Love's Redemption

Redmption 309



Was Brandon cracking a dirty joke? He looked so serious while he was at it, too!

All this while, I thought he was a by-the-book, old-fashioned gentleman. Between the two of us, he was the no- nonsense type, while my mind was constantly in the gutter.

"You could try it if you don't believe me," Brandon teased, his gaze piercing into my soul and making my face warm.

I pinched him and said primly, "I won't tell you if you won't listen to me."

"All right, I'm listening."

I stared out the window and relayed to him what Conrad had told me at the hospital last night. Having heard all that, he asked, "Are you worried?"

"Yes, but not about Chris. I'm worried about the company," I said immediately, making my position clear.

"I know," he murmured as he rubbed his cheek against the top of my head. "You probably think things are turning more complicated than you expected, huh?"© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

It was as if he had read my mind.

Brandon continued, "Your worries are justified. It could also be that this is all part of Conrad's plan."

My eyes widened at the accusation. I knew Conrad. He had always been the caring and indulging big brother who let me and Chris have our way. That hadn't changed even after we became adults.

He even left the country four

years ago. Besides, he said it himself after his recent return that if he had wanted the company that badly, he would never have left.

"Maybe he wasn't manipulative before, but that doesn't mean he won't change," Brandon pointed out slowly. "You know less about men than you think, Mae.

I couldn't deny that. "Then explain it to me from a man's point of view, please."

"Conrad likes you, right?" Brandon cut to the chase.

"Yes, but I didn't know about it before. I only knew about it after his recent trip back," I said frankly.

"He's liked you for a long time, probably around the same time Chris fell for you, if not sooner. I'm pretty sure he likes you as much as Chris does," Brandon continued. He sounded certain.

I did not interrupt him and let him continue.

"He left for a couple of years, didn't he?"

"Four years,” I clarified. I counted the years and added, “I think he left around the time Chris and I went official."

Brandon elaborated, "Exactly. He left

because you made a choice, and he knew he didn't stand a chance. So he packed up and left the country, hoping his feelings for you might diminish over time.

"He probably couldn't forget about you in the four years he was gone and came back when he learned about your break up. He came back to have a second chance with you."

I saw the rationale in Brandon's argument. Chris and I had only just broken up when Conrad announced This return. He even called to check on me w

I wasn't so oblivious that I didn't sense Conrad's feelings for me, but I was surprised to hear Brandon

speak of his behavior as if he had experienced it himself. The accuracy of his description was impressive, to say the least.

Going along with Brandon's theory, I asked, "But he didn't expect you to come into the picture and beat him to comfort me, right?"

The corner of Brandon's lips curled as he hummed in confirmation.

"But what does any of this have to do with the plan you mentioned?" I steered the conversation back on track.

He pointed out, "You ladies have a thing for novels and soap operas, right? The families in those soap operas are highly political and constantly engaged in power struggles, aren't they?

"Only one of them can have the legacy, so they would do anything to kick the other siblings out of the picture, even through murder."

In other words, it was every man for himself, and such was the

rule of survival. I doubted anyone liked living in another person's shadow, even if that person was one's younger brother.

Conrad had left the family legacy

and his crush behind four years ago in the guise of altruism. Perhaps the four years had changed him, and now he had returned to take back everything he had lost.

Suddenly, I felt like I had been used as a pawn.

My heart sank, and I didn't feel like talking anymore.

Just then, a plane zipped down the tarmac for take-off. If I was not mistaken, that was the flight Chris had gotten on. I watched as the plane became a weightless thing

and took off toward the

sky.

I thought about Conrad's manipulation of him and how Zack and Bree had threatened to disown him. For a brief moment, my heart broke for Chris.

As the plane flew into the distance, I found myself wishing him a safe flight.