Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Best Friend's Brother : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

~Joan~“Nice to see you're here,” I slurred as I finished the last of my drink. Denzel scowled, pulling out a chair and sitting across from me.His eyes darted around, landing on the empty vodka bottles scattered across the table before meeting my gaze again.“Are you drunk?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. I waved him off lazily.“A little bit. But I'm still sober,” I muttered, signaling the waiter. I’d stumbled into this bar and just kept ordering drinks.Then I called Denzel to come over. I never told him where I was, but he showed up anyway… he works with the boss after all.My chest tightened painfully as Aaron crossed my mind.“You can't be drunk and sober at the same time. How many bottles have you had?” His voice was calm and soothing, but it wasn’t the voice I wanted to hear right now.I was going crazy.Denzel waved the waiter off, placing both hands flat on the table.“I’ll take you home now. Where do you live?” he asked gently. I scoffed, my irritation bubbling up.“I didn’t

~Joan~I just stood there, frozen, staring at the woman who was supposed to be my mother. She blinked at me, her smile faltering slightly, like she wasn’t sure how to hold it in place.I shook my head quickly, forcing a small, polite smile."I'm Joan. Alessia's colleague," I said, my voice steady despite the storm inside me. She nodded and walked toward her daughter, leaving me standing there, feeling like a shadow. I watched blankly as the two of them spoke in Spanish, their voices a soft hum I couldn’t follow. Brielle chimed in occasionally.Luna De Luca. The name echoed in my head, over and over.Goddamn it… fuck.My fingers trembled slightly as I grabbed my phone, typing furiously, the screen blurring for a moment before I blinked the haze away. That’s when Shayne’s text popped up.Shayne: I have good news. We're releasing your book tonight, and the clients want you to work on book two. They totally loved it.My heart gave a little jolt, but I barely let the feeling register. I i

~Aaron~I stayed at the hospital day after day, only switching shifts with Rhoda to go home, shower, and change. I didn’t bother going to the office. It was either home or the hospital—nowhere else. When I walked into Joan’s hospital room, the sterile smell hit me first—antiseptic, mixed with the faint metallic tang of IV fluids. The steady beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound aside from Rhoda humming under her breath, wiping Joan’s forehead with a damp cloth.“Hey,” I muttered, my voice rough.Rhoda glanced up, offering a tired smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Hey,” she replied softly, letting out a long sigh as she dipped the towel back into the bowl of warm water, wringing it out with trembling fingers before dabbing Joan’s pale skin again.“How’s she doing?” I asked, lowering myself onto the edge of the bed since Rhoda occupied the only chair. I’d had the doctors move Joan to a private ward—I couldn’t stand the thought of sharing space with other patients. Wat

~Aaron~I left the hospital once Joan had fallen asleep. There weren’t enough words to describe how I felt when I walked into that room and those green eyes turned to me. I wanted to fall to my knees, but the mild confusion in them kept me standing. The last thing I wanted was to startle her.I headed down to the basement, Louis and another guy trailing behind me. The air was thick with the damp, metallic scent of the underground space. I barely spared a glance at the figure tied to the chair—blindfolded, gagged, and completely helpless."I want to believe none of you touched her," I said, my voice even but laced with a warning. They both gave a curt nod. I was in for a lot of things, but rape wasn’t one of them. Women were a rarity here, and I had made it clear—no one was to lay a finger on them. I gave the orders, and that was one line I refused to let anyone cross.She jerked against the restraints, wrists rubbing raw against the coarse rope. I watched the skin turn red where it bi

~Aaron~The next morning, Rhoda arrived, and since Joan was still sound asleep, I left her in Rhoda’s care.At home, I took a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes, and placed a call to one of my employees at DomisAd.“Sir?” Her Spanish accent was rich, unmistakable.Alessia had gotten my number from Noah, wanting to inform me that one of our staff had been in an accident and to ask if I wanted to visit. I told her I was already at the hospital and invited her to stop by.“How many of you are coming?” I asked. A brief silence followed.“We’re three. We share an office, so yeah,” she said. I pursed my lips.“Remember what I told you yesterday?”“Yes, sir, but—”“Just do it,” I cut in, not giving her a chance to argue. This was the time to fix everything. I just wanted to give Joan a chance at happiness—real happiness.I ended the call, grabbed my keys, and headed to one of the nearby restaurants. Safe to say I bought everything remotely edible—except steak. Joan didn’t like steak. S