Shouldn’t Have Gone

by Mara Lynne

  “You got a keeper, bro,” Damien says nonchalantly, forcing a smile out from his hard face.

  “Yeah, I know,” Hunter replies as he heaves Angel close to him, taking pride for himself. “I thought you forgot about her.”

  “You’re wrong about that.”

  Angel stands there with her shaking legs, waiting for events to unfold naturally. Hunter has no clue about her relationship with Damien, and she’s literally holding her breath each time she watches the two men respond to each other. On one hand, she has Hunter being naturally nice but utterly oblivious, and on the other hand, Damien pushing his patience. What worries her is the possibility of Damien losing his temper and revealing everything. She is just not ready for that.

  Although Damien is still talking to his brother, his gaze shifts to Angel. “How could I forget about her, Hunter? I don’t think I’m that old to forget that day when you brought her to meet the family.”

  “Everyone likes her,” Hunter said. “Do you, Damien?”

  Silence.

  Angel’s throat constricts. Her chest suddenly feels a lot heavier. The brewing storm inside her begins to get out of control. Hunter’s grasp on her hips tightens as they both wait for Damien’s golden answer.

  She knows it’s a general question—something Hunter could ask to just anyone. He could even ask the mayor or Mary, and she wouldn’t care what they think of her.

  But Damien…

  Whatever his answer will be, she knows it would mean anything other than what he ought to say. It’s like a double-edged sword. If he says yes, he could be intending to say that he likes her for Hunter like what his family feels. But if one looks closely, it’s not just that. It would be openly telling the world of his feelings for her, of their secret history. But if he says no, then it would either be he’s not in favor of her being his sister-in-law, or he’s totally gotten over her. The first one could be a little shady. His disapproval of her marrying Hunter would mean two things: first, he just doesn’t like her, or second, he wants her to himself.

  Damien tilts his head, surveying the already ill at ease Angel.

  “I think it’s just right to ask my best man,” Hunter cuts in as soon as the silence becomes too dragging for his taste.

  “I understand, Hunter,” Damien replies, gaining back his cool. “With all honesty, I think one will find it hard not to like her. It would even be a challenge to mend a heart broken by her.”

  “Thank you for the warning, brother,” Hunter says. “But I have no plans of getting my heart broken.”

  “Well, I’m not raining on your parade, brother.” Damien hardens his voice, stepping forward with his hands on his hips, and says with a sly smile at the side of his mouth, “But don’t you think it’s too early to say that? When I was in Spain, I learned an old adage from a friend about forever.”

  “Pray tell me. What is it?”

  “One does not just get happiness and assume it as without end. There will always be a ‘sometime’ in the future,” Damien states.

  Hunter nods as though he understands Damien.

  “Just a heads up, Hunter. I don’t want you to end up butt hurt.”

  A sleazy grin forms on Hunter’s face.

  “It seems that some Spanish lady found a way right through your heart and ripped it into pieces,” Hunter says. “I warned you before that Latinas could be ferocious. Nevertheless, you are way too young to resent love. Someday, you’ll find her.”

  Damien shakes his head and laughs.

  “It’s so odd to hear you speak alien with me. Just so not like you, Hunter.”

  Hunter’s face turns crimson red. He looks down at Angel. “It’s all unexpected.”

  But no matter how she forces herself to be pleased with what Hunter just said, Damien’s presence and his speech cripple her train of thoughts. Now, all she could think of is to find a peaceful place for her to decode Damien’s message. One just can’t simply read between the lines like that. But for Angel, if she has to put up with Hunter’s brother for a long time, she has to learn this skill. She will never have the power to read his mind, and the only way to know what he thinks and what he’s up to is to understand him correctly and not color it with too many conjectures. One can interpret a couple of meanings from what he just said, but she just could not identify which ones to believe.

  “By the way,” Hunter starts, “I presume that you did not come here just for greetings.”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, the moment I’ve heard from Mother about your impending engagement,” Damien says, “I thought of running straight here to congratulate you. Truly, I am happy for the both of you.” His eyebrow arches as he says. His face speaks otherwise.

  “I came here to render my complete service. I’d be happy to assist you in your wedding.”

  “That’s nice of you, Damien,” Hunter says.

  “I’ll keep in touch with Angel,” he adds, his chin held up high.

  Angel presses her lips against each other, preventing herself from disagreeing. She can pinpoint a hundred reasons for Damien to be doing this.

  “I just don’t know how you can help,” the confused Hunter says.

  “It will be your mistake, Hunter, to underestimate me.”

  “I know!” Hunter beams. He knows Damien to be a man of so many ways. “Well then, if you insist. But I don’t want you sleeping with any of the bridesmaids.”

  “I thought you’d say your bride.”

  “You have not lost your humor, have you?”

  Damien shrugs his shoulder, and says, “Without it, this world would be a very boring place. Don’t you think, Angel?”

