Rome sighs, leaning back in his chair. He leans an elbow on the armrest, assessing me quietly.
“So,” I say. “Are you going to help or not?”
He taps his lip with a smirk, and the action aggravates me. He’s such a slimy asshole, and I hate that I have to grovel to him like this.
Rome is enjoying every moment.
“So, the old bag is desolate...”
I grind my teeth, biting back a growl. How dare he. That woman raised us! Our parents were murdered when we were six years old. We had no one else!
How can be so fucking cruel?
He sniggers, and I don’t miss the flash in his callous brown eyes. “About freaking time. The bitch should have thought twice before she and that husband of hers disowned me.”
I can’t help myself now. I growl and Jeanette flinches. Her body shakes, yet she stays put. I bet her every instinct is telling her to run, but she has to play the ever-loyal omega pet.
I bet her feet hurt from standing all day. Is she even allowed to sit?
Rome only looks amused, and he makes that disgusting snigger again as he places his empty glass on the table. “Did I hit a nerve, brother? Surely, you can’t have forgotten about the way they treated me?”
They kicked him out and told him to never step foot on the estate again. They had no choice. He’d raped a beta maid in our service. It was either that or prison.
I think they should have chosen prison, but they loved their grandson too much. It’s not their fault he turned out to be an evil piece of shit. It wasn’t Rome’s fault either, and it seems our childhood trauma really has messed with our heads.
Yet I never would have taken it out on that poor beta.
I’m not sure what strings my grandparents pulled at the time. No one knows about Rome’s crime, and I bet he would rather it stayed that way. There’s nothing stopping me from threatening him and telling the press. His reputation would be thoroughly ruined if I did. But he knows I would never do that.
I don’t have it in me. Because there’s still a part of me that loves him, and I’m such an idiot.
One day, the truth will come out.
My eyes fall on Jeanette, and my insides turn when I think about how he treats her behind closed doors. She stands like one of those pedigree breeds you see at dog shows. Well-bred, well trained. Best in show for sure.
She must be dying on the inside.
“They never stopped loving you, and you know that,” I say. “Grandma even asks about you. She…”
I almost lose my self-control, and the last thing I want to do is bawl in front of my brother. Jeanette’s eyes flicker toward me, and there’s no missing the shine.
It seems she is still human after all.
Rome sneers, and I wish I could jump across the coffee table and pummel him.
The bastard.
“Well… she should have thought about that when she kicked me out. Our discussion is over. I have nothing to offer you, Roman.”
My eyes burn with the threat of tears, and I can’t tell if it’s from grief or anger. It’s hard to believe I shared a womb with this guy.
It’s hard to believe that I once considered him my best friend. Back when we were five, we always looked out for each other. We never tattle-tailed on each other, and we always had fun.
Just all that typical shit that kids too.
I guess I was a fool to believe that my sweet brother was still inside him somewhere. The one I loved. Rome wasn’t born evil. He doted on our mother. He was her favorite because he always hugged her.
I was more of a Daddy’s boy.