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Verloren im Twin Spiel | Ganzer Film Deutsch
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00:00I fold. Avery's yours for tonight.
00:03You're willing to give her up?
00:04Since you like her, I'll gladly step aside.
00:09Although, we've been together for almost a year.
00:11If you think she's secondhand, no need. I'll take her.
00:18Fine. Then enjoy yourself tonight, brother.
00:23As soon as Liam left, the room immediately came alive again.
00:28Logan, are you serious? You chased Avery for three months, went all soft for her, and you're already bored? It's
00:32not even been a year.
00:35A bet's a bet. And besides, she's just a girl.
00:38So Avery wasn't anything special to you after all.
00:44At first, she was. Hard to get. A bit high and mighty.
00:47But now, she's no different from the others.
00:52Still the same. Behaves like a damn dog in front of me.
00:55Hey, Logan. Next time, can I have a turn with her?
01:01But Logan, what if Liam actually gets to her? What then?
01:07He won't. They say he didn't even touch a girl back at military school. Ice cold type.
01:12That's not necessarily true, though.
01:14He did look at Avery a few times when she wore that dress showing her legs.
01:17He just hates girls who try too hard to show off.
01:20Bet on it then, Logan. You in?
01:22Don't forget, Avery is obsessed with me. She'd rather die than let another guy touch her.
01:26If you really want to bet, you better be ready to lose everything.
01:30Logan stood up and walked out.
01:31A pretty cheerleader was already waiting outside the door.
01:34He shoved her against the hallway wall and kissed her hard.
01:37No one noticed that I, the subject of the twins' bet, had already heard everything.
01:44If he could openly bet me away to another guy, then I meant absolutely nothing to him.
01:50And if I was stupid enough to make a scene, and embarrass him in front of everyone,
01:55I'd be the one paying the price.
01:57Everyone knows Logan's family had endowed the athletic center of our school.
02:01His name was on the donor wall in the main hallway, in letters bigger than most people's futures.
02:07That's why he could break rules, get into fights, and cause trouble at school without ever getting expelled.
02:14Someone told me there had been a ballet dancer before me.
02:17Logan had chased her for months before she finally said yes.
02:21He spoiled her.
02:22Let her get away with things no one else could.
02:25For a while, everyone thought that she'd gotten the notorious bad boy to settle down.
02:31But less than six months later, he got bored and messed up with other girls.
02:37The ballet girl slashed the tire of Logan's motorcycle, making a scene in front of half the school.
02:47A few days later, she fell during rehearsal.
02:51She lived, but she was paralyzed from the waist down.
02:55Her whole life, finished.
02:58She withdrew from Stonebridge High before the semester was over.
03:02Officially, she'd transferred to a performing arts academy in another state.
03:07Unofficially, nobody wanted to talk about it.
03:10Back when Logan was chasing me, someone told me that he had been quietly looking into my scholarship.
03:15If he wanted to, he could make my life at this school a living hell.
03:20I had said yes to him because I was afraid of saying no.
03:23I had stayed with him for a year, keeping my head down.
03:27And now he'd put me in a card game.
03:30I went back to the guest room and lay down on the couch, pulling the blanket over myself.
03:35The door opened, footsteps across the room.
03:38And then the smell, clean and unfamiliar.
03:41Not Logan.
03:42You should sleep in an actual bed.
03:48Finally, I've been waiting forever, Logan.
03:52Have you been waiting long?
03:54My head is killing me.
03:56You'll feel better once you get something in your stomach.
03:59I'm tired.
04:00Take me somewhere.
04:01You smell different tonight?
04:03Do I?
04:04Yeah, it's better though.
04:06Actually better.
04:07A lot.
04:08Glad you like it.
04:12Two days earlier, I hadn't known Liam Hayes existed.
04:15Logan never talked about him.
04:17In fact, he seemed almost wary of him.
04:20Mrs. Patterson introduced Liam in AP Lit.
04:22Transfer student.
04:24Previously enrolled in Vermont.
04:26Joining us for senior year.
04:27The rumors spread fast.
04:29He'd been kicked out of multiple schools.
04:31He'd hospitalized two guys in a fight.
04:34And had no marks on him afterward.
04:36He'd been at a military academy before Vermont.
04:38He had a 4.0.
04:40And no one at his previous schools would say much about him.
04:43Which people interpreted as either very good or very bad.
04:47At dinner, I sat next to Logan.
04:49Liam sat alone at another table.
04:51Near the end, his eyes moved to me.
04:53Just for a second.
04:55He didn't talk to anyone before leaving.
04:57I had no idea why he would agree to something as ridiculous as Logan's bet.
05:01But one thing became clear the moment I heard that bet.
05:04If I wanted to walk away from this game those rich guys were playing without getting hurt,
05:09Liam might be my only way out.
05:11I had just stepped out of the bathroom when Liam pulled me into his arms from behind.
05:28You're unusually impatient tonight, Logan.
05:33Change how you call me.
05:36Then what do you want me to call you?
05:40What do you usually call me?
05:43Your name, Mr. Hayes.
05:45And I've called you Baby.
05:49Then tonight call me Sir.
05:53Sir?
05:55Sir?
05:55Sir?
05:56Sir?
05:59Sir?
05:59Sir?
05:59Sir?
06:01Sir?
06:01Sir?
06:02Sir?
06:02Sir?
06:02Sir?
06:04Sir?
06:07From the end of the table.
06:11No!
06:19I'm sorry .
06:27Logan.
06:28No, not that.
06:32Sir.
06:34Sir.
06:39Don't stop, Avery. Don't stop.
06:41Sir.
06:43Sir.
06:47The next day, I opened my eyes to full daylight.
06:50Every part of me ached.
06:52The kind of all-over soreness that goes bone deep.
06:55The room was empty.
06:57Liam was gone.
06:58I didn't know when he'd left.
07:00Through the glass, I could see the back lawn below, and Logan standing in it.
07:04I picked out a dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline, revealing the marks on purpose.
07:13Hey.
07:14What's wrong?
07:19Can you go get me some medicine from the infirmary?
07:22What for?
07:22What hurts?
07:23Last night, you were really rough.
07:25I didn't realize until the shower.
07:27There was...
07:28It bled a little.
07:29It really hurts.
07:32Say that again.
07:33What bled?
07:34Last night.
07:35It was a lot.
07:36You were...
07:36I'm really sore.
