Chapter 3

The good news was that I wasn't the one getting sued.

The bad news was that my brother Sebastian had gotten into a fight and ended up in jail.

Since I was his only family in Maubourn, the police naturally called me.

While I was grumbling about how Sebastian always managed to get himself into trouble, I was racking my brain for a way to sort this out and maybe convince the plaintiff to let it slide.

When the cops brought me to meet the plaintiff, I figured letting Sebastian cool his heels in jail for a while might not be the worst thing. At least people would say I was the kind of person who put justice before blood.

"So, how do you want to settle this?" Warwick said, looking me straight in the eye.

He was sitting across from me in the plaintiff's spot, staring me down.

When I caught sight of his face, I barely managed to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing.

There was a fist-shaped bruise on his left cheek, and on the right, a bright red handprint from the big slap I'd landed on him earlier.

Sebastian, hot-tempered as ever, slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "Warwick Parker! You bastard, you deserved that punch.

"Back then, my sister busted her ass for your crappy startup, delivering food on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, hustling at street stalls on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

"And on weekends, she even did your laundry and cooked just to make sure you ate better. Now you've made it big, and you go marry some other woman? What, you think my sister's too soft, easy to bully, is that it?"

Warwick narrowed his eyes, fixing me with a hard stare.

"So, in your eyes, I'm just the worst, huh? Not one nice thing to say about me?" he shot back.

"I..." I began, but couldn't get the words out.

I wanted to say something, but he was about to marry someone else.

Even if I tried to explain, what would it change? There was no going back.

I didn't have much time left, and there was no reason to waste it on things that didn't matter to me.

I nodded. "That's right. You're nothing in my eyes. I seriously regret throwing away six years of my youth on just a penniless nobody."

"Good. Very good. Excellent," Warwick said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

He let out a bitter laugh, then turned to the cop with a cold face. "Officer, I'm not settling this. I'm getting a lawyer, and I'm taking this all the way."

With that, Warwick stormed out, his face like stone.

Sebastian jabbed a finger at Warwick's back and yelled, "You bastard! Take it all the way if you want. I'm not afraid of you!

"If you ever mess with my sister again, I'll skin you alive."

I quickly grabbed Sebastian, worried he'd lose it and do something that would ruin his life.

But I knew that once Warwick, that love-struck fool, decided to go all out, Sebastian was as good as done for.

*****

After hesitating for ages that night, I finally sent Warwick a message.

He replied almost instantly with a hotel address. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But what mattered even more was that Sebastian couldn't end up behind bars. If he got sentenced, when I was gone, there'd be no one left to look after Mom.

So, there was no way I could back out of this.

When I arrived at the hotel, Warwick was already there.

The marks on his face had mostly faded. He was sipping whiskey, looking at me with a relaxed, unhurried look.

I set down the carton of milk I'd picked up on the way, putting on my best pleading face. "Mr. Parker, could you please forgive my brother?"

"Why should I let him off the hook? Just because you brought me a carton of milk?" Warwick shot back, his tone icy.

I fidgeted nervously, trying to look as pitiful as possible.

"It's the thought that counts, Mr. Parker. You're a big shot; don't waste your time getting mad at my brother, he's just a blockhead.

"My brother's got a screw loose, but you're not like that. You're the boss here. Don't let him drag you down to his level," I said, laying it on thick.

Warwick took a sip of his whiskey, his face half-hidden behind the glass so I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

He was probably itching to laugh at me right now.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, "I've heard more flattery than I can count.

"You really think a few lines like that are enough to make me forgive your brother? Is that all you've got? You call that sincere?"

Seriously? He thought I was just faking it? Fine!

With zero pride left, I shamelessly dropped to my knees.

"Mr. Parker, let me down this!" I said, trying to sound as eager as possible.

I grabbed the bottle from the table, looked him dead in the eye, and said sincerely, "Actions speak louder than words. It's all in this drink."