Love's Wild Card

Alex tried to push himself up with his hands, but immediately realized he had placed them somewhere inappropriate—something soft and distinctly feminine. He froze, knowing he needed to move but unable to do so with Emma Carter's weight still pressing down on his back.

The Carter sisters locked eyes, creating an instant freeze-frame moment. Emma Carter's playful expression faltered as she realized her sister had heard everything, while Emma Winter lay trapped beneath them, her cold smile suggesting she was quite interested in seeing how her "dear" sister would talk her way out of this one.

"Mmph... please... get up!" Alex's muffled voice went completely ignored as the sisters continued their silent standoff.

"Mmph... hurry...!" Still being ignored.

"I... can't... breathe!" Alex finally managed to shout with his remaining strength. Getting smothered between two heiresses was definitely not how he had planned to end his evening.

His desperate cry finally broke through the sisters' standoff.

"Darling, I can't believe you've been living with my own sister behind my back! After I trusted you so completely..." Emma Carter dramatically pulled herself up, wiping invisible tears from her eyes. "I... I wish you both happiness!" She turned to flee the room with theatrical flair.

"Stop right there!" Emma Winter's arctic tone instantly dropped the room temperature several degrees despite the summer heat.

Emma Carter froze mid-escape, one foot still raised dramatically.

"And you," Emma Winter turned her glacial gaze to Alex, who was still awkwardly positioned above her. "Remove your hands. Now."

"Oh!" Alex quickly complied, only to lose his balance and find himself in an even more compromising position.

"If you value your life, get off me. Immediately." The threat in her voice could have frozen Manhattan Harbor.

Alex scrambled to his feet with impressive speed for someone who moments ago had been claiming suffocation.

Emma Winter rose with deadly grace, her eyes fixed on her sister's back. "Sister. Dear."

"Sister, I've already given you my blessing. Won't you at least grant your predecessor as lady of this house one final night here?" Emma Carter turned with perfectly calculated pathos.

Alex could only lower his head in amazement at her commitment to the performance. Even in this situation, she was still playing her role to the hilt.

"By all means, continue your performance. I'm curious whether this will end up a tragedy or a comedy," Emma Winter's tone could have etched glass.

"Sister, are you really so determined to take everything from me, even Alex—"

"I saw everything. I heard everything. You can drop the act now," Emma Winter cut through her sister's dramatics.

Emma Carter's expression transformed instantly from tragic heroine to impish grin. "Oh, is that so?" She scratched her head with an embarrassed laugh.

"You're still as 'adorable' as ever, sister. You can stop pretending—that trick doesn't work on me anymore," Emma Winter advanced on her sister with predatory grace.

Sisters? Were they really sisters? Alex watched the scene unfold with growing alarm. Despite the summer heat, his hands were trembling. The atmosphere definitely wasn't right. Caught between these two, disaster could strike at any moment. He needed to make a strategic retreat before one of them decided to use him as a shield again...

"Ladies, since you're sisters who haven't seen each other in a while, you must have so much to catch up on! I'll just... sleep in the living room. Please, take your time!" Alex bowed formally to both women before squeezing between them and making his escape from the room.

Out in the living room, he collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted. Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw it was already past eleven. All he wanted was to sleep. However, the two sisters who should have been having their confrontation in his bedroom had followed him out to the living room, taking up the same positions as before—Emma Winter on the left, Emma Carter on the right, with Alex trapped between them. Their piercing gazes hadn't softened a bit.

This impromptu tribunal was more intense than any corporate merger negotiation. The atmosphere was so tense that Alex was grateful he didn't have a heart condition. Not many could survive this kind of "special treatment."

The scene continued late into the night, with Alex caught between the feuding sisters in what had to be one of the most uncomfortable situations of his life. His peaceful Manhattan existence had somehow transformed into a late-night soap opera, complete with feuding heiresses and compromising positions. All he could do was pray he'd survive until morning.

Perhaps most frustratingly, this was definitely not covered by his corporate benefits package, no matter how comprehensive it claimed to be.

"Let's get straight to the point," Emma Winter's voice cut through the tension. "What exactly is going on here?"

Emma Carter's usual cheerful demeanor remained unshaken by her sister's icy tone. In fact, she seemed almost amused by the situation, while Alex barely dared to breathe, caught between the two formidable sisters.

"Haven't you figured it out already? Seen through my little performance?" Emma Carter smiled sweetly at her sister, her earlier theatrical grief completely forgotten.

"Forget the act. I want to know everything—from the beginning," Emma Winter demanded, her gaze sharp enough to cut diamonds.

As Alex sat there, desperately wishing he could disappear into the sofa cushions, he wondered how his peaceful life had spiraled into this late-night drama. The Carter sisters were proving to be more than even his considerable experience with difficult situations could handle.

The night stretched on, with neither sister showing any sign of backing down. Whatever was coming next, Alex had a feeling his life was about to become significantly more complicated.