Chapter 2

Jake wrapped his arm around Mom's.

"Come on, Ansel, Mom was doing it for my own good," he said nonchalantly.

"Honestly, seeing what my sister-in-law... well, Dana... was really like totally cured me of my disillusionment about women. Mom knew what she was doing all along. Don't be so mad about it. A trashy woman like that wasn't worth your heartbreak."

I stared at the two people who were supposed to be closest to me, feeling nothing but sheer absurdity.

Just to teach my younger brother a lesson about women, my own mother had actually hired someone to set up my fiancée of five years! And then, at my own engagement party, right in front of the city's high society, she ripped open my humiliation for everyone to laugh at.

All of this was simply because I was the oldest brother.

But did that mean I deserved to be reduced to a disposable teaching tool for my brother's growth?

A grim, dark smile crept onto my face.

"Mom, you destroyed my engagement and my relationship just to give Jake a relationship lesson. Is my happiness as your son really that worthless to you?"

Another stinging blow landed squarely across my face.

Dad glared at me, his eyes wide with rage. "How dare you speak to your mother like that! Your mother stresses herself out every day for this family. So what if you had to sacrifice a little?

"Jake is younger and doesn't know any better! As the older brother, shouldn't you be clearing the mines out of his path?

"Besides, she's just one woman! You can always find another. Do you really have to be so petty and calculating? You selfish, ungrateful brat!"

I wiped the trace of blood from the corner of my mouth, staring at Dad's contorted face.

Suddenly, this home felt foreign. I let my hand drop and slowly swept across every one of their faces.

"Last month, Gemma stole a sports car to go street racing and put someone straight into the ICU. To clean up her mess, you paid five million dollars to the victim's family and pulled every string we had to suppress the trending news.

"And at the shareholder meeting, you said the same thing. You claimed it was my fault for failing to supervise my little sister, saying I didn't keep an eye on her and let her cause that disaster.

"To make sure she learned her lesson, you stripped me of my executive director position right in front of all the board members and reclaimed the pathetic scrap of shares I owned!

"Gemma committed a crime, yet I was the one punished."

The moment I brought up my sister, Gemma, Dad's eyebrows instantly furrowed.

"Gemma is still young. She doesn't know any better!"

"She's twenty-two years old! Not two!" I raised my voice back at him.

Dad's face flushed deep red with anger and embarrassment.

"It was your fault to begin with! You were at the company for so long and couldn't even handle a tiny matter like that! Stripping your title was light punishment!"

I let out a bitter laugh.

Gemma was hardly shaken up, either. The day after running someone over, she took a brand-new Ferrari to a club and threw a huge champagne party to celebrate surviving the ordeal.

Meanwhile, I had slaved away at the company for five years, grinding through projects even when running a high fever.

All because I was the oldest brother.

Whenever my siblings messed up, I was held collaterally responsible.

"Fine. The thing with Gemma was my failure to manage her," I said, taking a step backward as I looked at the three of them.

"Dad, Mom, my entire life you've taught me to give way to my younger siblings and set an example for them.

"I gave them the best food and the best toys. When I got first place in school, you said it was expected of me just to motivate them. When my grades slipped even once, you said I set a bad precedent and ruined their drive to study.

"And now, do you really have to tear apart my life and my marriage just to pave their path forward?"