Craving The Wrong Brother (Sloane and Knox)

-Luke-

It's the eve of Christmas. After much pleading and convincing, Julie has agreed to come to Colombia with me.

I'm excited for her to meet my parents. I wish we could visit hers as well, but Julie threatened to hang me the day I suggested it. Being from Colombia, I never understood the idea of estranged families. Your sister could literally be on TV as a wanted serial killer, and you'd let her hide in your basement from the police.

So the entire Julie and her family' fallout affair seemed strange to me at first. But I understand now.

And if we're being fair, Julie's mother tried to kill her. Then there's that trial thing that ended recently. Elaine Jenkins got five years of probation, mandatory mental health treatment, 100 hours of community service, and anger management classes. Of course, there's the most important one: no contact with the victim without court approval.

I know every detail about that trial because Julie followed the entire case. She seemed disappointed with the results.

And now, she has a new interest. Ryan, Emily, and Paragon Jewels.

"That girl is so shameless," Julie says as we drive to the airport.

"What girl?" I ask, though I already know where this is going.

"Emily." She's staring at her phone. "Her lawyer's asking for 10 million."

"Seems greedy. Didn't she lie about Ryan being the father of her unborn child?" "Yeah. Which is why I said she's shameless. On one hand, I want her to lose. On the other hand, I want Ryan to lose. Does that make me a bad person?"

"Nah, it just means you're human. Or maybe you need a new hobby. Ever thought about watching soap operas?"

She snorts. "Why would I watch those when this is way more dramatic?"

Fair point. This whole Ryan O'Brien and Emily Cohen mess has turned into a real-life soap opera, and Julie is hooked. Emily sued Ryan and Paragon Jewels for sexual harassment, wrongful termination, retaliation, hostile work environment, discrimination, assault and battery, emotional distress, and a host of other things. I'm not exaggerating when I say their faces are everywhere. You can't open a news app or scroll through social media without seeing Emily's teary-eyed press conference or Ryan looking like he's been run over by a

truck.

A video surfaced of Ryan pinning Emily against a wall and then flinging her aside. Since then, the internet has been dragging Paragon Jewels through the mud.

Several movements are involved. #MeToo; Survivors of Domestic Abuse Groups; Workplace Rights and Labor Groups; Feminist Movement

And the entire affair would be interesting if it didn't involve me and Julie. Stories have been dug up. So many media groups have contacted us for interviews.

And I just wish for it to be over.

Julie's making the most of it, reading every article and watching every conspiracy video. She's having the time of her life. On the other hand. I've had to hire security because of all the media attention, and Julie thinks it's overkill. Maybe she's right, but I'm not taking chances. Not with her.

*Look at this," Julie says, holding her phone up to me. "Ryan's been fired as

CEO. Adeline really did it. She axed her own son." lance at the headline. "Damn. That's cold"

"Cold' It's nuclear. She's ruthless"

I keep my eyes on the road, though I'm not the one driving. Since we got

bodyguards, I've been feeling useless.

"Maybe this trip to Colombia will be good for you," I say. "You'll have too much

on your plate to keep up with this madness

11:10 AM

Julie follows his gaze to her hand. "It's a ring, Ryan."

"Don't play dumb with me. You're engaged?"

"Yes."

"To him? Lucas?" His voice rises, disbelief and fury mixing in his chest. "Yes," she repeats.

Ryan stares at her, his mind reeling. He came here expecting to find her waiting, miserable without him. Instead, she's wearing another man's ring.

Ryan's eyes are glued to the ring, that massive, glittering diamond mocking him with every glint of light it catches. His throat tightens. His fingers curl into fists at his sides. He can feel his pulse throbbing in his temples.

"How could you do this?" he says. "You let that man brainwash you. You think he's any better than me? His first wife left him, Julie. That's a pretty damn telling sign, don't you think? What are you going to do when it gets rough? Run to another man?"

Julie crosses her arms, leaning back against her desk. "Even when you're dying, you're still an arrogant piece of shit. Do you

have any business with me today, Mr. O'Brien, or did you just come here to give me another lecture? Because I have a lot of work to do."

Ryan flinches at the way she addresses him. So formal. So distant. Like they didn't share a bed, a life, dreams. "I was getting the baby for us, Julie," he says. "When Emily has the baby, who's going to take care of it? Who's going to be its parent?"

"Emily and you, I suppose."

"No," Ryan snaps. "I got the baby for you."

"Ryan, I don't want your baby. I've got mine."

He stares at her, his mind scrambling to process what she just said. "You're... pregnant?"

"I am."

"That can't be," he whispers, shaking his head as if denying it will make it less real.

"I: is," she says.

The room seems to tilt around him. He stumbles back a step, his hands gripping the edge of the chair for support.

"Julie.” His voice cracks "We've all made mistakes. It's alright. We can raise the babies together-your baby, Emily's baby. It doesn't matter. We'll finally have children, Julie. The family we always wanted."

