The Brother I Was Never Supposed to Want

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The second she heard his voice, her stomach dropped.

Not because she missed , nor because she wanted to see him.

But because Ethan Walker had once been the centre of her world.

And now, he felt like a ghost she couldn't escape.

Slowly, she turned around.

Ethan stood a few feet away, looking just as shocked as she felt.

His gaze moved from her.

To Nathan, then back to her again.

The silence stretched.

Ava hated that she was standing between them.

Ethan's gaze stayed fixed on Nathan.

Nathan looked back at him without saying a word.

It felt less like two brothers meeting and more like two enemies who happened to share the same last name.

Finally, Ethan looked at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Existing." Nathan replied calmly.

"Not you" Ethan snapped, visibly tense.

Ava folded her arms.

"Walking and enjoying my evening."

His jaw tightened.

"With him?"

Nathan finally spoke.

"Careful."

The words came out calm like a warning disguised as a conversation.

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"I wasn’t talking to you."

Nathan smiled.

"No," he agreed, " You weren't."

Ava immediately regretted being there. She could practically feel the tension growing between them.

"Why does that matter?" She started.

The question seemed to catch him off guard.

For a moment, he didn't answer.

Because he knew he had no right to ask.

Not anymore.

"You've been ignoring my calls."

She laughed.

A short, disbelieving laugh.

"Seriously?"

"Ava..."

"No."

She shook her head.

"You don't get to stand here and act concerned."

His expression hardened slightly.

"I made a mistake."

A familiar ache twisted inside her chest because she'd spent three years loving him, and hearing him reduce all of that to a mistake felt insulting.

"A mistake?" she repeated.

"You slept with my step-sister."

Ethan looked away first.

Good.

Let him.

For once.

Nathan remained silent beside her.

But she could feel his attention shift.

The air around him seemed colder now.

Ethan noticed, too.

His gaze moved to his brother.

"What exactly is this?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"A conversation."

"You know what I mean."

Nathan's mouth curved slightly.

"No. I don't."

Ethan let out a frustrated breath.

"You've been waiting for this."

Ava frowned.

Nathan didn't react.

That alone felt like an answer.

Something like disbelief flashed across Ethan's face.

"You actually are."

Still nothing.

Nathan simply looked at him.

Calm.

Patient.

The same way he always did.

And somehow, that seemed to make Ethan angrier.

"You couldn't wait five minutes, could you?"

Nathan laughed quietly.

The sound wasn't amused.

"If we're discussing patience, I'm probably the wrong person to challenge."

Ava nearly groaned.

Even now, they were speaking in riddles.

"Can someone explain what you're talking about?"

Neither man answered immediately.

Ethan stared at Nathan.

Then he shook his head.

A bitter smile pulling at his mouth.

"You know what?"

He looked at Ava.

"Forget it."

Her brows pulled together.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm done having this conversation in front of him."

Nathan looked completely unbothered.

Which only seemed to irritate Ethan more.

For a second, Ava thought he might say something else.

Instead, he stepped back.

His eyes lingered on her.

"I'll call you later."

"No, you won't."

"Ava."

"No."

The answer came instantly.

Firm.

Certain.

For the first time since she'd known him, Ethan looked like someone had slapped him.

Then he nodded once.

Slowly.

"Okay."

And just like that, he turned and walked away.

Ava watched him disappear into the crowd.

The knot in her chest loosened.

Slightly.

Beside her, Nathan said nothing.

Which felt strange.

Because she expected a comment, or a joke or at least something.

Instead, he was watching Ethan's retreating figure.

His expression unreadable.

"What?" she asked.

Nathan glanced at her.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

A small smile appeared.

"There she is."

She rolled her eyes.

"There who is?"

"The version of you that argues with me."

"Maybe you shoud stop saying ridiculous things."

"That's unlikely."

Ava shook her head.

Annoyingly, she felt herself smiling.

Nathan noticed immediately.

His eyes softened, just slightly.

And somehow, that was worse than the smirking.

A lot worse.

She looked away first.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Look at me like that."

The silence that followed lasted a second too long.

Then,

"I can't really help that."

Her heartbeat betrayed her immediately.

Nathan noticed.

His smile deepened.

"See?"

"You're impossible."

"So you've said."

Ava opened her mouth to argue.

Then stopped.

Because a little boy had just run straight into Nathan's leg.

The child couldn't have been older than seven.

Dark hair.

Dark eyes.

A face that resembled the man standing with her, like a mini version of him.

Tiny backpack.

Nathan looked down.

And for the first time since she'd met him, his entire expression changed.

Gone was the cold businessman.

Gone was the unsettlingly patient man who sent flowers.

The look on his face softened instantly.

"Dad."

Ava froze.

Dad?

The little boy wrapped both arms around Nathan's waist.

"Dad, you forgot your phone again."

Nathan sighed.

"I was wondering where that went."

The boy grinned triumphantly before finally noticing Ava.

His eyes widened.

Then he looked up at Nathan.

Then back at Ava.

Then up at Nathan again.

A smile slowly spread across his face.

A mischievous one.

The kind children got when they thought they'd figured something out.

"Dad."

Nathan narrowed his eyes.

"No."

The boy ignored him.

"Is this the pretty artist?"

Ava choked.

Nathan closed his eyes.

And for the first time since she knew him, she saw him look genuinely embarrassed.