IN HIS BROTHER’S BED

CHAPTER 8: “Morning After”

The sun shone into the hotel room. Ethan was still sleeping. Olivia was up and in the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror.

“Last night was incredible.”

For years, she hadn’t felt this way. Daniel had always ignored her, but now she had gotten that attention from his own brother.

“The game just started, Daniel,”

she said as she walked out of the shower.

She went to sit beside Ethan on the bed. He was still not awake. Olivia ran her hands around Ethan’s chest.

Slowly, Ethan opened his eyes.

“Oh, no…” He sat up. Truthfully, he had enjoyed last night very much. For the past few months, he had not met a woman who made him feel as good as he did last night. It seemed he was already getting drawn to Olivia.

“Good morning, Ethan,” Olivia greeted, rubbing her hands around his face and giving him a peck.

He went completely mute, not saying a word. Olivia knew deep within that he had enjoyed everything. Quickly, Ethan reached for his phone. He realized Daniel had called him five times last night and sent countless messages asking why he wasn’t answering.

Olivia noticed Ethan was busy on his phone.

“I’ll get you coffee,” she said and stepped out of the room.

“Sorry, Daniel. I dozed off last night,” Ethan texted, as he got up from the bed and headed straight to the bathroom.

Ethan was surprised at himself. Having enjoyed everything, he still felt bad for sleeping with his brother’s wife.

“But oh well,” he said. “Not my fault.”

As he washed his face at the sink, the door opened. It was Olivia, holding two cups of coffee. She handed him one, sat on the chair in the hotel room, and crossed her legs, slightly showing off her half-naked body. Ethan couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Can you tell me why you did this?”

Ethan asked, tension in his voice, as he walked toward the bed and sipped the coffee.

Olivia adjusted her clothes slightly, trying to draw Ethan’s attention.

“Well, I don’t have a reason. I just thought I’d spend some time with you. I think I really like you, Ethan.”

Astounded, Ethan sat on the bed and spoke.

“Wait… but you’re married to my brother.”

Olivia turned to him and moved closer. She held his hands.

“Oh, dang it. You call this a marriage? You know what’s been happening in my marriage for years now, Ethan.”

She sat beside him.

“Look, I haven’t been intimate for a long time. You clearly know what your brother is doing to me. I’ve missed the touch of a man so badly.”

Olivia acted as though Ethan had no idea of Daniel’s neglect, even though he had been part of it.

“Is that why you did this? To hurt Daniel?”

Ethan asked curiously.

“Not really, Ethan,” Olivia answered.

“I did this because I wanted to spend time with you. I really like you, and I hope we can do this again. But it stays between us. No one else.”

Ethan frowned. Olivia wanted this to be a secret. He had thought she did this to hurt Daniel, but her intentions seemed different.

Olivia stood up and turned her back to him.

“Look, Ethan, if you walk this path with me, I could do you a favor, as I said earlier in the text.”

“What could this favor be? Was she up to something?” Ethan wondered, glancing at the ceiling before stealing another look at her body.

“I have properties Daniel knows nothing about.”

Ethan seemed hooked when she mentioned properties.

“And… if you’re willing to walk this path with me without betraying me, as Daniel did… I’m willing to sign your name under them as well. As co-trustee.”

Olivia said this, walking toward the window with the coffee in her hand.

Ethan couldn’t shake the feeling she was still up to something, yet he was convinced by her words.

“What do you mean, Olivia? Why do you want me to sign my name under your properties?”

“I need someone to walk this path with me,” she said.

“And I’m not going to have your wicked brother join me in this. He has disappointed and deceived me. Also, I truly like you, Ethan. I believe we can do this together.”

Ethan was hooked.

Olivia dropped the coffee cup and held her bag.

“Think about this, handsome.”

She walked off, leaving Ethan deep in thought.

Back at home, Olivia noticed Daniel’s car was nowhere to be found. It was Tuesday, and he didn’t work on Tuesdays.

“Probably he’s out chasing young girls,” she muttered.

She unlocked the door and got inside. Everywhere was messy.

“Oh s**t… such a jerk.”

She sat on the sofa, smiling slightly.

“Ethan’s making a fool of himself. He thinks I’ll make the same mistake I did with his brother.”

She reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

Ethan got home, still full of thoughts about what had happened the previous night and Olivia’s words about signing him under her properties — properties Daniel knew nothing about.

“I think I need to do this,” he said, a sign of greed showing on his face. “I’d be living well.”

Ethan reached for his phone and called Daniel. He had slept for long hours and forgot that Tuesdays were the days they had to deliver items to the drug lord — something he and Daniel had been working on for years without anyone knowing.

“Hey, Daniel. Last night, I was freakishly tired.”

Sitting on the couch, Ethan took a cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and puffed, letting the smoke drift through his nostrils.

“I’m with the boss. Had to deliver the items. I called you, but you didn’t pick up. Had to do it by myself.”

The two brothers, along with their mother, were secretly delivering drugs to a drug lord. It turned out they had made Ethan co-trustee of Olivia’s hard-earned properties just so they could sell them in the next few years to cover the debt they owed.

“But where were you last night? Did you sleep in the house?” Daniel asked.

Ethan hesitated. Had Daniel come to the house earlier that morning? With tension in his voice, he replied, “Oh yeah, I did.”

“I came there earlier this morning. Didn’t even see your shadow. But hey, I gotta go. Talk to you later.”

Daniel hung up. Ethan remained on the couch, puffing his cigarette.

⸻

In the middle of the afternoon, Olivia had just finished cleaning up the mess in the house. She was tired. As she sat on the sofa, thoughts of Ethan flashed through her mind. She reached for her phone.

“Willing to walk this path with me, handsome?”

She hit the send button and stared at the screen for a while. Thoughts of how she was going to finish Daniel and his family completely formed in her mind. With a deadly smile, she got up from the sofa and headed straight into the bedroom, banging the door behind her.

“Yes, darling, I think I like you. And I’d love to partner with you so we can grow together. Daniel is indeed a fool.”

Olivia let out a deadly smile as she read the message.

“Oh, then you’d be the biggest fool,” she muttered to herself, throwing herself onto the bed and giggling softly.

Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction as she stared at the ceiling. Everything was falling perfectly into place. Ethan had taken the bait faster than she expected. For years, she had been the one trapped, the one hurting in silence, the one ignored and treated like she didn’t exist. But now, the tables were turning.

“The battle has just begun. Now it’s my time,” Olivia whispered, still laughing.

She rolled onto her side, hugging a pillow, her mind racing with plans. Daniel had thought he was smart, hiding his affairs and plotting behind her back. Ethan had thought he could use her properties for their secret dealings. None of them knew she had already seen through everything.

“They both think they’re in control,” she murmured, her smile widening. “But they have no idea who they’re dealing with.”

She picked up her phone again and reread Ethan’s message. His words were filled with excitement and trust — exactly what she needed. Slowly, she typed a reply but stopped halfway, deciding to keep him waiting. The longer he stayed curious, the deeper he would fall.

Olivia sat up on the bed, crossing her legs. The room was quiet, but her thoughts were loud. She imagined the moment Daniel would realize he had lost everything — his marriage, his pride, and even his brother. That thought alone sent a thrill down her spine.

“And when that moment comes,” she whispered, her voice low and cold, “none of them will see it coming.”

She placed the phone beside her, leaned back, and closed her eyes for a brief second. The game had officially begun — and this time, she wasn’t the victim.

She was the storm.