  “Yeah,” she answers, forcing her voice out. It took her three long seconds to even process the question and find an answer. She does not think Hunter has noticed her unease though it is quite the opposite for Damien. The man has been feeding his pride all the time she stood in front of him so helpless and unsure, so afraid and stunned. She wants to break into tears, but Hunter would question that. She wants to run upstairs to her room, hide under the covers, and just let her emotions eat her up this time. She wants to let herself be lost in the sea of ambivalence and uncertainty. She just does not know what to do and what to expect. Last night, she was excited to spend the best of her days with the man she loves. Last night was a dream, but how could waking up from that dream be a nightmare? How could this day mark the beginning of this dreadful reality?

  “But of course, aside from the wedding…” Damien continues. His attention is on Hunter now. “There are a few things we have to talk about.”

  Hunter sighs, and the look on his face changes.

  “Angel,” he speaks to her with both his hands on her arms, “won’t you mind if I speak alone with my brother? Don’t you want to get dressed and prepare for breakfast?”

  She nods.

  Perhaps hitting the shower can pull her back to reality and out of this nightmare.

  Chapter 3 –Warning

  Hunter knows that Damien did not just come to wish him and Angel well for their upcoming wedding. He knows his brother very well, and he is not the type to waste time for such formalities.

  “So when did you arrive from Spain?” he asks as he leads Damien to the drawing room. “I have not heard from you since you got discharged from the hospital.”

  “A few days ago,” answers Damien. “I was just being considerate, you know. I actually did you a favor.”

  Hunter snickers as he turns on his heels to face his brother.

  “On what occasion have I asked for your favor?”

  “Can’t really remember,” Damien replies with a creased forehead. “But I’d like to believe leaving Jersey for a while earned you a bit of peace. Mind you, I’m back to take it away.”

  It is true. With Damien away for almost half a year, Hunter enjoyed the freedom of having no responsibilities. He had all his time devoted to persuading Angel, which was indeed a huge favor. He knew Damien enjoyed Spain, and that it had been a good place for dive
rsion. He saw his brother destroy his own life with drugs and alcohol, and he was happy he had the initiative to treat himself by leaving behind these vices—even for just while. Hunter believes that Spain did Damien some good. Judging by his looks, the weather and the people there helped him so much. He’s gained his weight back, his senses included. It feels so good to see his brother act like nothing happened. Whatever had caused him severe depression and had turned his life to the worse could go. Hunter is certain that his brother fought bravely and has regained his strength to steer clear from it. Though he had tried really hard to get him to tell him what happened, Damien would just shut his mouth and drift his attention to what was pleasurable but unhealthy and perilous.

  “You’d turn up on my wedding day, wouldn’t you?”

  “Is there a chance you’d find another best man?” Damien asks, grinning. “But seriously, you will know where I will be on that day.”

  “I’ll drag your ass out from where you’ll be hiding, Damien.”

  A set of leather-bound Shakespeare books lay on top of the oak desk near the window, and Damien’s fingertips stroke the golden linings of the book edges.

  “I don’t remember you being a romantic, Hunter,” Damien says as his head slowly expunges the memory of Shakespeare and de Vere, and of course, Angel.

  “Those came with the house,” Hunter replies as he takes out a crystal container of a 1940 Avignon wine from the same desk. “And this too. Want a drink?”

  Damien shakes his head.

  A sigh of respite breaks out of his throat. For the love of God, he thought Hunter has found Angel’s tickle. He could have gone into fits if Hunter said he bought it for Angel.

  “These aren’t authentic.”

  “What’s not authentic? The wine?” The smell of it is just like the spring of the nineteenth century France. “Or the books?”

  “The books. I’m sure the wine is just fine.”

  “Right. I don’t really care about the books or Shakespeare,” Hunter answers. “I remember you have a huge collection of him and other classical writers in your den.”

  “I tell you, Hunter, they help a lot with women.”

  “Just drop that love advise, will you? I don’t do that stuff.”

  “And how did you manage to catch Angel then?”

  Drinking from the rim of his glass of wine, he eyes his brother. “You know how I am with women, Damien. I have a very exotic way of doing things.”

  “I couldn’t imagine how you have tormented her. Poor girl,” Damien utters as he turns away from Hunter, laying his gaze on the Shakespeare collection. “How much did you spend for this house? I heard through the grapevine that you forced the owners out of here on the day of your purchase.”

  “You make me sound so evil, you rascal!”

  “It’s what you do best.”

  Only that tone of mockery in your voice saves you from me, Hunter thought.

  “Don’t tell me you deny the truth, Hunter?”

  “Well, I don’t, but I am not actually that evil,” he says as he realizes he has to set things straight with Damien. Whoever told him about how he got the house must be blamed and not his brother. “It’s a gift for her. It should be after the wedding.”

  “Got too excited?”

  Hunter shakes his head and replies, “Will was threatening us. My apartment was no longer safe for her. So I coerced Wyatt to give me the house. Who told you about this? Mary?”

  “Laurel.”

  “Ah!” Not surprising anymore, Hunter thought. Laurel, Mary’s niece, is a classy gossip just like the first lady though they abhor being classified as such. But who would have spilled the news to her?

