The Brother She Was Meant To Love

Chapter 2

The gates of the Yates estate opened onto a driveway lined with manicured hedges, the mansion rising white and angular at the end of it, floor-to-ceiling windows catching the last of the afternoon light. Twin stone lions flanked the entrance steps, and somewhere past the door a fountain ran quietly in the courtyard beyond.

The two brothers stepped inside. Mrs. Yates sat in the front room, legs crossed, a magazine open on her lap and a cup of tea balanced on the armrest. Even seated, she carried herself like something on display, her dress cut clean and current, her hair pinned without a strand out of place.

“Hi, Mummy,” Jason said, crossing the room toward her.

She looked up, smiling, and set the tea down on the side table. “Oh, my baby is back.”

Damien said nothing. He climbed the stairs toward his room, his footsteps fading above them.

Jason reached his mother and kissed her cheek. “How was your day?” she asked.

“Great, Mom.”

“How about you, Dami?” she called upward.

“Fine,” Damien answered from the top of the stairs, already gone.

She turned back to Jason. “Go freshen up. Dinner’s in an hour.”

“Alright, Mom.” He grabbed his bag off the couch and followed his brother up.

The dining room was already lit by the time they came down. The table stretched long and dark under a low chandelier, set with dishes that steamed faintly in the cool air — roasted duck glazed in something dark and citrus-sharp, a bowl of truffle risotto, seared scallops arranged in a fan beside a bed of asparagus, warm bread still in its basket. Mr. Yates sat at the head, unmoving, his fork already working through his plate.

Mrs. Yates sat at his left, Jason beside her. Damien took his place at his father’s right.

“You’re coming with me to the office tomorrow,” Mr. Yates said, not looking up.

Damien set his fork down. “But I have a test tomorrow.”

“I already spoke to the principal. They’ll reschedule it.”

“Can’t I go the day after, or some other day?”

The fork hit the plate, loud, final. Mr. Yates lifted his head. He looked like an older version of Damien, same build, same set jaw, but his eyes were blue instead of gray — Jason’s eyes.

“Are you trying to play smart with me?”

Mrs. Yates rested a hand on her husband’s arm, and the tension in his shoulders eased slightly. “You’re coming tomorrow. That’s final.”

“You need more meat on your bones,” Mrs. Yates said, sliding another piece onto Jason’s plate, her voice light, working to smooth the air back over. “You’re looking too skinny.”

“I have to stay fit, Mom. Can’t have the girls losing interest.” Jason grinned, then looked up. “Speaking of girls — did you know Damien likes someone?”

Both parents turned to Damien.

He gave his brother a look that could have drawn blood.

“Really?” Mrs. Yates said, eyebrows lifting.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Damien said.

“So if I went after her, you wouldn’t mind?” Jason leaned forward, elbows on the table, shoulders raised in mock innocence.

Damien’s knuckles went white around his fork.

Jason let his shoulders drop. “Well. I’m taking Jennie out tomorrow.”

Damien’s fist came down on the table.

“Manners, Damien,” his father said, not looking up from his plate.

“You already know her name. Are you stalking her?”

“I thought you didn’t know what I was talking about.” Jason smirked, popping a grape into his mouth.

Damien shoved his chair back and left the table, footsteps hard on the stairs.

“That son of yours has no manners,” Mr. Yates muttered.

“He’s your son too,” Mrs. Yates said.

Damien’s door slammed behind him. He pressed his pillow over his face and screamed into it until his throat ached, until the sound dulled into something smaller.

This was exactly what he’d spent months avoiding — Jason finding out. Jason had always been like this. The moment he sensed interest, real or imagined, he wanted it for himself. It had happened with Janet — Damien had liked her first, and once Jason noticed, he’d made sure of her, made it look like she’d only used Damien to get closer to him. When Damien brought it to their parents, they’d told him not to fight his brother over a girl who’d already chosen.

He couldn't let It happen again. Jennie was different. He’d loved her for over a year, careful, quiet, certain no one knew — not even her. He still remembered the first time he saw her, at one of the conferences his father dragged him to, the way something in his chest had gone still. Finding out she went to his school had felt like a door opening he hadn’t asked for.

He pushed off the bed and crossed into the hallway, shoving open the door to Jason’s room without knocking. Jason sat at his desk, headset half-on, controller still in his hands.

“We need to talk,” Damien said, already pacing.

Jason pulled the headset off. “Talk about what.”

“Don’t play dumb.”

“Humor me.” Jason was smiling.

Damien turned his head away. “Jennie.”

“Oh, Jennie. You could’ve just said so.” Jason leaned back, smug.

Damien crossed the room and grabbed his collar. “Don’t you dare pull the same thing you did with Janet.”

“Calm down. I didn’t do anything. She wanted me.”

“You know that’s not true. It’s never true. Every time you see even the smallest interest from me, you want it for yourself.” Damien’s voice had gone cold, flat. “Not this one. I won’t let you have her.”

“We’re brothers, Damien. I’m supposed to have what you have.” Jason looked at him, almost gentle. “I can’t help it if they choose me.”

Damien dragged a hand through his hair, breathing hard.

“Please.” His voice cracked. “Can’t you leave this one for me?”

“But I like her—”

“You didn’t even know she existed until today.”

“You show me things, Damien. You always have.” Jason put a hand on his shoulder. “You showed me her.”

Damien said nothing.

Jason raised both hands, stepping back. “Fine. We’ll both go after her. Whoever she picks, the other lets go. Deal?”

Damien looked at the outstretched hand for a long moment before taking it.

“Deal.”