07:37Like, everywhere.
07:38You were so different last night, though.
07:40Like, really different.
07:41Better.
07:41I don't know what got into you, but I really liked it.
07:44I even cried.
07:44I begged you to stop, and you didn't.
07:46You were so mean about it.
07:47But also, I kind of didn't want you to.
07:51I'll go get something.
07:52Stay here.
07:53He was gone 40 minutes.
07:55I'd gotten takeout from the cafeteria, and was eating in my dorm room.
07:59I was halfway through when I noticed someone outside.
08:01I saw Liam coming up the path.
08:03The two of them weren't actually that hard to tell apart.
08:06Liam was slightly taller than Logan.
08:08Broader through the shoulders.
08:09More solidly built.
08:10And the jacket he had on today was the same cut as Logan's.
08:13From a distance, the similarity was close enough.
08:16Hey, Logan.
08:17Did you bring it?
08:25What medication?
08:27Stop pretending.
08:28I told you.
08:29Last night you hurt me, and I need...
08:33I just remembered I should see how bad it is first,
08:36so I can tell the pharmacist what to get.
08:39You don't need to be embarrassed.
08:40It's not as if I haven't already...
08:42I'm not talking to you.
08:47Okay, I'll stop.
08:48I mean it.
08:50What exactly are you two doing?
08:55His face went through several things in a row.
08:58All of them controlled.
08:59None of them good.
09:00Liam, Avery, what exactly are you two doing?
09:03Liam?
09:04Logan, I...
09:05I got the wrong person.
09:06You weren't wearing your glasses today.
09:08I thought you were him.
09:11Avery, you're hopeless.
09:12You can't even tell your own boyfriend apart.
09:14I'm sorry.
09:15Liam, I'm so sorry.
09:16I really did mix you up.
09:17It's not your fault.
09:18Twins get confused all the time.
09:20Logan, you shouldn't have snapped at her.
09:22Whose fault is it she's so dense?
09:23You share a bed with someone for a year and can't recognize them?
09:26She's only met me once.
09:27Mixing us up is normal.
09:28Fine, I'll apologize to her.
09:31Go back to the room.
09:33Let me see where you're hurt.
09:34I'll put the ointment on for you.
09:36If I had it right,
09:37Logan had spent last night with another girl.
09:40And now, he wanted to put his hands on me.
09:43A wave of nausea rose up.
09:45Sudden and violent.
09:46I forced it down.
09:47Hard.
09:49Take it off.
09:50Lie down.
09:51Logan, why are you being so harsh with me today?
09:54In our year together,
09:55maybe to keep me fooled,
09:56maybe out of some sliver of something real,
09:58Logan had always been gentle.
10:00Are you still mad that I mistook your brother for you?
10:02No.
10:03You're overthinking it.
10:04I'm just worried about your injury.
10:06Is it still bleeding?
10:07Let me see.
10:08The truth is,
10:09when Logan first chased me,
10:10I kept saying no.
10:11I only said yes in the end
10:13because I was afraid.
10:14Someone had made a point of telling me
10:16about the girl before me,
10:17the dancer.
10:18Avery, be careful.
10:19Don't really set him off.
10:20I heard he's been digging into your family.
10:21People like Logan,
10:22we couldn't afford to cross him in 10 lifetimes.
10:25I was afraid of dying.
10:26I was more afraid of living
10:27through something worse than death.
10:29So I accepted him.
10:31And for a whole year,
10:32I'd kept my head down,
10:33careful with every step.
10:34And Logan had been good to me,
10:36devoted even,
10:36so much that sometimes
10:38I let myself dream impossible things.
10:40I lost my grip on reality.
10:42But I never imagined
10:43that lowering myself this far
10:45would buy me nothing
10:45but being handed off to another man
10:47like a chip on a table.
10:48My head was a tangled mess.
10:50Logan pressed me down to sit,
10:51then crouched in front of me.
10:53He looked down,
10:53took hold of my slim calf.
10:55You must have worked me up last night.
10:58Otherwise, why would I have been so rough?
11:00And parted my legs.
11:01He laughed softly and glanced up at me,
11:03then slowly began to lift the hem of my dress.
11:05I turned my face away
11:06and bit down on the inside of my lip,
11:08swallowing the sickness churning in my stomach.
11:10Just as he was about to pull away
11:12the last thin layer of fabric,
11:14Logan, come to the study, now.
11:17Liam's voice from the hallway,
11:18heavy with warning
11:19and a thread of barely leashed anger underneath.
11:22Logan muttered something
11:22that might have been a curse,
11:24but he stood up at once.
11:25Put it on yourself.
11:26I'll go deal with him.
11:27I took it and watched him leave the room.
11:30Only then, like a prisoner granted a stay,
11:32did I let out a long, ragged breath.
11:34My phone buzzed beside me.
11:35I picked it up.
11:36A text from an unknown number.
11:38This is Liam.
11:38Save my number.
11:41I stared at the small words on the screen
11:43for a long moment before I typed back,
11:45okay.
11:46Liam didn't reply.
11:48And Logan didn't come back to the room.
11:50He called me from the campus instead.
11:53Something had gone wrong
11:54at his father's sportswear subsidiary,
11:56the one his family had set up.
11:58And he had to fly out for a few days.
12:00I could hear the strain in his voice.
12:02It sounded like more than a small problem.
12:05For me, at least,
12:06it bought a little room to breathe.
12:08The next morning,
12:09I got ready to head back to school.
12:11I'd barely come down the stairs
12:13when I ran into Liam again.
12:14This time, he was wearing his glasses.
12:16Nothing at all like the man
12:17who had kissed me so gently that night.
12:20I greeted him the way I had
12:21the very first time.
12:22Morning.
12:23Heading back to school?
12:26Yeah.
12:27It's on my way.
12:28I'll drive you.
12:29I started to refuse,
12:30but he went on.
12:31Logan's gone,
12:32as his brother looking after you
12:34is the least I can do.
12:35Eat something first.
12:36I forced down a few bites
12:38and set my fork aside.
12:39Liam said nothing,
12:40just turned and walked out.
12:43I shouldered my bag and followed.
12:49When the car door shut,
12:50he reached up and pressed the button
12:52raising the privacy partition.
12:55Liam?
12:56Nerves flickered through me.
12:57He took off his glasses
12:58and set them in the storage box.
13:00How's the injury?
