Page 54 of Four Fiances & I

Christian stares down at me for a moment, and I think he’s going to argue. But instead, his face softens, and he nods before lifting the bottle to his lips. I snatch it from his hand and pour it onto the ground beside me.

“What the fuck?” he snaps as he goes to snatch the bottle from me, but I continue to pour it onto the grass. “Do you have any fucking idea how expensive that bottle is?” he demands. The fact he is swearing and sounding like a teenager watching their mother pour away their hidden vodka tells me that he is in a worse state than I initially thought.

“What’s the difference between pouring it down your throat and onto the ground?” I ask, and he shuts up showing he has no answer. “Are you going to tell me what the hell that was about upstairs?” I demand. Christian looks at me again, and the pain is back there in his eyes.

“I am so sorry, Sweetheart. I don’t know what came over me, but I would never hurt you-”

“I’m not talking about that yet. I want to know why you felt the need to try and kill your brother?”

Christian's shoulders tighten as he stands taller, obviously still angry about everything, but as he does, he sways slightly. Any other time, it would worry me that he had drank so much it was having an effect on him. I don’t think I have ever seen Christian get to the point of being tipsy, let alone drunk.

“Get in the house right now!” I snap, pointing to the building angrily. “We will finish this conversation when you are sat down and not in danger of falling over!”

Christian stares at me for a moment, but the higher my eyebrows get, the more he seems to realise I am not playing. Christian turns and starts walking towards the house when he stumbles a little. I sigh and grab his arm to keep him stable.

“I’m fine.”

“You are far from fine in every sense of the word. This is why we are going to sit down, and you will listen to me for once.”

“I do listen to you,” he argues as we reach the conservatory, where one of his security guards, Justin, stands waiting for us.

“Is everything okay, Miss Jasmine?”

“Why did you let her outside?” Christian snaps at him.

“Because I thought she was heading to see you, sir. I stayed close until I knew she was safely by your side.” Well, that goes to show how preoccupied I was, as I never even noticed him there.

“Thank you, Justin, I’ve got it from here.” But he looks between Christian and me as if he isn’t sure if he should leave or not.

“Leave,” Christian snaps. I roll my eyes and offer Justin a small smile.

“Yes, sir,” he stutters before heading to the security office.

Once inside the conservatory, I close the door, and he falls onto the sofa. Embry instantly jumps down from my arms and heads straight to Christian, who picks him up and places him on his lap.

“For someone who said they didn’t want anything to do with the dog, you seem very fond of him now.”

Christian doesn’t say anything immediately; he just looks down and strokes his head.

“I think he’s the only one in this house that doesn’t hate me at the moment.”

His words shock me as they are the last thing I expected him to say.

“No one hates you,” I sigh, wanting to feel more sympathy for him than I do. He deserves some of this pain, especially after everything he has done to the rest of us. But I also know he carries more pain than he lets on. “Want to tell me what that was about on the landing?” I ask.

“Not really.”

“Fine, if you won’t talk, then you will listen,” I snap, my anger rising again. “You want to know what I think. I think tonight, the four of you had a good night turn into a shit one. I know that the blonde guy fromthat placetold you a few things, and things escalated to the point Sean was injured, and you all had some sort of fight.”

“What did they tell you?” Christian snaps, causing me to push away from the wall I’ve been leaning against.

“Oh no, I gave you the chance to speak, but you turned it down. So now, you can shut up and listen to me.” I don’t give him a chance to interrupt again and carry on talking. “As usual, they won’t tell me anything, and I know that’s because of you. I know you think you are protecting me, but you aren’t, Christian. You are pushing me away.” I want to tell him how much it hurts and how much of a divide it's putting between us and our whole family. They all think I don’t notice the way they whisper together or change the topic when I walk into a room, but I do. But once again, I don’t get to voice my concerns as Christian shakes his head and stands from the sofa, placing the dog down before heading for the door.

“Where are you going?” I demand, following him, being sure to close the door behind us so Embry is safe.

“I need a drink.”

“No, you don’t,” I snap, storming after him. We are in the main hallway when I realise he is heading to the sitting room. “Christian, stop!” I shout as he turns down the corridor towards the room, where I know there are plenty of bottles for him to choose from. I rush towards him and stand in front to try and stop him from going further.

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