Chapter 2

The day my fever broke, Mom asked me to come over for dinner.

"Your brother's getting married, so we need to talk about buying him a house."

She made it sound like a family discussion, but she'd clearly made up her mind long before I arrived.

During dinner, Dad spread a floor plan across the table and announced, "Orson's still 60,000 dollars short on the down payment. You and Victoria are doing pretty well financially, so you can cover it for him for now."

My younger brother, Orson Townsend, kept his head down, scrolling through his phone as though the conversation had nothing to do with him.

"Why should I have to pay for it?" I asked.

Mom stared at me in surprise. For more than 20 years, I'd given my parents whatever they wanted without ever questioning them.

"You're his older brother! If you won't help him, who will?"

"He's 27, Mom. He has a job, and he's perfectly capable of supporting himself."

Her face darkened. "Orson's getting married, and that's a big deal for this family! Just cut back on buying clothes, and you'll save up the money in no time!"

I looked at the new coat she was wearing, remembering how she'd complained just last month that she had nothing to wear for the holidays. She'd asked me for 1,000 dollars, and I'd given it to her without hesitation.

Meanwhile, I'd never even been willing to spend that much on clothes for myself.

Under the table, Victoria reached for my hand. For a moment, I thought she was finally going to stand up for me, but instead, she pulled out her bank card.

"I'll cover it, Mom," she said.

Mom immediately broke into a smile. "Victoria, you're so considerate."

I snatched the card from Victoria's hand.

"We've been saving that money to buy a new house," I reminded her.

But she merely frowned and lowered her voice. "Orson needs it right now. We can put off moving for a little longer."

"Did you even bother discussing this with me?"

"You've never made a big deal out of things like this before."

The confusion in her eyes was genuine, as though the only version of Lucas Townsend she recognized was the one who always agreed to everything.

Now that I'd started saying no and getting angry, I'd somehow become a complete stranger to her.

Orson finally looked up from his phone. "Lucas, Victoria's willing to help, so what's with the attitude? It's not like I'm not going to pay you back."

"And what about the 20,000 dollars you borrowed last time?"

His face turned bright red, but before he could answer, Mom slammed her fork onto the table and pointed at me angrily.

"Are you seriously keeping score with your own family?"

"Yes, I am."

I put the bank card away and turned to leave, but Mom followed me to the door and slapped me hard across the side of my face, near my ear.

A sharp, burning pain spread through my face as she shoved me toward the door.

"How did I ever raise such an ungrateful son?"

Victoria followed us outside and draped a coat over my shoulders. "You're still recovering from your fever. Don't stand out here in the cold."

My hands trembled as I took off the coat and handed it back to her.

"So you think I'm the one who's wrong?"

I looked at her quietly, clinging to one last shred of hope. Just once, I wanted her to take my side.

But as the seconds ticked by without an answer, my heart sank further. I dug my nails into my palm, waiting until she finally spoke in a dismissive tone.

"Your parents shouldn't have handled it like that, but Orson really does need help. What's so wrong with helping him out? Besides, you shouldn't have argued with them."

"So I deserved to get slapped? I'm just supposed to keep giving in no matter what they do?" I shot back.

"You're his older brother," said Victoria.

I couldn't help laughing bitterly. There it was again, the same excuse I'd heard my entire life.

When I was little, being the older brother meant that it didn't matter if my parents left me out of the family photos and that Orson always got the first slice of cake.

Now that we were adults, apparently even my money, my home, and my time were his for the taking whenever he needed them.

"Victoria, I'm your husband."

Wasn't she supposed to be on my side?

She looked startled by my words. "I know."

"No, you don't."

Her expression darkened, and after a moment, she sighed. Just as she was about to say something else, her phone rang.

It was Gavin, calling because something had gone wrong with his divorce mediation. He wanted her to come over.

Victoria hesitated before looking at me. "Why don't you head home first?"

I didn't answer, so she gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll bring you some chestnuts from that place on West Erling tonight."

With that, she hurried off without a moment's hesitation, leaving me to make my way home alone with my face still stinging from the slap.

Not long afterward, Gavin sent me a video.

Victoria was standing protectively in front of him, looking as though she would do anything to keep someone from laying a hand on him.

I'd never seen her defend me like that. In fact, she'd never even bothered to speak up for me when I needed her.

When someone in the video asked what her relationship with Gavin was, I ended it before I could hear her answer.

It was late by the time Victoria finally came home, and she hadn't brought anything with her.

She seemed surprised to find me still awake, but as usual, she approached me for a hug. Before she could put her arms around me, I caught a whiff of men's cologne.

I recognized the scent immediately. It was the same cologne Victoria had given me one Valentine's Day.

Later, when I'd noticed Gavin wearing the same fragrance, I'd stopped using mine altogether.

She seemed eager to smooth things over as she said, "I didn't give Orson the money. From now on, I'll ask you before taking anything out of our joint account."

I didn't respond to that. Instead, I asked, "Weren't you going to bring me some chestnuts from that place on West Erling?"

Victoria froze for a moment before casually letting go of me, looking somewhat uneasy.

"When I got there, they only had one serving left. Gavin said he wanted to try some, so… I'll get you some tomorrow."

A chill spread through my chest.

If she'd forgotten to buy them once or twice because something had come up, I could've understood. But this time was different.

She hadn't forgotten about the chestnuts. She'd simply assumed that I'd be as understanding as always and let Gavin have the last serving without putting up a fuss.

Her phone rang again, and unsurprisingly, it was Gavin.

Victoria stepped out onto the balcony to take the call, leaving me standing there.

"No need," I finally said, my voice hoarse.

But she was already too distracted to hear me, and as I watched her retreating figure, all I felt was exhaustion.