Chapter 10
“Interesting.”
I turned around from the counter I stood at and saw my fiancé’s brother.
He held a bottle of champagne in his hand, and his tie was loosened.
My fiancé, Ethan, and his brother, Liam, were very handsome and looked almost exactly alike, but Liam was a couple inches taller than Ethan.
They both looked like their father. Their youngest brother, Kyle, looked like their mom.
I had escaped the crowd in the living room to be alone with my thoughts for a few minutes. I sipped my champagne as I stared out of the kitchen window.
“What’s that?” I asked, surprised that he was speaking to me. He didn’t seem to care for me by the judgmental glances he had given me since meeting me.
“I didn’t take you for the type my brother would be interested in.”
“Why is that?”
He walked further into the kitchen with his hands tucked in the pocket of his slacks, and his eyes never wavered from me.
“He usually goes for the bougie, black Barbie type. You’re nothing like that.
With your blonde hair, thick curves, and sassy attitude, I can see how he might find you appealing though.
It would be hard for a man to resist a woman like you, even if you don’t fit into the carefully thought-out plans for his life. ”
“Although you seem to be throwing shade, I’ll choose to take it for the compliment that it is. One thing about me is that I’m not fake, and I’m not delusional. I know who I am, and I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not. Matter of fact, I love me.”
His eyes narrowed, and a slick smile appeared on his lips. “As you should. I respect that.”
“Good.” I turned back to the counter, and he came and positioned himself beside me.
“What is it that you see in my brother?”
I turned my glass up and finished the last of my champagne in one gulp before I set the glass in the sink. “Is there something that I can help you with?”
“I’m just trying to get to know my future sister-in-law better. Can I help it if I’m intrigued?” Liam asked, scoping me out slowly from head to toe. I didn’t like the way his eyes lingered on my breasts, hips, and thighs.
“Would your wife approve of you getting to know me better or being intrigued?”
“My wife and I have an understanding.”
“Well, your brother and I don’t.”
He chuckled and pulled the glass out of the sink, turned the water on, and rinsed the glass. He poured a healthy amount of champagne into the glass and handed it to me. I held it up and stared at the glass before I looked at him.
“What’s this for?”
“A toast. To the growth of our family.”
I stared at him for several long seconds before I finally held my glass up. He tapped the bottle against my glass, creating a loud clinking sound that had me pulling my glass back quickly in fear that it might shatter.
I sipped my champagne, and Liam pulled the bottle to his lips and took a long, healthy swallow. He trawled his gaze down my body as he drank. When he pulled the bottle back from his lips, he winked. A bead of champagne rested in the groove of his full bottom lip.
“My mother is worried about you.”
“Why?”
“She thinks you’re trying to get your hands on the family fortune.”
I scoffed, shook my head, and rolled my eyes.
“I can assure you that I’m not interested in your family’s wealth.
I may not have come from what you all did, but I have worked hard to gain what I have.
I’m proud of my family, the hard work that I’ve put in, and what I have accomplished.
I don’t need your brother to boost me to another level.
I’m good on my own. I want your brother because he’s a good man who loves me and makes me feel whole. ”
He nodded. “Is that what you tell yourself?”
“Excuse me?”
“When you’re trying to justify being with him knowing that he’s still in love with his ex.”
I reared my head back. “What is your issue?”
He shrugged nonchalantly and turned his lips down. “I don’t have one. I’m just stating facts. It’s no secret that my mother wanted him and Pandora to marry, just like it’s no secret that Pandora will never let him go.”
“Seems to me like she already did. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be with me.”
“Sweetheart, this ain’t no fairy tale. I can promise you that it’s not over between those two.
They’ve been best friends since they were four and inseparable for most of their lives.
He found out she cheated on him during their freshman year of college and broke up with her.
You were his revenge. But every school break, he found himself right back with her. ”
“He was dating me in college.”
“That may be true, but where was he when he came home from college?”
I thought about that. We both lived in the same city, on opposite sides though. When we returned home on break, he usually spent time with his friends, and I spent time with mine. After all, we had time to spend with each other when we went back to school. I never questioned it.
“I don’t know what your endgame here is, but I don’t want to play.”
I walked away, but he grabbed me by the wrist. Liam pressed himself against me from behind, and I could feel his erection against my ass and his warm breath on my neck. Asshole!
“Too bad. You’re already playing. If you lose, the consolation prize is worth it.”
I spun around, and my eyes slammed into his, and his fingers pinched the skin of my wrist as he held my arm upward, pinned against my chest. “There is nothing that I want from this family except for Ethan. I promise that I won’t let Pandora, your mother, you, or hell stop me from marrying the love of my life,” I hissed.
We were only inches apart, close enough that we could kiss if we wanted to, but all I felt was an intense hatred burning in my belly for Liam.
Someone cleared their throat behind us, and I heard Mrs. Elaine Shields’s judgmental voice. “Sevyn, dear, my son, Ethan, is looking for you. I think you should rejoin the party now.”
A look of mock disgust colored Liam’s face, as he shoved my arm away. “I hope I made myself clear,” he stated in a low tone.
When I turned around, I saw a look of horror on Mrs. Shields’s face. “I don’t think my son would approve of your behavior, young lady. If you do anything to hurt my child, so help me God, you will have the entire fury of a mother bear raining down on your head.”
“But I—”
“Please. Go see what Ethan wants,” she demanded and waved me off.
Fury rolled through me as I glanced back at Liam and saw the smirk on his lips.
I rushed from the kitchen to find Ethan.
From the way Liam portrayed things, it could have easily been misconstrued that I was coming on to him.
I understood how his mother could have mistaken what she saw, but she hadn’t even given me the benefit of the doubt.