  Hunter’s intuition could be wrong, but he could not think of other reason but this. Mary could be the source of this information. She’s very well known for having an intelligence unit always ready for her disposal. He has fought a long battle against it just trying to protect Angel’s real identity from her. He could not fathom the idea of the ruin or trouble that awaits the woman he loves when Mary knows who she really is, what she did for him, and how he found her. He swore he’ll do everything to protect her from this woman’s vicious eyes.

  “Send my regards to Laurel and Mary.”

  “You know they will just rebuff you,” Damien tells him as he freely sits on the couch facing the huge window. The scenery of the whole garden is so inviting that it reminds Damien of the grand garden he had taken Angel to one night. “That brings me to the real purpose of my coming here.”

  Hunter does the same. He relaxes his back against the soft cushion and crosses his leg against the other.

  “I’m taking over the family business,” Damien says in one quick go.

  It took half a minute for Hunter to say anything.

  Is his brother even serious? He does not sound like he’s bluffing. The severity of the news causes Hunter to be speechless for quite a while. In those moments of complete silence, all he could do is wait for Damien to revoke his words.

  “I thought it’s time for Dad to leave everything to me. What do you think? I think I have come of age to manage the family business, don’t you?”

  At twenty-four? With no prior experience in anything business-related , Hunter does not want to believe that Damien is actually considering it.

  A half smile—doubtful but amazed—erupts on his face.

  “Does Dad know about this?”

  “Not yet, but I will tell him later tonight. I came to you first to seek your advice since you’re very good at this.” Words just come out naturally from Damien as though they’re unintentionally planned. “And to think that you took over your mother’s family business at the same age as I am, I think I’ll really do well.”

  This haughtiness Damien showcases is starting to irate Hunter. It’s not that he has no confidence in him over this matter, but Damien knows nothing about leading an organization. Damien’s has no idea about the pressure he would have if he becomes the man behind this huge empire which thousands of lives depend on. This is no game, and yet, Damien acts like owning this responsibility is as small a matter as a speck of dust.

  Or is this even the true reason for his annoyance?

  Doesn’t he want the family business for himself?

  Doesn’t he want his father to recognize him as his son, and by doing so, he wants him to give him his trust? The only way for his father to prove this is for him to turn over the business to him. How will that be made possible if Damien comes the way? How will he achieve his goal if Damien takes it from him?

  “Are you serious?” he asks with a shadow of doubt dripping from his voice.

  Damien nods enthusiastically. He’s never been more certain all his life.

  “Don’t you think it’s too early for you to be taking over the business?” The question just slips from his mouth, but when he realized that he is being too conspicuous of his qualms, he tones down and heaves a deep breath. “What I mean is, don’t you think you will need more training, more time to get to know the company? To study the organization and how things work there? Maybe like start on the grassroot level. Don’t you think someone who knows more about stuff, who’s more familiar with the competition, is more apt for this job for now?”

  “That is why I am asking you, Hunter.” Damien leans forward with intertwined fingers. His gaze is set only against Hunter’s dark ones. “I will need your help when I assume the position. You see, you’re very fit for this.”

  Hunter could not agree more. He knows he’s the rightful heir to the Etheridge wealth despite his illegitimacy. But that will no longer be a problem when he bears the name Etheridge soon. When he legally becomes one, nobody can ever look down on him—not even the demeaning witch, Mary Etheridge.

  Damien goes on. “I will need your expertise, and I know you will not turn me down. I am your brother, and I can always count on you.” He can never be so unsure, Damien thought.

  Hunter shakes his head.

  He will do anything for h
is brother, but he’s not sure if he could sacrifice this one. All his life, he only wanted to be accepted, and this acceptance is only assured if he inherits the Etheridge wealth. Nonetheless, ever since he was a child, his mother had always made him aware that he will always come second to Damien. Damien will always get all the privileges of the world simply because he’s got the Etheridge name, whereas he, himself, must settle for the few spare things.

  But that should not be the case every time. Time’s changing. Things change. And although it may sound impractical, he’ll climb the highest mountains or even cross the widest seas, just to get that name, that recognition which he firmly believes to be rightfully his.

  As he watches his brother getting so engrossed with the idea of inheriting everything, he could only see innocence in him. His brother, who knows nothing about his insecurities, has always been his best friend. All this time, Damien is secured in himself that he’s got no competition in Hunter. He believes that Hunter would not ask for anything else with the Stone fortune. Hunter made him believe that for more than twenty years. And Damien, being too naïve and trustworthy, only thought of him as his caring and loving brother, who is not capable of stealing. He does not know that this brother whom he trusted his entire life with, is the one who will take away everything from him.

  But in all truth, he’s not about the money. He just wants the name and the recognition, and perhaps some of the old man Etheridge’s love. Yet he could not get these without taking away things from Damien, and he feels really sorry for him.

  “I don’t know…” he utters.

  “Come on, Hunter. I can’t do this without you.”

  How should he decline?

  How should he say it without hurting him?

  “Maybe you should seek for someone else’s...”

  “Who? Will?”

  Hunter’s eyes furrow.

  “I heard the man is missing. How could I ask for his help when I don’t even have the slightest idea of his whereabouts?”

  “Damien…” His voice is deep and serious. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to be hanging out with Will.”