Chapter 3 Something About Losing Someone

New York, USA, 20 years ago

All his life, Mikael thought that there was nothing more ridiculous that his parents would do than separate him from Michael—his twin brother. However, he turned out to be wrong. Because six months after Michael stayed in Arizona to treat heart disease, now his parents brought home a blonde-haired girl who hid behind his mother’s feet when Mikael looked at her with disapproval.

Oh gosh, have they both not been busy enough to take care of Michael so they decided to bring another child?

“Mike,” his mother reached out, motioning for Mikael to walk closer to her.

Mikael shook his head. He snorted while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Come here. Mommy wants to introduce you to Claire.” She said as she pulled Claire’s hand so that girl wouldn’t hide behind her.

Mikael raised an eyebrow when he looked at the girl who was shorter than him. Her body was emaciated, she wore a simple white dress that looked shabby—very typical for the appearance of a child living in an orphanage.

“Who’s she? Why bring the orphanage home?” Mikael asked without bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

“Mike,” his father shook his head slowly, warning Mikael through his eyes.

Mikael rolled his eyes. After the abandonment of these two people, did they still deserve to scold Mikael for his behavior?

“From now on, you have a younger sister. You have to be nice to her.” In contrast to his father who looked angry with his cynical attitude, his mother explained in a calm voice. Even she brushed the hair of the girl standing in front of her.

“Claire, come greet your brother.” Her father joined in.

The girl named Claire took a step forward hesitantly, then reached out her hand to Mikael. “My name is Claire. Nice to meet you, brother.”

Mikael raised an eyebrow. Since when had he agreed to become that child’s big brother?

“I don’t care about you guys!” Mikael replied as he turned around and walked casually into the elevator at the room’s end. Instead of listening to nonsensical conversations between his parents and their new daughter, it was better for him to ride with Lionel—one of his bodyguards.

***

Mikael had thought that riding in the backyard of the William family’s mansion would keep him out of the drama with Claire and her parents, but he was wrong. Because now he can’t ride quietly after his parents left Claire to him because they have to go to Arizona to visit Michael. From the telephone conversation that Mikael had heard, they said there was a problem in Michael’s treatment process. Actually, Mikael doesn’t really care about what happened to his twin brother. After all, they are not like twins who always play and go to school together. Michael spends more time in Arizona with his parents. He also attends homeschooling, so he doesn’t have to go to school like Mikael.

“Don’t touch his head!” Mikael snapped as he brushed off Claire’s hand from the top of Robert’s head—his favorite horse that he was currently riding.

Mikael glanced, annoyed at Claire, who was now frowning in astonishment. He took a short breath to hold back from cursing Claire for her stupidity.

Claire wasn’t like what he thought before.

When she was first introduced, he thought Claire was a quiet and timid girl. However, he turned out to be wrong. That girl was so much more talkative than his mother, making Mikael’s ears burn from hearing her incoherent chatter.

“Why it can not? Doesn’t he like it when I touch his head?”

Claire’s voice sounded like a bee buzzing in his ears. Irritating.

“He will bite you,” Mikael replied carelessly as he led Robert to walk through the backyard while Claire sat quietly on the horse’s back.

“Do horses bite? I just found out that horses can bite.” Claire shuddered, “is it okay if I ride on his back?”

Mikael rolled his eyes. He should be able to have fun with Robert, but unfortunately, Claire destroys his plans. At first, Claire was just watching on the sidelines, but she was suddenly interested in getting on Robert. That girl whined because she wanted to get on Robert’s back when Mikael finished going around the field twice.

And finally, this is how they ended. Claire sat on Robert’s back, while Mikael guided that horse to walk slowly like he was guiding an old queen.

“He could have bitten you because you made him walk slowly. He prefers to be allowed to run without being led.” Mikael smiled mischievously—planned a fun thing to teach the fussy girl a lesson.

“Is that true? So he doesn’t like it when you leads him like this?”

Michael nodded his head, “Yes. He prefers to be allowed to run. You want to try?”

Claire stared doubtfully, “I’ve never ridden before. What if Robert throws me into the lake?” Claire asked while pointing at the lake in front of them.

“He won’t.” Mikael answered confidently. “He’s a docile horse. You don’t need any special skills because Robert is a smart horse. He won’t throws you down.”

“Is that true? All right, then let me ride alone!” Claire exclaimed while gazing enthusiastically.

Mikael raised his eyebrows. Well, Claire is really stupid.

“Go ahead!” Mikael lets go of Robert’s reins. Then less than two seconds later, Robert ran at wind speed with no clear direction. Claire screamed in fear and Mikael laughed loudly while hugging his own stomach.

In his laughter, Mikael shot Claire a mocking look.

Claire came suddenly and introduced herself as his little sister. Well, that’s Mikael’s welcome greeting for his new sibling.

