Chapter 3 - “Here I am, Brother. May I offer you my congratulations?”   

C H A P T E R  3  :  T H E  N I C E  B A C K R U B  A N D  C H I L D H O O D  M E M O R Y

J A V I E R  S U M M E R S

It would not be Summers’ dinner if there was no drama especially with the return of their long lost son, Draven. Ten years ago, at seventeen years of age, Javier had willpower bigger than anyone else’s. Draven had been framed and regardless of how many times he had tried to explain, no one believed him. No one except Javier and his mother. To make things even worse, their grandfather had written Draven’s name off of his will which could only mean that he was no longer a part of the Summers family. Being one of the older siblings, Javier had tried to talk to both Thornton and Piers, but Thornton had sided with Piers and their grandfather and deemed their little brother as ‘an ungrateful, entitled asshole’. Javier had been the only person who had secretly helped Draven to secure a place and a job in London. They had kept in touch albeit not as often due to both of them being busy with life and work.

A few days ago he had invited his little brother to join their family dinner. Everyone would attend including their mother. However, no one would know that Draven would attend. They all thought that it was a family dinner to celebrate Javier and Ella’s becoming parents.

Javier would let it be a surprise but somehow he felt that he should give Piers a heads up, after all, Piers had been the reason Draven ran away from home, the one that had pushed him over the edge. Sighing loudly, he took his phone and decided to dial Thornton’s number. Thornton was their oldest brother and he had been aware of Draven’s return. He could give his opinion on this.

“Yes? What is it, Brother?” answered Thornton on the second ring. It seemed that his eldest brother was not occupied. Most of the time, he would not answer his phone and let it go straight to voicemail.

“Tony, I need your second opinion.”

There was barely any pause. “On?”

“I am inviting Draven to tonight’s dinner.” When Thornton did not say anything, Javier put his phone away to check if the connection had been lost only to find that it was still connected. “Tony, are you there?”

“Yeah. I am thinking,” his brother replied with an exasperated sigh. “Did he agree to come?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you get him to agree?” asked Thornton curiously without any accusatory tone.

However, since Javier was still hiding the fact that he had been the one helping Draven the entire time, he felt like he was being accused. “He is our brother. He will come around eventually.” In the end, he replied without giving an actual answer.

“You have heard him yourself. He said he is not a Summers, he chose Cromwell.” Thornton sighed again. Although he would not admit it, he was brokenhearted by his little brother’s rejection. “Anyway, you have invited him. So why would you need my opinion?”

“I have not told anyone else about this. Do you think we should tell Piers?”

“To be frank, I have not told our siblings either. I know I should tell them that we have found Draven but he is being unfriendly and not welcoming so I do not know if we should tell our brothers and our little sister. I feel like it would put Mom in an odd position. What if Dad finds out that Mom has been helping Draven this whole time? Dad hates the Cromwell for making Mom sad by cutting the ties.”

Javier understood his brother’s view on this. “But sooner or later, they will learn the truth, Tone.”

“Oh, I know. Still does not make it any easier.”

“Back to my question,” said Javier with a sigh. “Should we tell Piers then?”

“I think it might be best to inform him beforehand,” Thornton agreed. “I think he misses our little brother too.”

“Yeah, I do hope they will make up. I wish Declan is here with us instead of being on the other side of the globe.” Javier pondered for a minute if he should call Declan, who was also Draven’s twin brother and let him know about his return. Declan had blamed himself for being weak when Draven had run away from home ten years ago. It had taken years before he could finally let it go but even Javier doubted that Declan would ever forgive himself. “I will give him a call.”

“I am pretty sure he will catch the first flight from China to Washington once you called him,” commented Thornton. “Family reunion would not be completed without him.”

“True. I will give Piers a call now. Thank you, Brother.”

“Anytime,” said Thornton before he ended the call.

Javier stared at his phone screen for a few heartbeats, thinking about how life would change now that Draven had returned. He could not help but worry as there were so many lies and hidden truths about what had happened ten years ago. Right now, he could only hope that it would not break the family apart. As he closed his eyes for a short while, he let his mind take him back to all those years ago when they all were kids, laughing freely in the spacious garden in their family mansion. They had been young and free. They never had any attachments to anyone else except for their family and there was no material or money being involved. Life had been easy back then and he missed it. He missed the simplicity of it quite terribly. Once he reopened his eyes, he dialed Piers’s number and waited until his older brother accepted his call.

“Just when I thought you have forgotten me, Brother,” teased Piers as he answered his call. “What’s up?”

“I need to tell you something. It is a matter of urgency.”

* * *

Ella could feel that Javier was feeling nervous by how many times he fixed his tie and glanced at the entry of the dining hall. Carefully she placed her hand on top of his on his thigh and he nearly jumped. “Relax. I know you are nervous but t is going to be alright,” she reassured him.

He turned to her and gave her a small smile. “I hope so.”

“Just enjoy your soup or else your family might think something is wrong.” She pointed at the untouched bowl of mushroom soup in front of him.

“Okay,” he replied as he picked up his spoon and started digging his appetizer. He glanced at his father at the far end of the long table with Tiffany, his mother, on his right, and Thornton, the eldest son, on his left. His father had been smiling the whole time as his brother was giving him updates on their family business. It had been five years since their father had chosen to retire and let the kids run his well built empire. Javier wondered if his father’s smile would disappear or turn into a grin should he met Draven.

Finally what he had been anticipating for the last one hour had come when a tall figure wearing a grey cashmere shirt and black pants walked into the dining hall. “It has been ten years,” said Draven with a hint of British accent and a sour smile, “I am unsure whether I should start with an introduction or jump in right ahead. Our butler, Jeremiah, nearly did not recognize me and almost ushered me out by the security. I think his age had finally affected him. Probably best to ask him to retire, if you ask me.” He shrugged, seemingly did not realize how everyone in the room had paused and stared at him this whole time. His eyes scanned the room before finally landed on Javier and he started to smile. “Here I am, Brother. May I offer you my congratulations?”

* * *

Dear Gentle Readers, thank you for your love and support! It has been this author's motivation the whole goddamn time and it has never gone unnoticed! Please take one minute to leave a review if you do not mind. Stay safe! 

P.S. If you wish to know how the dinner goes, please read Draven's story: "Accidentally in Bed With The Wrong Brother" (;