Seducing My Husband's Brother

Last Verdict

RYAN

•••••••

Purity went for an overkill, she detonated the whole damn board by bringing Rex into this.

I mean, I did see this coming, it only came earlier than I had expected.

She knew Ryat would get me involved, and if I backed him, that would leave her with no other option but to accept the divorce.

In the events of this happening, her only move was to bring in someone neither Ryat nor I could defy. Someone Ryat would never go to even if his life depended on it—our father.

Her desperation to keep this 'holy' matrimony going is beyond me at this point.

"Hey!" Rex clicks his fingers just inches from my eyes. "Eyes off the red lady and focus on me. I'm right here."

Reluctantly, I shift my gaze to him.

His face is as relaxed as it always is in every darn situation. Sitting directly across the table, hands folded tight across his chest, his eyes like dead winter—nothing warm or affectionate, everything calculated.

Straightening lightly, my fingers brush the edge of my watch. "We weren't expecting you."

"Must I send a notice before visiting my own house?"

"Yeah, simple courtesy demands that you do," Ryat cuts in from beside Rex, the low rumble in his voice doing nothing in concealing his irritation.

"Wait for your turn, little demon. I was talking to your brother." He speaks the words without even a slight displacement of his facial muscles.

Ryat tries to protest, but I beat him to it. "I'm very busy."

Rex nods, a sly smile decorating the lower half of his face.

"So, I suggest we get this over with," I finish with a tight smile of my own.

Carefully, he unfolds his hand, and I watch as a tiny gold piece switches positions between his fingers, moving from between his index to his middle finger, up the length of his fingers and down to the core where they join.

The precision of his movements is one of professionals. He's had that coin since before I was born, yet he keeps it with him at all times—talk about perseverance.

After that routine flip and twirl, he clears his throat, the noise softer than a baby's sneeze. "Dear Purity here reached out to me, crying over the phone as she narrated her bitter experience with your baby brother."

My eyes first find Purity, then return almost immediately. "That's sad to hear."

"I agree." He nods, his brows nodding alongside. "She narrated to me all the disgraceful actions of my son." His eyes slowly turns towards Ryat, resting on him for a fraction of a second before he returns his attention to me. "And despite all these, dear Purity refuses to leave him, so tell me why her husband is out looking for a way to divorce her?" He ends with his hand on his chest.

He's definitely trying with the cinematics; I must give him that.

Ryat's voice comes before mine. "And she didn't take the time to discuss with you how she was out f*****g another motherfucker."

"Oh, she was kind enough to share that detail too," Rex says without no single shift in his tone. "I very much enjoyed the tale."

Purity chuckles, but it's Ryat I'm more worried about.

From the side of my eyes, I catch Ryat’s hand curl into a tight ball, the veins along his arm popping out like vines on old walls.

"I am truly in love with my dear husband," Purity begins with an amusing edge to her voice. "I really do not want for our marriage to end like this, what would become of our sweet love story?" Leaning into herself, she wipes an invisible tear from her cheeks.

She's shielding her face from the rest, but I comfortably catch a sly smirk as it curls up her lips.

Sighing, I let my lids fall shut, a deliberate effort to remove all three of them from the corner in my head where they've successfully dug themselves a shelter.

Gradually, I drift away, canceling them out one at a time, and escaping to the quiet citadel of my mind—a place where the chaos of the world vanishes, leaving me with nothing but peace.

Like a feather, I drift past dimly lit streets, past the echoing voices of deals and threats, until I arrive at a small, sunlit room only I can enter. Here, the air is calm, the scent faintly of buttery crust and rosemary.

Here, I am thirteen again, resting on her lap, feeling the warmth of her hand over mine, the gentle reassurance in her voice. "It's okay, Ryan. You're safe with me."

For a fleeting moment, her presence shields me from the world's demands, and I can breathe. The weight of vengeance, power, and fear fades, replaced by the rare, fragile comfort of being her son.

And then, her hole begins to loosen, her warmth switching to dead chills, and the walls of the room slowly melting away.

