by Mara Lynne
Two brothers fighting for love.
One fights for the love he already lost.
The other, unaware of the threat, could not do anything but depend on what is present.
Should she just tell Hunter everything? Should she warn him of what she thinks Damien could do against him—them? But that would endanger their relationship, wouldn’t it?
Perhaps she should just keep the whole thing to herself. Besides, only a few people know about her past with Damien: her dad, mom, and Ray. If she gets Damien to pledge to secrecy, then she will have no trouble in the future. But that’s only when she could get herself the time and the courage to face him and talk to him, which she thinks is quite far from possible right now.
Once they arrive at the Etheridge mansion in the city, Hunter and Angel are led by a female servant to the dining hall where Mary and James are waiting.
Dressed in lovely black evening dress fully embroidered with white crystals around the waist, Mary welcomes them with open arms. And yet Angel feels that the embrace is forced and unwillingly done.
“What a lovely ring you have there, Angel,” Mary comments as her chair is being pushed in by James to the table “It must have cost Hunter a fortune.”
Feeling shy about it, Angel finds her purse quite handy, hiding the ring from Mary’s probing eyes.
“Thank you. Victoria helped Hunter a lot,” she says.
Mary’s face goes sour when she hears Victoria’s name. She just could never stomach the woman’s existence. Even though she’s not physically present today, Mary could still feel her ghost lurking around, and Angel did a rather good job on pissing her off.
Jars of roses and lighted candlesticks fill the table. Mary holds pride over her collection of tableware and napkins. However, Angel, as simple as she is, does not even blink an eye to notice the difference between the table cloth from the napkin.
“Where is that son of yours, Mary?” James asks as he sits on the main chair. On his right is Mary, and Hunter and Angel are on his left. Two spaces beside Mary appear to be prepared. One might be for Damien, but the other remains a mystery.
“He will be arriving soon,” Mary answers as she unfolds her napkin and lays it over her lap. “You know your son very well, James.”
Hunter leans closer to Angel and whispers to her, “I think we are in for a lot of surprises from that brother of mine.”
Angel could only hope the surprise would not catch her off guard.
When the food arrives, soft footsteps and flirtatious giggles drift from the door.
“It must be Damien now,” Mary exclaims clapping her hands altogether.
“Did he mention he’d bring a guest with him?” Hunter asks.
“He doesn’t really like to be the only one without a partner, does he?” James responds with his eyes on the appetizer.
Crossing the threshold are Damien in semi-casual attire—a pristine white collared long sleeve shirt and a pair of slack trousers—and a slender blonde woman walking along with him whose leg is peeking through a high slit. Her flirtatious giggles are unsurprisingly annoying Angel to the bone.
“Hunter?” the blonde woman cries out in exhilaration as she sees Hunter on the table. “How are you? It’s so good to see you.” She hurries to him to give him a warm peck on the cheek.
“Candice? Why are you with Damien?” the flustered Hunter asks.
James and Mary leave their mouths opened, watching the surprise unfurl spontaneously.
Damien shows off the biggest smile his face can make, avoiding Angel’s bewildered gaze.
What is happening? she asks herself. Heat spreads throughout her entire body, and it’s too complicated to find out where it’s stemming from. Is it because the woman kissed Hunter on the cheek, or is it because she came with Damien?
One thing’s for sure, Angel does not like her.
Candice brings her arm around Damien’s waist which the latter takes positively. They walk towards their seat, and Damien acts all gentlemanly around his date—to the point of pulling and pushing the chair for her and setting the napkin on her lap.
“I thought you’re bringing an old friend,” James speaks to Damien as he begins to slice his steak.
“Candice is an old friend,” Damien answers. “She and Hunter used to be an item a few years back.”
A tint of scarlet spreads across Hunter’s cheeks. He spares an apologizing look to Angel, who appears unaffected with what Damien just said. Somehow, Angel’s genuine passiveness to the topic brings him relief.
“Those were good times, right, Hunter?” Candice turns to him with a wink. “And I heard you’re engaged. Is she the one?”
“Yes, Candice. Her name—”
Candice interrupts. “Angel Grant. I know who she is. Damien filled me with stories about her. I feel like I’ve known her for years.”
An awkward silence fills the room.
The growing discomfort pains Angel so much that she wishes she has not gone with Hunter tonight. She sees how Damien bites his lower lip.
What does Candice mean by that? Angel thought. Did Damien tell her everything about them? Candice’s loquaciousness almost gave him away.
“Why would Damien talk about Hunter’s fiancé to you?” the ever-curious Mary inquires.
Angel sees how Damien straightens his back against the chair. He starts to play with his cherry tomato.
“I don’t know,” Candice answers. “Damien just loves to talk about anything and anyone to me.”
“Are you two dating?” James finally questions, not minding Candice’s little mistake—if it was even a mistake.
All eyes go to Damien—well, except Angel. Her sole attention is on the piece of uneaten meat on her dish, but her ears are as attentive as her brain.
“Candice and I are dating,” Damien replies in one breath.
Oh!
Angel drops her fork unintentionally. She feels her fingers stiffen.
