Chapter one
1883 Words
The annual Blackwell Gala was supposed to be classy.
It was supposed to be elegant.
It was supposed to be a night of luxury, wealth, and networking.
Unfortunately, Veronica Brownstone had arrived.
Which meant absolutely none of those things were happening.
The grand ballroom glittered beneath enormous crystal chandeliers. Billionaires, politicians, celebrities, and business moguls filled the room.
At one table, investors discussed million-dollar deals.
At another, executives talked acquisitions.
Near the entrance—
Veronica Brownstone was screaming at a violin player because she claimed his music was "looking at her funny."
Nobody knew what that meant.
Not even Veronica.
Across the ballroom, tucked away inside one of the private booth sections, sat Ellauna Blackwell.
Peacefully.
Quietly.
Unbothered.
A tablet rested in her hands.
A glass of cranberry juice sat beside her.
Her designer gown stretched elegantly over her very pregnant belly.
Every few seconds she would scroll.
Pause.
Scroll again.
Pause.
Take a sip of cranberry juice.
Continue minding her business.
The sounds of chaos happening elsewhere barely registered anymore.
At this point, Veronica causing a public scene was basically weather.
Tyrez suddenly appeared beside the booth.
His expensive suit jacket was already unbuttoned.
His tie was loosened.
His expression looked like he was one inconvenience away from federal prison.
In one hand sat a glass of Rosé.
He dropped heavily into the booth beside Ellauna.
"Baby."
Ellauna looked up.
"Hi."
Tyrez immediately drank half the glass.
Ellauna blinked.
"Oh."
"Don't start."
"I'm not."
"I'm serious."
"I haven't said anything."
Tyrez pointed at her.
"Exactly. That little look you just gave me."
"What look?"
"The disappointed wife look."
Ellauna slowly lowered her tablet.
"I literally just blinked."
Tyrez stared at her.
Then groaned.
"Fuck."
Ellauna took a sip of cranberry juice.
"What happened?"
Tyrez laughed.
Not a happy laugh.
A tired laugh.
The laugh of a man whose soul had left his body three hours ago.
"What happened?"
"Yeah."
"Veronica happened."
"Oh."
"That's all you got?"
Ellauna shrugged.
"Well, that explains a lot."
Tyrez leaned back.
"I swear to God, that woman got into an argument with a damn ice sculpture."
Ellauna paused.
"Who won?"
Tyrez stared at her.
Then laughed despite himself.
"The f*****g sculpture."
"That's unfortunate."
Tyrez rubbed his forehead.
"You wanna know why she was yelling?"
"Not particularly."
"She said the sculpture was disrespecting her."
Ellauna nodded slowly.
"That sounds like Veronica."
"That doesn't sound normal."
"No."
"It sounds insane."
"Also yes."
Tyrez finished the rest of his wine.
One swallow.
Gone.
Ellauna looked impressed.
"You drank that really fast."
"I earned it."
"I believe you."
For a moment silence settled between them.
One of the few people Tyrez could sit quietly with was Ellauna.
No pressure.
No drama.
No games.
Just peace.
Then Tyrez sighed heavily.
His eyes drifted toward the ballroom.
Toward Veronica.
Toward Richie.
Toward years of unresolved bullshit.
"You know..."
Ellauna looked over.
"Hm?"
"Richie ain't talked to me properly in weeks."
Ellauna's expression softened.
Tyrez looked away.
"He thinks I hate him."
"You don't."
"I know."
"He knows that too."
Tyrez laughed bitterly.
"Apparently not."
Ellauna rested a hand on his arm.
A simple gesture.
Comforting.
Grounding.
"You two are brothers."
"Yeah."
"You'll figure it out."
"Eventually."
"Hopefully before one of y'all punches the other."
Tyrez snorted.
"That almost happened last month."
Ellauna paused.
"At the cookout?"
"Yep."
"Oh."
Tyrez rubbed his face.
"Richie accused me of still being hung up on Veronica."
Ellauna quietly looked down at her tablet.
Tyrez immediately noticed.
And instantly felt guilty.
"Baby—"
"No, you're okay."
Ellauna smiled softly.
"You don't gotta explain."
Tyrez studied her face.
God.
She was too understanding.
That almost made it worse.
Before he could say anything else—
Three exhausted men suddenly appeared.
Chiraq Brownstone.
Danny Brownstone.
