Chapter 2

I thought about this before giving my answer. My eyes turned increasingly red as tears brimmed in my eyes while I watched Elaine share picture after picture of her wedding gown.

My mother was admitted to the ICU after my father cheated on her with Scott's mother. She suffered emotionally and mentally every day, and my father vowed to cut off all ties with the other woman and kick his illegitimate child out of the house.

Elaine blew on the spoonful of soup to cool it down before feeding it to me. "Your mother would want you to be happy, and I'll be right here by your side."

It was because of her words that I managed to get through this, but it was only now that I discovered that they were all honey-laced lies. I forced myself to pick up the pieces and tore up the NDA, and when I got home, my father slapped my face.

"How can you treat your younger brother this way when I brought you up to be better than this, Lucas?"

My father went through the chat history and showed me the text that 'I' had sent to Scott.

[If your mother is an adulteress, what would that make you?]

I had no idea how to react as I pondered the absurdity of this. My tone remained calm, "That text wasn't from me. Besides, is there anything wrong with what the text said?"

"Shut up!" My father stopped me angrily.

Elaine frowned. "Scott has never asked anything of me. He would have continued to hide himself away if not for our son. How can you bear to treat your brother this way?"

My childhood friend, who came over with me, chimed in, "Scott helped me out of trouble before. If you dare say anything against him, it will be the end of our friendship."

"If you dare touch a hair on him, I will cut ties with you as my son and will no longer care about your mother," my father threatened.

These were the people I had trusted the most, and they had chosen to take Scott's side while treating me as some sort of monster out for revenge. Scott's eyes had become red and swollen from crying.

"I've never asked for anything in return, Lucas. If you really hate me, feel free to yell at me or hit me. Just don't call me an adulterer. Elaine and I are legally married, and if you are willing to come, I'd like to invite you to our wedding."

Scott handed me a wedding invitation with a photo of him in a limited-edition suit that Elaine had searched many places to find. I remembered how her eyes lit up when she saw the suit. "This should be the wedding suit for when we get married."

It turned out, the 'we' she was referring to was not Elaine and me.

I was about to reject the invitation when Elaine gave me a warning look. "This is just a ceremony. If you attend the wedding, the rumors about Scott being an adulterer will be proven wrong. I've arranged for a family photo shoot tomorrow. You should come."

My eyes fell on the family photo hanging in the middle of the living room. My father was wearing a groom's suit, and his arms were around the mistress who had broken my mother's heart all those years ago. Elaine's head was leaning against Scott's shoulder as she smiled happily.

While they were taking that family photo, my mother was lying in the ICU. It might have been even earlier that my mother and I had become pathetic outsiders to this family, believing us to be people who could be kept quiet or sent away with some money.

I stared at the wedding invitation in front of me, nearly choking from the bitterness in my throat. My voice sounded hoarse when I replied, "I won't attend the wedding. I don't want to be part of a drama where the woman falls for her boyfriend's brother."