บททั้งหมดของ Want Me Back? Ask My Brothers First: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

~LORETTE~“Say something, Lori. Who did this to you?” Lucas’ voice strains with the effort of controlling whatever anger is rising inside him. His jaw is clenched, his eyes harder than I have ever seen them.For a second, I can barely find my voice. The concern on all their faces only makes the lump in my throat grow bigger.“No one.” I whisper finally, shaking my head weakly.A tear slips down my cheek before I can stop it.“It’s just…” My voice cracks embarrassingly. “It’s my foster mother.”Immediately, the tension in the room melts and the hardness in my brothers’ expressions soften into concern.“What happened?” Ella asks gently, stepping closer.I swallow hard, but the words still come out shaky.“The Hawthornes…” Fresh tears sting my eyes. “They cut off her medical funding. If they do that, she’s going to die. I can’t afford the treatment. I don’t even know where to begin.”“Oh, sweetheart…” Ella’s face crumbles with sympathy as she pulls me into a gentle hug.The warmth of it

~NATE~ “What do you mean someone else is handling her mother’s medical bills?” I stare at Micheal across my office in utter disbelief, certain I must have heard him wrong. Because there is simply no way. No fucking way. “How is that even possible?” I ask, my voice sharpening as frustration begins crawling beneath my skin. “That woman’s treatments cost hundreds of thousands of grands. Who exactly does Lori know that can afford something like that if not me?” The whole thing makes no sense. I had only wanted to pressure Lori. Scare her a little. Make her realize how helpless she truly is without me. I was never actually going to leave her foster mother to die. I’m not that heartless. I only wanted Lori to panic enough to come back home and to finally stop this ridiculous divorce nonsense she keeps obsessing over. Based on everything I know about her, I had expected tears. Begging. Maybe even an apology. I thought she would eventually come crawling back to me, crying and promisin

~LORETTE~“What a pleasant surprise,” Bentley drawls, looking me up and down with open disdain. “Of all the places a poor orphan could shop, you somehow ended up in a luxury boutique.”Beside me, Ella frowns, her gaze moving between Bentley and me.I wish the floor would just open up and swallow me. We should have left the moment we walked in.“Who is she?” Ella asks.“No one important.” I answer.Bentley scoffs. Beside her, Ava merely smirks, obviously enjoying every second of this.Then Bentley turns toward the employees.“Since when did this store start letting peasants wander around?” she asks loudly. “Do you people realize the risk you’re taking? What if they steal something?”The staff exchange uncomfortable glances before the manager steps forward with a strained smile.“My apologies, ladies,” he tells us. “but if you’re only here to browse, we’d appreciate it if you leave. You’re making our paying customers uncomfortable.”“Excuse me?” Ella says sharply.“It’s fine, Ella.” I t

~LUCAS~“From what I’ve heard, the CEO of Hawthorne Holdings is a remarkably straightforward man.”Hunter says as the three brothers sit around the large table in Lucas’ study, copies of Hawthorne Holdings’ investment proposal spread before them. “I don’t think you’ll regret doing business with him.”“He has a solid reputation,” Jace agrees. “I’ve got a contract with one of their affiliate fashion brands waiting for my signature, and Hunter was recently approached to become their legal representative. Seems they’ve been asking around about the Sterling name and decided they want all of us on board.”Lucas nod absentmindedly, his attention remaining on the contract in his hands.He’s never been the sort of businessman who signs papers simply because a company has an impressive reputation. Every partnership is investigated thoroughly before he commits to it. Integrity is expensive, and once lost, it is almost impossible to buy back.Ordinarily, he would’ve had his team run Hawthorne Ho

~LORETTE~Within minutes, everyone is seated and the hall falls into a tense silence as the final round officially begins.My heart is pounding so hard that I can barely hear anything else, but I still manage to keep myself together. Thankfully, Ella is beside me.She reaches for my hand beneath the table and gives it a reassuring squeeze, offering me a small smile.At the center of the stage, the host steps forward with a microphone.“As stated in the rules communicated to all finalists,” he announces, “all paintings were submitted yesterday and collected ahead of today’s event. To ensure fairness, every artwork will be judged anonymously, with only participant numbers attached to each piece.”Excited murmurs ripple through the hall.“No names will be revealed until the scoring process is complete. The judges will evaluate each painting based solely on creativity, execution, and interpretation of the theme: Time.”I swallow hard.Yesterday, after finishing my painting, I’d submitted i