MARRIAGE WITH MY HUSBAND'S BROTHER

CHAPTER 13 “That’s why I came.”

Leo already had heard rumors, mostly from his private sources about Naomi’s growing hostility for Alisa. She had become bolder in making passive-aggressive remarks among her friends and subtly damaging Alisa’s reputation. The jealousy was clear that it tainted her words and soured her smile.

But tonight?

Tonight, she wore honey and silk. Every movement seemed rehearsed like a performance.

The dinner was hosted by Celeste in one of Ravencroft Group’s exclusive hotel suites where marble floors, gold accents and long-stemmed wine glasses filled the sight enough to look elegant. The event was labeled a "family celebration," a toast for Victor and Naomi's engagement and their expected child but really, it was a carefully planned scheme.

And Celeste, ever the calculating matriarch made a bold choice.

She shamelessly invited Alisa, not out of warmth, guilt or kindness but mockery. She invited her like a lion invites a lamb into its den. And to savor her discomfort over all that she had lost.

Alisa, uncertain yet determined to conceal her weakness, entered the room with the confidence of someone who had nothing to lose anymore. She was ready to make them remember her.

She wore a white satin midi dress that hugged her figure like it was designed for revenge. The off-shoulder neckline highlighted the smooth line of her collarbones and the graceful curve of her neck. And also, a thin diamond necklace sparkled under the lights of cold, sharp and expensive. Every detail was purposeful and every inch of her was a statement.

Her makeup was flawless and bold enough to attract attention and sharp enough to impress and even wore a deep red lip that challenged anyone to disrespect her, and her dark-lined eyes added weight, depth and intensity to her gaze. Her cheekbones were defined and her skin glowed.

She really made sure that she won’t look like an abandoned puppy on the streets.

She also styled her hair in an elegant low bun with not a strand out of place while few crystal pins sparkled through it like ice. On her feet, she wore white stilettos with silver detailing where each step clicking against the floor with quiet authority. She didn’t hurry and allowed the silence to mark her arrival.

No brands were visible but the quality of her outfit spoke volumes: She had arrived on her own terms.

In her arrival, her presence changed the atmosphere instantly.

Celeste’s smile widened or more likely surprised like a mask cracking under strain. The wine in her glass even rippled slightly as she turned. Victor, on the other hand straightened at the sight of her, his hand clenching at his side as he quickly averted his gaze. While Naomi stared openly with her lips parting in disbelief before she managed a smile—sweet but too tight.

“O-oh, here you are dear…” Celeste said as she took Alisa’s coat. “I almost thought you wouldn’t come. But then again, you’ve always had a flair for dramatics.”

Alisa just responded with a polite smile. “And you’ve always been skilled at things like this, Madam. Well, some things just never change.”

After hearing that, Celeste's expression twitched slightly.

Naomi poured a glass of wine and approached Alisa as if offering a gift to a beggar. “You must be so lonely these days but don’t worry, Victor and I will take care of the child properly. Maybe if it’s a girl, she’ll be as emotional as you,” she said, pretending to care.

But still, Alisa didn’t flinch and didn’t take the wine while Victor just stood by the window, silent.

The room buzzed with fake conversation and low laughter until the elevator dinged then the suite doors opened, and in walked Leo.

Uninvited. Unannounced.

He wore a sharp black suit with his tie loosened just enough to show he didn’t owe anyone in the room any formality. He didn’t knock and didn’t announce himself. He just simply entered, as if he owned the place.

Victor tensed the moment he saw him while Naomi’s smile faltered, almost disappearing before she composed herself. While Celeste narrowed her eyes but stayed silent, her expression tightening in a way that revealed her irritation.

Leo scanned the room with a quiet, cold detachment until his gaze fell on Alisa.

She looked tired but her elegance was still intact, posture unbroken and her silence louder than their performance. That, more than anything, angered him. She was still standing, still dignified, enduring their mockery as if she didn’t feel it.

He turned briefly to Johnson, his assistant, who had entered behind him and now stood discreetly by the door. Johnson had informed him about this dinner in the middle of a meeting, speaking in hushed tones and Leo hated being left out of plans, especially like these ones. “Mother,” Leo said flatly, “what an intimate gathering that it’s a shame I wasn’t invited.”

Celeste's lips curved into a smirk. “It was meant to be family.”

“Exactly,” he replied, walking past her without waiting for an invitation and approached Alisa then placed a firm hand on the small of her back that seemed protective and possessive. “You look stunning tonight.”

Alisa looked up, startled but remained silent. The warmth of his hand steadied her just enough.

Naomi, trying to keep her composure, laughed nervously. “Leo, I didn’t know you’d be here. We were just talking about Alisa—”

“I heard,” he interrupted coldly. “That’s why I came.”

The room fell silent.

Celeste raised her glass with her tone smooth but laced with hostility. “Leo, must you always play the hero during dinner?”

He turned to her slowly with his gaze sharp and unreadable. “That depends on how you see it.” he said coolly.

Alisa swallowed hard, tension tightening her throat then Victor finally spoke, voice strained. “Leo, this isn’t your business.”

Leo’s expression darkened, his eyes narrowing on his younger brother.

“You’re wrong, little brother,” he said coldly. “How is it not my business when I’ve already made it clear to the media that I’ll be standing beside your ex-wife?”

The words hit like a slap, cutting through the room’s forced civility ut he wasn’t finished yet.

“You should take a long, hard look in the mirror,” Leo said, stepping closer to Alisa, his voice low and razor-sharp. “It’s wrong for me to be near her but perfectly fine for you to be sleeping with her sister?”

He let the question hang in the air for a beat then added with biting mockery,

“Besides, you two are strangers now, right? You know... divorced?”

