“Sure thing, Miss Thorne.”
I put the receiver back in its place and lean my head against the wall. So Lucas was smart enough to not enter the building.
What is he trying to achieve? Is he trying to scare me?
Into doing what?
I know he’s got multiple companies. My mother brags about it enough times.
Why would he put everything at risk to come after me now?
I shouldn’t even be on his radar.
I always knew about Ethan growing up. My brother met him in college, and the two got along well. But he never brought him home till after they graduated. Then, after a few months, my brother stopped mentioning Ethan and began setting up his company. Soon after, Ethan started showing up everywhere I went. I used to work as a barista to cover some expenses that the trust fund didn’t, and one day he was there to buy coffee. I already found him attractive, and when he asked me out, I was over the moon.
Of course, now I’m sure it had been planned. I can’t even be mad at him because if Lucas really did steal from Ethan, then I can understand why he would be angry. It does hurt that I was nothing more than a means to an end, but like I told Ethan, five years have passed. We’re both different people now. And I can either hold on to a grudge and keep letting it affect me as I always have, or I can move past it. There’s nothing I can offer him, which means the only thing he wants is me.
Ethan is still outside as I head to the kitchen to prepare some tea.
Once my brother went to college and after he graduated, we barely crossed paths because I was either studying or working. I would clean the house and cook dinner and lunch in the early hours of the morning before I left the house. I wasn’t allowed to move out because my mother expected me to look after the house for her. And I was so desperate to please her that I never questioned her.
‘A child starved of love becomes a willing victim.’
My trauma counselor told me that, but it’s only now that I understand what it means. I could have broken the chains, but my desire for her love became the hardest chain to break. The idea of motherhood has cracks appearing in that chain now.
The desire to protect my child is greater than the desire to be loved by my mother.
I lean against the counter, watching the water boil, the evening light filtering through the kitchen window.
I never knew that my brother and Ethan were at odds. But I remember finding it strange that my brother was just setting up his company, and he had already secured clients. Ethan’s story makes more sense. Initially, I struggled to believe it because I remember how much my brother admired Ethan. Every time he was home from college on break, he talked about him nonstop.
I’m trying my best to stay calm. I can’t afford to break right now. My nails dig into my arms. Lucas knows where I live now. He’s been coming here to drop off these letters. What’s his end game?
It scares me.
Lost in my thoughts, I nearly jump out of my skin when the kettle begins to whistle. Pouring the hot water on the tea bags, I carry the two mugs to the living room. A knock on the door has me looking around for Ethan.
He must still not be back.
Setting down his mug, I carry mine to the front door and check the peephole. A familiar face grins back at me.
Stepping back, I open the door and look at Ethan’s twin.
“Jake,” I say coolly.
He smiles in greeting. “Well, that was a lukewarm welcome.”
“I don’t appreciate being investigated.” My eyes tighten around the corners.
He gives me an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. But after having shared the womb with Ethan for nine months, I feel obligated to protect him. And your brother really did a number on mine.”
“And obviously that means I’m out to get Ethan too, right?” I ask dryly, the Manhattan traffic noise filtering through the open window in the hallway.
“One can never be too sure. I had my suspicions when I found out you were broke?—”
The words are barely out of his mouth when a hand comes flying from behind him and smacks him in the head, causing him to stumble forward with a cry.
Ethan steps out from behind him, looking irritated. “I called Caleb, not you. And watch what you say to her.”