“So clumsy of me…” she states, forcing a smile out. She grows weary that the forced smile might look so fake that everyone notices it. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, Angel,” Candice says. “I know everyone will be shocked with the news. We planned to hide this until your wedding, but I don’t think I could keep up with the excitement.” She looks at Damien as though waiting for his approval to drop the bomb.
“I don’t think it’s the right time to tell them, Candice,” he says while caressing Candice’s hand.
“Are you pregnant?” Mary’s voice is so loud that it hurt Angel’s ears. She doesn’t think she would like to hear any more of what this strange girl would say, neither Mary’s surprised commentaries.
Candice laughs.
“You tell them, Damien.” Her coaxing voice begins to irritate him.
“Are you pregnant, Candice?” echoes Hunter.
She nods her head roughly like it is going to be chopped off her neck, then she adds, “And we’re getting married!” while showing to everyone a huge diamond ring on her tiny finger.
Mary gasps.
Shockingly, James is not startled.
Hunter raises a brow.
And we’re getting married…
Angel’s ears close on its own. She only hears her heartbeat escalating—strident and rowdy. She hears a voice in her head—probably screaming. A lump in her throat constricts her air supply, and her vision starts to blur.
Are those tears?
She can’t answer.
She knows that she was seeing her meat dish a few minutes ago, and now, only its unrefined outline is remarkable in her view.
The feeling of being watched arises. She knows Damien’s eyes are on her, so she does all she can to prevent the tears from leaking. The sound of celebration and congratulations does nothing to her. She has gone deaf the moment Candice broke the what-supposed-to-be a happy news.
But her chest feels abnormally heavy.
Why?
Why does she feel so uncomfortable… and weird?
I can’t be jealous.
It was gone. Everything she feels for Damien has long been gone.
So, what is this she’s feeling then?
“I know this is supposed to be Hunter and Angel’s night.” Although intended to be a whisper, everyone heard it. “But I think the news is too great to be kept for a month or so. I hope it’s okay with you, Angel.”
“What’s not okay with me?” Her voice croaks.
“Please don’t think I’m trying to overshadow your wedding, your night, and most especially you.”
Right! It’s this girl making her upset. She just does not like her. There’s no genuineness or humility in this human. She is sure of that.
It’s not Damien marrying, it’s the girl. He could marry any girl in the world, and she will not care. There’s just something in Candice, which she cannot point out, that she does not like.
“No!” Angel replies immediately with a smile on her lips, stretched from the obvious thin line she had before. “Why would I be jealous? I’m happy for you. Congratulations on the baby and on your wedding.” She thinks she sounds too authentic that she sees Damien furrow his brows.
“That was indeed a surprise.” Hunter butts in as he reaches for Angel’s hand.
His touch is so comforting that the tears at the edge of her eyes, so ready to fall, rescind.
“Indeed!” James utters. “So many weddings to plan.”
Mary is left speechless. She seems to genuinely hate the news. If she were delighted, she would have been the first one to jump for joy. Or perhaps, she’s just too flabbergasted she forgot to talk.
“We don’t like to eclipse Hunter and Angel’s moment, so we thought of moving our wedding a month after theirs,” Candice says. “Although my baby lump would be a little noticeable by then.”
“A double wedding would sound nice,” James speaks, putting down his knife and fork. “It will surely make headlines.”
Chapter 6 – Uncalled Sacrifice
Hunter leaves Angel alone in the balcony as he goes to talk to James who has disappeared from the dining hall after the hearty meal.
James is sitting on his desk with piles of document everywhere. With one quick look, he already knows what troubles his son.
“Close the door carefully if you don’t want your brother to hear what you want to say.” James goes directly to the point as he relaxes his back on the chair.
“Have you come to a decision, father?”
James heaves a deep breath, sending Hunter into a foreseeable distress. This is the first time after so many years that Hunter called him ‘father.’ James got used to his impersonal formalities especially when he identifies him as ‘sir’ rather than the more intimate and personal honorific.
“I thought I had,” James answers as he gathers his legs and pushes his weight up to a standing position. He moves close to the high ceiling window and looks out into the open space outside. It’s dark, but a tall lamp post supplies what the sky lacks. “But certain things need to be reconsidered. If you were in my shoes, Hunter, won’t you want to listen to the other side and give him the chance to prove his worth?”
And what about the side who has proven himself worthy long enough? he asks himself.
“You are my son, Hunter. Even if you don’t have my name, you have my blood.”
“What else should I do to earn your approval, sir?”
“You’ve done everything, and I am impressed. You’ve risen to where you are right now without my help; you built your own empire without me.”
But he knows what Hunter really wants, why can’t he just give it to him?
“I understand,” Hunter coldly answers. He’s not on top of his priority just yet.
There is sympathy in James’ eyes, and Hunter could see it.
“I heard you agreed to Damien’s proposal,” James starts again as he lights a cigar. “How do you think will you manage your brother?”
He doesn’t really know. He was compelled to agree because Damien was so sure he will do great. Although he is not to be underestimated, Hunter could not help but foster qualms. Damien is yet to be tested, and he demands the family business to be the medium of his test. His brother has never been serious about anything in his entire life—well, except for school in which he graduated with flying colors. How could he risk the family business?