“Mike, what are you doing?” Lionel ran up to Mike with an annoyed look.

Mikael shrugged, “I’m not the one who asked her to ride.”

“Are you out of your mind? She could have a crash and get hurt!” While Lionel was busy scolding Mikael, the two servants in charge of the stables ran quickly to catch up with Claire and Robert.

Michael laughed again. “Not. She will not,” he said while shaking his head. “Robert is a clever horse. He won’t drop his passenger—”

Before Mikael could finish his sentence, Claire's surprised scream came from the end of the horse race.

Mikael turned his head and so did Lionel. From far away, Claire was crying while holding her hand which was limp after she was thrown from Robert’s back.

Oh gosh. He was wrong… It turns out that Robert is not a smart horse.

“Shit! You got me in big trouble.” Lionel clucked anxiously.

The maids immediately carried Claire with worried looks. From how they brought Claire into the mansion, Mikael could see they were holding Claire’s hand carefully. Oh shit, her hand is broken!

***

Venice, Italy. 1 a.m.

Mikael stood in front of a large window to stare at Claire who was lying on a hospital bed with various tubes connected to her body. There were more than eight doctors who were operating on her eyes. Orlando said that she would be blind because the glass shards had scratched the important part of her eye.

Mikael’s hand moved slowly to open an email that Michael had sent him two weeks ago. However, Mikael hasn’t read the email. He doesn’t know if he forgot or just ignored it on purpose.

Mikael’s heart churned with guilt when he read the names Michael Alexandro William and Claire Thomson written on an electronic invitation sent to him.

It is our pleasure to invite you to our wedding ceremony, which will be held on January 8, 2023.

Then below the writing are Michael Alexandro William and Claire Thompson written in gold ink.

Michael and Claire are getting married…

Damn it. He would kill anyone who had ruined his brother’s life—destroying their plans together.

“Mr William, we found that your brother's car had been rigged with explosives since they arrived at the airport.” Said Orlando while showing some data they got from the accident scene.

Mikael growled softly. His hands clenched tightly. Anger overtook his heart, making him want to destroy anyone in his path.

“Find Hernandez’s position. I will kill him with my own hands. We’ll carry out the attack tonight as well.”

“Copy that, Mr.” Lionel nodded obediently.

Mikael was just about to turn away from Claire’s room when he heard a woman’s cry that was familiar to him.

“Oh, God. My daughter!” The woman walked past him—not even turning her head in her direction due to her focus on Claire. Her steps stopped when she couldn’t open the door of the room. Then a middle-aged man led her to walk to the window—standing right beside Mikael.

“Oh, God! Why is this happening to us?” Josephine William was crying hard in her husband’s arms. Her voice sounded pitiful—crying loudly without caring about her surroundings, not even caring about Mikael’s existence.

John William turned his head, and looked at Mikael who was standing stiffly beside him. His face hardened, showing obvious emotion. However, he remained silent. Absolutely not intending to speak—ignoring Mikael.

“Do something, John! Make Claire wake up! Please don’t take my daughter! We’ve lost Michael already!” Josephine cried loudly while hitting John’s chest—her husband's.

Mikael turn away his face. He couldn’t bear to see his mother cry in front of him.

No matter how long their relationship lasted for the past years, hearing Josephine’s cries still made his blood boil with guilt.

“Miss Claire Thomson is in very bad condition. Her leg was broken because it was crushed by the car's metal, while her eye was damaged. Maybe he will go blind if he does not get eye surgery six hours from now. We have examined Mr. Michael William’s cornea and found it to match Miss Thomson’s. If you guys permit, we can transplant her. We have obtained permission for eye surgery. We hope you don't mind this.” A doctor who came along with them explained Claire’s condition.

Josephine cried even louder. She looked at Claire from behind the window, then hugged John who was standing beside her. The explanation given by the doctor was heart-wrenching. As if losing Michael wasn’t enough, now they have to face another problem.

“Strengthen yourself, Josephine. Stay strong.” John wiped his tears. The pain was clear from his eyes. “And please do what’s best for our daughter. Whatever that is. Do what’s best for him.”

And once again Mikael swore in his heart when he realized that he was back to being a source of trouble in his family.

“Do as I command. I’ll be at headquarters in two hours.” Mikael said as he turned his head towards Orlando—he didn’t want to listen to his mother’s cries any longer, nor did he want to listen to the doctor’s explanation of Claire’s condition.

Orlando nodded respectfully, after which he walked away, leaving the room.

Mikael rubbed his face gently. He didn’t belong here—with his parents.

They are grieving. And the cause of suffering must not be there. He walked slowly away from his mother’s crying, which sounded heartbreaking.

However, when he stepped past, his mother’s hand gripped his wrist tightly—stopping him.

“Mike…” She muttered under her breath, looking at Mikael with tears in her eyes.