was a chaotic mess. But it was no longer because of Kaelen. Knock, knock, knock— In the middle of the night, someone knocked on the bedroom door. "Evelyn, you're not asleep yet, are you?" Kaelen called out to me softly through the wall. "What's wrong? Do you need something?" "Open the door first, then I'll tell you." I stayed perfectly still in bed and squeezed my eyes shut. When I woke up again, I felt a shadow looming over me. Kaelen had found a spare key and opened my bedroom door. He was standing right by my bed, staring at me unblinkingly. I had no idea how long he had been standing there. I propped myself up, hugged my comforter, leaned against the wall, and curled into a ball. "What are you doing." The man's Adam's apple bobbed. He opened his mouth, and the tail behind him swished restlessly from side to side. "Um..." "I'm sorry." He spoke incredibly fast, as if those two words were scalding his tongue. I yawned and waved my hand: "It's fine. I forgive you. Get out." But he didn't leave. He stood frozen in place. I patted the pillow next to me: "So you're sleeping here?" For the past year, even though he resisted physical contact, we had always slept in the same room. Even when we fought, I never made him sleep in a separate bed. Maybe he wasn't used to me suddenly ignoring him. Without a word, Kaelen pulled back the corner of the blanket and took off his pajama jacket. Then, I felt a tightening around my waist. He naturally climbed on top of me, his tail pressing against me in an almost fawning manner. "I'm really tired. Lay down and go to sleep." I turned on my side and pulled away to create some distance. Kaelen immediately got annoyed: "Tch, it's not like I wanted to touch you anyway." I scooted closer to the edge of the bed, moving even further away from him. The man became even more flustered: "Also, you're really fake." Then he yanked the blanket twice and turned his back to me.
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