Twisted

As they drive to the compound, Yasmin wrestles with Julian’s question. She wants to say yes, but “It isn’t fair. Not when he’s taken away the choice entirely. I’m his whether I want to be or not” (290). Seeing him be cold again, she realizes how he’s begun to change with her. She knows he’s not morally upstanding, but her feelings for him are real, and she finally admits to herself that she cares for him. She tells him she’s his, but he doesn’t believe her yet.

Julian instructs Yasmin to stay in the bedroom of the compound. He realizes he no longer cares about inheriting Sultans; he only wants to be with her. Despite the forged will, he knows he won’t be able to kill her.

He confronts archeologist Jeannie, who is hiding something. Jeannie claims Ian has been making a mess of things. Julian closes down the dig and abandons the search for the lamp, which he no longer cares about.

The next morning, Ian is surprised to see that Julian has arrived early, and Aidan is surprised to see Yasmin. Aidan makes her coffee, but not the way she likes it. Julian gives her a fresh cup made the right way. Aidan asks to talk with Yasmin alone.

Yasmin knows she has to end things with Aidan. Aidan asks if they still have a chance; when she tries to leave, Aidan kisses her. Julian sees.

Julian is furious that Aidan touched Yasmin while she is wearing his ring. He storms away to the bedroom, and Yasmin follows. Julian confesses that he hurts people: “I bribe and blackmail and kill” (310). She forgives him. Julian tells her he wants her, all of her, forever. Yasmin admits that she is in love with him. They have sex. Julian feels content because “it feels like she’s choosing me. And she’s the only one who ever has” (317).

Yasmin can’t sleep, reflecting on her feelings for Julian: “I’m done ignoring the darkness inside me that understands everything that Julian is” (318). She takes her camera outside and runs into Jeannie, who has bright blue hair. Jeannie is the one who texted Yasmin offering help. She warns Yasmin that someone is trying to kill her and gives Yasmin the lamp.

The next day, as they leave, Aidan stares at Yasmin, and she feels sad for what they have lost. Nervous about the lamp being discovered, she asks Julian to prevent customs from inspecting her suitcase. They have sex during travel. Julian is forceful, which Yasmin appreciates: “Everyone has always walked on eggshells around me, and I never realized until him how much I needed the opposite” (327). When they return, Yasmin checks her voicemails and learns her father has slipped into a coma.

Yasmin says goodbye to her father and sits with him as he dies. She worries she will never feel whole again with him gone. The next day, she sends Julian to work and contacts the lawyer, Gazim, to tell him she won’t initiate a divorce. Going through Julian’s desk, Yasmin finds the forged will. Ian comes to the house. Yasmin calls Riya and asks for her help. Then Ian hits Yasmin, knocking her unconscious.

Julian visits his lawyer to draft an arrangement protecting Yasmin. He is no longer possessive about the diamond business: “She could burn Sultans to the ground with me inside, and I’d die happily, knowing she was queen of the ashes” (336). He is a powerful man who has gone from rags to riches, but Yasmin has changed him for the better. He calls his mother to announce that he is severing contact with her. With Yasmin, Julian finally knows what real family is and what it feels like to be chosen over everyone else. After the conversation, Julian feels that invisible chains have been broken.

He returns to the house and sees that Yasmin has found the will. He feels desperate to explain that things have changed—that “I fell for her, I fell out of love with the idea of power, because she gives me everything I’ve been missing instead” (340). He finds a broken vase, watches the security footage, and sees that Ian has kidnapped Yasmin.

Ian demands the lamp in return for Yasmin. He reveals that Darryn Anders is involved in his betrayal. Riya comes to the house and reveals that Yasmin had the lamp, which Julian locates in her suitcase. Aidan appears as Julian leaves to find Yasmin.

Yasmin is being held hostage at the warehouse where Julian taught her how to drive. Julian appears with the lamp. Ian is angry that Julian betrayed their plan and became interested in Yasmin instead. Darryn only wants the lamp. Riya appears and attacks Darryn, who shoots her. Julian attacks Ian. Aidan unties Yasmin, who crawls to Riya’s side. Julian tells Yasmin to leave and save herself, so Yasmin allows Aidan to pull her away.

Aidan takes Yasmin to a small cottage on the edge of Badour. Yasmin, listless and hollow, fears Julian is dead. She overhears Aidan on the phone and realizes that Aidan is also in on the plot with Ian and Darryn. Searching Aidan’s bag, Yasmin finds a gun. Aidan admits that he wants more than what he and his mother have always had. When he attacks her, Yasmin shoots him.

Julian takes Ian and Darryn to his hidden room, draped with plastic. With Isabella at his side, he mutilates Ian while Darryn bleeds out from a gunshot wound. Julian gives the dead bodies for Isabella to dispose of, and takes a shower. Yasmin stumbles through the door, shaken but grateful to find Julian alive. Riya has also survived. As they embrace, Julian is relieved: “I’ve spent my entire life feeling less than. I spent countless years and killed numerous people, all to work toward gaining the upper hand and becoming something more. Who knew this whole time, all I ever needed was her” (362). Yasmin makes him feel like the most powerful man in the world.

Two months later, Julian and Yasmin are in bed. Riya is mending from her wound. They buried the lamp with Yasmin’s father. Yasmin brings up that Julian was planning to kill her, laughing that she changed his mind through sex. Julian “still can’t quite believe that this is my life. That I’m hers, and she chose me” (365). He surprises Yasmin by showing her the photography darkroom he has added to the house. He wants to be the rest of her firsts and her forever. He would build a whole new world for her.

Five years after Ali died, Yasmin and Julian are running Sultans together. She leaves most of the work to him. They are now also in the antiquities trade, as well as the diamond market.

On the night of an event to honor Yasmin’s photography work, Julian finds a pair of red panties in his briefcase and goes home to find Yasmin baking cookies. They have sex and declare their love for one another, confirming that each belongs to the other, forever.

Character profiles for Julian and Yasmin list information like their physical characteristics, family relationships, memories and regrets, and story goal.