13:03Better.
13:03A little better.
13:05My face went scarlet in an instant.
13:07If it's healed,
13:08use this.
13:11No!
13:12No, I don't need it!
13:14Logan already put medicine on it for me.
13:17There was nothing on Liam's face,
13:18which somehow made him more frightening.
13:20Take it.
13:21This one works better.
13:23Really?
13:23I don't need it!
13:25Logan was already upset
13:27that I mixed you two up.
13:29If he found out
13:30I took your ointment too,
13:31he'd yell at me for sure.
13:33Liam looked at me steadily,
13:34then slowly lowered his hand.
13:39You care about him that much?
13:40I pressed my lips together.
13:42He's my first boyfriend.
13:45He's always been so,
13:47so good to me.
13:48Letting a sweetness I didn't feel
13:50rise into my eyes.
13:51I really love him.
13:53Liam let out something
13:54that might have been a low laugh.
13:55Or maybe I imagined it.
13:56He didn't look at me again,
13:58just leaned back,
13:58gaze fixed calmly ahead.
14:00He didn't say another word
14:01the whole drive.
14:02When we reached the school parking lot,
14:03I thanked him quietly.
14:04Thank you for today.
14:05I'll go in now.
14:06Liam nodded faintly.
14:10Avery.
14:11I turned without thinking,
14:12straight into those clear, dark eyes.
14:14This ointment is the best
14:16there is for scars.
14:17Use it on the one on your calf.
14:19How do you know
14:19I have a scar on my calf?
14:21He didn't answer.
14:22He just placed the tube in my hand.
14:24I sat frozen for a second,
14:26then opened the door and got out.
14:28Liam got out after me,
14:29not looking at me once
14:30as he headed for the school building.
14:32I stood there a while
14:32before I took out my phone
14:33and answered Logan's text.
14:35I miss you too.
14:36Are you really not back
14:37for another ten days?
14:39About that long.
14:40But I'll wrap it up
14:40and come home as fast as I can.
14:42Okay.
14:43I'll wait for you.
14:44Time crawled forward.
14:46Those ten days without Logan
14:47were strangely peaceful.
14:49Liam never came near me once.
14:51That night started to feel
14:52like some absurd dream.
14:53Sometimes I even wondered,
14:55had it really been Liam?
14:56A person like that?
14:57So far above everyone.
14:58Untouchable.
14:59Why would he play such a vile game
15:00with his own brother?
15:01Friday afternoon,
15:03Logan texted to say
15:04he was going back to campus that night
15:05and told me to wait for him.
15:07Stonebridge had a handful
15:08of senior residence suites.
15:09Small private rooms
15:10in the old dorm wing.
15:12The kind the Legacy family's kids
15:13always ended up with.
15:14Logan's was one of them.
15:15I let myself in,
15:17showered,
15:17and lay on the couch
15:18scrolling my phone,
15:19waiting.
15:20And somewhere in the waiting,
15:21I fell asleep.
15:22I don't know how long.
15:23The sound of the door woke me.
15:25I sat up,
15:25bleary,
15:26and saw a tall figure
15:27walking toward me
15:28against the light.
15:29With him came that cold scent
15:30from that night.
15:31He came closer.
15:32No glasses.
15:33Exactly like that night.
15:34I reached out,
15:35asking to be held.
15:42Why are you back so late?
15:44I'm so tired from waiting.
15:46His breath seemed to catch.
15:48Then the arms around me
15:48tightened all at once,
15:50hard enough that I hissed.
15:56You're hurting me again.
15:57I only just healed.
16:00Don't you dare be rough
16:01with me tonight, Logan.
16:08Liam caught my chin.
16:10I couldn't fight his grip.
16:14What did you call me?
16:15So I had no choice
16:16but to turn and face him.
16:18His scalding breath
16:19brushed across my nose.
16:20My lashes trembled,
16:21and then he kissed me,
16:22soft at first.
16:24Do you miss me?
16:26But the gentleness
16:27gave way fast
16:28to a sudden storm.
16:29I do?
16:30I answered,
16:30blurred.
16:32Miss who?
16:33Say it clearly.
16:34I miss Logan.
16:35He bit down hard
16:36on my lip.
16:37The pain made my tears
16:38spill over.
16:38I glared at him,
16:39wounded.
16:40But before the name
16:41could leave my mouth,
16:42he stopped it
16:42with a kiss deeper
16:43and more reckless
16:44than before.
16:45And when I was fully
16:46pinned beneath him,
16:47claimed by him,
16:48only then did he
16:49take my face
16:49in his hands
16:50and brush the tears
16:51from the corners
16:52of my eyes
16:52with his thumb.
16:55I couldn't stop sobbing.
16:58Avery,
16:59I'll ask one more time.
17:00What do you call me?
17:03Sir, sir.
17:04Do you like it
17:05when I treat you this way?
17:07I cried so hard
17:08I choked,
17:08wanting to shake my head,
17:10but he kissed me
17:10until I couldn't move.
17:11All I could do
17:12was nod,
17:13whimpering.
17:13Only then
17:14did his kiss
17:14gentle again.
17:16Now from now on,
17:17I'll treat you
17:18like this every day,
17:19all right?
17:19You'll hurt me.
17:20It hurts like that.
17:21You were never
17:22this rough
17:23with me before.
17:24He pressed me
17:24to his chest.
17:27Did I hurt you tonight?
17:28Then did it feel good?
17:29I bit my lip,
17:30cheeks burning.
17:31The body doesn't lie.
17:32I couldn't deny it.
17:33Liam had given me
17:34a pleasure
17:35Logan never had.
17:36Maybe it was
17:36the forbidden thrill,
17:37or maybe I'd never
17:38liked Logan that much
17:39to begin with.
17:40It felt good.
17:41Something dark
17:42and hungry
17:42flared in his
17:43sated eyes.
17:44He flipped me
17:45beneath him again.
17:45From now on,
17:46only do this with me,
17:48all right?
17:49I laughed
17:49under my breath.
17:51What are you
17:51talking about?
17:52Of course only
17:53with you,
17:54Logan.
17:55Don't say the name.
17:56His voice dropped hard.
17:57I blinked up.
17:58What's wrong with you?
17:59You're being so strange.
18:01But Liam only let go
18:02of my hands
18:03and gently covered
18:04my eyes.
18:06Avery,
18:06I love hearing
18:07you call me sir.