Jonathan Brownstone.
Ellauna's older brothers.
All three looked like they had just returned from war.
A very stupid war.
A Veronica war.
Chiraq immediately collapsed into a chair.
Danny stole a bread roll from a nearby tray.
Jonathan grabbed somebody else's champagne.
Nobody questioned it.
They looked traumatized.
Ellauna looked up.
"Oh."
Tyrez nodded.
"There they are."
Danny pointed toward the ballroom.
"That bitch."
Tyrez immediately knew.
"Veronica?"
"WHO ELSE?"
Jonathan slammed the champagne down.
"Man, I'm tired."
Chiraq looked emotionally broken.
"She got security involved."
Tyrez sat upright.
"What happened now?"
Danny looked offended.
"What happened now?"
He pointed dramatically.
"Nigga, she accused a waiter of stealing her purse."
Tyrez blinked.
"Damn."
Jonathan nodded.
"Guess where the purse was."
Tyrez sighed.
"Where?"
Jonathan looked ready to cry.
"On her damn shoulder."
The entire booth went silent.
Ellauna slowly lowered her tablet.
Tyrez closed his eyes.
Danny stared at the ceiling.
Chiraq looked ready to jump into traffic.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Finally—
Ellauna quietly asked,
"Was the waiter okay?"
Jonathan groaned.
"Girl, he quit."
"What?"
"He took off the apron and walked the f**k out."
Danny nodded.
"Honestly? Respect."
Tyrez started laughing.
Hard.
The kind of laugh that happens when a person has reached their limit.
Soon Chiraq was laughing too.
Then Danny.
Then Jonathan.
Even Ellauna smiled.
Across the ballroom—
Veronica was now arguing with a decorative fountain.
Nobody knew why.
Nobody wanted to know why.
Tyrez watched her for a moment.
Then looked back at Ellauna.
Peaceful.
Calm.
Sipping cranberry juice.
Looking at fashion sketches.
Not bothering anybody.
Not screaming.
Not accusing fountains of crimes.
Just existing.
Tyrez found himself smiling.
Meanwhile, across the ballroom, the fountain somehow lost the argument.
Nobody knew how.
But Veronica was still yelling.
The laughter around the booth slowly died down.
For about thirty seconds.
Then Richie Blackwell appeared.
And immediately ruined whatever peace had managed to survive.
The younger Blackwell brother looked furious.
Not regular angry.
Not irritated.
Not annoyed.
Furious.
His expensive suit jacket was slung over one shoulder.
His tie was hanging halfway undone.
His jaw was clenched so tightly it looked painful.
The moment Tyrez saw him, he sat up.
"Damn."
Richie didn't answer.
He simply walked over.
Stopped.
And held up his phone.
Tyrez frowned.
"What happened now?"
Richie turned the screen around.
Everyone looked.
Silence.
Tyrez blinked.
Danny blinked.
Jonathan blinked.
Chiraq blinked.
Even Ellauna paused her scrolling.
On the screen was Veronica.
Very clearly Veronica.
On a luxury cruise ship.
Wrapped around another man.
Laughing.
Drinking.
Posing for selfies.
Looking very married to somebody who wasn't Richie.
Tyrez slowly looked at Richie.
"Damn."
Richie laughed.
Not a happy laugh.
The kind that sounded like somebody was one inconvenience away from committing several felonies.
"Damn is right."
Jonathan immediately stood.
"Nah."
Danny shook his head.
"Nah."
Chiraq rubbed his face.
"NAAAAAH."
Richie looked exhausted.
"That's what the f**k I'm saying."
The photo clearly had today's date.
Today's location.
Today's timestamp.
Tyrez frowned.
"Who sent you this?"
"A friend."
"Damn."
"A mutual friend."
"Damn."
"A friend that warned me she was acting stupid."
"Damn."
"A friend that was right."
"Damn."
Richie looked at him.
Tyrez shrugged.
"I ain't got nothing else."
Before anybody could continue—
A familiar voice appeared.
"Oh my God, what are y'all doing over here?"
Everyone immediately sighed.
Veronica.
Of course.
Veronica walked over holding a fancy drink.
Completely oblivious.
Completely unbothered.
Completely Veronica.
She looked around the group.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
Veronica frowned.
"Hello?"
Still nothing.
Richie slowly turned around.
The look on his face made Danny take two steps backward.
Just in case.
