Page 52 of Cruel King
Why should I? It wasn’t like we were ever in love. Our marriage was a business arrangement set up by our fathers, and as she said, now that one of them is about to leave this earth, what’s the point of staying together? We barely slept together the entire time we were married. In truth, we were more roommates than husband and wife, so it’s like when my college roommate moved out to live with his girlfriend.
My mind switches to him and the news I heard a year or so ago that she left him for some yoga instructor. He should have cut and run when he had the chance and she told him she was moving to fucking Decatur for a job after college. That was his out, but instead, he moved there to be with her, and they got married. Less than five years later, she’s fucking Mr. Bendy Legs behind his back and my former roommate is drinking every night and wondering where it all went wrong for him.
“You believed in love, you sucker. Don’t make that mistake again,” I say into the darkness.
My brother interrupts my misery when he strolls in, turns the lights on, and sits down in the chair next to me. His usual happy-go-lucky self, Theo flashes me a grin and puts his feet up on the table in front of us.
“What’s with sitting in the dark alone?” he asks with a chuckle.
As if anything in this house at this moment is fucking funny. Read the room, Theo. Someone’s dying on the other side of the building, for Christ’s sake.
Then I smell a familiar scent on him. I’d know that perfume anywhere. He’s been with Ava tonight. How fucking nice for him.
“Did you come in here to annoy me?” I ask. “Because that’s what you’re doing.”
Again, he smiles, irritating me more. “No. I came in here to see what you’re up to. Why were you sitting in the dark?”
“I’m practicing my mourning. You might try it.”
My brother looks at me oddly and nods his head. “Okay.”
Thankfully, he doesn’t continue trying to talk to me since I’m not in the mood for idle chit-chat. After realizing he’s been with Ava tonight, I’m not only miserable but angry as all fucking hell.
The silence only lasts for a few minutes before he insists on talking again. “So what’s going to happen with the estate once Dad is gone?” he asks, immediately raising my suspicions.
I lean forward in my chair and look over at him. “What the hell do you care? You’ll get all Dad promised you.”
“I’m not worried about me,” he says with a chuckle.
Christ, he’s grating on my nerves right now. That way he has of making even the most serious things sound like they’re all fun and games bothers me. He’s always been the good time guy who never worries about everything. Maybe if he had to live up to our father’s standards about anything and had to marry someone he didn’t fucking love to please him, he wouldn’t be so goddamned happy all the time.
“Why are you asking if you’re not worried about you?”
He shrugs off my question and gets up to grab the remote off the sofa. As he’s surfing through the channels, he casually answers, “Just curious. There are a lot of people who will be affected when Dad dies. That’s all.”
What is his angle tonight? Who is he talking about in this lot of people who are going to be affected when our father leaves this earth?
Then I catch another whiff of that flowery scent on him and know what he’s doing. I stand up and walk in front of him, stopping so he can’t see the TV and has to face me.
“This has to do with our father’s estate manager, doesn’t it?”
Theo tilts his head up to look at me. “His name is Joe Sutton, as you well know, and he’s known Dad our entire lives. Mom adored him, if you remember. Stop acting like he’s some unnamed servant nobody gives a fuck about.”
Jealousy surges inside me as all I can smell right now is that fucking perfume of Ava’s clinging to every inch of Theo. “Well, I don’t give a fuck about him.”
“What the fuck is your problem? You seem to be hell bent on being a dick to anyone with the last name Sutton. Let me remind you how much our dying father adores him and Ava.”
I turn to walk away as I say, “Dad has always cared too much for the help.”
Before I can take two steps, Theo’s on me, spinning me around to face him. “Stop acting like such an asshole. They’re like family, Matthias.”
We stand toe to toe in each other’s faces like at any moment we’re going to start fighting. I’m pretty much in the mood to rip someone’s head off, so if my brother makes the mistake of pissing me off any more, he’s going to get a fist in his mouth.
“If she’s family, maybe you shouldn’t act like a horny schoolboy whenever she’s around.”
Theo shakes his head and takes a step back. “What is your problem with Ava? I swear you act like she killed your best friend.”
I ignore his comment and walk out into the hallway before I let him get under my skin anymore. He doesn’t need to know what my problem is with Ava Sutton. That’s between me and her, and sometime soon, she’s going to understand what she did.