Chapter 29
You want me to apologize? Over my dead body,” Roxanne said, still acting tough and arrogant, she thought, ‘No way in hell am I apologizing to the ine brak!
Richard clicked his tongue a few times. “Dying’s easy enough. But before you die, you’re still gonna apologize.”
“Never. You…” Roxanne was so furious her eyes rolled back, and before she could catch her breath, she passed out cold.
Wayne rushed over and held her up, then turned to Richard. “It’s been so many years. Can’t you forgive Grandma, just once?”
“Forgive?” Richard’s gaze was bone–chilling. “Ever since the day she kicked us out of the house when we were ten, we’ve got nothing to do with this family.”
It had been twenty years. The eight brothers had survived together, struggled through everything, fought their way to where they were now, and none of it was for Roxanne’s forgiveness.
To them, some old folks were grandmothers. Some were executioners.
Hearing this, Sharon suddenly felt a pang of sadness for her brothers. She composed herself, then gently patted Richard on the shoulder. “Richie, let’s
go.”
She figured there was no point hanging around any longer. Sooner or later, when the Vance family couldn’t take the pressure anymore, they’d come and apologize.
The room fell silent. Richard looked like someone had hit the pause button on him. After a long moment, he blurted out in shock, “Wallace, pinch me. Am I dreaming?”
“You’re not dreaming,” Wallace said, sounding a little jealous. He thought, ‘How come Shari’s only being this sweet with Richard and not the rest of us? Did she forget she has seven other brothers too?‘
Sharon blinked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just a little emotional. After all these years, you finally acted a little affectionate toward me. It finally feels like we’re real siblings. Totally worth it,” Richard answered. The gangster boss at this moment looked as vulnerable as a child.
Inside, he was screaming with excitement, thinking, ‘Shari being this sweet to me tell the whole world.‘
basically means she’s forgiven me. I swear, I wanna post a tweet and
Sharon pressed her lips together and smiled, thinking, ‘Richard’s actually kind of cute.‘
The nine siblings headed toward the exit of the hall, Sharon walking right in the middle, flanked on both sides by her eight brothers. Their presence was overwhelming, a scene few could ever hope to match.
The eight men looked like they were ready to announce to the whole world that this was their sister and everyone should better watch themselves. They practically wanted to bulldoze the road ahead just to make sure Sharon wouldn’t trip over anything.
“Sharon, you’re just gonna leave like that?” Brent’s annoying voice cut through the quiet of the lawn, sharp and impossible to ignore.
The group stopped. Sharon turned and spotted Nicholas standing behind them. She had almost forgotten about him. He stood there quietly, still in that crisp white shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up to reveal his elegant fingers.
Sharon found herself standing in front of him, suddenly not knowing what to say. He had helped her a lot.
Nicholas gazed at the petite girl in front of him, her long hair cascading down to her waist, her delicate face beautiful and enchanting, her eyes so bright that it almost felt like they could melt someone’s soul.
Sharon looked like the kind of girl who needed protecting, but somehow, she didn’t seem as fragile as she appeared.
* that her brothers are Back, she probably doesn’t need me anymore. Nievoles thought, lealing a strange, imexpected once
He kept à extm expression, though he clearly picked up on Sharon’s eight brothers‘ intense states scrutiny, annoyance, hostility at (apple)
Even under the pressure from these intimidating men, Nicholas didn’t show the slightest bit of fear. Anyone else probably would’ve been kared a by now
With one hand casually tucked into his pocket, Nicholas stood tall, his sharp features still striking under the sun. He was the picture of a clean cut, stand up y
He looked at Sharon and said, “Congratulations. They’re back safe and sound.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Sharon replied simply, her gaze calm, without a hint of admiration, affection, or ulterior motives,
Nicholas had seen enough girls look at him with stars in their eyes. He hadn’t expected his fiancée to be so completely different.
After everything that had happened, he found himself seeing Sharon in a new light.
Richard coughed lightly. “Nice lawn,” he said.
Wallace coughed too. “Sky’s real blue today.”
Julian threw in a cough as well. “Getting kinda late, huh?”
