Chapter 18 Dorian
Dorian
Jack stands by the window, his back to me, his hands in his pockets.
Just like the old days, he’s clad in full black from head to toe.
He turns to face me, and when we look at each other, it’s almost as if nothing has changed. But it has. So much has changed, we’re not the same people anymore.
I close the door behind me. The click is sharp in the quiet.
The last time we stood together in this office, we ended our friendship. He came to beg me for help, and I turned him down, closing the door on our twenty years of friendship.
A week before that, I’d walked in on him in bed with Catherine. Strange how the friendship didn’t officially end then.
My mind flicks back despite myself.
I think of him, her, and the lies between us.
Neither of them ever told the same story twice. Not about how long it had been going on between them. Not about when it started, not when it ended. I never believed either of them.
I still don’t.
Not that it mattered.
The shitty thing was, Catherine and I were destined to end from the beginning.
She wanted something I was never going to give her. That had been clear long before I walked in on them.
That moment just finished it. The real loss was Jack.
I don’t allow many people to get close to me. He was an exception. Sure, we grew up together so it was easier, but I saw him as no different from one of my brothers.
Elodie signed the contract earlier today. It actually fits that he’d come to see me.
I expected we’d run into each other at some point. Just not now. And not here.
“Your secretary let me in,” he finally speaks.
“No, she didn’t. She told you to wait.” That’s exactly what Elena would have done, especially with him. She knows Jack. She’s been my secretary since my rookie days.
Jack tilts his head and almost smiles. “I didn’t feel like waiting.”
Typical Jack. I can see some things never change. He’s always stepping over lines like they don’t exist for him.
I walk further into the room, my gaze dragging over him from head to toe. He looks… off. Thinner. And like the years have not been kind to him.
With the way he lived his life, it doesn’t surprise me.
I stop a few feet away, and for a second, neither of us speaks.
“What do you want, Jack?” I refuse to beat around the bush.
His mouth twitches and the tension settles back in. “You know I’m here to talk about Elodie.”
“What about her?” I hold his gaze, unmoved.
He exhales through his nose, like he’s trying to decide how to play this. “I want to be angry with you,” he says. “But I don’t have the right. You helped Elodie out in a real big way.”
I don’t hesitate. “You’re right. And you don’t have a right to be angry with me.”
His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t push back. Not with that. “Marriage, Dorian?”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was going to pick the easier way out.”
“You think that was the easy way?” I ask flatly.
“Of course, it was. As opposed to working two jobs to pay you back. Yes, damn straight, it was the easy way out,” he seethes. “Why in hell couldn’t you pick somebody else?” He sounds like an echo of my father, except Dad didn’t sound so bitter.
“She was given a choice. She made it.”
Of everyone who knew what was going on, he was the only one who hadn’t signed an NDA.
But I wasn’t worried about him. If it were just about me, it would be different, but when it comes to Elodie, he wouldn’t drag her name through the mud. Besides, all he knew was about the loan. He didn’t know about the auction at the Dark Odyssey and that I practically bought his sister.
“You shouldn’t have made her such an offer.” He lets out a breath, pushing on. “You crossed a line.”
“Have I now?” I raise a brow slightly, unimpressed.
“She’s not used to guys like you,” he adds. “You, this world”—he gestures vaguely around the office—“it’s not for her. And I don’t mean the wealth. I mean the life you live with your women and your minions and your scandals.”
“And you know what’s best for her?” I throw back, though my tone is cool.
“I’m her brother. Of course, I know what’s best for her. And you are not it. You and I both know you could have done things differently. Fuck, a hundred and twenty G’s is pocket change to you.”
“So, I should have helped her for free?” I cock my head.
“I’m not saying that.” He balls his hand into a fist and takes a step forward. “I’m saying you could have done things differently. If you hurt her—”
“Don’t,” I cut him off and shake my head. “Don’t even fucking go there.” I hold his gaze, letting the weight of my warning land.
He stills, but he’s fuming. I know he wants to rip into me but is holding back because of the money. Because I was there for his sister when he wasn’t.
“I’m not the one who’s going to hurt her,” I continue, quieter now but no less firm. “Whatever happens, that person won’t be me.”
Something flickers in his expression. He knows exactly what the fuck I’m talking about.
We don’t need to take that walk down memory lane and rehash what he did.
“Right,” he mutters, understanding. “Still, I hope you mean that.”
I don’t respond.
I don’t need to.
He shifts again, restless now. “I guess guilt must be riding your shoulders. Maybe you’re trying to make up for the past.”
“No,” I answer, shocking him. “I’m not.”
He draws in a sharp breath and throws me a cold stare. “You are unbelievable. We lost everything, when you could have helped. You don’t even feel an ounce of remorse.”
“No, Jack. I don’t.” It’s harsh, I know that, but it’s the truth. Jack never took any responsibility for his actions. I wouldn’t do it for him.
“I’m not happy about this.” He grits his teeth. “You with my little sister.”
“Your little sister is a grown woman. And she chose me.” My tone shuts him down.
With his jaw set, he nods. “Then I guess there’s nothing more to say.”
“No. Not really.”
“She can do better than you, Dorian Vale. I truly wish she had.” He smirks, moves past me with his head held high, and marches out the door.
I watch him go.
The door opens. Closes. And just like that, he’s gone.
I stand there for a moment, staring at the space where he stood, the tension still hanging in the room like it hasn’t caught up with him yet.
Then I exhale slowly, my mind already pushing the encounter aside.
There are more important things to deal with.
Jack Harper is not one of them.
He stopped being one of them a long time ago.
His sister, on the other hand, is at the top of the list.
My soon-to-be wife.