MY EX's BILLIONAIRE BROTHER

9: SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED

Damien glared at Sebastian for his choice of words in his little outburst, while Anthony chuckled, and the elder McCain's didn't seem even a little fazed. They, too, were thinking of some colorful words to describe Josephine.

“She is really pushing her luck,” Sebastian growled bitterly, wondering why he had even let the lousy woman accompany them to the hospital. “If she thinks she can just waltz back in after seven years and take my daughter…”

“I want to see her try!” Anthony interrupted heatedly, making all eyes turn to him. He coughed awkwardly and added, “Joshua is digging into her past as we speak. Everything she did after Lewis.”

“That won't cut it,” Sebastian argued, trying to find the right words to tell his family how largely he messed up. “Kristine has already met her,” he said lowly and in a rush. If they hadn't been paying attention to just him already, they would have missed the simple conversion. His family shot him quizzical looks, so he revealed his recent encounter with the she-devil.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Luther McCain bellowed, scowling at his second born. Sebastian had the grace to look embarrassed. He mumbled a weak, I didn't plan it, but Luther was already livid. He belittled him for being so reckless as to let Josephine anywhere near Kristine. Luther wondered why Sebastian hadn't thrown Josephine out of his office the moment she had shown up.

“Lower your voice, Kristine might hear you,” Sebastian said looking at the stairs briefly fearing his father's loud voice might be heard by anyone upstairs.

“So you are now suddenly thinking of her?” Luther growled skeptically. “Where was this concern when you let that woman sit in your damn car?” Sebastian didn't know what to say to his defense. William cowered away and slipped out of the room unnoticed. He knew better than to interrupt a furious Luther. “I am taking Kristine home with me.” Luther decided.

“You are not!” Sebastian retorted. “Kristine is going nowhere.” His anger began babbling. He pocketed his hands to calm his now shaky hands.

“I am no longer sure you are what is best for my granddaughter.” Luther shot back. Kathrine tried to calm her husband, but he wasn't having it, and she feared that an argument between Sebastian and Luther might get ugly. They are both short-tempered and stubborn. She wasn't wrong.

“Since you are such a model father, why didn't you notice Lewis was using?” Sebastian sneered, stepping into his father's personal space. Kathrine gasped while Damien rushed to step between Sebastian and Luther. However, that didn't stop Sebastian from ranting. “You couldn't even protect your own son from himself,, and suddenly, you are what is best for Kristine.” The pissed-off son drawled, chuckling bitterly. “She is my daughter, and you are not taking her anywhere.” Sebastian finished with finality. Luther was dumbstruck. He knew he was trying to blame for not seeing the change in his youngest since they were living under the same roof, but he never expected any of his sons to point it out so bluntly. And he couldn't blame Sebastian for pointing out the truth.

“That's low Ian.” Anthony rasped, shocked as well. But Sebastian didn't care. All he wanted to do was to keep his daughter safe. And his father saying he was doing a terrible job hit a nerve.

“What's low is barging into my house and pointing out how bad I am for Kristine. I have raised that little girl for the last six years alone. Not once did I put her in harm's way…” He trailed, startled when Luther grabbed his hand.

“I am sorry, son.” Luther rasped. “I shouldn't have threatened to take Kristine. It was wrong of me.” Sebastian opened his mouth to tell his father it was okay, but Luther went on pronto.

“I know I failed your brother. Trust me, I blame myself daily for that.” Sebastian groaned, feeling like an ass for going off on his old man. “But I promise that will never happen again.”

“Dad,” Sebastian hugged his father, regretting his choice of words. “You are not to blame for Lewis. I didn't see it either.”

“Neither did I,” Anthony muttered.

“Same,” Kathrine added sadly.

Damien looked at his family and felt helpless. Though the McCain's loved and accepted him as their own, there were some simple moments growing up when he felt like a stranger looking in. A moment like now. He never had the pleasure of meeting Lewis, but he had heard so much about him. He knew the family adopted him to somehow fill the void left by Lewis, but in the end, the two were nothing alike.

Kathrine glanced at Damien and noted he was feeling left out. She walked to where he stood and draped her hand around his waist and leaned onto his side.

