“You won’t dare talk to me as though I’m a child! I’m still your father and if you push me to the edge of the wall, you won’t be excited by the outcome!” Mr. Philip bellowed angrily as he took slow steps towards Ethan, who had turned mute.
“He is my son, and so many things made me confirm that! He showed me the picture of his mother too”, he yelled and clenched his fist in fury.
“You mean the picture of your whore? The bitch you fucked around when you were supposed to be with my mother?” Ethan asked, without a glint of remorse in his expression.
“That whore gave me a son and that son is still my blood!” Mr. Philip chimed in.
Richard, who had been watching them suddenly, stood up and broke into loud laughter.
“This is funny, but then, I didn’t find the part where you called my mum a whore funny. But then, the argument going on between you two is quite interesting!” He said and picked up a glass of wine which he gulped down hurriedly.
“Sit down like the bastard you are!” Ethan growled.
“Why? You are angry that your mother wasn’t giving him what he wanted?” Richard questioned, with his eyes shifting to Mr. Philip, who was out of words to utter.
“No, tell me! Perhaps, your mother was unable to satisfy him on bed”, he added and broke into another round of laughter.
Ethan’s blood was boiling and with every word that came off Richard’s mouth, he was certain that he was close to committing murder.
“You won’t say a word again”, Ethan threatened, taking slow and dangerous steps towards Richard, who didn’t flinch a bit.
“Or what? You would kill me? Of course! You would kill me and start trending as the son of the billionaire who killed his step-brother because of how belittled he felt by his return! Coward!” Richard said, peering piercingly into Ethan’s bloodshot eyeballs.
Ethan let out a loud scream as he picked up the flower vase on the table and flung it across to Richard.
Richard staggered slightly but quickly regained balance, holding his forehead that was bleeding and still laughing sarcastically.
“You have no idea of what you just did”, Richard said and made to walk out of the dining room.
“Are you okay, Richard?” Mr. Philip, who had been watching the chaos between his two sons, asked calmly.
“Talk to your first son! The public won’t take it lightly if he eventually kills me”, Richard replied and stomped out of the room.
“Ethan!” Mr. Philip yelled angrily and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
“You have to be responsible! For once in your life, be responsible and stop behaving like a kid!” He complained and pushed him off.
“Like a kid? You had a son who you hid all these years, and you dare tell me that I’m behaving like a child? How do you think my mum would have reacted if she were still alive?” Ethan asked, with tears welling up in his eyes.
“If you think you are better than me, then prove it to me. Get a wife and treat your brother like a human he is”.
“As a matter of fact, I won’t be partial when choosing an heir, but if you get married fast, I may change my mind and leave the position for you”, Mr. Philip said in conclusion and walked out, leaving Ethan who was stunned.
***
Loud chatters and music enveloped the atmosphere, with different couples clinging unto each other and whispering sweet, inaudible words into their ears.
Carissa came off the car and smiled at Ethan, who stretched out his hands for her to cling on.
“Enjoy the day with your husband to be”, Carissa said to herself as she walked towards Ethan, who appeared to be extremely fulfilled and elated.
They slowly trudged into the field, clearly amazed by the number of people that were present.
“I had no idea that it was going to be this huge!” Ethan confessed, with a glimpse of pleasure in his eyes.
The past few days had been quite rough for him. Trying so hard to live in a house that now had the presence of a stranger was the most difficult thing he could ever think or imagine.
“I saw the news about your father having another son”, Carissa noted, peering into his worried eyes and caressing his hands lightly.
She was trying so hard to act normal and behave in the way and manner a wife is meant to.
“Well, none of that concerns me”, Ethan noted, trying so hard to avoid staring into her eyes.
“Are you certain?” Carissa asked when she couldn’t turn her eyes away from the expression on his face.
“Carissa, if you want to help me out with anything at this point, then marry me by the weekend”, Ethan suddenly blurted out, causing Carissa to stop right in her tracks.
“That is merely three days away”, Carissa said in shock, while Ethan turned a sharp gaze at her.
“We were supposed to have gotten married, weeks ago”, he noted and scoffed.
Carissa nodded her head in affirmation. He was right after all because everything was her fault.
Somehow, she started feeling bad that she pulled up such an act during the wedding because she had laid her eyes on Stan.
“I’m sorry”, she apologized sincerely and gulped down hard.
“Can we forget about everything and focus on the couple’s fun fair? I really want us to have fun and put aside every of our worries”, Carissa leapt in excitement and started running, giggling and gesturing on Ethan to follow her.
Ethan shook his head in surprise and ran to catch up with her, smiling calmly as he did so and wondering how it was possible for him to behave like a child.
He caught up with her and pulled her by the waist and for the first time since he knew her, he thought he saw something different.
“You are beautiful, Carissa”, he noted, peering piercingly into her beautiful eyes that glittered In excitement.
Carissa shifted uncomfortably and swiftly pulled herself away from his grip, laughing slightly to cover up how uneasy she felt.
“Thank you. You look handsome as well!” She said and winked at him.
That was one thing she always said to Stan when they were together. She would compliment his looks and, then, wink at him.
He loved it and whenever she did it, he would remain rooted to the spot, as though he was enchanted by her presence.
And then, he would mouth some inaudible words, words that Carissa knew were “I love you”.