18:09Every time you do,
18:10it does something to me.
18:12Call me that
18:13from now on.
18:14Always.
18:15And my fingers
18:15brushed an old scar
18:16at the web of his thumb,
18:18something flickered
18:18across my mind,
18:20fast as a spark,
18:21but I couldn't catch it.
18:22After a long moment,
18:23I answered low.
18:24Okay,
18:25sir.
18:27Liam got the
18:27dorm wing to himself,
18:29a word to the right people,
18:30and the floor
18:31cleared out
18:31for the weekend.
18:32He stayed with me
18:33openly.
18:34Meals in the
18:35half-empty dining hall,
18:37slow walks
18:37across the quad
18:38after dark,
18:39and at night,
18:40the endless,
18:42insatiable tangling.
18:43On the third night,
18:44he signed us both out
18:45and drove off campus,
18:47down to the marina
18:48at the edge of town.
18:49We ate fresh-caught fish
18:51at one of the dockside places,
18:53built out over the water.
18:55I drank a lot of the wine,
18:57and by the time we left,
18:58I couldn't walk straight.
19:00Liam carried me
19:01back to the car
19:02on his back.
19:03His fingers grazed
19:04the old scar on my calf,
19:06and he asked,
19:07naturally,
19:09how did you hurt
19:10your leg so badly?
19:12When I was little,
19:12there was this awful kid,
19:14so mean.
19:17His family was loaded.
19:19All the other kids
19:20circled around him,
19:20sucking up to him.
19:22Not me.
19:23The more I ignored him,
19:24the more he wouldn't
19:25leave me alone.
19:28But I wasn't some
19:30idle little rich boy
19:31with nothing to do.
19:32I had to help my parents
19:34run their food stall,
19:36look after my little brother,
19:38change his diapers,
19:40feed him.
19:40He kept pestering me
19:42until I'd had it,
19:43so I got in a fight with him.
19:45I was small.
19:47Couldn't beat a boy,
19:48obviously.
19:50He shoved me down,
19:52and I cracked my leg open
19:53on the edge of a planter.
19:54Bled everywhere.
19:57He didn't get off easy
19:58either, though.
20:01I grabbed his hand
20:02and bit him as hard
20:02as I could.
20:04Sank my teeth right in,
20:05my whole mouth
20:06was full of blood.
20:07He had no spine at all,
20:08just blod screaming.
20:12He wasn't really bad, though.
20:14Just kind of spoiled.
20:17Afterward,
20:17he even brought me medicine,
20:19tried to cheer me up,
20:21said the scar was shaped
20:22like a flower petal,
20:23that it was actually pretty.
20:27And after that?
20:29Don't remember.
20:30He left pretty soon, I think.
20:32Picked up by his parents,
20:33probably.
20:35Back then,
20:36I had work that never ended.
20:38Who'd remember stuff like that?
20:44I heard Liam say my name.
20:48Avery.
20:49He seemed to say something after it,
20:51but I didn't catch it.
20:53The day Logan actually came back,
20:55Liam set up a dinner.
20:57Liam reserved a private dining room
20:59and put the three of us
21:00at the same table.
21:01I asked him,
21:02on purpose.
21:03Liam,
21:05Logan's been back
21:05a few days already.
21:07Why are you only doing
21:08this dinner today?
21:09Liam looked at me
21:10for a long time
21:11without answering.
21:12I shrank back
21:13and ran off to find Logan.
21:14I didn't look back,
21:16but I could feel it
21:17the whole time.
21:18Liam's gaze following me.
21:20At dinner that night,
21:21Logan's mood was foul.
21:23Maybe the trip
21:24hadn't gone well.
21:25When he reached
21:25for his third drink,
21:27I lightly pressed my hand
21:28over his glass.
21:29Sir,
21:30drink less.
21:31Your stomach's bad.
21:32The words weren't even finished
21:34before two pairs of eyes
21:35snapped to my face.
21:36Liam always had
21:37impeccable manners.
21:38Even here,
21:40he wore a full blazer,
21:41sitting straight-backed.
21:42But now his knife
21:43clinked clumsily
21:44against the porcelain plate.
21:46Logan's brow furrowed too.
21:48What did you just call me?
21:53Sir.
21:54Why?
21:55Avery!
21:57Logan.
21:58Who the hell
21:58are you calling sir?
22:00What the fuck
22:01have you been doing
22:01behind my back?
22:05You said it yourself.
22:07You said you liked it
22:08when I called you that.
22:09Bullshit!
22:10When did I ever say-
22:17You said it with your own mouth.
22:19You said you liked me
22:20calling you sir.
22:22You told me to call you that lately.
22:24Liam slowly set down
22:26his knife and fork.
22:27He rose.
22:28The pressure rolling off him
22:29chilled the room.
22:30My crying dropped away.
22:32An unspeakable terror
22:34crawled up my spine.
22:35Maybe Liam's polished surface
22:37had fooled me.
22:38He was, in fact,
22:39far more frightening
22:40than Logan.
22:41I started to shake
22:42and couldn't stop.
22:44Liam's gaze landed on me
22:45for only two short seconds.
22:47But my whole back
22:48went damp with sweat.
22:49Don't bully a girl.
22:52Come with me.
22:53We'll talk.
22:56When the door shut behind them,
22:58my phone lit with a text.
23:00From Liam.
23:01Four words.
23:02Don't be afraid.
23:04I'm here.
23:04I looked at those words,
23:06wiped my eyes,
23:07and slowly lowered myself
23:09into a chair.
23:10Then I covered my face
23:11and laughed at myself.
23:12Did Liam think I didn't know?
23:14Or that I wouldn't remember?
23:16The day he transferred in,
23:18at the welcome reception
23:19the trustees threw.
23:20Someone had congratulated him
23:22on his coming engagement.
23:24Some arrangement
23:24with another old-money family.
23:26He hadn't denied it.
23:28And a man about to be engaged,
23:30playing a game like this
23:31with his own twin.
23:32It was just one last thrill
23:34before it was all settled.
23:35Or some indulgence
23:37of an ugly little appetite
23:38hidden beneath
23:39that flawless face.
23:41But what had I done
23:42to deserve it?
23:43Why should I be a plaything
23:44passed between the two of them?
23:49They'd ended up
23:50in an empty classroom
23:51in the academic wing,
23:52the corridor outside
23:54dark and deserted.
