“She was acting suspicious,” I tell him. “So I followed her.”
I walk toward the bed and pick up his discarded clothes, my eyes roaming over the messy room. I throw Lucian’s clothes at him and shake my head. “Get dressed,” I tell him.
Elena rises to her feet, looking worried, and I sigh. I don’t even know what to say to her. To think I suspected her of cheating with my own brother, when I couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve somehow managed to push my brother so far away that he trusts my wife more with his secrets than he does me. And my wife… I’ve accused her of disloyalty over and over again, when I couldn’t be more wrong. It’s her loyalty that kept her from telling me the truth, when that would have resolved all our issues. She kept the promises she made to Lucian, even as I made her suffer for it.
Tears stream down Lucian’s face as he gets dressed, and he’s choking back sobs, unable to look me in the eye. It breaks my fucking heart to see him like that. I can’t remember the last time I even saw him cry—not in years . I should’ve been the first person he turned to in this situation, yet I’m the last person he wanted finding out.
I grab my phone and call Elliot, one of my closest friends, and a total computer genius. He picks up almost immediately.
“What’s up?” he says. “How do I get to extort you today?”
I bite back a smile and shake my head. “I need camera footage removed,” I say, glancing at Lucian.
“How were you filmed, Lucian?” I ask, my voice soft. “With what device?”
He swallows hard and lifts his head slowly, fresh tears in his eyes. “I… Alec…”
I smile at him and shake my head. “Just tell me what device it was.”
He nods, big fat tears rolling down his cheeks. “It was his phone. I don’t remember what model it was.”
I sigh and nod at him. “Elliot, I need you to fry every single device owned by Marcus Smith. He’s one of my employees. I’ll write you a blank cheque.”
I hear Elliot typing furiously through the phone before he replies. “It’s for Lucian?” he asks, his voice soft.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “His boyfriend betrayed him.”
Elliot falls silent. “I see. So, he’s… uh, he’s gay?”
“Yeah, so?” I snap, furious. “Is there a problem?”
“No, no ,” Elliot says. “I just—I just always thought he was really cute.”
I blink in surprise, completely thrown. I don’t even know what to say to that. I clear my throat awkwardly. “Well, I’m sure you know how to get your hands on his contact details, though now probably isn’t a good time.”
Elliot laughs nervously. “Okay, well, consider it done. No charge, since it’s for Lucian.”
I laugh, I can’t help it. How am I only just finding out that two people I’ve known forever aren’t straight? Am I really that clueless?
“Thank you,” I say. “I need you to uncover every bit of dirt on him and have it go viral. I need enough to be able to fire him without having a lawsuit on my hands. I don’t want him ever being able to find another job.”
“Come on,” I tell Elena and Lucian. “We’re leaving.”
Chapter 35
A lexander
“Where are we going?” Elena asks as I lead them to my car. Lucian has barely even looked at me, and I don’t know what to say to him either. I’ve failed him as an older brother, and I didn’t even realize it.
“What’s going to make you feel better?” I ask Lucian, at a loss myself.
He looks up, his eyes red. “Honestly, Alec… I’d give anything to just egg the hell out of his house, however juvenile that might be.”
I bark out a laugh and nod. Very well. I’m planning on doing much worse than that, but it’s not a bad start.
“Convenience store first, then.”
Elena and Lucian are both quiet as they follow along, and it isn’t until I park in front of Marcus’s house that Lucian panics.
“Alec,” he says, sounding anxious as he steps out of the car. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea after all.”
I smile at him, eggs in hand. “This guy is about to find out what happens when you mess with a Kennedy. Besides, you’ll feel better after this.”
I hand him an egg and he stares at it. “You aren’t mad?” he asks. “You’re not disappointed?”
I frown at him and wrap my arm around his shoulder, involuntarily sending a burst of fresh tears to his eyes. “Lucian, you’ve done nothing to be ashamed of. You’d never disappoint me. If anything, I’m the one that has disappointed you.”
He bursts into tears and my heart breaks when he swipes at his tears angrily, clearly hating that he can’t stay in control of his emotions today. As if I’d suddenly look down on him for being emotional after everything he’s been through today, when he’s usually so stoic.
“I know everything that’s going on is a lot, and I’d be just as upset. Hell, I’d be crying too.”
He nods and hugs me, and I hold him tightly. Elena looks at me with such relief in her eyes and I shake my head, sighing. How long has she been keeping his secret? How hard must it have been for her to keep quiet every time I questioned her about her relationship with my brother?
“Come on,” I murmur. Lucian nods and pulls himself together, straightening his clothes. He gasps when I reach back and throw one of the eggs with as much force as I can, and a burst of laughter escapes his lips when it cracks against Marcus’s window.
I hand him a couple of eggs of his own and lean back against my car as he throws them, his mood improving with every egg that smashes against the house, until at last, he’s laughing.
I glance at Elena, overwhelmed with guilt. The things I said to her… I’ve hurt her, and I did it knowingly. I’ve been ignoring her, avoiding her, and all the while, she’s been taking care of my family better than I have. I feel sick when I think back to the pain I saw in her eyes when I compared her to Jennifer, when I told her that even Jennifer was more loyal than she is. I sat there and watched her brother insult her, and I didn’t stand up for her. I let it happen because of my misguided anger.
I walk up to her, hesitating. Elena looks at me in a way that has my heart working overtime. There’s no anger in her eyes, no judgment, no vindication. Instead, she smiles at me reassuringly, knowingly. I raise my arm to wrap it around her and exhale in relief when she walks into my embrace. She has every right to be mad at me for being as harsh with her as I have been, when she so clearly didn’t do anything wrong. Instead, all I see in her eyes is relief. Her focus isn’t on being right, it’s on Lucian and his well-being. I lean in and press a kiss to her cheek, startling her.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “For taking care of him in my stead.”
She smiles at me, a look of understanding in her eyes. I’m so lost in my wife’s eyes that I don’t notice Marcus storming out of his house until Lucian tenses beside me.
I straighten and intercept him before he can reach either my wife or brother. The victorious look in his eyes irritates me, and I draw back my arm before punching him in the jaw as hard as I can. He stumbles backward and falls onto the floor, ass first. I shake my head and dust off my fist, irritated that I had to get it dirty in the first place.