Chapter 2

Jared's POV

A cold numbness hollowed out my chest.

Before I could say a word, Luca casually leaned against the doorframe while wearing the exact shirt I'd picked out for him. A circle of bite marks flared red around his exposed wrist.

It was obvious just how lost in the moment Gracie had been.

"Is that right, Gracie? Didn't you just tell me yesterday that you planned on being child-free forever, but being with me made you feel like having a baby might not be so bad after all?"

He laughed arrogantly.

Then he threw a provocative glance right at me. "Jared, you're the smart one. Help me out here. Does Gracie actually like me, or does she hate me?"

Looking at the younger brother I had raised with so much care acting like such a snake, I stood up in complete disbelief. My clenched fists shook violently.

Gracie's face instantly darkened. She pushed a reluctant Luca out of the house. "Get out. Stop pushing Jared!"

"I'm just telling the truth!"

His low shout was cut off as the door snapped shut.

The living room plunged into a silence so heavy we could hear each other breathe. But the silence was far more stifling than any screaming match.

"Honey, didn't you say you wanted to decorate the place? Are the decorations still outside? I'll go grab them right now."

Trying to sound casual, Gracie picked up a box and walked into the bedroom.

I looked up and stepped over. I reached for the lock, turned the key, and locked the door from the outside. Then I pulled the key out of the lock.

"Jared Norton! What are you doing? Luca's your brother! And I'm carrying his baby! I won't let you hurt him!"

The last drop of her forced composure vanished, replaced by wild screams as she slammed her weight against the door.

I left our home without a single expression on my face.

I crossed the hall and knocked on the neighbor's door.

"Hey, Jared. Done talking already?" Luca still had that innocent grin on his face, holding a bowl of the soup I'd packed for Gracie that morning.

Suppressing the fury surging in my throat, I forced the words out past a tight chest. "How could you… do this to me?"

"Pfft!" Luca doubled over laughing and wiped a drop of soup from the corner of his mouth. "Jared, you've always been so good to me. What's the big deal if I get a taste of your woman? Besides, you only have yourself to blame for this."

I frowned in disbelief. "Blame myself?"

"Well, yeah."

Wearing the designer slippers I'd bought him, he strolled lazily over to the dining table. He picked up his phone, pulled up a dense stack of text logs, and tossed it to me.

"You've been telling me everything since we were kids. Cool toys you found, staying up late for work, random weirdos you ran into on the street… Honestly, I never cared about any of it. Except… Gracie."

His eyes gleamed, sly as a fox. "You kept saying how she solved all your problems, how she backed you up in life and work, and how she was the most perfect girlfriend in the world and would never cheat.

"I just couldn't bring myself to believe it. So I started dressing up flashy and acting provocative, deliberately trying to get her attention. Turns out, she was easy. Oh, and here's a fun little secret. You fell asleep on your birthday, so you didn't know this, but we actually broke the living room couch."

Luca perched on the edge of the table, tilting his head with a sweet, harmless smile.

Meanwhile, my face was drained of all color.

This was the brother whom I had cherished since the day he was born.

When he was little, he couldn't fall asleep unless I was in the room.

When he got into pop stars in his teens, I scoured the entire city just to track down out-of-print cassettes for him.

Even in high school, when he casually mentioned his classmate's limited-edition sneakers looked cool, I skipped my tuition to wait in line for him all night.

Luca used to tell me I was the best brother in the world, that he wanted to follow me around forever.

I never imagined that the first thing he'd do when he grew up was steal my fiancée.

Shaking with rage, I grabbed his arm, my eyes bloodshot as I dragged him toward the exit. "We're going home. Right now. We're telling Mom and Dad, and we'll see if you still have the nerve to act like this!"

A soft chuckle came from behind me, followed by his familiar, spoiled whine. "Mom and Dad? Oh, Jared, they already know. Where do you think I got the money to buy the place right next door to yours? They gave me the wedding money Gracie had set aside for you."