23:55Don't you think
23:56you've taken this too far?
23:58Born of the same mother,
24:00twins,
24:01and yet from childhood,
24:03Logan had fallen short of him
24:04in everything.
24:06Liam,
24:07brilliant in ways
24:08ordinary people weren't,
24:10had won the affection
24:11of every elder
24:12in the Hayes family,
24:14and with it,
24:15in time,
24:16the inheritance.
24:17Logan was left
24:18to be a spendthrift wastrel.
24:20Countless people envied him,
24:22and none of them knew
24:23how often he envied Liam,
24:25hated Liam,
24:26and yet,
24:28because of a shadow
24:29that went back
24:29as far as he could remember,
24:32feared him down to the bone.
24:33The contradiction
24:34gnawed at him,
24:36robbed him of sleep.
24:37If I remember right,
24:40you were the one
24:40who lost her to me that night.
24:42But you don't touch girls,
24:44you've got no interest
24:45in them at all.
24:46I thought you'd never
24:47lay a hand on her,
24:48I thought you'd find her dirty.
24:50Logan wouldn't admit the rest.
24:53That night,
24:54handing Avery over,
24:56had been mostly about one thing,
24:59humiliating Liam.
25:00A girl Logan had grown tired of,
25:02and Liam wanted her in secret.
25:05Did Liam think he couldn't see it?
25:07The first time Liam laid eyes on Avery,
25:09his expression had changed.
25:12Eighteen years as brothers,
25:13and that was the first time
25:15and that was the first time
25:16Logan had ever seen Liam's gaze
25:18catch and hold on a girl.
25:20He'd even looked at Avery's legs,
25:22twice,
25:23so Logan had hatched the absurd idea.
25:26Use a girlfriend he was sick of
25:28to humiliate the brother
25:29who'd always stood over him.
25:31It would feel good.
25:33A thrill.
25:34What he never expected was that Liam,
25:36a man with an absurd,
25:39obsessive aversion to mess,
25:41would actually touch her.
25:42And he never expected that the night Liam took her away,
25:46he himself would lie awake the whole night through,
25:50restless.
25:50The cheerleader girl he'd taken away that night.
25:54He'd been certain he'd do something with her,
25:56but in the end he'd pushed her away.
25:59His whole mind had been somewhere else.
26:02Was Liam kissing Avery?
26:04Touching her?
26:05The way I would?
26:06How would she react?
26:08Could she tell it wasn't me?
26:10Would she yield to him as sweetly,
26:12as obediently,
26:14as she does beneath me?
26:16The thought tormented him to distraction.
26:18He'd gone back to the dorm at first light.
26:21When someone told him Liam had left at six,
26:24the same as always,
26:26he'd been flooded with relief.
26:28But then he saw Avery come down the stairs,
26:30covered in marks,
26:32shy and sweet,
26:34complaining that he'd been too rough and hurt her.
26:37And in that instant, he could have killed.
26:39He'd had many girls,
26:41leaving them,
26:42passing them off.
26:44He'd never felt a flicker of reluctance.
26:46He'd assumed Avery was the same.
26:49And in that moment,
26:50he finally understood.
26:52She wasn't.
26:54From the very start,
26:55she had never been like the others.
26:57He'd forgotten.
26:59Avery was the only girl he'd fallen for at first sight,
27:03and then chased in earnest.
27:05And he'd badly underestimated
27:07how much she weighed in his own heart.
27:10Find her dirty?
27:12Liam suddenly rose,
27:13and crossed,
27:14to Logan.
27:15It was perhaps the first real crack
27:17in his composure all day.
27:19The first time a man,
27:20so sparing with words,
27:21said this much at once.
27:23I don't know why you talk about
27:25your own girlfriend that way.
27:26And I don't agree that a girl
27:28who's had a boyfriend,
27:29who's had sex,
27:29is somehow dirty.
27:33Say one more thing like that about her.
27:35Go on.
27:36Try.
27:42Liam.
27:44You set me up on purpose.
27:46That night,
27:47you did it deliberately.
27:49Baited me into bedding.
27:50Because you wanted her.
27:51Because you wanted to take her from me.
27:53If you were truly in earnest about her,
27:55no one could take her.
27:57So I'll say this one last time,
27:59Logan.
27:59The opening was yours to give.
28:02You put her in my hands.
28:05So what?
28:06You think she'll be with you willingly?
28:07She's poor, badly born,
28:08but she's stubborn to the core
28:09and proud to the bone.
28:10If she finds out you disguised yourself
28:12as me to play her,
28:12what do you think she'll do?
28:13She'll hate me,
28:14and she'll hate you just as much.
28:17So what?
28:19If I hadn't taken your bet that night,
28:21hadn't taken her away,
28:23would you have gambled her off
28:24to a third man?
28:26I wouldn't have-
28:27You would have!
28:29Other people may not know it,
28:30but you do.
28:31You'd had enough of her,
28:33grown tired of her.
28:34There was a younger, prettier girl
28:35already waiting to spend the night with you.
28:37Say it yourself, Logan.
28:39Isn't that right?
28:40Logan ground his jaw,
28:42breath heaving.
28:43And yet, somehow,
28:44he couldn't get out a single word
28:45in his own defense.
28:51You'd better worry about
28:52getting yourself through this first.
28:55That mess with father's sportswear line?
28:57The one the boosters front the money for?
29:00If you can't put a convincing story behind it,
29:03you can forget about keeping your spot here at all.
29:07It was you again?
29:09Logan came to it late,
29:10then jolted with the realization.
29:13How convenient.
29:14Liam barely transferred in,
29:16and suddenly,
29:17every project with Logan's name on it
29:20was falling apart at once.
29:22Every step laid out in advance.
29:25For night after night of stolen pleasure,
29:27he turned on his own brother
29:29and set even the family's interests aside to do it.
29:33What if it was?
29:35If you had a shrirk of skill or nerve,
29:38you wouldn't be at everyone's mercy at every turn.
29:45Do you tell her the truth yourself,
29:47or do I?
29:48Why?
29:49Why our whole lives
29:50did you have to be one step above me in everything?
29:53You had it good off at that school in another state.
29:55Why did you suddenly have to come back here?
29:57You've got girls lining up for you.
29:58You've got a fiancé
29:59who's the most sought-after girl in our whole circle.
30:01Why did you have to come and fight me for Avery?
