My Husband's Brother Wants Me

CHAPTER 4

The living room felt smaller somehow, suffocating, like the walls themselves were pressing in on me. Leonardo’s confession—the words I had hoped, feared, and yet never truly imagined—hung in the air. Jane’s stomach, rounded just enough to make the truth undeniable, made my chest constrict so sharply I thought I might pass out.

Gabriel remained a shadow at my side, tall, immovable, his presence a tense promise that I wasn’t alone. Yet his eyes, when they flicked to mine, carried a weight that made my heart skip. Desire. Possessiveness. A fire I had tried to deny for months now blazed in them like a warning.

“Lucia…” Leonardo began, his voice low, almost pleading. “I—”

“Don’t,” I snapped, my own voice cracking. “Don’t you dare explain.”

He blinked, surprise flashing across his features. I hadn’t raised my voice at him in… months, maybe a year. And the sudden edge of my words seemed to make him shrink back slightly, though the guilt in his expression didn’t fade.

Gabriel’s jaw tightened, a silent warning. My chest ached at the sight of him standing between Leonardo and me, his control and authority radiating like a living force. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to feel grounded, but I didn’t. Not yet. I didn’t deserve that kind of comfort—not with everything unraveling around me.

Jane pressed a hand to her stomach, looking almost fragile now, no longer the confident friend who had casually stepped into my life and taken everything I thought was mine. “Lucia, please… I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t mean?” I echoed sharply, my voice trembling with disbelief and fury. “Jane… you’re pregnant. With him. And you ‘didn’t mean’?”

Her eyes welled with tears. “I didn’t know… I didn’t know what would happen! It wasn’t planned—”

“Not planned?” I spat, each word heavy with the weight of betrayal. “You planned it. Every step you took, every second you spent with him while I pretended everything was fine—you planned this.”

Leonardo shifted, his hands curling into fists. “Lucia… it’s complicated. We didn’t mean for—”

Gabriel’s voice cut through him, sharp, low, and dangerous. “Complicated? You call betraying your wife, your family, and her trust ‘complicated’?”

Leonardo’s face paled. His words died as Gabriel stepped closer, the energy in the room shifting. Every muscle in his body radiated controlled anger. His presence wasn’t just protective—it was a storm that threatened to consume everything in its path.

I felt something stir deep inside me—a flutter I didn’t recognize at first. Fear. Anger. Desire. Relief. The mix was dizzying, overwhelming. Gabriel’s heat, the way he subtly leaned closer, the way his gaze never left mine, all of it pressed against me, made me aware of my heartbeat, my pulse, and the fragile thread of self-control I was clinging to.

Leonardo took a step toward Jane. Gabriel moved almost simultaneously, a silent, fluid barrier between them. “Stay back,” Gabriel warned, voice low, dangerous, yet controlled. “You are done here.”

Jane flinched, glancing at him with wide, fearful eyes. I saw a flicker of triumph in Leonardo’s expression as he glanced toward me, as if trying to gauge whether I’d intervene. I didn’t. Not yet.

My chest heaved. My heart pounded. And in that moment, I realized something terrifying: I was no longer merely a bystander. I was a participant in this storm of desire, betrayal, and power. And part of me wanted—needed—to feel the intensity of Gabriel’s presence.

He noticed the way my eyes lingered on him, the subtle curve of my lips betraying my inner turmoil. His hand brushed my back—not touching, not enough to break the barrier of propriety—but enough to anchor me, enough to remind me I wasn’t alone.

“I…” I began, my voice barely audible.

Gabriel’s gaze locked on mine, and I saw something in his eyes I hadn’t allowed myself to acknowledge before: longing. Protectiveness. Possession. And something more dangerous—desire.

“Not now,” he murmured. “Focus. Be strong.”

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself, but the heat inside me refused to fade. My fingers curled into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms. My body ached for release, yet my mind screamed at me to stay composed.

Leonardo shifted again, his voice low, hesitant. “Lucia… I know this isn’t what you want. But we can—”

“Stop!” I shouted, finally finding the words I’d been clinging to. “Stop talking! You’ve said enough. You’ve done enough. You’ve made your choices!”

Gabriel’s hand lifted slightly, almost instinctively, as if to steady me. “She’s right,” he said quietly, but each word carried weight, authority, and something else—protection, danger, desire all rolled into one.

Jane’s eyes darted between us, panic rising. “Lucia… please… I—”

“I said enough!” My voice cracked, my chest tightening as tears pricked my eyes. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. I wanted to collapse into Gabriel’s arms and let the storm consume me.

And for a fraction of a second, I imagined doing exactly that.

Gabriel’s hand hovered near mine again, a whisper away. His gaze softened—not entirely, just enough to make my pulse race, my stomach flip. “I’ve got you,” he said quietly.

The words were simple, but they struck me like lightning. I’ve got you. Not “you’re mine.” Not “I’ll protect you.” But I’ve got you. The intimacy in that phrase, the unspoken promise, ignited a fire in me I had thought extinguished.

Leonardo’s lips parted, his anger and guilt mingling into something I didn’t want to see. “Lucia… please…”

I shook my head violently. “No. Please, leave me out of this. Both of you.”

Gabriel’s hand dropped, his gaze darkening, but the tension between us didn’t fade. He was still my anchor, my danger, my forbidden flame.

Jane’s face paled even further. “Lucia… I… I can fix this,” she stammered.

“No, you can’t,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Because it’s already broken.”

The room fell silent for a heartbeat, heavy and suffocating. Then Leonardo moved, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. “I didn’t—”

“You didn’t what?” I asked sharply. “Stop lying to me!”

Gabriel’s eyes flicked to Leonardo, sharp and lethal. “Do not speak,” he warned. “You will answer to her when she is ready. Not before.”

Leonardo’s jaw clenched, his hands curling into fists. He didn’t speak again. He just stared, dark, frustrated, and defeated.

My breath hitched. I realized I was trembling—not just from anger, but from the adrenaline, the fear, the longing, the forbidden tension coursing between me and Gabriel. My chest ached. My heartbeat threatened to betray me.

Gabriel stepped closer again, just close enough that his presence enveloped me, protective, controlling, and intoxicating. “Lucia,” he murmured, voice low, dangerous, intimate. “I won’t let him hurt you again. Not tonight. Not ever.”

I wanted to lean into him, to let go of everything, to feel the heat and desire and protection at once. But I couldn’t. Not yet. I had to survive this. I had to survive him.

A sudden cry from downstairs made me jump. Jane’s gasp, high and sharp, and Leonardo’s low, panicked shout sliced through the tension.

Gabriel’s eyes went dark. “Stay here.”

Before I could protest, he vanished again, leaving me standing alone in the hallway, heart racing, pulse pounding, and a storm of emotion threatening to consume me.

And then I heard it—Gabriel’s low, furious growl, followed by Leonardo’s panicked shout.

Something had broken. Something had shifted.

A thud, hard and sharp.

I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth. The sound of a body hitting the floor. Glass shattered somewhere. My heartbeat spiked, threatening to burst through my chest.

I wanted to rush after him, to see, to intervene—but my legs refused to move.

Then, from the bottom of the stairs, a voice came that made my blood run cold:

“Lucia… he’s hurt!”

And in that moment, I realized the storm was no longer just emotional. It had turned physical, dangerous, and irreversible.