Lahat ng Kabanata ng Better Brother, Better Life: Kabanata 221 - Kabanata 230

Simon knew the answer to his question the moment it was out of his mouth. He knew who Joseph was—a male escort. He couldn't be more stunned than if he learned Connor and Phoebe had reconciled.Thanks to his shamelessness, Simon had gradually burrowed his way into becoming Phoebe's friend. His impression of her was that though she was icy, she was rather righteous and upstanding. In other words, he couldn't associate her with anything remotely fun; she was practically like an old lady.This was especially true when it came to matters of the heart. When he had last been in Seavale, Phoebe had still been deeply affected by Connor's torment of her. Although Simon had tried to set her and Gideon up, she hadn't seemed to care. She didn't even seem to notice what he was doing.Now, the realization dawned on Simon. It wasn't that she hadn't noticed or that she hadn't cared. It was just that all her attention was on Connor before the divorce was finalized.There was also the fact that Gideo

Connor didn't say anything as he threw back drink after drink. His stomach hurt a little, but he merely frowned slightly before continuing to drink.Evan noticed this and couldn't help saying, "You have a bad stomach. Why are you drinking so much?"Connor faltered. He remembered the hangover cure Phoebe always made for him and the stomach-soothing lunch boxes she brought him the following day.He had to admit that she had taken good care of him. That thought made his expression darken. He would be pathetic if he started reminiscing about how wonderful Phoebe was only after the divorce. He could buy better hangover cures and stomach-soothing foods; Phoebe was dispensable.Connor knew that something was off with how he felt and that he was behaving abnormally. But that was just because he was aggravated by how eager Phoebe was to get divorced. To him, even if they were to divorce, he should have been the one to end it. It wasn't her place to decide. So he refused to listen to reason.

Phoebe had been watching the whole thing like it was a show. Only then did she stare at Simon, feeling speechless.She wasn't one to judge the male escort profession, but Simon's comment was clearly putting Evan in that category. Some cousin he was.As expected, Evan ground his teeth. "What's that supposed to mean?"Simon said, "I'm calling you handsome. You wouldn't even measure up to a male escort if you weren't, right?"Then, as smooth as silk, he turned to Joseph. "Back me up here. Am I right?"Joseph, who had been diligently serving Phoebe all night, was startled to be addressed out of nowhere. He instinctively glanced at Evan.Good grief—he had the scare of his life. Evan was seriously handsome, but the look in his eyes was terrifying.Simon had gotten some fun out of making a joke at Evan's expense, but Joseph was the one suffering the fallout. Joseph quickly composed himself. "Mr. Landeau, how can I possibly compare to Mr. Grant?"He had learned Evan's name when he and

When Phoebe saw Connor and his steely expression, she immediately thought of how she had run into him the day after signing the divorce agreement. Now, he had bumped into her at the bar while she was with a male escort the day their divorce was finalized. What a cursed coincidence.She looked him up and down. Connor and Gideon had gotten into a fight earlier, and he hadn't come out of it well. It seemed that he had cleaned himself up enough to look presentable, so there was nothing obvious to see.Connor wasn't used to being "sized up" by Phoebe, and his expression grew uglier. "What are you doing here? And who the hell is he?"Phoebe laughed mockingly. "What do you think people do in bars besides drink? Or do you want people to think that your ex-wife can't afford a meal and has to work in a bar to make ends meet, Mr. Russell?"Connor snarled, "Don't change the subject."He shot a vicious glare at Joseph, who froze. He could tell that Evan had been hostile toward him, too, but it

Phoebe wasn't too surprised by Gideon's sudden appearance. With him around, Connor couldn't afford to lose it. If Connor got into a fight at a bar, the news would spread through his whole social circle in under half an hour, and Philip would hear about it.If Gideon and Connor wanted another brawl, they would probably do it in private, as they had at the courthouse. But there likely wouldn't be another chance for something like that to happen.After all, they were both 28-year-old grown men. There were countless ways to cut each other deep without throwing punches.Just as Phoebe had expected, Connor visibly cooled down. A second ago, he had been on the verge of losing his temper. But the moment he saw Gideon, he snapped back to calm, his face a mask of frost—no other emotion betrayed him.Connor sneered and walked toward Gideon. Evan had never seen the brothers interact in private, but he knew how bad things were between them. He tried to stop Connor, but the latter pushed his han