30:06Standing a step above you all our lives,
30:08that was just each of us playing the hand we had.
30:11You think a single thing you own is something I'd want?
30:14Then what about Avery?
30:16Liam was about to answer.
30:18The study door was suddenly shoved open hard.
30:24I stood there, outside the classroom,
30:27numb,
30:28trembling like a leaf in the wind.
30:30My face was bloodless,
30:31streaked all over with tears.
30:33A friend had dragged me into the theatre society.
30:36I'd picked up a little about acting.
30:38It was all coming in handy now.
30:40Avery.
30:42I stared at him blankly.
30:44Then I slowly moved my gaze to Logan's face
30:46and held it there,
30:47not blinking,
30:49just letting the tears run straight down.
30:51A man's guilt toward a woman
30:53is a weapon that never misses.
30:55The opening would vanish in a blink,
30:57and right now was the perfect moment.
31:01Logan.
31:02Avery.
31:04Don't come near me.
31:05Avery, let me explain.
31:06I...
31:06Logan, you're my first man,
31:07my first love.
31:08You know how much I cared about you,
31:10how much I loved you.
31:11I could accept that your heart changed,
31:12that you stopped loving me,
31:13but I can't accept that you gave me away.
31:16This past year with you,
31:17I was so happy,
31:18so happy.
31:19No one had ever been as good to me as you were,
31:22and it turns out it was all just a dream I had.
31:25Avery, it's not like that.
31:27Let me explain.
31:27I can explain.
31:30Logan, I'm awake now.
31:32I'll never dream again.
31:34As the last word landed,
31:36I suddenly spun and ran for the second floor balcony.
31:40Below the balcony was a small garden.
31:42The gardener had just turned the soil yesterday.
31:45I'd take only the lightest injury,
31:47but the sight of a girl throwing herself off a balcony
31:50would be devastating,
31:51and I'd bet right.
31:53As Liam and Logan came chasing after me,
31:56I went over the railing without an instant's hesitation,
31:59as though I'd made up my mind to die.
32:01I heard them screaming my name behind me.
32:04I couldn't tell whose voice it was.
32:06In the brief plunge downward,
32:08I smiled, mocking.
32:11The whole campus fell into chaos.
32:13Liam, who was so far above everyone,
32:16who never appeared in public with a single crease in his shirt,
32:19now had mud caked on his trousers,
32:21and didn't notice at all.
32:23He reached out as if to hold me,
32:25then didn't dare touch.
32:27I lay curled on the dirt,
32:28my foot bent at a sickening, swollen angle.
32:31Avery, don't be afraid.
32:33The nurse is coming.
32:48I'm not going to the infirmary.
32:51Don't help me.
32:54I don't want to see you ever again, Logan.
32:59Avery.
33:05And I don't want to see you ever again, either, Liam.
33:08Once two people have known each other's bodies,
33:11the boy will always carry some thin softness toward the girl.
33:14That sliver of softness was exactly what I wanted.
33:17Let the nurse look at you first, Avery.
33:19Be good.
33:20Not until you promise me,
33:22or I won't let her touch me.
33:24This is not the time to be stubborn.
33:28Get her onto the stretcher.
33:29Don't move, Avery.
33:32But I wouldn't listen.
33:33At the break in the bone,
33:35the torn skin had split open and was bleeding.
33:37The blood ran slowly down over the old scar on my calf,
33:41staining red that faded.
33:43Faded flower.
33:44Liam's pupils contracted all at once.
33:47In an instant, the color drained from his whole face.
33:50Stop moving.
33:55I promise you,
33:57neither Logan nor I will ever appear in front of you again.
34:03Sir,
34:05we trust you this morning.
34:06That day at the campus,
34:07Liam had made that promise in front of many people.
34:10So through all my days in the infirmary,
34:12neither he nor Logan appeared even once.
34:14When I was finally cleared to leave,
34:17the Hayes family lawyer came to see me.
34:19A mild, well-mannered man.
34:21Miss Carter,
34:22Liam says that whatever you need,
34:24you have only to ask.
34:25Anything within his power.
34:28I want a sum of money and I want to transfer,
34:31finish school somewhere far from here.
34:34My family was bad.
34:35Two older sisters above me,
34:37a younger brother below.
34:38My father was diagnosed with a serious illness.
34:42Both my sisters had dropped out early to work
34:44and neither was doing well.
34:46I wanted to give my family a little money,
34:48enough at least to make their lives somewhat easier.
34:51The money's long been arranged.
34:53As for the transfer,
34:55whichever school,
34:56whichever city you'd like,
34:57it can be done.
34:59Please give Liam my, my thanks.
35:05Miss Carter,
35:08is there nothing you'd like to say to Liam?
35:09I looked down at my own thin wrist,
35:12slender enough that it seemed a light snap would break it.
35:15Like an ordinary girl like me.
35:18In their eyes,
35:19nothing more than a plaything to be traded away at a whim.
35:22Maybe Liam really did like me.
35:24Maybe there was some sliver of true feeling.
35:26But true feeling set against money and standing
35:29weighs nothing at all.
35:31There is...
35:36Please tell Liam.
35:38I hope the rest of his life is safe and smooth.
35:41Miss Carter?
35:43Nothing else?
35:44But I had already lain back down.
35:46He couldn't linger
35:47and could only turn and leave.
35:56When I walked out of the infirmary for the last time,
35:59I saw Liam.
35:59He was standing under the row of oaks at the edge of the quad.
36:02He was a gentleman about it.
36:04He kept his promise and didn't come toward me.
36:07Didn't disturb me.
36:08And I...
36:09I didn't look back either.
36:12Liam sank down against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
36:15It was as if he'd returned to that night.
36:17He had known about Logan's bet in advance.
36:20That was why, so unlike himself,
36:22he'd gone to that absurd party.
36:23So unlike himself,
36:25he'd gambled with his brother that once.
36:26He couldn't stand by and watch Avery.
36:29The truth was,
36:30that night he hadn't meant to do anything to Avery.
36:32But she had put her arms around him.
36:34She had said he smelled good.
36:35And he hadn't been able to stop himself.
36:37He'd lowered his head and kissed her.
36:39And she hadn't resisted in the slightest.
36:41She'd even answered him, sweet and pliant.
36:43In that instant,
36:44his selfishness,
36:45his greed,
36:46had won out.