Julie stares at him, her eyes cold and unyielding. For a long moment, she says nothing. Then she says, "I've tried to be the bigger person. To let fate take its course. But you keep pushing me, Ryan. You keep pushing me into a corner."

"As long as it makes you see me," he pleads, stepping closer.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't give a fuck about you anymore, Ryan?" Her voice rises. "The babies aren't yours. Mine Emily's None of them are yours. You made me feel like shit for not having a child, made me feel like less of a woman. I did everything-everything-to make it work. But you were the problem all along!"

Ryan freezes. "What did you say?"

"I said a lot of things, Ryan."

No. About Emily's baby."

She crosses her arms. "It's not yours. If I were a bad person, I'd let her keep running her little con on you. But even you deserve to know the truth before you

die."

Ryan feels the floor drop out from beneath him. "She lied to me?"

Julie shrugs. "Hate to break it to you, but lying is something people do.

*

His head spins. His legs feel weak. He stumbles towards the door, his hand

trembling as he grabs the handle.

"Ryan," Julie calls out behind him.

He pauses, his back to her.

"I wish you good luck on your chemo."

He turns his head slightly. "I'm not dying."

"What?"

"I lied," he says. “Just as you said, lying is something people do."

He walks out, leaving Julie sitting there, her eyes wide with shock.

+15

"Can't you go any faster?" Ryan barks, his fingers drumming against the leather

seat.

Justin, his chauffeur, meets Ryan's glare in the rearview mirror. "We're already pushing the speed limit, sir."

"I don't give a damn about the speed limit. I said faster."

Justin sighs, the sound heavy with resignation, and presses the accelerator. The engine growls, and the car shoots forward, weaving through traffic.

Ryan barely notices. His mind is elsewhere.

'It's not yours. She lied to you.'

Julie has to be wrong. She's bitter, vindictive, hell-bent on revenge. She wants to hurt him, destroy him. That's all this is a desperate, venomous lie designed to make him doubt everything. Emily wouldn't... She couldn't... But the seed of doubt is planted, its roots coiling tighter around his sanity with every passing second.

The building of Paragon Jewels looms ahead.

Ryan doesn't wait for the car to fully stop. He flings the door open and steps out. Karen, the ever-cheerful receptionist, lifts her head from her desk, her bright smile faltering. "Mr. O'Brien! Welcome back. Your mother mentioned you were-" He cuts past her without a glance, his pace relentless. His long strides carry him

to the elevator bank, and he slams the button with unnecessary force. Karen's voice trails after him. "Mr. O'Brien, your mother asked that you-" The elevator arrives with a soft ding, mercifully cutting off her words. Ryan steps inside, jabbing the button for the top floor. His reflection stares back at him from the polished metal walls-face hard, eyes blazing. He doesn't recognize the man staring back. This is someone else. Someone pushed to the edge.

The elevator hums its way up. When the doors finally part, he steps out onto the executive floor, every muscle coiled tight.

Emily sits at her desk outside his office, blonde hair pulled into a neat bun, fingers dancing across her keyboard. At the sound of his footsteps, she looks up, her

blue eyes widening in surprise.

"Ryan? You shaved your head?"

He closes the distance in three strides, yanking her from her chair.

"Did you lie to me about the baby?" Ifis voice is low, trembling with rage.

Emily gasps, struggling against him. "What? Ryan, let me go right now! You're hurting me!

He tightens his grip, his knuckles white. "You tried to pass off another man's child as mine."

"So what if I did? That's what you wanted, wasn't it? A baby? I got you one."

0

+15

He can't believe this. "You bitch," he hisses, pushing her some steps backwards

and backing her up against the wall.

"Let me go, Ryan! You're scaring me!"

"You used me! You made me believe-"

"Let her go, Ryan."

The command stops him cold. Ryan turns, his chest heaving, to find his mother

standing in her office doorway. Her gaze is icy.

"Let her go. Right. Now."

"The baby isn't mine," Ryan says. "She lied."

Adeline's gaze remains steely. "I said, let her go."

His hands tremble as he releases Emily with a shove. She crumples to the floor,

sobbing. "You're fired," Ryan says. "Pack your things and get the hell out. Don't bother coming home for your stuff. I'll burn them."

"You'll pay for this," Emily spits. "I'll bleed you dry for daring to put your hands on

me."

Ryan's smile is bitter, devoid of warmth. "I'd like to see you try."

Emily wipes her tears, her hands trembling, and throws one last venomous glare

at him before storming out, her heels clicking furiously against the marble. The silence that follows is deafening.

Adeline steps forward, her eyes narrowing. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking? I was thinking I've been played, and I'm done with it." "You've lost control. You're dragging this company's name through the mud." Ryan whirls around, his finger jabbing the air. "Your company? Your name? What about me, Mom? That baby isn't mine! Do you even care?"

"What I care about is salvaging our reputation. Leave. Now. Or you'll be fuckingnoveldrama

fired too."

Ryan's jaw tightens, his gaze locked on hers for a tense, silent moment Then, without another word, he turns and strides toward the elevator.

Before the doors close, he says, "You don't love me. You never did."