Page 47 of The Enemy

“His older brother is here tonight.”

Mierda.

I didn’t feel good about it. I scanned the room, trying to find Nathaniel Jr. Caldwell, but with so many people in it, it was hard to pinpoint him. Unfortunately, with all my sleuthing, I was able to find Neo and Wesley—with their dates. Even though I knew I shouldn’t do it and there was no reason for me to go down that dark road, I couldn’t help but compare myself to the woman on Neo’s arm.

They never looked anything like me, making me conclude that I had been a mistake.

A few hours later, I was tired and more than ready to go back home. The night seemed very productive for Cristobal, and I was glad he got something out of it.

“Thank you, Lou, for always being the perfect date.” Cristobal squeezed my hip affectionately as he said that.

“What can I say? I am pretty perfect,” I joked back.

Suddenly, I got the urge to look up. I found him instantly, and my breath hitched as I noticed his eyes were already on me. Even though he held on to his date, his sole attention was on me. His jaw was clenched, and even across the room, I knew he was looking at how Cristobal was holding me.

What a hypocrite.

My emotions were threatening to get the best of me.

“If you’ll excuse me. I’m going to go use the restroom.”

I didn’t wait for Cristobal’s response. I walked away toward the restrooms that were all the way in the back, the isolated ones, so I could get some privacy to gather myself.

I had to fight the urge to splash water on my face, but it would ruin my makeup. Instead, I focused on my appearance and noted how much I had changed in the last three years.

The sound of heavy footfalls startled me.

Just as I started to push the bathroom door open, I heard raised voices. I waited a second so I wouldn’t make myself known—at least not yet.

“How dare you have the nerve to come talk to me. I thought when you changed your last name, that would be the end of my family's humiliation.”

“Oh, I’m sorry I fucked up your life by being born. It’s not like I fucking asked for it,” Neo spat back.

Mierda.

He was talking to his older brother.

Just as I was about to open the door again, his older brother said something that made me pause.

“It’s not like our father did either. Your cunt of a mother made sure she trapped him.”

Regardless of how I felt about Pricilla, Neo…no kid should have to hear slander like that. I pushed the door open fully this time, and both men turned to look at me with fury in their eyes. I ignored Neo and focused on Nathaniel. He was old already if memory served me correctly, he had just turned seventy not too long ago. For a guy his age, he looked strong. Their facial structure was the same, leaving me to believe that, at one point, he had been handsome. I wasn’t Pricilla. Soggy old men weren’t my thing.

“You’re a piece of shit. Blaming your brother for the actions of a grown-ass fucking man. If your daddy didn’t pull out, that wouldn’t have made it Neo’s fault!”

Nathaniel glared at me, and his lip curled in disgust.

“My father had been very vocal about not having any more children. If he wanted more, why didn’t they have any right after they got married?” he raised a brow, daring me to defy him. “Why would he name me his power of attorney and not his wife?”

Nathaniel walked away with those parting words.

I took a step closer to Neo. His chest was rising and falling rapidly. Rabid dogs lashed out when they felt corned, and I knewNeo would react the same way after what I had just witnessed. Still, I took another step forward. “Are you okay?”

He let out a pained laugh but didn’t answer me. Instead, he went and leaned against the wall.

“Why’d you do it? Stick up for me?”

I followed suit and stood next to him. At this point, this felt like déjà vu. This was our thing, wasn’t it? Comforting one another where no one could witness us?

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