36:46He'd thought,
36:47basely,
36:48then let me have her once,
36:49under Logan's name.
36:50But some things,
36:52some people,
36:52you cannot touch.
36:53After the first time,
36:54you want a second.
36:55You want it without end.
36:57When he heard Logan say he'd take her back to the room,
36:59the last thread in him broke clean through.
37:02He'd thought,
37:02then let me fall all the way.
37:04Even if,
37:05in the end,
37:05she sentences me to death.
37:07But he had never imagined she would sever herself from them both in a way so absolute.
37:11She said she never wanted to see him again.
37:13Liam suddenly opened his eyes.
37:15He looked down at the old scar at the web of his thumb.
37:17The year she had bitten him,
37:19savage,
37:20blood everywhere.
37:21She had said the same thing then.
37:23My second year at college in the city,
37:26I ran into one of Logan's old friends from Stonebridge on the street.
37:29Avery,
37:30long time no see.
37:31What are you doing here?
37:32Come on,
37:32let's eat.
37:32No refusing.
37:33Speaking of which,
37:34I've been thinking about Logan lately.
37:35Do you remember him?
37:36His brother originally planned to send him to a boarding school across the whole country,
37:39but somehow he ended up staying at Stonebridge.
37:41Honestly,
37:41he studied a lot.
37:42He actually businessed his dad left for him now.
37:44He took it seriously after everything that happened.
37:46And another thing,
37:46he hasn't dated one ever since.
37:48There was a party once.
37:49Someone happened to bring up your name and the look on his face.
37:51The truth is,
37:52at first,
37:53I hadn't liked Logan much.
37:54Maybe it was a prejudice I'd brought in from the start.
37:57Toward boys born to that kind of money and standing,
37:59I'd always kept my guard up.
38:01Later,
38:01he was truly good to me.
38:02I was young.
38:03When a golden boy like that lowers himself in front of you,
38:06of course your heart stirs.
38:08But before I could do anything foolish,
38:10reality woke me up.
38:11Though,
38:13he and his brother Liam seem to be on pretty bad terms now.
38:16Liam was supposed to get engaged this year too,
38:18I think.
38:18That fell through.
38:19And the girl everyone said he was promised to,
38:22she's gone and gotten engaged to someone else.
38:23I've got class.
38:24Let's do this another time when there's a champ.
38:26Avery,
38:27is there really no chance for you and Logan?
38:29You know,
38:29Logan really was a bit reckless back then.
38:30But from what I know,
38:31you two just had him understanding.
38:32He honestly never slept with that girl.
38:33Could we please not bring him up again?
38:35All right.
38:35Thanks for dinner.
38:36Goodbye then.
38:37Hey,
38:37no need to be polite with me.
38:38Avery,
38:38come back to town and visit sometime.
38:39Everyone misses you.
38:40We'll see.
38:41A black car drove past me.
38:43My step caught just for a moment.
38:45But the car didn't pause an instant.
38:46It sped on ahead.
38:47I looked down,
38:49smiled,
38:49shook my head,
38:50and kept walking.
38:51Waiting at the crosswalk,
38:53the wind picked up.
38:54Hey,
38:55Avery.
38:56I turned without thinking
38:57and looked straight into a pair of deep,
38:59dark eyes.
39:00Liam stood at the intersection,
39:02his black car parked behind him.
39:05Avery.
39:05He wasn't wearing glasses.
39:07Finner than two years ago.
39:09The line of his jaw sharper.
39:11What are you doing here?
39:13Passing through.
39:14Passing through.
39:15This is a college town.
39:16It's at least four hours from your city.
39:18He didn't answer,
39:20just kept looking at me,
39:22his gaze heavy.
39:23Let me drive you back to campus.
39:25No.
39:28All right.
39:32Avery.
39:33His footsteps followed,
39:34matching my pace,
39:35a few feet behind.
39:37What do you want from me, Liam?
39:40I want to talk to you.
39:42We have nothing to talk about.
39:44You promised.
39:45Both of you.
39:46I know what I promised.
39:47Then why are you here?
39:49For a second,
39:49he said nothing.
39:50Then he reached into his pocket
39:52and took out a business card.
39:54If you change your mind.
39:55I looked at the card.
39:56White.
39:57Embossed letters.
39:58His name and a phone number.
40:00I took it and turned it over.
40:02Then I tore it in half.
40:04Then in half again.
40:05I let the pieces fall to the sidewalk.
40:08Don't come back.
40:09I turned and walked away.
40:11This time he didn't follow.
40:13I made it two blocks before I stopped.
40:15I leaned against a wall and pressed my palms to my eyes.
40:18My hands were shaking.
40:20When I got back to my dorm,
40:22something fell out of the pocket.
40:23A white card.
40:25The same business card.
40:26He must have slipped it in while I was tearing the other one.
40:29I hadn't felt a thing.
40:30I stared at it for a long moment.
40:33Then I opened my desk drawer,
40:34put it inside,
40:35and closed it.
40:36I flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
40:39Two years of quiet.
40:41Of nothing.
40:41I thought I'd built a safe life here.
40:44And Liam had found me in three days.
40:47I didn't call him.
40:48I went to class, as usual.
40:50I studied.
40:51I ate at the dining hall with my roommate.
40:53Everything normal.
40:54But lying on my dorm bed,
40:56my thoughts suddenly drifted back.
40:58At the marina,
41:00after too much wine,
41:01I'd told Liam exactly how I got the scar on my calf.
41:04Back then, I hadn't thought much of it.
41:06It was just an old childhood story.
41:09But now,
41:10lying alone in my dorm room,
41:11I found myself remembering it again.
41:14The memory felt sharper now
41:15than it had in years.
41:17When I was little,
41:18there had been a boy
41:19whose family was richer
41:20than anyone else in the neighborhood.
41:21He was spoiled, stubborn,
41:23and always surrounded by other kids
41:25trying to impress him.
41:27For some reason,
41:28he loved bothering me.
41:29Maybe it was because
41:30I never paid attention to him.
41:32The more I ignored him,
41:33the more determined he became.
41:35One afternoon,
41:36he followed me around for nearly an hour,
41:39refusing to leave me alone.
41:41Eventually, I lost my temper and shoved him.
41:43He shoved me back.
41:44We ended up fighting beside a row of concrete planters.
41:48I was smaller than he was and stood no chance.