A chorus of coughs filled the air, completely out of place, and Sharon’s brothers all stared at Nicholas with clear displeasure, each thinking, ‘What’s with him talking so softly? Trying to charm our sister? Dream on.‘
Marvin walked straight over to Nicholas and lowered his voice. “Tell your grandpa to call off your engagement with Shari. Her future husband’s gonna go through our screening process, and when he marries her, he’s moving in with us. Got it?”
He thought, ‘If Nicholas doesn’t wanna bust his ass earning our approval or refuses to live with us after marriage, then he better break off the engagement with Shari ASAP. I’ve been sick of this so–called fiancé for a long time.‘
Nicholas simply smiled without saying anything. It wasn’t his decision to make anyway.
Sharon looked up at him. “Thank you. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.” She thought, ‘We’re not gonna get married, but we can still be friends.‘
Brent waved his hand. “If you’re ever bored, Sharon, just hit me up/I’ll be your full–service tour guide, ready whenever you are.”
“You little punk, what the hell did you just say? Say it again and I’ll knock your head off,” Marvin said, swinging his fist. “From now on, we’ll be the ones looking after Shari. She doesn’t need some random guy tagging along.”
The Vance siblings‘ fleet roared off, leaving deep tracks carved into the lawn.
Nicholas stood there watching them leave, his fingers twitching slightly, feeling strangely out of place.
Brent said, “Nick, you’re screwed. Those eight big brothers of hers were clearly not fans of yours. And did you hear them? Saying her future husband has to get past their approval and move into their house? That’s straight–up bullying, man.”
He thought, ‘What’s wrong with Nick? So many heiresses would kill for a shot at marrying him.‘
Nicholas spoke lightly, “Any luck finding out who posted the bounty on the Hunter Forum?”
Brent shook his head. “No. It was a burner account, only registered a few days ago. Pretty obvious they were covering their tracks.
“Nick, Sharon’s not as simple as she looks. I mean, she actually knows people from the Hunter Forum, and they even used a burner account to post the bounty for her.”
Nicholas suddenly thought back to the incident on the train. He said slowly, “Go check on the investigation into that train incident.”
9/2
Chapter 30
Brent remarked. “Nick, do you think Sharon had something to do with it? Or maybe even handled it herself?
Nicholas answered, “Not sure.” But every time something happened, Sharon was somehow involved, and that alone made it anything but ordinary.
Suddenly, two vintage cars rolled up nearby. The window of one car lowered, and Edward snorted. “Useless. I told you to bring Shark over to our house. even had a room cleaned up for her.”
Nicholas, long used to his grandfather’s playful jabs, stayed calm and replied, “She has her own home.”
Edward said, “She’s gonna marry into our family sooner or later. Get in the car, punk. I gotta teach you properly how to win a girl over. You’re hopeless.”
Brent, standing off to the side, couldn’t help but laugh.
But then the window of the second car rolled down, and Ernie shouted, “Brent, what the hell are you laughing at? Look at you. Still single. Forget a fiancée, you don’t even have a girlfriend. Get in.”
Brent slunk into the car, ready to get chewed out.
Inside the car, Nicholas said casually, “You got here real fast, huh?” He hadn’t even informed Edward.
Edward cleared his throat. “Watch your mouth. I’m just worried for you. What’s going on between Shari and that kid Caesar at Atlantis Hotel? She’s staying in his room. Don’t you feel even a little bit of urgency?”
“It’s Caesar’s room?” Nicholas asked. He remembered Sharon mentioning she was using a friend’s card.
He thought, “How do they even know each other? Caesar’s a playboy.‘ An uncomfortable feeling settled in his chest.
Edward rolled his eyes. “Damn right it is. If Shari gets snatched away, you’re dead meat.”
Nicholas tapped his fingers lightly against the leather seat, thinking he needed to dig into how exactly Sharon and Caesar knew each other. That smooth- talking rich boy was the type who loved sweet–talking pretty girls like Sharon.
Nicholas didn’t know what this feeling was yet. Later, he would realize it was called jealousy.
“By the way, Grandpa,” Nicholas said, “Marvin just told me something. He said you should hurry up and agree to call off my engagement with Sharon. “Apparently, her future husband has to pass some kind of screening process by her eight brothers and then live with them after marriage.”
Edward thought, ‘What?‘
