Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
K ellen
I watch the person who I’d thought could have been the woman of my dreams a day ago leave, and then Matthias walks out without saying another word to me. Why would he? Now that he’s got his fixer, he’s sure his problems are over.
Fuck, this has turned into a nightmare that I can’t wake up from no matter how hard I try.
Pacing, I try to wrap my brain around where it all went so wrong. The obvious answer is when I laid eyes on Gina. I could kick myself for getting involved with her. She’s not even that hot, and the sex was average at best.
All of this for a mediocre lay.
Marius and Ronan talk in low tones on the other side of the room, no doubt about what a mess my life has become. I don’t understand them. How could they turn on me and side with Matthias on this? Both of them have had their fair share of good times, but now they act like they’re the paragons of proper behavior.
If Theo was here, he’d back me up. That I’m sure of. Out of all of us, he devoted his life to having fun. Yeah, if he was sitting in that meeting, it would have gone a hell of a lot differently.
Fucking Matthias! I swear he wouldn’t know a good time or what to do with one if it bit him straight on his damn ass.
Mumbling my frustration, I walk past my brothers and throw them a dirty look for being such assholes about my life. That they have a say in it at all is wrong on so many levels, but that they seem to take some perverse pleasure in standing with our oldest brother against me is what really hurts.
“You’ve learned nothing from anything that’s happened, have you?” Marius asks behind my back.
I spin around and walk directly over to where he sits. Staring down at him, I say, “Learned what? What the fuck am I supposed to have learned? That my family is full of goddamned hypocrites? Oh, I learned that all right. That my oldest brother is the worst of all of them? Yeah, I got that down pat too.”
Ronan shakes his head. “This isn’t a Matthias problem. It’s a Kellen problem.”
Of course, Marius has to add his two cents too. “And as long as you keep blaming everyone else for your problems, they’ll never go away.”
“You two are so full of bullshit! A Kellen problem? Both of you enjoy having a good time just like me, but I’m the bad guy? Do explain that to me because I’d love to see you square that circle.”
Both of them look up at me like the damn answer to my question is written on my forehead. They have no justifiable reason why I’m in trouble for something they routinely do. I knew it. What frauds!
“See? You can’t explain that because you two are just as into having a good time as I am.”
Again, Ronan shakes his head. “Your good time endangers King Industries. Ours don’t. It’s really that simple. Why can’t you just accept that you fucked up?”
It’s like talking to a brick wall with everyone in my family anymore. Matthias never listened. He’s always been so damn sure of himself that he can’t imagine being wrong. That Marius and Ronan turned on me still stings, but I see they’re happy thinking what they do is fine while I’m a fucking criminal.
“I don’t give a damn about the company. Screw Matthias! Let him fire me. I don’t care.”
Storming away to the other side of the game room, I start pacing again. What would my father say if he saw what a mess his company is now with Matthias at the helm? He’s probably rolling in his grave at this very moment.
“Yes, you do. You wouldn’t have gotten an MBA if you didn’t care about the family business,” Marius says, as if he knows a damn thing about why I’ve done anything.
It’s like my entire family has abandoned me.
“I’m not spending the next three months with a fucking babysitter. That’s for sure.”
Marius and Ronan stand up and begin setting up the table for a game of pool. How nice that they’re so worried about my mistakes and the company’s reputation that they can enjoy themselves.
“Now that you brought it up, what exactly happened with Salem?” Marius asks while Ronan racks the balls.
What happened with my mystery woman is the most enjoyable part of this whole unfortunate business. Since it’s all going to come out at some point anyway, I figure it won’t hurt anything to tell my two brothers.
As Marius breaks, I explain, “I met her at that resort in Turks and Caicos. That one with the butlers in the villas. I swear the one I had this time was so good I wanted to steal him away from the hotel.”
Ronan takes his shot and misses the ball completely. “I like that place,” he says with a smile, and for a second, he’s the old Ronan who used to be one of my best friends in the world.
“Yeah, it’s good. Get to the point about the girl, though,” Marius says before taking his shot and sinking the four and six balls in the right corner pocket.
