Chapter 5. The Brother You Shouldn’t Trust.

RYKER

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I knew it was her the second the phone lit up. I didn't even have to guess.

I expected her to call.

"Hello, Little Lamb."

The silence on the other end stretched. Like she was fighting with her words.

"Is it still... on the table?" Her voice came, soft but rough as if she had been crying or had screamed into a pillow.

I leaned back into the seat, my other hand gripping the phone.

"I don't make offers I don't intend to keep."

She didn't speak right away. I heard the faint shuffle of movement. Maybe the drag of a suitcase, I couldn't tell. Either way, I could sense things moving in the direction I wanted them to be.

"I have nowhere else to go," she whispered.

And God help me, those words did something to me.

"Text me your location," I said. "I'll be there in twenty."

~~~~~

VANESSA

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What could be weirder than this? One moment, he was someone I wanted to get away from. Now, he was sitting across from me with that victorious smile plastered on his face.

"So..." I started, unsure where to begin. "What exactly was your offer again?"

We were back at the bar, tucked away in a private booth and far from the crowd. The silence was so heavy that I almost wanted to disappear into my luggage next to me.

"He finally kicked you out." Ryker said instead.

I glanced at my luggage and then back at him. "Yeah, pretty obvious, isn’t it?"

His gaze softened. "Here's my offer; Use me to get back at your ex. But this time, it all boils down to jealousy. Even if he doesn't love you, he won't like seeing you with someone else. Especially someone like me."

"Why would he be jealous when he doesn’t even—" I searched for the right word. "...like me?"

A smirk spread across his face as he leaned back on the chair. "You'll see."

"You aren’t being clear about this. I need to know what I'm getting into."

"I'm telling you that I know how this works. Your husband..."

"Ex-husband." I corrected flatly.

He shrugged. "Whatever. Trust me, Derek would be jealous seeing his ex-wife with another man. He would wonder if you ever loved him, why you moved on so fast. That's where it starts. He'd come chasing."

I grimaced. "You know that’s unrealistic, right?."

"Then why don't we set the ball rolling first? If it works, we keep going. If not—" his voice dropped low, almost into a whisper. "You're free to walk away and never look back."

My heart thumped against my chest. His eyes on me, his voice echoing like a promise in my ears, his words like a mantra, holding depths and conviction.

What do I have to lose if this doesn’t work out?

Nothing.

"And what's in it for you?" I asked.

He couldn't be some saint doing this for free.

He grinned. "A lot. More than you realize."

I didn't want to dig deeper. Life was already so messy enough and I would love to not be involved with his affairs. "Alright then."

"Deal?"

His eyes sparkled with mischief and expectations. Somewhere, my rational side told me to withdraw and run. I was probably making another mistake.

But I found myself nodding. "Deal."

After drinks, we got in his car. My luggage was in his backseat and I sat with him in the front. The city's night beauty blurred around me as he drove into the bustling streets of Brooklyn.

My new world. Fake and temporary but still mine.

Ryker soon parked in front of a large Villa. I squinted my eyes at the luxurious villa in front of us.

"Rich, huh?" I commented.

Ryker smirked as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Wealth looks good on me, doesn’t it?."

I rolled by eyes in response and he let out a chuckle.

Together we climbed out of the car and headed towards the mansion. Ryker paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Welcome home, Little Lamb." He said smoothly as he pushed the door open.

I crunched my nose at the name.

"Wow. Nice interiors." My eyes wandered around as I stepped in while he trailed behind me. The house was a stunning display of beauty and luxury. Marble floors, elegant furniture, and eye-catching artworks that were hung on the walls.

"I'll go upstairs and grab the contract."

I raised an eyebrow. "Contract? Didn't expect we'd be needing one. Isn’t that too much? "

"I want rules on papers so no one forgets what we're playing at. " He said, already heading towards the stairs. "Feel at home."

He disappeared and I let my eyes wander. The artworks were so impressive, pulling me in. Curiosity pulled me closer to the captivating La Fornarina portrait on the wall.

As I walked closer, my eyes landed on a small photo frame lying flat on the table instead of being displayed.

I wasn't snooping, I told myself. I was just curious.

I reached for the photo, picked it up and saw it was a family photo.

In the photo was….

Derek?

Something in me froze. My eyes wandered to his mother and then, to his father—someone who I'd only seen once, and it was during my wedding to Derek.

I felt the ground shift beneath my feet when I saw the person standing next to Mr Luke Holland, Derek’s Father...

Ryker.

During my years being married to Derek, I'd learned about his older half-brother. The illegitimate son his father had with their housekeeper. The lone wolf of the family. No one spoke about him openly, like he was the sin of their family. He never showed up at my wedding with Derek. And Derek? He hated the idea of him.

Why did Ryker have this family photo?

Could Ryker be...that brother??