I hadn’t lain eyes on the woman in months, but I immediately knew who she was.
There was a certain type of evil that was impossible to forget, and Elaine Shields was that type of evil.
I turned my gaze away from her, and Liam and I met each other’s questioning stare. I remembered exactly who he was too.
Liam was a different sort of evil than his mother. He was sneaky and quick to betray family if it yielded him what he wanted. I could not believe they were demanding I leave the home that I had lived in since marrying her son and his brother.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, rolling in front of Deuce.
“You have the nerve to ask why we’re doing this, and you’re the one bringing another man in my son’s home? My child has not been cold in the grave for six months, and you’ve already replaced him.”
“What?” I shrieked.
Deuce’s large hand planted firmly on my wheelchair handle and easily pushed me out of the way.
“The fact that your twisted mouth could form those words tells me what type of sick individual you are. First, she has the right to go on with her life at any point she chooses to, but she hasn’t done that.
The only thing that she’s done is worked hard to get her mobility and speech back.
But neither of you would know that considering that you only showed up once.
“I couldn’t figure out that day why you all showed up angry, but you never returned. I guess I know why now. You didn’t give a damn about her health and how she was doing in the hospital. The only thing that either of you gave a shit about was how soon you could kick her out of your property.”
“We’re here to reclaim our property. It’s time for us to cut our losses and for everyone to move forward with their lives.”
“And you just conveniently popped up to reclaim it the day that she was released from the hospital?”
“Contrary to what you choose to believe, my mother has kept a close eye on Sevyn and her progress. She was informed that Sevyn would be leaving the hospital today,” Liam stated.
“I just thought that I had more time,” my mother-in-law confessed. “I would not have wanted to confront you this way.”
“I’m sure that you wouldn’t want to confront me at all. I’m sure that you would have been just as happy never to see me again,” I replied boldly as Deuce moved from in front of me to stand beside me.
Elaine stared at me with eyes as sharp as glass. “What I would have appreciated was if you had never walked down the aisle with my son. I told you that you would feel my wrath if you ever hurt him.”
“And I never did. It was your son who repeatedly hurt me, yet I forgave him and took him back again and again. I’m sure that you had something to do with that.”
“You cannot blame a mother for not letting a whore sink her claws into my son.”
“All right, that’s enough of that,” Deuce barked. “I don’t know what your problem is, lady, and I don’t give a damn. But I’m not going to stand by and watch you disrespect her or stress her out. Do you even have a heart? She just got out of the hospital, and you two come ripping her to shreds.”
“How long has she had you wrapped around her finger?” Liam asked.
“You jealous little boy who can’t seem to find his way out from under his mother’s breasts. I may not remember a lot, but I remember what happened that day in the kitchen,” I accused.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Liam sneered, stepping closer to me. Deuce stepped in front of my wheelchair and became a wall of brick between the two of us. I tried to peer around him, but he was immovable with his arms crossed over his chest in a show of force.
“I’m sure that you don’t. That same little act you put on for your mother the day of Ethan’s and my engagement party is the same one you’re putting on now.”
“Get out of my house, Sevyn,” Elaine spoke up.
“The state of Georgia gives me seven days before I have to leave the property once the eviction judgment is finalized.”
“And yet, look at that. It’s been seven days,” Elaine replied, tapping the Writ of Possession that she had reclaimed from Deuce. “The sheriff’s office will be here soon. I suggest you get packed and moved out before they forcibly remove you.”
I looked to Deuce with a helpless look. “Go ahead and grab what you can. I’ll handle the rest,” he stated, pulling his phone from his pocket.
I stood helplessly by as he glared at them.
“You will give her time to get her things together in private.” He slammed the door in their faces as he made another call.
My heart was heavy as I rolled back to my bedroom while he spoke into his phone. “Hey, Asad. I need you to contact Frost, and I need you at the address I’m about to text you. I need you here immediately. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll let you know. I need to call Blake. A’ight. See you in a minute.”
The tears fell from my eyes as I entered the room that I had once shared with my husband. I couldn’t believe that my life was continuing to fall apart. I had nowhere to run, no place to go, and no one to take me in.
I went to the walk-in closet and snatched my clothes from the hangers.
How had I never known that the condo wasn’t ours?
How had that escaped me? I had moved out of my tiny apartment into the place where Ethan had been living for six months.
I always assumed that it was his, and I never questioned it.
The same way I had done with so many other things through the years.
I needed to find out how much money I had in the bank.
Thankfully, years ago, I had given Waverleigh power of attorney over both mine and my grandmother’s financial and medical matters in the event something happened to us.
Even after I married Ethan, that had remained in place, and I had never changed it.
I was certain that she had handled my finances well, but without any income, I wasn’t certain what all I had remaining.
With mounting medical bills that would be paid mostly by my insurance, there were still copays and deductibles to be met.
I was certain most of that had dwindled my savings during my time in the hospital.
The short-term disability pay wasn’t much.
It wouldn’t be easy to just get another place overnight, but I hoped that I could afford an extended stay hotel until I could get my affairs in order.
“Sevyn?” Deuce called to me, interrupting my thoughts as he strode into the bedroom.
I looked over my shoulder. “Yes?”
“I’ve got some help coming soon. I know this isn’t easy for you, but I just need you to grab what is most important.
Don’t worry about the clothing or shoes; we can take care of all that.
Most importantly, grab any important documents that you may need, any sentimental items or memorabilia that you don’t want to lose. ”
I nodded and sniffled as the tears fell freely. Before I knew it, Deuce was kneeling in front of my chair, and he held me in his arms and rubbed my back gently. He rested his chin on my head and whispered, “It’s all going to work out just fine.”
“I have nowhere to go, Deuce.”
“Yes, you do. With me. You’ll go with me.”