“What happened?”Instead of going to my penthouse, I am now in my brother's villa. The whole ride all the way here was quite long because it's far from the city.“Do you want to drink something?”Wine!Yeah, right. I'm not going to be deceived by that. No alcohol for me for a month.If... I can take it. Can you imagine a month of not drinking?“Thanks for asking. A glass of water will be nice.”We're now in the kitchen of his villa, and it's oddly bigger than my bedroom. This isn't my first time here, but I somehow forgot that his place was this huge.He places a glass of cold water for me on the counter just beside my hand. I'm sitting on a stool and he's leaning his hips near the door leading to his back lawn.“How was your day with him? Did he change at all after five years?”Oh, there it is. I swear, if this conversation is going to turn out to be about my personal life and choices, I will leave even if it means that I need to walk a few miles to reach the highway.“Trudy, I don't
“You're boosting my confidence even more, sis.”My brother takes his shirt off before taking a quick dive in the pool.Oh, damn. I wish I could swim. That's the only thing that I could envy someone else for.“I'm just telling you the truth. You know, what I can observe from my point of view.”He shakes his head to get rid of the water that managed to enter his ears. “Alright, then. Perhaps, we're just on the same side. That's why your point of view miraculously aligns with mine.” He made a heavy emphasis on the word ‘miraculously’, and that made it seemed like we never agreed on something.“Anyway, I saw your campaign ad for Calvin Klein.” Trudy's lips suddenly form a genuine and proud smile that I immediately take as a compliment. “It was all over Las Vegas. Hell, the marketing is so intense. I've never had a partnership like that. I bet you were paid a lot.” The way that my brother is talking is similar to how I talk when I can't believe that such things could be possible.It's like
After lunch, my brother and I continued to talk about his one and only true love. He once again offered to drink liquor, but I had to force myself to fight the urge of wanting to drink. I have to take a break from drinking. It's for my own good.Yeah, right. I'm going to go clubbing with Lucas, yet I'm avoiding alcoholic drinks?How can I beat the temptation if I'm exposing myself in front of it?The talk that I had with my brother was quite long. There were a lot of things that he wanted me to know. Things that he had been keeping from me and from our own parents for years now. Things that held his truth and emotions captive.Things that made him feel afraid.He indeed was needing me. He has no one else to turn to.I left my brother's villa with a promise that I will never tell anyone else about everything that he told me. And I'm not even expecting him to do the same. I don't care if he starts telling other people about how stupid I am for letting Lucas back into my life. I don't ca
The exact location of the club is at the topmost floor of the building. And it's almost ten o'clock, yet I'm still inside my car.Uncertain of what to do.Out of all the clubs in Chicago, why did they decide to settle on this one? Why does the location has to be the number one problem? I haven't even stepped inside, yet I'm already dealing with this shit.So, what am I going to do now? Am I going in? Or am I going to back out? I don't want to keep Lucas waiting. But at the same time, I also don't want to let myself walk inside the devil's lair.If I do, my brother will definitely pester me about it again. It will be all over the internet, and it will make headlines. They are going to waste their time thinking what could I be doing inside the club that Mr. Bryce fucking Tryst owns.But despite those consequences, there's really nothing else to consider. There are no consequences that are heavier than it. I mean, my family is not going to disown me for having fun in a club where I'm not
“You know most of them?” Lucas questions me as we both sit on the leathered furniture surrounding the table in the middle.The furniture is circular, and we are sitting on the left side where no one else is sitting with us. They are all in front of us.“Yeah, I know most of them. Schyler and Sylvester are friends of my cousin, Harvey. And then, Isequel is, well, let's just say that I know him.”I don't know how else I'm going to shrug the confusion within me. I have no idea how to treat Isequel when he's a friend of both Conrad and Bryce. For pete's sake! Why is Conrad so friendly?“Okay. If you want to put it that way, then, it'll be that way.” Lucas grins at me before kissing my cheek without a warning.My cheeks immediately heat up.“I think I'm about to be tipsy.” His breath is touching the surface of my face, and I can smell the rum that he's drinking. “I've been fighting it since earlier. These guys seem so tough.” He continues to talk as my eyes just focus on his lips. There a
“Well, you guys look like you had so much fun.”Lucas and I are now back in our seats, and Isequel here decided to acknowledge us.I still don't know how to deal with him.“Yeah.” Lucas answers for us, which actually calms a part of me. My system is refusing to say a single word to Isequel. “Why didn't you bring your girlfriend? I was expecting that everybody will have a date tonight.” Lucas takes another bottle of rum, and he opens it to drink straight from the bottle.I lost count of the bottles of rum that he had opened to consume.“Oh, wait. She's your girlfriend?” Isequel meaningfully flashes his smile at Lucas. And this man beside is about to lose his shit because of what he's drinking. I don't know why, but that's what my gut is telling me.To answer Isequel's question, Lucas just smiles at Isequel too. Probably doesn't know what to say. It's a good thing because it's a strong sign that I'm not going home tonight trying to carry a drunken man.“There's no clear label.”There. I
“Well, that’s unfortunate. I was expecting to have fun with you guys. It’d be lame if you leave now.”Bryce is still trying everything that he can just so he can change Lucas’ mind.But I know better. If only I could talk to Lucas privately, I would tell him that Bryce’s version of fun is different from the version of fun that we all know.Right now, I could only hope that Lucas wouldn’t be convinced by Bryce and his mind games that come with hidden intentions.“Man, if he wants to leave, he will leave. You can’t make someone stay even if you go down on your knees and beg.” Isequel adds, but the tone of his voice doesn’t sound like he meant what he just said.I wouldn’t be fooled by these two. If there’s something that I always need to remember about them, is that they would never betray each other. Bryce stays for Isequel, and Isequel stays for Bryce.Conrad was the one who told me that. And right now, I can perfectly see it even in different angles from my perspective.“I guess. I me
I never thought that it would be so easy admitting to Lucas a certain part of my past that I don't like talking about.It's not that I want to forget it permanently, nor do I exclude it being a part of me. But it's just, Bryce Tryst had already brought enough damage in my business and in my personal life.Remembering that he used to be a part of my life will only make a lot of things worse for me.“I still can't get over it.” Lucas comfortably settles himself on the bed as he pulls the blanket to cover his body. He's shirtless, and he only has boxers down there.“So, he wasn't lying earlier?” Questions keep on coming out from his mouth after the very moment that I revealed to him that the devil is my ex-lover after all.And I want to answer all of them, but I know that it will drain me, and then I will eventually get pissed. And I don't want to be like that to Lucas, so, I tried to divert the attention away from the informations that he's having a hard time to grasp on.“Yes, Lucas. H