The Long Road Home

Chapter Two

Gus didn’t know how long he sat there, staring at nothing as his thoughts swirled. When he finally stirred, it was dark. He shifted, lay on the floor and let exhaustion take him. There was no way he was going to sleep in that bed again.

Morning found him still on the floor. His head was clearer, but his heart and stomach were empty. How? How could the two people he trusted most betray him this way? How did he not see it?

Granted, he had been working longer hours. He left the wedding planning largely to Bianca. It was her big day, and he wanted her to make it the event she wanted. Meanwhile, he focused on preparing for their honeymoon. Gus had wanted everything in order, so they wouldn’t be bothered while they were gone. He had been preparing for their future, and what was she doing?

Just f*****g his brother.

Well, if they wanted to burn bridges, he would burn it all to the ground. Reaching for his phone, he numbly selected a contact and waited for them to answer.

“Hey Gus, I thought you were taking the weekend off to spend with Bianca,” a familiar voice said.

Wyatt Everett had been his college roommate. Despite the difference in their upbringing, they immediately became close friends. After college, it was only natural to keep him on as a retainer. Eventually, Wyatt joined Gus’s family company as a legal expert and advisor. It was an affiliated position, allowing Wyatt to take on other clients as he saw fit, since he liked his freedom. Gus was happy to oblige. After all, he already had a good understanding of legal and financial loopholes. In reality, Gus only needed a second opinion now and again.

It felt like the twist of a knife to his heart. Even his best friend knew how devoted he was to Bianca. It all seemed like a joke.

“That’s not happening anymore,” Gus said, his voice harsh.

“What? Why? What’s going on?”

“I caught her cheating.”

“What?! Are you serious? Are you sure?”

“Wyatt, I caught her in my fuckin’ bed with my brother’s d**k inside of her,” Gus spat.

“s**t. In your—wait, did you say Fin? She cheated on you with your own brother?”

“Yeah, and he didn’t wrap it either.”

“Holy f**k. If she was sleeping with him and you, then it was like you were sleeping with your brother. Damn. Talk about keeping it all in the family.”

“You just had to go there, didn’t you?” Gus scoffed. As much as he liked Wyatt, sometimes the other’s sense of humor was too off-color.

“Sorry man, so what did you do?”

“I kicked both of them the f**k out!”

“I’m surprised Bianca isn’t blowing up your phone.”

“Considering her phone is probably in her purse on the table, she couldn’t if she wanted to.”

“Her purse and phone? You confiscated it?”

“I bought them. I can reclaim any property I want, gift or no.”

“Well, yeah. So, what are you going to do now?”

“Sell it,” Gus said without hesitation, slowly getting to his feet.

“Sell her phone?”

“Sell everything,” Gus said, “the condo, the cars, the jewels, my shares…everything.”

“Sell—wait, your shares? You really want to sell your shares?”

“I’m stepping down as CEO, effective immediately. Sell all my shares in the company and cash out all my personal investments. I want everything liquidated.”

“Gus, maybe you should stop and think about it. It’s your company.”

“No, it’s my family’s company and I want no part of it anymore.”

“Maybe you should talk to your family…”

“Why? Why would I want to be in the same room with them after this?”

“Well, still. You should talk to them.”

“What is the point? Fin has always been their favorite. He could never do wrong in our parents’ eyes. I was always the one who needed to be responsible and make up for his slack.”

Wyatt grimaced. He knew all about the Kimball’s weird family dynamics. Though they were twins, they were very different. Gus had inherited their father’s business sense and liked the challenge of running a multimillion-dollar company. Fin, on the other hand, enjoyed physical challenges and played sports throughout all their school years. Their parents attended every match and game his various teams played.

When Fin’s antics threatened his athletic endeavors, they stepped in to make sure his record remained clean, and he could continue to play. As they got older, Gus was sometimes roped into helping in these efforts, depending on the price to keep Fin in the game. The obvious favoritism was not something openly acknowledged, but it slowly ate at Gus. Surely, his family wouldn’t try to brush this under the rug. This was too big.

“Gus, they are your family,” Wyatt tried again.

“Family? Let me ask you, would family betray you? Would family sneak around, sleep with your fiancé and trample over your future?”

“Well, no.”

“If they are stupid enough to hand me the matches, they shouldn’t be surprised when I burn it all to the ground.”

“Okay, Gus,” Wyatt sighed. “I’ll handle the resignation letter to the Board and sell your shares.”

“Good. Send a crew to the condo and contact a real estate agent. I want it all cleared out. List the condo, get it sold as soon as possible. Sell everything inside too: sell it, auction it, donate it, or just fuckin’ trash it. I don’t care. I want it all gone.”

“Gus. Where are you going to stay after you sell everything?”

“I’ll get a hotel room. I can’t stay here anyway,” Gus reluctantly made his way to the bedroom.

Trying not to look at the bed, he grabbed a duffle and hurriedly stuffed a few changes of clothes. He only needed some shirts, pants and the like. Bianca often complained about his casual wear consisting of nothing but T-shirts and sweatpants or jeans. But if he wasn’t in the office, why did it matter what he wore?

Shrugging out of his suit, he quickly changed. Straightening, his gaze fell on a single piece of artwork hanging in his closet. It was the only piece of art he had chosen, everything else was Bianca’s idea. It was a giclée painting of David Mann’s Ghost Rider, and it was his pride and joy.

Bianca hated it. He wasn’t sure if it was because the value was so much less than the artwork she chose or because she didn’t like the subject matter. In either case, she hadn’t let him display it anywhere but in his closet.

“…Gus? Gus, you still there?” Wyatt asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll have an agent over there in an hour. What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to see a man about a motorcycle,” Gus said, carefully taking the print down. This was the only thing he would take with him. If he was burning down his past and future, then he would need a new one. Maybe this print held the key. He would find out eventually.