The tension in the suite lingered like smoke even after Leo’s words cut through it. He glanced at Alisa and extended his hand toward her—not as a question but as a silent command and she took it without hesitation.

Neither of them looked back as they walked out but Victor’s eyes followed them until they are no longer in sight.

Alisa’s heels clicked softly against the marble hallway while her heart pounded in her chest—not from fear but from the intensity of everything she had just faced. Leo’s grip on her hand was firm and grounding, a quiet shield between her and the anger they left behind.

They were halfway to the elevator when Alisa gently tugged at his arm.

“I need to stop by the restroom,” she said, her voice calm but tight.

Leo nodded, jaw clenched. “I’ll be just outside.”

As she slipped into the women’s restroom, Leo pulled out his phone. He shifted into business mode as he connected the call. He was speaking when a scream shattered the hallway silence.

A loud, deliberate scream.

Leo’s eyes snapped toward the bathroom door and without hesitation, he strode forward and pushed it open after hanging up the call like it’s never important than what he had heard.

Inside, the scene was surreal.

Naomi lay sprawled across the marble floor with her one hand clutching her belly and face twisted in exaggerated pain while Alisa was too confused of what was happening. Her voice rose just as Leo appeared.

“Alisa, how could you?” Naomi cried out, her voice fill with false outrage. “You know I’m pregnant! Are you really that bitter that you'd try to kill our child?”

Alisa stood frozen by the sink and eyes wide with disbelief. Her voice trembled, but she fought to keep it steady. “I didn’t touch you. You came in here and just... fell on your own.”

Naomi gasped theatrically, clutching her stomach as if in pain. “She shoved me!” she insisted, loud enough for everyone outside to hear. “She was furious, I saw it in her face! She’s still jealous, and now she’s trying to hurt me… and the baby!”

By now, a small crowd had gathered at the restroom door—Celeste, Victor and a few hotel staff with faces tense with confusion and curiosity, drawn in by the noise.

Victor rushed forward, kneeling beside Naomi with panic etched into his face. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, shooting Alisa a furious glare but before anyone could answer, Leo stepped through the doorway with sharp, commanding strides.

“That’s enough,” he said, voice cold and cutting.

Celeste tried to open her mouth, clearly ready to spin the situation in Naomi’s favor, but Leo shot her a look that made her go rigid in silence.

Then he turned to Naomi, his tone laced with disdain. “Seriously? You’re sprawled on the floor, screaming like a soap opera extra and yet your dress is bone dry. Alisa’s still at the sink washing her hands, you know.”

He took a step closer and eyes narrowing. “What the hell are you even looking at? You look pathetic.”

Naomi’s eyes flickered not with pain but with panic and frustration. Despite her best performance, Leo had sided still with Alisa without hesitation and without even needing to see what had happened. And worse, he was tearing through her act with clinical precision.

Still, she didn’t break her character. Instead, she whimpered louder and buried her face in Victor’s chest, letting herself be helped up like the victim she was pretending to be but Leo didn’t even spare her a second glance.

His gaze remained locked on Alisa, steadier and gentler, then without a word, he reached for her hand.

“I..., she really shoved me—”

“No,” Leo said sharply. “You knew what you were doing.”

Victor stood up slowly, keeping his hands on Naomi as he helped her rise from the floor. He glanced between his brother and the woman pressed against him, his expression unreadable; it showed disbelief, confusion, and maybe even guilt but he remained silent.

Naomi then gripped Victor’s arm like a delicate doll. Her sobs were soft but calculated and each breathy whimper designed to keep the focus on her. She had always acted this way, a woman who wielded innocence like a finely tuned instrument, twisting every situation until she ended up either the victim or the center of attention, depending on what suited her best but that didn’t happen today as that way she planned.

Her whole existence was a performance of softness, a well-rehearsed act. The trembling lips, the watery eyes and even the little pout whenever she didn’t get her way. She hated being ignored and especially disliked being second and unfortunately, tonight, that’s exactly what happened.

On the other hand, Alisa, still visibly shaken just nodded quietly when Leo said, “Let’s go.”

She turned to leave, her heels clicking against the marble floor with quiet grace, when Leo came to a halt beside Naomi. He didn’t look at her, didn’t stoop to offer false sympathy or meaningless civility. Instead, he leaned in slightly just enough for his voice to cut through the space between them, low and cold.

His words were meant for Naomi alone, though spoken loud enough that only Victor, Celeste and Alisa, still within earshot, could hear them.

“You’re exhausting. If I were you, I’d be more careful with my lies.”

Then he walked past her as if she were nothing more than a bad memory.

Naomi’s breath caught. Her spine straightened instinctively, and her fingers tightened around Victor’s sleeve while her whole expression cracked not from shame but from deep frustration that boiled under her perfect skin.

She had expected a scene and had anticipated Alisa being humiliated and fleeing the dinner in tears. She even had counted on Leo’s silence or disdain not his interference.

Not his protection.

Now, all three of them—Celeste, Victor, and Naomi just stood there, stunned and momentarily powerless as Leo and Alisa walked out together.

Naomi’s mouth twitched at the corner, her eyes narrowing slightly while the tears dried almost immediately.

Just when Celeste looked ready to speak, Victor suddenly grabbed Naomi by the arm with his expression darkening, his hands moved to grip her shoulders.

“What the hell just happened, huh? What the hell are you doing?” he barked, his voice rising. “What if something happened to the baby? Can’t you take care of yourself for once, just once, for God’s sake?”

Then, without waiting for a response, he turned to the small crowd that had gathered.

“The show’s over! Go mind your damn business!” he snapped, his glare scattering the onlookers like startled birds.