Page 51 of My Fiancé's Brother 2

I shrank back in my seat. His words deflated me. Defeated me. I hadn’t realized just how much I had needed to hear him tell me that it was going to be okay. To comfort me. His reaction made me feel lost and more alone than before.

I nodded wordlessly and watched as he started the truck. Tears blurred my eyes as we drove back to our house.

CHAPTER 18

Jackson unloadedthe groceries and helped me put them away. We worked in silence together. He seemed untouchable which further added to my mounting insecurities. My nerves felt so tight I almost couldn’t take it. I was a rubber band that was about to snap.

“What are you doing right now?” Jackson’s question broke through my thoughts.

I shrugged. I looked around the place. Boxes were still stacked everywhere. What I wanted to do was crawl into bed and not come out.

“Why don’t you start unpacking the bedroom?” he said. “I’ll work on stuff down here.”

I wanted to talk to him, but the words eluded me. Instead, I trudged upstairs and began to unpack. I made short work of my boxes of clothes and started on Jackson’s boxes. It felt weird to be hanging our stuff together in the same closet. It felt like we were two strangers playing house.

I could not stop replaying the scene at the grocery store. I had never seen Jackson react like that. For the thousandth time, I questioned my sanity for being here.

I started loading his socks into a drawer and stopped short when I noticed the little blue Tiffany bag. Inside I found a Tiffany ring box and a receipt. I stood there for a long moment holding it in my hand. I knew that I should just put it away, but I needed to know when he had bought it. Without looking at the price, I peeked at the corner of the receipt and noted the date.

Jackson had bought this ring just after Christmas. December 28th to be exact. This was Harper’s engagement ring. Heart in my throat, I was unable to stop myself from opening the box. It was a magnificent ring. It sparkled and glittered in the light. It suited her perfectly. This ring would have been beautiful on her hand. Here was more proof of how Alien and I had wholly derailed Jackson’s future.

I sat on the bed and stared at the ring. Had Jackson been excited when he bought this ring? Had he planned some romantic proposal? He had told her to be patient with him. She had been. This was the proof that he had meant to honor those intentions. Instead, I had gotten in the way.

“You want me to break down the boxes for you?” Jackson’s voice sounded from the doorway.

I looked up at him, my eyes wide. His gaze dropped to the ring box in my hand. His jaw tightened.

I resisted the urge to apologize for intruding on his privacy. He had asked me to unpack his boxes. I was his wife, and I had just found an engagement ring for another woman amongst his stuff. I wasn’t entirely sure under the circumstances he owed me an apology, but I wasn’t going to say sorry either.

“It’s a beautiful ring,” I said, snapping the lid closed. “It suits her.”

His cheekbones became more pronounced as he sucked his cheeks in. He studied the floor between us. Green eyes finally raised up to meet mine.

He finally spoke. “I hadn’t given it to her yet.”

“You bought it.”

“We broke up before I left for New York.”

“I’m pretty certain you would have gotten back together.”

“I married you, not her.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I lied.

He put his hands on his hips. “You can’t just say that.”

“Say what?”

“Say that it doesn’t matter.”

What did he expect from me? Of course, it mattered.

“You want to hear that it matters?” I raised my eyebrows at him and nodded, feeling my anger pulse and grow inside of me. “You want the truth?”

“I always want the truth.”

I could not stop the flow of words that streamed from my mouth. “Well, how about this? When a man buys a ring for a woman, it means something. Even if he hasn’t given it to her yet. I get it. I get it.”

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