Chapter 11: Her Brother

"W-who're you?" I asked, and swallowed hard, looking at the dark and tall figure right in front of me. We didn't move from our places, gluing them. There was a torturous silence in the small room and made my heart uncomfortably beat harder. Who was he?

My eyes squinted when suddenly bright light flashed across the room. Breathing heavily, I gathered courage and looked at the man. First, my eyes took in his black shiny shoes, then his black suit pants and shirt that fitted his muscular body like a second skin. I moved my eyes to his neck. The top button of his shirt was undone, exposing the black ink of tattoos. My eyes shifted to his sharp squared jaw, straight nose, and then his sea-blue eyes. He was the same tattooed man Henry invited to dinner.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said in his deep voice and snapped fingers in front of my eyes.

My breath hitched when I realized how close we were standing to each other. I instantly stepped back, maintaining an appropriate gap between us. I could smell cigarettes and alcohol on his breath.

"Who are you?" My voice came out husky.

Without a word, he took a step closer to me and trapped me between his arms and the tiled wall of the bathroom.

"You better not ask me about me because you would never like my introduction. Anyway, I'm not here for small talk," he said calmly, gazing at my lips briefly.

I felt like I would pass out at any moment if he didn't get off me. He was so close to me I could feel his faint heartbeat through his chest. "Get off me…" I swallowed hard and tried to push him away. "You're making me feel uncomfortable."

"That's why I'm here, sweetheart." He leaned forward. Our nose almost touched. "To make you feel uncomfortable."

"What do you want?" I breathed out, feeling my throbbing heartbeats and trembling legs.

"Revenge," he replied flatly, smirking.

"W-what revenge?"

"Remember Ava Miller, my baby sister. First, you put her into a hospital bed, and then, you betrayed her by marrying her boyfriend. Please don't tell me you're not living a happily married life with a billionaire. Not only you snatched her happiness but her entire fucking life."

I felt my throat clogged, listening to his words. He was Ava's brother, and he was here for her. I kept quiet because I had nothing to defend myself. He was right; I betrayed Ava and snatched everything from her.

He lifted his hand and caressed my right cheek with the back of his hand. I immediately slapped his hand away but he caught it and pulled me into his firm chest, knocking the breath out of me.

"What…what are you doing?" I stammered, looking into his terrified eyes.

"Making you feel uncomfortable…" he smirked and placed his palm on my ass. "You know you should have been charged for the accident you caused that day. But unfortunately, Henry saved your ass. Your beautiful ass…" He whispered and squeezed my ass, making me breathe sharply. "You are lucky, aren't you, sweetheart? But how long? How long will you be able to protect yourself from me? Start the countdown, Alice Robinson, I'll ruin you completely…" He paused for a moment as eyeing my body up and down and gave a violent tremble of fear. "Every inch of your little body."

"I-I…" I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off.

"Shh…" He put his finger on my lips and shut me up. "I will not listen to your nonsense!"

"Let me go!" I shoved him away but my tiny body was nothing compared to his muscular one.

"You feel so good." He inhaled my hair. "I want to fuck you right against this counter."

"Let go of me, asshole!" I growled and pushed him away with my hands.

He pressed his hot mouth against my ear. "I'll never let you go, sweetheart."

Before I could say anything else, the door banged open and made my heart jump in fright. I jerked my head to the side and found my husband was standing in the doorway with a surprised expression. He was watching us.

Oh no!

I quickly tore myself away from that man and backed off before Henry could assume wrong.

"What are you two doing here?" Henry asked, almost angrily.

"Romance…" the man chuckled and stepped away from me and made his way towards my husband. "Your wife is hot as fuck." I winced at his words. "I'd like to take her to my bed."

"Shut the fuck up!" Henry growled and advanced to him and was about to hit him. "I'll break your spine into two if you ever talk about her like that."

"Really?" the man challenged. "It has not been a week since Ava went into a coma, and you seemed quite obsessed with her? My sister is dying on that fucking hospital bed because of this stupid bitch and you're shutting me up!"

