Silent Scars

CHAPTER 21

The tension between the brothers was thick in the air, lingering like smoke. Domain stood frozen, processing the sight before him. Leonardo, normally so composed, standing in front of an empty space with fury etched into his face. But what made Domain's blood run cold was the way his brother's eyes softened for a random girl.

Who is she?

He asked himself again. His thoughts swirled in confusion. He had seen Leonardo protective over family before, but this was different. This wasn't the stern, calculating brother who ran everything with careful precision. This was a man who was, for the first time in years, genuinely afraid.

Afraid for a girl he barely knew.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Leo?"

Domain growled, his voice low but filled with irritation.

Leonardo's jaw tightened. His eyes were dark with frustration, but something deeper lurked there, something he hadn't quite figured out yet. His instincts had kicked in the moment he saw Domain roughing up Ariana, and now the weight of it all pressed heavily on his chest.

Leonardo didn't know her. He didn't know anything about her except that she had claimed to be their sister, and that alone was enough to rattle his world. But as angry as he was at Domain for his impulsive actions, there was something else that he couldn't ignore, the need to protect her.

"If you wanted to know who she was, maybe you should have been home, Domain."

 Leonardo snapped, his voice harsher than he intended. His emotions were running high, but he couldn't hide the sting of disappointment in his tone. 

"Where were you? You don't have a clue what's been happening here. You've been gone for days, and we've had our lives turned upside down."

Domain flinched at the reprimand, but he refused to back down. He crossed his arms tighter, the frustration evident on his face. 

"I was with my friends. I didn't think I had to check in with you every damn minute, Leo." Domain shot back. 

"So, who is she, then? Why are you getting so worked up over a random girl?"

Leonardo's anger flared for a second, but then it was replaced with a strange feeling of confusion. He didn't know why he cared so much.

Why did this girl, this Ariana, make him feel like this? But one thing was clear, he wasn't about to let his brother hurt her.

"She's our sister."

Leonardo said sharply, his voice quieter now, the weight of the words sinking in as he said them out loud.

"Her name is Ariana."

For a moment, the world seemed to stop.

Ariana? Our sister? The words didn't compute. Domain stood frozen, his expression blank, shock flashing across his face. 

The girl who was standing here trembling just a second ago was supposedly my sister? 

"I....What?!" Domain's voice cracked, disbelief settling in his chest.

"How do you know that? How do you know that she's really.....our sister?"

"Because of the DNA test. We've confirmed it, Dom."

Leonardo said, his tone cold and clipped, but there was still that underlying protectiveness in his voice.

This doesn't make sense. Domain thought, his fist clenching at his sides. His mind couldn't wrap around it. A stranger? A girl he'd never met before, suddenly thrust into their lives? It felt wrong. It looked wrong.