“I am sorry.” Sebastian apologized to his father, stepping out of his arms. Luther shook his head. “Everything you said was true, I am the one who was wrong.”

“How will we deal with her?” Anthony asked, hurriedly stopping whatever response Sebastian wanted to offer. Anthony knew if he doesn't interrupt his father and brother, they will just keep taking turns apologizing over and over.

There was a thoughtful silence that hung in the room for a minute.

“We can start by getting a restraining order for the whole Lawrence family,” Damien suggested. Kathrine and Anthony agreed with him, but Sebastian and Luther thought that was an easy way out. One can argue that they wanted the Lawrence's to come after them first, so they can have a justifiable reason for striking back.

“We should bankrupt them,” Anthony offered, but just like the earlier suggestion, Sebastian and Luther weren't happy about it. Kathrine was about to recommend sending a personal warning…

“Daddy,” five pairs of eyes traveled towards the stairs when they heard Kristine call, interrupting their conversation.

“What is it, pumpkin?” Sebastian asked warmly, his sour mood forgotten for a minute.

“You said you will help me with the project.” She accused, making Sebastian curse under his breath. He had forgotten all about it. He scanned around the room and William was nowhere in sight.

“I am coming,” he promised, and Kristine disappeared forthwith. Sebastian turned to his family, “make yourself comfortable. Cleo will attend to you. I will be back shortly, let me ensure she is not burning anything.” The McCain's chuckled. Kristine had been known to burn a thing or two in the name of experiments.

“Take your time," Anthony responded. After all, they were staying until dinner. That was the plan. Even Ethan was expected to show up after school.

********

Josephine tightened her hold on the duvet, exhaling deeply. She had jumped right into bed without a care that it was in the middle of the day or that she was clad in jeans. All she wanted to do was think of her daughter and Sebastian since she couldn't be with them. She had to admit the man wasn't as bad as she had initially assumed. He was goofy, warm, and loving to the people he cared about. In the car ride to the hospital, Josephine had glimpsed a side of Sebastian she could never have guessed existed. She groaned, realizing she might never see that side ever again. He had instantly changed his attitude toward her the moment he slipped and acknowledged her as Kristine's mother. Though Josephine tried to make light of things afterward, Sebastian took it to heart, hence his foul mood on the ride back.

Josephine had contemplated contacting him, but decided against it because she wanted to avoid appearing pushy. More than anything, she needed Sebastian to like her, desperately. She knew being in his good graces meant quick and unhindered access to Kristine. 'Keep lying to yourself.' Her mind taunted. Josephine exhaled heavily. She was lying to herself indeed. Wanting Sebastian to like her had everything to do with how amazing his hard body felt against hers. Just then, her phone began ringing. Josephine sighed, pulling herself up and fetched the phone from the bedside table. Andrew's name flashed on the screen. “Hello,” she rasped, weary.

“How did it go?” Andrew asked in concern. He had waited for her to call him after visiting Sebastian, but more than six hours had passed, and he hadn't heard from her. He had begun worrying that perhaps things didn't go well. If only someone could tell him…

“He didn't call security on me,” Josephine joked, feeling guilty for leaving Andrew in the dark. He was her anchor, and she wanted to avoid hurting him by telling him that she enjoyed another man's touch. So, she went ahead and told him what had taken place, leaving out that juicy part of the story.

“See, I told you he isn't so bad.” Andrew gloated for being right, making Josephine chuckle.

“He still left me gawking at his damn SUV.” She complained with a mock growl.

“Give him time,” Andrew advised. “He is not used to sharing Kristine.” Josephine smiled. Andrew knew what to say to make her feel less shitty. It's one of the things she loves about him.

“Do I tell you I love enough?” She asked yawning.

“I don't believe you do,” Andrew chuckled lightly.

“I love you,” Josephine declared seriously. “And thank you for being so wonderful.”

“I love you too,” Andrew husked. “Now rest. I can almost hear your tiredness.” Josephine laughed, hanging up. She placed the phone under her pillow and once again pulled the covers over herself. She had almost succumbed to sleep when her doorbell rang.