"No!" I breathe, but no matter how much I gather the paints, catch the broken bricks, try to fix the damage, the rapid decay of my sanctuary never stops.

"Ryan!"

My eyes fly open, the uncomfortable bright light of the office hits me first. How didn't I realize that it was this bright?

"Ryan." It's Ryat this time.

"Hm?" I look towards him, trying my best to hide my disorientation.

"You are the Don. Tell Rex that you've allowed my divorce."

"No, you won't do that... Don."

"Yes, he will!" Ryat all but barks. "You won't be forcing me to remain in a cursed marriage."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you decided on the marriage," Purity shoots her response.

I'm pretty sure if it weren't for Rex sitting between them, they'd be on each other's necks by now.

Releasing a calculated breath, I lean away from them, voluntarily drowning into my seat.

"Why exactly are you against my divorce!" He's addressing our father now, but I don't care to indulge.

"Think of it like this." Rex demonstrates. "You both were joined in the presence of the most high, and now, you share a son together. You cannot just up and decide to discard her."

"She cheated!"

"Say that one more time, and I'd flex my fist on your face... precisely the yapping area."

"Ahem!" Kylian clears his throat, trying his hardest to keep from bursting into laughter.

"You have no say in my life."

Oh, for f**k's sake.

"You have no say in my marriage," Ryat continues. "And you definitely have no say where Ryan decides."

Ryat is a little fucker, I'd have been surprised if this was news to me.

"I do have a say, Demon. He's my son."

"He's the Don!" Ryat's tone is firm. "You undermine his authority by your actions."

Rex c***s his head to the side, a smirk lifting a single part of his face, crinkling his otherwise smooth skin. "What's that, Ryat? Huh? Trying to create a rift between my son and I?"

He scoffs, leaning away. "Well, if I create anything other than what's already there, then it would be a darn canyon."

Rex leans away, the smirk never failing. "You are confusing yourself with Ryan, Demon."

A sharp crack pierces the air, and silence falls afterwards. A second crack comes, then a third, all from the same source, all telling the same tale.

"Careful." Rex's eyes drop to Ryat's balled hand—the source of the cracks. "You might dislocate those tiny little knuckles of yours."

Deciding to ignore him, Ryat looks toward Purity. "You made a big mistake, b***h—"

"Enough!" The word comes with a loud bang that shakes the whole room, sending everywhere into silence, sans the tiny ringing of the table post impact.

Everybody's eyes fall on me as I stand hunched over the desk, hands lying flat on the smooth surface, a tiny tingly sensation shooting up from where my palms connected with the glossy wood.

From Ryat's irritated face, my gaze travels to my father's calm, calculated one.

Ryat might want to disregard this man's authority, but we both know that's impossible. All things being equal, he should be sitting here on this expensive swivel while I'm sitting across, resting on the visitor's seat, waiting for his verdict, but this life doesn't come on a gold platter.

For this much power, there's always a price to pay.

In Rex's case, that price was Rue.

Rue Royalty Reigns.

His wife, my mother.

I was only thirteen when it happened. Rex was out, settling scores as usual, leaving Mother and us alone in our safe house—"The House of Rue"—this house.

The next day was my recital, so I went to bed while Mom was preparing for it. Not sure if I slept past half an hour when I woke to the sound of shattering glass and muffled screams.

It took a sharp scream to get me bolting towards the direction of unrest. Ryat was there before me, hiding behind a rail stand that could barely counsel him.

Not caring about the masked men dragging my mother out and how big they look, I charge towards my defenseless mother, hoping to save her, but she screamed orders at me, "Run, Ryan. Protect your brother. Survive." And those were her last instructions to me—to protect Ryat.

Drawing in air until my chest inflates, I hold it in for one second, two. Then, slowly, I release it, releasing those horrible memories with.

"The divorce won't happen."

"What?" Ryat screeches almost like a broken engine. "Ryan, what are you saying?"

"You and Purity will stay married for the greater good, and that's my final verdict."