“She was in the restaurant. I liked how she looked, so I walked up and starting talking to her.”
My brothers turn to look at one another and then back at me. “Let me guess. She told you to go fuck yourself,” Ronan says with a chuckle.
I could lie and make myself look better, but I got her in the end anyway, so what’s the point? “Not in those exact words, but pretty much. I used my innate charm, though, and she ended up back at my villa but she wanted it to be anonymous. I didn’t really need to know her name anyway since we were just having some vacation fun, so I never knew who she was until she walked in here today.”
“And promptly showed everyone how little she thinks of you,” Ronan says as he takes his shot and bounces the twelve ball off the side of the pool table. It wanders around on the green felt before stopping nowhere near any of the other balls.
Marius teases him about that being a nice shot and then sinks the two ball in with no problem. “So you were having a good time and then you left her without even saying goodbye? Dude, what is wrong with you?”
“It was fucking Matthias. He called me and threatened my life if I didn’t come back because of this whole Gina thing.”
Both of my brothers shake their heads and stop playing. “What?” I ask, not understanding why they’re staring at me.
“What you did is on you, not Matthias. He did what he did, but nobody told you to ghost that woman. You could have said goodbye, at least. Who the fuck leaves a beautiful woman alone in a villa he paid for without even saying goodbye?” Ronan asks.
“This guy,” Marius answers, rolling his eyes as he lines up to take his next shot.
Before I can say another word, Matthias walks back into the room looking as happy as a fucking clam. “Okay, everything’s set. Salem has gone back to her place in the city to get things she’s going to need, so all you have to do is grab your things from your apartment and head over to Grandma’s. I already talked to Mick, and he’s gone over there to make sure everything’s in working order. Eleanor is taking care of any food you’ll need. She’ll be heading over there with Ava to stock up the kitchen and pantry. I’ll make sure the Wi-Fi is on as soon as I can. So I think that’s it.”
I sit down on the chair and try to stuff down everything I want to say right now, but it’s no use. I can’t stifle my feelings anymore.
“How nice for you that everything’s back the way you want it to be, Matthias. Your perfect life is back in order. How wonderful. Meanwhile, I’m being sent into exile like some state fucking criminal.”
He gives me one of those looks of his that scream he doesn’t care. “Grandma’s house isn’t exile. It’s literally less than fifteen minutes away from here. Anyway, why are you acting like it’s not a nice place? Dad took care of it ever since she died, and when I got it in the will, I went over there and made sure it was in good shape. It’s not like you’re going to be roughing it there.”
“And what the hell am I supposed to do out there for three months? I won’t be working since I’m forced to take a leave from the company. I can’t be on social media. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Take up gardening?”
My three brothers shrug like they rehearsed not giving a damn about my life after intruding on it for the past hour. “Catch up on some good shows,” Ronan suggests.
“Fuck all of you! Marius and Ronan, I won’t forget this. When you screw up and big brother here wants to punish you for it, don’t look for my help. No fucking way. As for you, Matthias, you’re just a dick.”
I’m not sure why that infuriates him, but he marches over to where I sit and looks down at me with pure rage in his eyes. “I’m only a dick when I have to be. Maybe if you didn’t act like a spoiled fucking child, I wouldn’t have to act like that. I have responsibilities. I know that doesn’t mean anything to you, but people rely on me to make the right choices. King Industries isn’t just you and me. It’s thousands of people who depend on the company to pay them so they can have homes and cars and send their kids to school and a million other things you don’t give a shit about. Maybe if you thought of anyone but yourself for once you’d understand. Grow up, Kellen.”
I leap out of my chair as his words fill my brain. Grow up? Fuck him!
In his face, I snap, “This is why Theo knew you were a tool. Grow up is always what people like you say.”
Anger flashes in my brother’s eyes as he practically shakes with rage. “Stop talking before you say something you’ll regret. I’m warning you, Kellen.”
Inside my mind, something goes off. Pushing against his chest, I send him back a few feet. “You’re worried about me saying things I’ll regret? What about you? Do you regret anything, Matthias? How about what you did to your own brother, you dick? You knew how he felt about Ava, and fuck it, you didn’t care. You wanted what you wanted, and that was it. And now you’re going to stand here lecturing me about how to behave?”
