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Chapter 23

Penulis: Ashabi Writes
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-06 22:22:17

PARKER

Coming home feels like walking straight into a tangle of soft noise and sharp guilt.

Lyra’s squeal is the first thing I hear. Then the thump-thump-thump of her socked feet slapping against the wood floor before she crashes into me full-speed and wraps both arms around my waist like she’s trying to fuse us back together. “Mommy! You’re home!”

I drop my duffel by the door, kneel, and hug her tightly, her little face smashed into my sweater, her curls catching under my chin.

“Hey, baby,” I breathe into her hair. “I missed you.”

She pulls back and squints at me, accusing. “Grandma made me eat vegetables.”

“God forbid.”

“Green ones. With flecks.”

“Flecks?”

“I dunno. She said it was healthy.” She makes a face I suspect she’ll master by the time she’s a teenager. Part eye roll, part yuck mouth.

I laugh and ruffle her hair. “You survived.”

“Nuh-uh. Ask Levi.”

I look up in time to see my son emerge from behind the couch like a ninja. His pajamas are inside out. He’s holding a cheese sti
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  • My Brother's rich best friends   Chapter 35

    GAVINI’ve spent most of my life controlling narratives. Make it clean. Make it sharp. Make it disappear.But tonight? Tonight, I let it unravel. No regrets.Vanessa went down like the universe handed Parker a gift-wrapped opportunity, and she didn’t blink. Execution. Delivery. She tripped Vanessa like she was born to do it. Then she handled it like a pro. Kneeling beside her. Brushing her hair back. Asking if she was okay while smiling like an angel.Helping her into the fucking ambulance.The press was still hovering around the courtyard, and there she was—elegant, gracious, perfect. A vision in composed green satin, steady hands holding a woman who’d just threatened to ruin her life.It was PR brilliance. And not even mine.Now the gala’s over.The crowds are almost gone, just stragglers lingering in the parking lot. The performers are packing up stilts and costumes. Catering staff are scraping trays, folding linens. The illusion has ended, and we’re left with the aftermath.I’m st

  • My Brother's rich best friends   Chapter 34

    JACKA gasp rises from the hallway just beyond the lounge doors—guests catching a glimpse of the scene. Two staff members stand frozen mid-step, someone’s champagne glass sloshing from the sudden stop.Vanessa groans. Rolls over. Blood is already starting to trickle from her mouth.Parker steps forward slowly. Kneels beside her. Voice loud enough for everyone nearby to hear her ask, “Oh no. Are you okay?”Vanessa groans again. Her lip’s already swelling. One tooth—front and center—is cracked. Its match is three feet away from her, with a tiny bloody trail behind it.“I tried to warn you,” Parker coos, brushing Vanessa’s hair gently off her face. “The uneven floor in here is brutal. You poor thing.”Behind her, Gavin’s stunned. Harrison has both hands on his hips like he’s trying not to burst out laughing. I’m somewhere between horror and awe.Parker stands up and brushes her dress smooth. “I can’t believe she tripped,” she says, turning back to us.I clear my throat. “Me either.”Harr

  • My Brother's rich best friends   Chapter 33

    JACKParker says it like she’s announcing rain on the forecast. Like it’s not the single most electric thing I’ve ever heard.I open my mouth. Nothing comes out.Gavin is stone-still. Harrison shifts beside me, like he’s physically grounding himself. But me? I’m floating. For all of two seconds, I feel like I’ve left the floor. Heart hammering, brain stuttering, muscles frozen.Because it might be mine. No—because I want it to be. “Okay,” I say finally, because someone has to speak. “Okay. We can…we’ll figure it out.”Parker doesn’t move. She’s not crying. Not smiling. Just waiting, like the weight of what she’s holding might pull her into the floor. She didn’t say it to manipulate us. She said it because she couldn’t carry it alone anymore.“We don’t have to decide anything tonight,” Harrison says, voice low and even.“Right,” Gavin adds, eyes flicking toward the curtained lounge entrance. “Let’s keep this contained.”Parker nods. “I’m not making any decisions yet. I’m still processi

  • My Brother's rich best friends   Chapter 32

    PARKERIt’s a donor. Mid-fifties. Wealthy. Smells like leather and truffle oil. He’s already had three glasses of something golden. “I wanted to say—just beautiful. Really. Top-tier. And the rescue partnership? Brilliant move.”“Thank you,” I say, forcing my best gala-appropriate smile. “We’re thrilled to support the expansion.”“I have a buddy in Marin with a Doberman that eats six hundred dollars in vet bills a month. I told him—‘next year, you’re writing a check!’” He laughs. I nod. Someone claps again nearby.A girl in a sequined trapeze outfit does a slow somersault in midair from one red silk ribbon to another. The crowd gasps.I excuse myself with a polite, “So glad you’re enjoying yourself,” and slip away before I say something truly unhinged like I’m going to vomit on your shoes. I find a quiet corner, ducking behind a floral display near the mirrored hallway that leads to the lounge.The hallway is the only part of this place that’s normal. The rest is all illusion.Golden l

  • My Brother's rich best friends   Chapter 31

    PARKERI don’t trip walking the red carpet. That’s the first miracle of the night.I keep my chin lifted, my smile bright, and my steps smooth in the heels Harrison insisted on buying me to match the gown. I can feel the subtle weight of eyes, flashbulbs, curated curiosity—VT Global’s gala is the event tonight. There are camera crews, influencers, industry powerhouses. Clients. Enemies. Frenemies.It’s a show, and I’m one of the main acts.The dress is a deep green satin that catches light like water, clinging in the right places and cascading in all the others. My makeup is elegant, and my hair is curled, pinned, and sprayed into submission. I look like someone who belongs here.Which is wild, because I absolutely do not.There’s a tight coil in my chest that hasn’t let up all day. Not when I got my hair done. Not when I was zipping up this dress. Not even when Lyra told me I looked like “a very nice mermaid” and Levi gave me a solemn high five like I was going into battle.Because I

  • My Brother's rich best friends   Chapter 30

    HARRISONThe sun is warm. Her hair is catching the light. And for the first time in what feels like a month, things don’t feel like they’re falling apart.She looks up halfway through the meal and says, “You know this doesn’t fix everything.”“I know.”“I’m still your assistant.”“I’m still your CFO.”She tilts her head. “You think we can keep pretending?”“No.”She sighs, like she knew I’d say that. Then she says, “Sometimes I think professionalism is a scam.”I glance up. “Picked that up too?”She stirs her lemonade with her straw. “I mean, what does it even mean? Never cry at work? Never need anything? Never fuck up?”“Never want anything,” I say.She lifts her eyes.I lean forward, resting my arms on the table. “You want my definition?”“Hit me.”“Professionalism is the ability to pretend you’re not a human being. To look someone in the eye and pretend their judgment doesn’t hurt. To want something and swallow it anyway. To sit in a room where you’re not welcome and act like you e

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