41:50He pushed me hard enough that I lost my balance
41:53and slammed into the edge of a planter.
41:55The pain came instantly.
41:57I looked down and saw blood pouring down my calf.
42:00I remember sitting on the ground,
42:01crying while he stood there looking horrified.
42:04Then,
42:04because I was furious and hurt and eight years old,
42:07I grabbed his hand and bit him as hard as I could.
42:10He screamed.
42:12There was blood on his hand and blood on my leg.
42:15Both of us were crying by the time adults came running over.
42:18A few days later,
42:19he showed up carrying medicine.
42:20I thought he had come to laugh at me.
42:22Instead,
42:23he crouched beside me and stared at the bandage on my leg.
42:27It doesn't look that bad.
42:30It looks like a flower petal.
42:33The day I jumped from the balcony,
42:35the blood ran over that same scar.
42:37Liam's face went white the moment he saw it.
42:40I climbed down from the bed
42:41and opened the storage box beneath my desk.
42:43Inside were old notebooks,
42:45photographs.
42:46After several minutes of searching,
42:47I found it.
42:48That year,
42:49there was a large photograph.
42:51Mr. and Mrs. Hayes,
42:52Logan,
42:53and Liam.
42:53My eyes fixed on Liam's right hand,
42:56at the web between his thumb and index finger.
42:58A scar.
42:59The boy who had called my scar a flower petal.
43:01The boy I had bitten until his hand bled.
43:04What if it had been Liam all along?
43:07Liam's version of that year starts the summer before.
43:10He saw me first at a scholarship dinner.
43:12He attended as a trustee representative.
43:14I stood on stage,
43:16accepting an award,
43:17wearing a dress that didn't fit quite right.
43:19I looked nervous,
43:20but I spoke clearly,
43:21thanked the donors,
43:22and walked off without looking back.
43:24He didn't think much of it.
43:25Not then.
43:26Keep an eye on your brother.
43:28Logan's getting sloppy.
43:30Drinking too much.
43:31Chasing girls.
43:33The family name needs protecting.
43:34Liam arrived in September.
43:36At the private welcome reception,
43:37someone pointed out Logan's girlfriend.
43:39He saw how Logan talked to me.
43:41Casual.
43:42Dismissive.
43:44Your brother's putting his girl on the table tonight?
43:46You coming?
43:47The night of the bet,
43:48he knew about it before it happened.
43:50Liam came.
43:51He told himself he was there to stop it,
43:53to take me out of that room and tell me the truth.
43:55Then I hugged him,
43:56called him Logan,
43:57and told him he smelled good.
43:58He couldn't stop himself.
43:59He kissed me,
44:00and I kissed him back.
44:01At that moment,
44:02he didn't want to be the good one anymore.
44:04He wanted to be the one I chose.
44:06So he kept up the lie,
44:07night after night.
44:08He told himself it was temporary,
44:10that he'd confess when the time was right.
44:12Then I jumped off the balcony,
44:14and he realized,
44:15the time would never be right.
44:16The lawyer went in the next morning.
44:18Liam had written the check himself,
44:20added three zeros to what the lawyer suggested.
44:22The lawyer came back and said,
44:24she wants to go far away.
44:25He didn't ask the lawyer to pass on a message,
44:27but the lawyer asked her anyway.
44:29Please tell Liam.
44:31I hope the rest of his life is safe and smooth.
44:34Liam went to his room and stayed there for two days.
44:37I didn't call.
44:38I waited a week.
44:40Then two.
44:40Then I found myself standing outside the coffee shop,
44:43where I'd seen him walk in three days in a row.
44:45He wasn't there by accident.
44:47He was there because he knew,
44:48this was where I came on Thursday afternoons.
44:51I pushed the door open.
44:54I walked up to his table and sat down across from him.
44:57Tell me everything.
44:59From the beginning.
45:00The night of the bet.
45:02He told me everything.
45:03He came to stop the bet,
45:04but he kissed me instead.
45:06He kept pretending because he wanted more.
45:08He remembered the fight.
45:09He knew I was the girl who bit him.
45:12Two years.
45:13You had two years to tell me you knew who I was.
45:16It, it matters.
45:17I didn't think it mattered.
45:19Don't come back here again, Liam.
45:20I will.
45:21I'll come back.
45:21Every day if I have to.
45:23I waited two years because you asked me to.
45:25I'll wait two more.
45:26But I'll be here.
45:28I walked halfway down the block and stopped.
45:30I leaned against a wall and closed my eyes.
45:32Liam was the boy.
45:33The one who said my scar looked like a flower petal.
45:35The one I bit.
45:36The one who brought me medicine.
45:38The one who watched me fall and didn't catch me.
45:40I walked back to my dorm and opened the drawer,
45:42looking at the card.
45:43Then I heard someone call my name again.
45:45I looked out the window.
45:46For a moment, I thought it was Liam again,
45:48but I knew it was Logan.
45:51Avery, I know.
45:52I just, someone told me Liam came to see you.
45:54I thought if he was breaking the promise lately,
45:56how things I could too work.
45:57You shouldn't be here.
45:57That's not how promises work.
45:59No, I know.
46:00Two years ago, I was, I know that's not enough to say,
46:03but I wanted you to hear it from me,
46:04not through someone else.
46:05I don't need an apology, Logan.
46:07What do you need?
46:07I need you to leave, both of you.
46:09I built something here, small, quiet, mine,
46:11and you two show up in the same week
46:13and act like I'm still the girl from two years ago.
46:14I'm not, I don't want to be.
46:16I know you won't hate Liam either,
46:17but I don't want either of you.
46:18Not anymore.
46:19Not the way you want me.
46:20The boy I'd been afraid of for a year.
46:22The boy who'd thrown me into a card game
46:24like I was nothing.
46:25Who'd stood by and let his brother touch me,
46:27claim me, ruin me.
46:29Is there anything I can do?
46:30You can go home.
46:31Take care of your family's business.
46:33Stop gambling girls away.
46:36Okay.
46:37I meant what I said
46:39about you being the only one.
46:40Then he got into a car and drove away.
46:42A week passed.
46:43Then two.
46:44On the third Thursday,
46:45I walked into the coffee shop.
46:46Liam was sitting at the same table.
46:48He looked up when I came in.
46:50I walked over and sat down across from him.
46:52Two years.
46:53You said you'd wait two years?
46:56Yes.
46:56Then start counting.
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