Page 105 of Broken Pieces
“You will plead guilty.”
I laugh humorlessly. “You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’m doing that.”
“You will plead guilty,” he repeats. “Otherwise, you will find out the lengths I will go to make sure you do it.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Oh, that's a promise,” His eyes gleam with mischief. “You wouldn’t want anything to happen to Aria, now, would you?”
My heart drops.
No.
He wouldn’t dare.
“You’re bluffing,” I challenge.
“I can promise you I’m not,” he replies, his tone unwavering.
“Aria is your friend. What is wrong with you?” I ask in disbelief.
He growls. “Shewasmy friend, but thebitchdecided to side with you, and now she’s collateral damage. I tried to save her. I told you to fire her and you didn’t listen.”
The threats. It was this fucking idiot all along?
The fact that he calls her a bitch doesn’t escape me. My hands take a life of their own and I grip him by the collar, closing the distance between us.
Through gritted teeth, I say, “Why are you doing this? You were the one that stole that painting? And now you’re blaming it on me?Why?”
He laughs in disbelief, but makes no effort to escape my grip. “After all these years, you still don’t get it, do you? I’m the one who stood by your father’s side, day in and day out, working on the gallery. He taught me everything I know, and what do you do? You just take over the place after he dies, a place you don’t deserve.”
I push him, exasperated. “I’m his son!” I yell at the top of my lungs, my voice hoarse. “The place belonged to me. He even acknowledged that by leaving it to me when he died, Alex.” I sigh in defeat. “You need to accept that.”
“I don’t need to accept shit,brother.”
My gaze locks on his. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me.”
I stare at him with a blank expression. It takes me what feels like a lifetime to process the words he just spat out. Brother? What does that even fucking mean?
A maniacal laugh escapes me. I’m laughing uncontrollably now. Shoulders shaking, my eyes brimming with tears.
Oh, I’m losing it. I’m so losing my shit right now.
“Alex, I don’t know what you’re plotting, but my brother? This is desperate, even for you.”
Alex takes a step back, smirking. “And why would I make up something like that?”
“Beats me! But you are not my fucking brother. You’re talking like a crazy person right now!” I'myelling now, running through the motions, trying my best to escape the feeling of dread and realization.
Deafening silence falls between us, and my gaze locks on him.All of him.
He’s shorter than me, sure, but not by that much. His hair is more light brown, whereas mine is black like my mother’s. Our eyes though, are the exact same ones. That unmistakably deep green, like the lush canopy of an ancient forest.
The same eyes as my father’s.
Fuck. How didn’t I see this sooner?
