Step brother??

Chapter Five

Eleanor's POV

“You can cry it out all you want.” Ryan finally broke the awkward silence since I stepped into his car after he came to pick me up.

“No! I’ve cried enough for the past few days. I’m not about to waste another drop of tears on a jerk like that.” I immediately answered.

I should be ready to face whatever the future has for me. Ryan drove into the estate, and I felt goosebumps spread throughout my entire body.

The Caldwell Estate.

My father owned it, and I hadn’t set a single foot inside these gates since the day I decided to leave. How many years had it been now? Eight?

I was nineteen when I walked away, only a few months after graduating from high school. I had wanted a life that belonged entirely to me.

Now, after eight years, I was driving back through the same gates I had once sworn never to cross again. Nothing seemed to have changed, only the fact that he got better and there were better infrastructure too.

Even from the driveway, I could see the fountain standing proudly in the center of the circular courtyard.

I remembered it everything.

The gardens my father had always been obsessed with maintaining. Even the huge tree near the east wing where I used to hide whenever I wanted to escape the endless arguments inside the house.

Seeing it all again made something twist painfully inside my chest. I had spent years convincing myself that I didn't miss this place, or maybe I was just lying to myself?

Everything suddenly brought the memories of my dead mother too. Ryan brought the car to a stop directly in front of the mansion.

I stared through the windshield, my fingers resting nervously against my lap.Then I slowly exhaled and reached for the car handle, while I stepped down my shaky hands clenched to my sides.

Ryan and I walk towards the house side by side. Immediately we entered, I noticed a few maids lurking around and some had bowed their head immediately.

A woman hurried down the steps.

“Eleanor!”

My stepmother.

She crossed the distance between us with an expression of overwhelming excitement before pulling me into a hug, which I wasn't really comfortable with. My hands were beside me while I froze.

Her perfume immediately filled my senses, and I forced my arms around her because refusing would only make the situation more uncomfortable.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she murmured against my hair. “Look at you. I can't believe you're finally home.”

Her voice trembled with what sounded like emotion. It would have been convincing if I didn't know her, but I knew she really didn't give a fuck about me. I bet she doesn't like my presence here because I was a threat to her taking over the position.

Still, I pulled away with a polite smile.

“It's good to see you too.”

She held my arms and looked me over as though she were inspecting something she had purchased.

“You've become so beautiful.”

I almost laughed.

Eight years ago, she wouldn't have spared me a compliment if her life depended on it.

“Thank you.”

She glanced toward Ryan, then back at me.

“Your father has been waiting for you all morning. He'll be so happy to see you.”

The smile on her face remained perfectly intact. My father's condition had been the reason I was standing here, and also coupled with the fact that I just got a divorce.

And suddenly, all the confidence I'd forced myself to carry during the drive began slipping away.

I swallowed.

“How bad is he?"

“He isn't doing well.”

Ryan placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“He wants to see you.”

I nodded.

My stepmother stepped aside, allowing me to enter.

The moment I crossed the threshold, memories came rushing back so quickly that I almost felt dizzy.

I followed Ryan upstairs, the grand staircase was still as good as before. My father's bedroom was at the end of the hallway.

The door was slightly open.

Ryan knocked softly before pushing it open. “Dad? She's here.”

I stepped inside, and stood almost at the entrance immediately I had entered. There was my dad lying on the bed and has changed be young recognition.

The Almighty caldwell. A man who could walk into a boardroom and make an entire room fall silent without raising his voice. People had feared him because of how strict he was and doesn't mix business with pleasure even though he was a good man.

There were tubes connected to his arms, a monitor beside the bed, and medical equipment arranged around him. A nurse sat nearby, checking his medication while another attendant adjusted something on the machine beside him.

There were dark circles beneath his eyes, and his once-dark hair was now streaked heavily with gray.

My heart sank.

“Dad…”

His eyes slowly opened immediately I had called him while I walked towards him. For several seconds, he simply stared at me, and his lips curved into a faint smile.

“Eleanor.”

“Hi, Dad.”

My voice came out quieter than I intended. He reached for my hand. I hesitated for only a moment before taking it. His fingers felt surprisingly weak against mine.

“I wasn't sure you'd come.” A small smile appeared on his face, while he managed to talk.

“I should have come sooner,” I whispered. "I didn't know things were this bad."

“It doesn't matter anymore. At least, you are here now and I'll get to finally see you before I die."

"Don't say things like that." I looked away, blinking rapidly trying to stop the tears from dropping off my eyes. .

My father squeezed my hand weakly “I know what happened with Adrian.”

My stomach tightened.

Of course he knew.

“Ryan told you?”

“He didn't have to tell me everything. I have people who keep me informed.”

I sighed.

“I don't want to talk about Adrian.”

Instead, he looked at me carefully, "Are you are you do not want me to punish him?"

"I'm good, dad. I don't want to have anything to do with him anymore."

He sighed, his grip against my hand tightened like he didn't want to let me go.

“You built your career without my help. You stayed away from this family because you wanted to prove you could survive without the Caldwell name.”

There was something almost proud in his voice.

“But now I'm asking you to come home, the company needs someone who understands what it means to be a Caldwell.”

I frowned.

“Ryan?”

My brother immediately shook his head from across the room.

“No.” Ryan immediately opposed.

I looked at him.

“You don't want it?”

Ryan gave a small smile.

“You know I've never wanted the corporate side of the family business. I'm interested in the art sector. Galleries, collections, acquisitions, restoration and all that's where I want to build something.”

He shrugged.

“I'll help Dad with whatever I can, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life sitting in boardrooms.”

I understood him.

Ryan had always been different from the rest of us. My father turned his attention back to me.

“That leaves you.”

I stared at him.

“You want me to take over the company?”

“I want you to learn how to, and then you will. I believe you have all what it takes." My father stated.

“I don't know how to run something that large.”

“You don't have to know everything now.” He paused. “You'll have people around you. Executives who have worked with us for years. And…”

His eyes shifted briefly toward the doorway.

“…someone else who can help you.”

"Who is the person?"

"Julian." My father immediately replied to me.

What? My step brother.

******

I stepped into my room after a while. My dad slept off after we talked for a bit, and I found myself here. My room still looked exactly the same like the way it was in high school.

They didn't remove a thing or add a thing, but it was still somehow neat. I collapsed onto my bed feeling the warmth from the duvets, while different memories kept flooding in.

My heart almost jumped out of my chest while I sprang to my foot immediately I heard the door opening.

A man was standing at the entrance, he was putting on a casual sweatpants with no shirt on. His dark hair reached his forehead, my entire eyes had traced his body in just a few seconds.

Those eyes! I'd recognize them even in my sleep.

Julian. My step brother and my biggest tormentor.

"I heard the prodigal daughter was back. I guess it's true." A slow smirk appeared on my face.

There was no way I'd receive guidance from this scumbag just because my father said so. I'd rather live on the streets.