“I have no idea,” he honestly says. “Perhaps I should take instructions from Damien on this day forward.”
“Hunter…” Suddenly, a tone of grave concern is in James’ voice. “I might have given Damien the right to control the company, but that doesn’t mean you have no voice. It is yours as much as his.”
His father has always told him that, but since he’s not an Etheridge, he doubts if he really has that privilege.
“And how should I do that, sir?” He knows he can’t just override Damien’s decision once he becomes the boss. He will act as the invisible hand, the man behind the curtains, the perfect shadow, but it is not the same as taking on the reins himself.
It hurts to see how James disregards him. It has been like this his whole life, and even though the man keeps on promising him security—a place in his home, a position in his life, and the right to be called his son—Hunter never feels any of that to be real. And tonight, James broke his heart again.
“Oversee his actions. Guide him. Teach him to be like you.”
He loves his brother so much, and despite the injustice, he can’t seem to bring himself to resent him. Damien is the one always favored. He gets the best of both worlds. He experienced growing up with a father which he did not even get to have.
And now, even for a second, he wants to be angry at Damien. He wants to be selfish and make Damien feel what he has always felt. It’s all because Damien is the favored one. It’s all because he’s legitimate while he’s not. It’s all because he’s the youngest and deemed to be more fragile than him that he got all of James’ attention. Right from the start, he knows Damien is being groomed to be the only Etheridge to walk the planet, priding himself to be James Etheridge’s son.
And whatever James tell him, they’re all empty words—baseless promises to make him feel inferior to Damien.
“You will help your brother, won’t you, Hunter?” James walks toward him, and as soon as he is just a foot away from him, he extends his arm and pats him on the shoulder.
It’s a nightmare hearing those words from his father. It’s as good as utter rejection.
“Yes.” There’s nothing in there but resolute commitment. He answered in the way he knows he won’t disrespect the old man even if it is too painful to handle.
James nods with a picture of contentment on his face.
“I know I can always count on you, son.”
Hunter leaves James’ office with a heavy heart. He went there with high hopes that his father would not hand down the business to Damien, but that is not the case now. And he was even made to promise to do something that will hurt him.
He does not want to do it not because he is against his brother’s growth. He would gladly guide Damien with whatever endeavor he partakes—but not the family business. James just threw away all his hopes to be an Etheridge without batting an eyelash.
How could he do that?
How could James hurt him over and over again?
***
Angel stands on the balcony, letting her hair dance in the wind and her skirt flow gracefully as the cold breeze brushes her legs. She is a sight to behold. And seeing her enjoying the cold night and the majestic glowing moon somehow assuages the burden in his chest.
Even if he does not have his father’s approval, nor the Etheridge name attached to him, he has her. This puts back the smile on his face.
When he reaches her, he wraps his arms around her, burying his face at the curve of her neck. She smells of sweet strawberry and the innocence of chamomile and lavender.
She flinches when she feels his lips on her cold
skin, but Hunter warms her immediately with his huge build. It feels wonderful to be embraced from behind, and for minutes, they are like this—Angel savoring the sweet silence and the warmth Hunter produced, and Hunter almost falling into a dream in her scent and softness.
His lips continue to give her neck soft kisses until she breaks the silence. “So how did it go?”
He grunts.
Immediately, Angel understands.
“Perhaps it’s time for us to go home. It’s been a tiring day for the both of us.” Hers included, obviously.
“I don’t know what I could do if you weren’t by my side now,” he says in a whisper.
Angel turns to face him.
The gentleness on her face urges him to kiss her right away—tenderly just like her tender skin and lips.
She is the antidote to his broken heart, the ray of light in a stormy place, and the beauty amongst the thorns of his life. He couldn’t be more thankful to have her. He recalls that night he first saw her in the elevator. He was just about to get a change of clothes when a besieged damsel appeared in his ride. He did not bother to push her away as she seemed to be harmless and ignorant about invading other people’s private space. However, he thought he saw something in her—innocence and simplicity.
What’s a plain girl doing in a high-class hotel? That was the first thought that passed through his mind.
And when their eyes met, his heart squeezed—sudden, surprising, and unwelcomed. A feeling he has not felt for a very long time surges through him, that he casually shrugged off because she was a stranger.
And then the unexpected happens.
She turned out to be the woman Paul hired to be his escort for the night. And she transformed into a woman he thought a simple girl like her was incapable of becoming. She was so gorgeous that night, he could not keep his eyes off her. Though he managed to steal a few glances at her, he was sure that Angel did not notice any of it for she was too consumed by the happenings around her. They were all so new to her after all. And right on that day, he knew he wanted more of her. She didn’t just catch his attention but his interest as well. She came to him as a woman of simple background, but she exuded unassumingness and tranquility that half of the rich women in the venue did not have. He knew little about her—her name, her address, her age, and what she does for a living or which school she goes to. He only knew she has no criminal records, and that alone is enough for him. The press loved her, enticed by her, and so he devised a plan to have her continue working for him.