Scandal! My Ex-Mate Brother Does It Better!

ELARA The smile on my face died down as I saw my mate Thane from across the room, one of his hands draped carelessly around her neck while the other one held a glass of wine. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat as I stepped deeper into the room. Their friendship has always made me uncomfortable and after raising this concern with him several times, nothing changed. He assured me they were nothing but childhood best friends. Someone bumped into them from behind, despite how big the reception was, I staggered briefly turning around, only to come face to face with Abigail Nightshade, my future mother-in-law, who happened to be glaring at me. Something tells me she doesn’t like me. It may be due to the fact that I came from a poor background, and they are like super rich, there’s no doubt that Thane and I came from two different worlds. “I’m so sorry!” I quickly apologized, despite her being the one who bumped into me and accidentally emptied her glass on my dress. “It’s no problem, I understand that a girl in your class doesn't usually know how to act once they get into a very upper-class space, so you have nothing to apologize for.” She giggled, following the direction of my gaze. “Have you met Willow?” She suddenly asked. I opened my mind to answer, but she didn’t give me the chance to, because a second later she was dragging me in their direction. As soon as Thane noticed me approaching him, he broke away from his group with a look of annoyance on his face. “You’re just coming?” There was a note of disapproval in his voice as he glanced at his wristwatch. “The traffic was terrible, that’s why I suggested that you pick me...” The rest of the words died down my throat as the girl appeared at his side again, this time pushing the side of her very large breast against him, my face burned, and I looked at my mate, expecting him to push her away or at least tell her off. “Willow!” Abigail gushed, briefly casting a glance in my direction. “It’s so good to see you, Thane should bring you around more often.” That was a clear shade to me, at the fact that he rarely wants me around his family, they clearly don’t want me here but want her here instead. The message is as clear as it could get. “Thane…” I reached for him, hoping he would take a hint, but instead he stepped out of my reach, wrapping both his arms around her waist. “Can we talk?” I ended up asking instead. “Mom, why don’t you keep Willow company? I’ll be right back.” With that, he grabbed my arm and dragged me to the break room. Why were there all these places we could stay and talk? Maybe I’m just overthinking things as usual, I thought, disregarding the thoughts. “What do you want to talk about?” He demanded, his face set on a grimace. “Make it fast, I was in the middle of something important.” “We talked about her, right? Thane, I don’t like the way you two are together. I understand she’s your best friend, but you have a mate now. We are getting married soon. Some boundaries would be very much appreciated here, please.” I added, hating how emotional I was getting. “You’re such an insecure woman, Elara, you want me to stop being friends with her just because we are getting married? Did I ask you to cut your friends off? How insecure do you have to be, to get jealous of a very platonic relationship?” He sneered, his annoyance deepening. “I have told you this several times, Willow and I are just friends! If you can’t seem to get that in your insecure, jealous little mind, then take it up with a therapist.” He pulled out a mini card from his pocket and thrust it into my hand. I watched him return to her and, once again, wrapped an arm around her waist. Thane was right, there was nothing to be jealous about, they are just friends, and it’s normal for two friends who grow up to be that way together. Taking a deep breath, I approached the bar area where the drinks were being served. No sooner had I taken one sip out of my drink, I sensed a presence beside me and turned to look, it was Willow. Putting a smile on my face, I decided to formally introduce myself. “I’m Elara, it’s nice meeting you, Thane has told me so much about you.” I stretched my hand forward for a handshake. She giggled like I said something funny. “This is awkward, Thane never talks about you. I’m only finding out he has a mate tonight, how cute!” There was something so innocent and yet not about the way she said that, that made my chest tighten. “Oh… well, he’s a very busy person.” “I should know, we work together.” She replied, glancing back at the audience where Thane stood chatting with another group of people. “Oh my! Where did you get your dress? It looks so…frumpy?” She added, with a little laugh. “You’re brave to wear something like that, I could never do it. See you around.” She took the rest of her drink and returned to where Thane was. I blinked back the tears that blurred my vision, hating myself once more for being so emotional. I glanced at my dress, wondering if it was that bad. It was the only nice thing I had in my wardrobe and didn’t have the heart to tell Thane that he already thinks I’m a charity case due to the different world we belong to and the last thing I wanted was to turn into one. Taking another sip from my drink, I use that to calm myself down as my eyes move around the room for something other than my mate to focus on. Watching how he comfortably wrapped his arm around another woman’s waist like it belonged, there was pinching the hell out of my heart, and the fact that he told me he wasn’t into PDA’s. Yet, he comfortably lets her touch him, push her breast against his chest… stop it Elara! I mentally screamed at myself. Of course, he’s comfortable with her, they grew up together, it’s going to take a while for him to get used to me and I couldn’t wait for that day to come! Casper Nightshade clicked a fork against his glass, drawing everyone’s attention to himself for the toast he was about to make. I took my drink and gathered around as well. As I made to move close to my mate, someone pushed me out of the way. Willow cast me a smile as she stood between Thane and I. I found myself smiling back at her. “Thank you all for coming to our new product launch party. It's been a stressful year but at the end of it all…we did it! Here’s to more success!” He held his glass up and everyone cheered. I smiled, turning to look at Thane. “Your Dad is very charming,” I remarked, wanting to start a conversation with him as the crowd began to separate. We hadn’t spoken that much of a word to each other and I wanted to spend time with my mate. “I know, right? Thane sure takes after him.” Willow chimed in, pinching his cheeks. “You think so?” He wriggles his eyebrows playfully at her. “You know I do.” She whispered and there was a moment of silence between them as they stared at each other. I cleared my throat, forcing his attention back to me. “How about we go by the poolside, Thane? Don’t forget your promise to give me a tour of the place.” I gestured around, waiting for his reply. “How about later? I promised Willow I’d introduce her to some friends, later babe.” He pressed a kiss on my cheek, and then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd with her. “They do make a lovely couple, don’t they?” Then Abigail quickly covered her mouth as if she didn’t mean to say that. “Don’t mind me, I was just being silly, why don’t you go by the pools? It's cool over there.” She suggested and I felt myself nodding. Following my instance, I was able to find the pool which gave me a perfect view of Thane and Willow. Was this what she wanted me to see? She was right about one thing though. Willow does fit into his world more and that’s because she was born into it. It doesn’t change the fact that we are soulmates. “Is this seat taken?” My breath hitched at the new voice and I felt goosebumps spread over my body as Kaiden lowered himself down next to me, without giving me much of a choice. I tensed up, recalling Thane’s warning to stay away from his older brother. From what I’ve heard, they don’t get along and have only met him once. I thought he had the most unique eyes ever which Thane had mistaken for interest, and proceeded to give me several minutes of lecture about how much of a monster he is. “You’ve sure taken it.” I muttered, refusing to look at him. I glanced nervously back at Thane, hoping I could make a quick escape before he saw us together. “They sure look like a couple tonight.” He nodded after seeing where my gaze was focused. “Are you seriously okay with that?” Without thinking, I gulped down the rest of my drink, everything was fine until he showed up! “Why wouldn’t I be?” I finally looked at him. “I’m secure enough in my relationship to know that’s purely platonic.” “That’s bullshit!” He growled, taking me by surprise. “He should respect you enough to not do something like that. What do you see in my brother? Please enlighten me.” His concern and frustration confuses me, but then it might just be the tequila already doing its job on my body. “Excuse me.” I stood up, wanting to get away from him, but he also stood up at the same time, making us bump into each other. I stared at him, stunned by the closeness and feeling nervous at the same time. “You deserve way better, Elara, let me show you…”