I flinched at his sudden outburst.

"Well, protect your wife all you want…" Vivian glanced at me over his shoulder with a mixture of hatred and lust. "But never expect me the same. Because you know perfectly well who I am and what I am capable of. It's going to be fun playing with your little and sweet wife."

"Get the fuck out of here!" Henry barked.

"Don't forget who you are talking with, Henry Robinson."

"Don't forget where you are standing, Vivian Miller."

I glanced between the two as the atmosphere became thicker and thicker. It looked like they were about to pouch at each other at any second. I, too, didn't understand what to do.

"Goodbye, sweetheart." Vivian was the first one who broke the suffocating silence. "Can't wait to bed you."

I clenched my hands into fists and said nothing. He walked out and left us two alone.

"What were you two doing?" Henry asked in an edgy voice.

"He was threatening me," I mumbled.

"Fuck you, Alice! Can't you see he was dry humping you!" He growled and grabbed me by my elbow before slumping me against the wall. "You were enjoying him."

My eyebrows snapped together in disbelief. Was he crazy? "I was not enjoying him, Henry. What makes you think I was enjoying him?"

"I want you to stay the fuck away from that man," he said, pressing me further and making me feel his bulge against the suit pants. God, was he aroused?

"H-Henry!" I swallowed and stared at him. His eyes were angry and also filled with desire.

Suddenly, he gripped my hair and tilted my head up to his face. "I don't want to see another fucking man in your life! Understood?"

*****

"Good morning, Mrs. Robinson," Jessica wished me with a bright smile when I entered the kitchen.

"Good morning," I smiled back and glimpsed at the delicious pancakes. "Can you please call me Alice? We're friends, aren't we? No formalities!"

She gave me a nod after a moment of hesitation. "By the way, Alice, you cooked delicious food yesterday," she said while pouring the batter onto the griddle.

"Did you taste them?" I asked with surprise.

"Yep. I loved your roasted chicken."

"I thought nobody was going to like my handmade food. You don't know how happy I am feeling right now."

"Joseph also liked your lasagna and brownies." She smiled.

"That's great."

"Henry doesn't like spicy food. I was about to tell you yesterday, but my mother's health got worse and I had to leave early," she said apologetically.

"No, It's okay, Jessica." I reached out to her and squeezed her hand when I saw her gloomy eyes. "How is your mother doing?"

"She is okay, thank you." She gave me a faint smile.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed in the dining room, making my heart beat faster.

"Is breakfast ready?" Henry asked tonelessly, and took his seat, ignoring my existence in the same room.

"Yes…!" Jessica rushed towards the table and put down his black coffee.

"How's your mother's health?" He asked without breaking his eyes from the newspaper.

"She is doing well," she answered, almost stuttering.

"I'll be out of town for a few days. If you want anything else, ask Joseph he'll take care of your needs. And in case you want to take a few days off for your mother's checkup, you can have it."

"Thank you. It means a lot to me," she mumbled and blushed before disappearing into the kitchen.

I didn't know this monster also took care of others. I broke into a smile at this thought.

"What are you smiling at?" Henry's voice rang in my head and caught my attention. I looked at him and found his icy gaze on me. No matter how cold, hot, and soft his gaze was, my cheeks always reacted and turned into a tomato red.

"Nothing," I said when I found my voice and started to eat my breakfast.

After a while, he adjusted his tie, pushed his chair back, and stood up, ready to leave. He and Jessica were leaving for a few days. How could I live all alone in this big house? I had to ask him for work.

"Henry," I quickly called him out, and he paused. It took him a while to turn to me and face me. I rose to my feet, walking over to him. I sighed before asking hesitatingly, "Can I work again at your company?"

He frowned. "My wife doesn't need to go out and work."

"Why? I also want to work, every day, staying at this house will make me useless."

"You're useless!" He clipped and spun around and stalked off.