Betrayed by the Only Two I Loved

Chapter 3

Simon's POV:

On the way to the airport, my brother sent me a message.

Philip: Call me when you land. I'll be waiting at the exit.

Diana's message came 20 minutes later.

Diana: Have a safe flight, darling.

That was all.

Whenever I caught an early flight in the past, she always called before my alarm went off. "Do you have your ID? What about your charger? Don't drink coffee on an empty stomach."

"I know. Why do you have to nag so much?"

"You can file a complaint when you get back." She would laugh and refuse to hang up until she heard me answer every question.

This time, I waited until boarding, but no other message came. I closed our chat and switched my phone to airplane mode.

At the exit of Hartwell International Airport, my brother and Diana stood several paces apart, like strangers who had happened to run into each other. My brother saw me first and had just begun to smile when Diana approached with a bouquet in her arms, her smile unusually stiff.

"Welcome home, Simon."

I looked at the white roses in her arms and didn't reach for them. Disappointment flooded through me. I couldn't even manage a polite smile. My brother stopped too, his smile slowly fading.

White roses were his favorite. Our mother used to keep them in a glass vase in the kitchen, and Philip had continued the habit after she died. Diana hadn't known that until I told her.

I liked sunflowers. In five years, whether for my birthday or graduation, she had never once bought the wrong flowers.

"I'm sorry." She glanced down, her smile stiffening. "The florist wrapped the wrong bouquet. I was in such a hurry that I didn't check."

As she spoke, she looked anxiously at my brother. I took the flowers, crushing the paper in my fist. Philip looked uncomfortable. Avoiding her gaze, he reached for my suitcase. "Let's go home. Lunch is ready."

I tightened my grip on the handle. "I need to stop by the office first."

"Today?" He frowned. "You just got off a plane."

"I have some documents to turn in."

"I'll drive you." Diana reached for my suitcase.

"No." I pulled it behind me. The refusal came so quickly that even I was startled.

They both looked at me, confusion in their eyes. I forced a smile and tried to keep the strain out of my voice. "There's also a report I need to finish. I'll go by myself. I may be working late."

Philip finally let go. "Come home for dinner. I bought beef ribs."

I nodded and walked away with my suitcase. It wasn't until I was inside a taxi that I realized I was still clutching the white roses. I hadn't even noticed the water soaking my cuff.

"Where to?" The driver glanced at the rearview mirror.

"The Financial District." I gave him my office address and turned toward the window.

Hartwell looked the same as ever. The pizza restaurant on the corner still had its red sign. When we were children and Philip got paid from his part-time job, he would take me there for pizza.

Farther ahead was the intersection where Diana first kissed me. She'd had a little to drink that night. Tugging on my scarf, she said with tipsy seriousness, "Simon, don't smile at other girls like that anymore."

"Who should I smile at, then?"

She smiled and pointed at herself. "Me."

At the end of the street stood the old movie theater the three of us often visited. Once, after a midnight screening, Diana had still been defending the male lead. "He just doesn't know how to express himself."

"He's lying, plain and simple," Philip said with absolute certainty.

Diana raised her hands in surrender, linked her arm through mine, and whispered, "Your brother is impossible to please."

"Give him time." I held her hand. "One day, he'll see you as family."

"There are tissues on your right."

That was when I realized I was crying. The driver was a gray-haired man. He lowered the radio and said gently, "You've got a lot of life ahead of you. Everyone has to keep moving forward."

"Thank you." I pulled out a tissue and wiped my face. When we reached my office, I left the white roses on the back seat. "The flowers are for you." Then I dragged my suitcase into the building.