CHAPTER 12 Drake or Kendrick?
964 Words
The dining room freezes. I sat in turmoil, the food in my mouth instantly tasting like dust. He stood at the other end of the table, staring me down. A confused expression on his face as well.
His jaw tightens and his shoulders stiffen. I met his gaze and our eyes met. There was no mistake about who was glaring back at me. The same face I memorized is softer. The same eyes that once looked at me like I was something worth choosing.
Except now they’re burning.
“D-Drake?” I blurted out softly, my head spinning.
“How?.... W-what?... Sydney?’’ Drake stuttered trying to form a sentence.
“W-what are you doing here?” I asked dumbfounded after finding my voice.
“This is my home” He says matter-of-factly, answering my question.
“What did you just call him?” Xavier’s mother asks sharply.
Drake’s lips press into a thin line.
“Kendrick,” she says again, turning to him. “Why are you standing there?”
Kendrick?
The name slams into me like a second punch.
No.
No, no, no.
He steps into the room, his gaze never leaving mine and never softening.
“Drake is what my friends called me,” he says coldly. “I went along with it and made it an official name.”
I feel dizzy. “Your name is Kendrick?”
“That’s my government name,” he snaps. “Always has been.”
The pieces start to fall in place too fast. Too cruelly. The phone calls, the familiar voice. The resemblance, and somehow Drake’s initials back then in school that always ended with ‘K.C.’ I never really bothered to ask.
Xavier turns to him, confused. “You know Sydney?”
“Dear God…” I whispered loud enough to be heard because of how quiet the room was.
A humorless laugh rips out of Kendrick’s chest.
“Know her?” He lets out a sharp breath. “That’s one way to put it.”
I stand abruptly, chair scraping loudly against the floor.
“You’re his brother,” I whisper, stating the now clear fact.
The word feels unreal. Like they belong to someone else’s life.
“Yes,” Kendrick says. “Unfortunately.”
My stomach churns. “You never told me.”
“You never asked,” he shoots back. “And I didn’t think I needed to introduce you to my family tree.”
Xavier’s expression darkens. “What is going on?”
Kendrick turns to him then, fury blazing. “What’s going on is you’re about to marry my ex.”
The room explodes.
“Ex?” his father says sharply.
“Is this some kind of joke?” His mother demands. My eyes darted towards his sister and she had this unreadable expression on her face until she caught my gaze and gave me a nasty look. I instantly felt so judged and terrible.
“I dated her,” Kendrick says pointing at me. “Loved her. I planned a future with her. Even slept with her” He says with a tiny wicked smile only I could see.
I gasped in shock, my throat tightening. “That’s not fair and untrue, we never—”
“Don’t,” he cuts in. “Don’t pretend this is some coincidence.”
He steps closer, his voice rising. “You used and dumped me. And now you’re here—engaged to my brother?”
“That’s not what happened!” I cry.
“Oh really?” His laughter is bitter. “We were supposed to have a baby together for f**k’s sake Sydney!”
Everyone in the room gasped in bewilderment except Xavier who had a death stare. At that point, I felt very hopeless. This contract is over even before it started.
“You climbed your way through the family ladder. Trying to sleep your way through to the top”
The words land like a slap.
Xavier steps forward. “Watch your mouth.”
“Or what?” Kendrick snaps. “You’ll marry her faster?”
I flinch.
“You’re a w***e,” he says suddenly, the word sharp and ugly. “You couldn’t just walk away—you had to move on to my brother? Of all people?”
“Enough!” Xavier’s father roars.
But Kendrick doesn’t stop.
“You broke me,” he says, voice breaking and eyes locked on mine. “And now you’re standing here pretending this is love? You really have no shame.”
Tears blur my vision. “You think I chose this?”
“You always choose what benefits you,” he spits.
Xavier turns to me, searching my face. “Is any of this true?”
I shake my head desperately. “I didn’t know. I swear—I didn’t know you were brothers.”
Kendrick laughs again, hollow. “That makes it worse.”
He looks at Xavier, his voice deadly calm now.
“This wedding should not be held.”
The words echo.
“She doesn’t get to do this,” he continues. “Not to me. Not to us.”
Xavier straightens. “You don’t get to decide that.”
Kendrick’s eyes narrow. “I’m your brother.”
“And she’s my fiancée,” Xavier replies coldly.
I feel like I’m standing between two earthquakes. Kendrick looks back at me one last time. His voice drops, wounded and furious all at once.
“You really ruined everything.”
Then he turns and walks out. The door slams. The silence that follows is unbearable.
I sink back into my chair, shaking, the truth finally crushing down on me.
My ex isn’t just my ex, he’s my fiancé’s brother.
And this marriage just turned into a war.
- Writer