Veronica noticed.
"What?"
Richie held up the phone.
Veronica froze.
Only for a second.
Then immediately recovered.
"Oh."
"Oh?" Richie repeated.
"That's all?"
"It isn't what it looks like."
The entire booth collectively groaned.
Jonathan physically turned around.
Danny covered his face.
Chiraq started praying.
Tyrez sighed.
Ellauna closed her tablet.
Veronica pointed aggressively.
"It was business."
Richie stared at her.
"Business."
"Yes."
"You were sitting in his lap."
"It was a business lap."
Richie looked genuinely speechless.
Tyrez immediately looked away before he started laughing.
Danny choked.
Jonathan nearly fell over.
Chiraq wheezed.
"A BUSINESS LAP?"
Veronica pointed.
"YES."
Nobody believed her.
Not even Veronica looked convinced.
Richie slowly shook his head.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I don't even care anymore."
Veronica blinked.
"What?"
Richie stepped forward.
Then gently moved her out of his way.
Not aggressively.
Not violently.
Just enough to pass.
Like somebody moving a chair.
Veronica looked offended.
"Excuse me?"
Richie ignored her.
Completely.
Which somehow upset her more.
He simply walked toward the bar.
Without looking back.
Without responding.
Without acknowledging her existence.
Veronica stared.
The entire group stared.
Tyrez sighed heavily.
Then stood.
"I should probably go check on him."
"Probably."
"Definitely."
"Immediately."
Tyrez nodded.
Then followed after his younger brother.
Across the ballroom.
Leaving the Brownstones behind.
The three brothers immediately looked at Veronica.
The look every older sibling develops after years of suffering.
Pure disappointment.
Danny shook his head.
Jonathan shook his head.
Chiraq shook his head.
Then all three started walking away.
"Where y'all going?" Veronica asked.
"Away from you."
"Far away from you."
"Extremely far away from you."
Veronica gasped.
"Y'all are so dramatic."
The three brothers stopped simultaneously.
Slowly turned.
And stared.
Veronica immediately looked away.
The brothers continued walking.
None of them had the energy.
Not tonight.
Not anymore.
Soon Veronica found herself standing beside Ellauna.
The only person left.
Veronica folded her arms.
"Can you believe them?"
Ellauna looked up.
Calm.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
Veronica continued.
"Everybody keeps acting like I'm the problem."
Ellauna stared for several moments.
Then took a slow sip of cranberry juice.
Veronica waited.
Ellauna set the glass down.
Then finally spoke.
"You want me to be honest?"
Veronica shrugged.
"Sure."
Ellauna nodded.
"Okay."
A pause.
Then—
"You need to stop being a head ass."
Veronica froze.
Complete silence.
The nearby guests froze too.
Veronica blinked.
"What?"
Ellauna remained calm.
"You heard me."
"Excuse me?"
Ellauna shrugged.
"You keep starting unnecessary shit."
Veronica looked offended.
"I do not."
"You literally do."
"I don't."
"You accused a waiter of stealing your purse."
"I thought he did."
"It was on your shoulder."
Veronica opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Closed it again.
Ellauna continued.
"You accused a sculpture of disrespecting you."
"It looked at me wrong."
"It didn't have eyes."
Veronica frowned.
"That's not the point."
"It is exactly the point."
Nearby guests were beginning to listen.
Nobody interrupted.
This was better than the gala entertainment.
Ellauna folded her hands.
"You keep hurting people."
Veronica rolled her eyes.
"Oh please."
"No."
Ellauna's voice remained soft.
Which somehow made it hit harder.
"Richie loves you."
Veronica looked away.
Ellauna continued.
"And you keep embarrassing him."
Silence.
"You keep embarrassing your family."
More silence.
"You keep embarrassing yourself."
Veronica's jaw tightened.
Ellauna sighed.
"Veronica."
For the first time all evening—
There was genuine sadness in her voice.
"You don't gotta create a disaster every time people stop looking at you."
Veronica froze.
The words landed.
Hard.
Very hard.
For several seconds neither woman spoke.
The music continued.
Guests talked quietly.
Glasses clinked.
Somewhere across the ballroom Richie was already on his third drink.
And for the first time all night—
Veronica didn't have a comeback.
Because deep down...
She knew Ellauna was right.
Even if she would never admit it out loud.
And unfortunately...
The night was only getting started.
- Writer