Narrowing his eyes, he practically growls his words. “Stop or you’re going to regret it. Don’t say another goddamned word about Theo or Ava.”
“Oh, do you mean like you knew he was in love with her? But why would you care about that? He was only your brother. Then again, look what you’re doing to me. I guess someone should warn Marius and Ronan about you since family doesn’t seem to mean one fucking thing to you!”
Matthias lunges at me the second I finish speaking, and the two of us crash to the floor, him on top of me. Thankfully, I’m about the same size as he is. I don’t wait for him to start swinging before I take a shot at his face. My fist connects with his jaw, stunning him for a moment, but that’s all the advantage I get before he starts punching me like he’s some kind of madman.
Marius and Ronan pull him off me, and I jump up to my feet, ready for round two with him. “Don’t hold him back. Let’s have this out once and for all.”
Blood pours out of my nose and down my face, but I’m ready for more. He wants to fight? I’m here for it, blood and all.
“Stop acting like an asshole, Kellen. I swear you just make things worse,” Ronan says, stepping in between us so I can’t get another shot at Matthias’s face.
My oldest brother yanks his arm out of their hold and glares at me with utter disgust. “You don’t know a fucking thing about Theo or Ava. He wasn’t the guy you think he was, and what they were to one another isn’t what you think. I’m done with you, Kellen. Stay away from me until you’re ready to know the truth. Until then, you’re no one to me.”
He storms out, and Marius throws me a rag from the side table. “Clean yourself up, for fuck’s sake. What is wrong with you talking about Ava like that? Jesus, Kellen. You make it hard for anyone to like you.”
Like Matthias, he leaves in a huff, so it’s just Ronan and me. I’ve always been closest to him, even though I idolized Theo my entire life. I think my youngest brother did too, so I’m not surprised to see him so sad after what just happened.
“Why do you keep having to bring up Theo every time you’re around? He’s gone. Nothing you say or do will bring him back.”
I sink down in the chair and hold the rag to my face as I tilt my head back to stop my nose from bleeding. “I’m not trying to bring him back. I just think the truth of what Matthias did with Ava and Theo needs to be said.”
Ronan walks over to where I’m sitting and shakes his head sadly. “You need to stop believing everything about Theo was great. He was human and made mistakes. What happened with Ava was because he couldn’t handle the fact that she and Matthias had been together one time five years before he and Ava got together. He acted like a spoiled child, like she wasn’t supposed to go with anyone while he spent his time sleeping with anyone he wanted. Stop blaming her and Matthias for the fact that Theo was wrong.”
I stare up at him, stunned at what he’s saying. “Matthias knew how Theo felt about her, and still he didn’t give a damn and took her away. Theo might be alive right now if he hadn’t been so upset about losing her.”
“Theo died because he hit a wall in a race. It had nothing to do with Matthias and Ava being together.”
Clearly, this brother doesn’t understand the truth either. Waving him away, I toss the bloody rag on the table beside me. “You don’t get it. You wait until Matthias has the chance to screw you over. And don’t expect me to be there to back you up either now that I’ve seen how you and Marius betrayed me in a heartbeat.”
“What has happened to you?” Ronan asks. Frowning, he continues, “It’s like you’re hell bent on making everyone unhappy. I get it. You miss Theo. I do too. But he’s dead, and Matthias is alive and expecting his first child with Ava. Why can’t you just be happy for them? Why do you keep saying things that hurt both of them?”
I don’t bother answering him before I march out of the game room and down the stairs to leave. By the time I get to my car, I’m angrier than I’ve ever been in my life. All I want to do is get the hell away from this place.
Flooring it, I tear down the road away from the house but remember I forgot to stop off in the kitchen to get those butterscotch cookies Eleanor made for me. I won’t go back to get them no matter how good they would have tasted.
Let Matthias have them. He’s the man of the hour, so he deserves them. All I get is exiled to an old woman’s house I haven’t seen in nearly ten years.
Thanks for nothing, big brother.