Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sarah stood frozen in the doorway, trying hard to process the sight of what she just saw,her breath stuck in her throat. The scene before her was burned into her mind, the tangle of limbs, both men naked and kissing, the heat radiating between them, the sweat from the just concluded session, and worst of it all the unmistakable intimacy. 

Nathan and Ethan had scrambled apart the moment she stepped in, but it was too late. She had already seen everything.

For a long moment, the three of them just stared at each other, the silence loud. Then, Sarah took a step back, shaking her head. 

“Yo, what the actual fuck guys?” she finally found her tongue, her voice trembling.

Nathan was the first to move. He swung his legs off the bed, grabbing the blanket and wrapping himself, trying to collect himself. Ethan grabbed his boxers. “Sarah, listen…”

“Oh my God,” she cut him off, pressing her hands to her forehead, gently squeezing“I… oh my God. Are you two…” 

She let out a breathless laugh, disbelief and disgust written on her face. “Please tell me I did not just walk in on my step dad screwing my brother.”

Ethan flinched at the harsh words, his face turning red. “Sarah, it is really not like that.”

Sarah’s head turned toward him. “Oh, really? Because it sure as hell looked exactly like that. I have got perfect sight bro”

Nathan took a calculated step forward. “You just need to calm down.”

Sarah let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “I need to calm down? You can't be serious Nathan, I just caught you two in bed together! What the hell is going on?”

Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. How could he explain something he barely understood himself? How could he tell her that this thing between them was not just some reckless mistake?

Nathan, ever composed, exhaled and took control. “Sarah, you can’t tell anyone about this.”

Sarah scoffed. “Oh, can’t I?”

Nathan’s jaw tightened. “Please.”

Sarah looked between them, her arms crossed, her mind racing in confusion. She had power over them now. And she knew it. And she was ready to milk them to her own satisfaction. 

“Oh, this is rich,” she muttered, pacing the room. “Mom has no idea, does she?”

Ethan looked down. Nathan hesitated, then shook his head. “No. And we would like to keep it that way.”

Sarah tilted her head sideways, her lips curling into something close to amusement. “You want me to keep quiet?”

Ethan stepped closer to her, his expression desperate. “Sarah, please. You do not understand.”

“Yes, you are right, I definitely do not understand,” she snapped, glaring at him. “I do not understand how my older brother, who is supposed to have some sense, ends up in bed with the man who married our mother.”

Nathan sighed. “Sarah, it is complicated.”

“Oh, I bet it is.” She shook her head, then narrowed her eyes toward the bed.

“You know, I should tell Mom. She deserves to know who she is married to.”

Ethan reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Please, Sarah. You do not want to do that.”

Sarah yanked her arm out of his grip, watching the panic in Ethan’s eyes.

And that is when it clicked in her head. She had them exactly where she wanted them.

A slow smile spread across her lips as she tapped a finger against her chin. “Hmm.”

Nathan’s brows furrowed. “What?”

Sarah quivered her lips, feigning deep thought. “Well, I could keep this little secret to myself. But there is a condition.”

Nathan exhaled loudly, a flash of relief washing over him. “What condition is that?”

Sarah brightened her smile showing her full set of teeth. “You are a smart man, Nathan. I am pretty sure you can figure it out.”

Ethan stepped in front of her, his expression darkening. “Sarah, this is not a game.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it?”

Nathan sighed, already exhausted. “What do you want, Sarah?”

Sarah licked her lips. “Oh, I do not know. Maybe a brand-new car? That pink convertible I have been eyeing and talking about for the past four to five weeks.”

Nathan clenched his jaw. “Anything else?”

“Well, now that you mention it,” she said, tapping her lips, “a little shopping spree in Paris would not hurt either.”

Ethan looked at her in disbelief. “You are blackmailing us?”

Sarah shrugged. “Call it… a bribe to keep my mouth shut.”

Nathan ran a hand down his face. “You are impossible.”

“Nah, I am practical,” she corrected. “You are the one who put yourself in this mess.”

Nathan exhaled through his nose, his patience wearing thin. “Fine. I will get what you want.”

Sarah beamed. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Ethan’s stomach turned as he watched his sister hop happily toward the door, her victory radiating from every skipping steps as she hummed. 

Just as she reached for the doorknob, she paused. “Oh, and one more thing?” She glanced over her shoulder.

Nathan braced himself. “What?”

Sarah’s smile disappeared. “If I ever see you two together again, I will tell Mom. No amount of money will stop me. So you could either stop or be extra cautious, cause it would not be funny.”

Then, with a flick of her hair, she was gone.

Ethan let out a shaky breath and turned to Nathan. “What do we do now?”

Nathan stared at the door, his mind already racing for a solution.

“We stay careful,” he said.

Ethan wore his shirt and trousers and headed out the room, he thought about Sarah and how he would cope with everything, in as much as he wanted Nathan more. 

He knew it would not be that simple to get more alone time between themselves, but he was willing to try. 

Later that night, as Nathan sat alone in his home office, drinking another glass of whiskey, his phone buzzed. He lifted it and it was a message from an unknown number. 

“You think money can fix everything?

Nathan’s pulse quickened. He panicked, before reading the remaining parts of the text. 

“I know your secret. And soon, the whole world would know it too.”

His grip tightened around the glass

.

He was convinced for a fact that it was not Sarah.

This had to be someone else.

And they wanted to ridicule him