Chapter 41

"What the HELL!" His brother furiously exclaimed when his wife walked away and was already out of earshot.

He watched his brother struggle to contain his anger as he stood before him. But he knew Dale would not do anything stupid by creating a scene in front of all their guests.

"Not here, Dale." Still, he reminded his brother. The last thing he wanted was another scandal.

He did not care about his reputation. He could handle any negative press about him. But he had to protect his brother, especially when Dale was marrying into the Vicenzo family.

Damon did not want anything that would jeopardize the impending wedding of his brother to Chantal Vicenzo, especially when there was a big merger between their families that was on the line.

But it was more than the business itself. 

Truthfully, he believed his brother would be better off with Chantal as his wife. Dale was weak. He needed a strong woman in his life, like Chantal.

"Follow me at my office." He suggested, but he put some authority in his voice. He needed his brother to understand that he was the one in charge.

He quickly moved away from the crowd while his brother followed him closely behind. Dale might be fuming at his back, but Damon was not concerned. He knew how to handle his younger brother.

"Damon, what is the meaning of this?" Dale shouted, slamming the door behind him. "What is she doing here?"

"Where did you find her?"

"How did this happen?"

"Tell me this is some kind of a joke."

"Tell me you did not marry Jules." 

He could tell that his brother had many more questions in his mind, but one thing that caught his attention about his brother was his reaction to seeing Jules again.

It was evident his brother was very much affected by Jules's presence, just as his wife seemed to feel the same way. And what surprised him the most was how seeing them together had disturbed him.

"Does it matter how or why?" Damon calmly questioned his brother as he tried to assess the situation. 

"Of course, it does. Jules is my fiancee." Dale loudly roared at him as his eyes blazed with intensity. This time, his brother could not contain himself as he charged in his direction, throwing a jab across his face.

But his reaction was faster than Dale's arms, dodging his brother's fist before it hit his face. Then, he pushed him, making his brother step back away from him.

As he had suspected, it seemed his brother was not over with Jules, judging from how he acted. And it had always been his dilemma if the two ever meet again.

Just like now, it would seem a connection still bound them together, which only justified his actions.

"Correction, Dale. She is your ex-fiancee. The two of you are over. At this moment, she is now my wife." He emphasized the last words so his brother would finally accept their situation.

He could not give his brother false hope that he could still reunite with his ex-lover. He would not allow that to happen.

"But why her?" He could finally hear the despair in his brother's voice as it began to crack. "There are millions of women who would die to marry you. Why her?"

"Why picked her?" His brother sounded defeated as he continued to question his motives. 

His brother had a point. He could have chosen to marry any of the women on his list. But he had his reasons for choosing her. One of them was to prevent his brother from reuniting with her again.

"You kept warning me against her, telling me I should not marry her because she was not good for me.

You said I was better off without her because she was another gold digger. Then, why did you marry her?"

"Was that all a lie?" Then, his brother's confusion changed into fury as Dale balled his fist on his side. "Was my life just a game to you?"

"You know I never lied to you. And I never will." Damon confronted his brother as he faced him and stared at him straight in his eyes.

He was unafraid to look at him because he had nothing to hide. He honestly believed that Jules was not the right woman for him.

"And I have a good reason for marrying Jules if you give me a chance to explain." He could see his brother's eyes moving. He could tell he was debating with himself, probably whether to trust him.

However, he had not given his brother any reason not to do so. He had always had his brother's back. He always defended him and helped him in every crisis in his life.

He even protected and defended Dale from their father countless times since they never did see each other eye to eye. They were just too different.

"Explain what? How you betrayed me?" His brother hissed angrily at him, throwing accusations at him.

He could understand why his brother would think that, but he still believed once Dale had heard the truth, his brother would know he only did what he did to protect him.

"You know what. You are not thinking straight, but if you calm down and listen, you will understand that I only did this for you."

Damon tried to persuade his brother, but in truth, he had his doubts. Somehow, he felt he could not even convince himself.

"I should not have listened to you. Jules is nothing like Tessa. She would never hurt me like that."

"I think you have something to do with why she did not show up on our wedding day." Dale blamed him as his eyes burned with rage. "You..."

"But she is just like Tessa." Damon interrupted his brother as he stood before him, facing his anger.

"Do you know why she did not attend your wedding day? Because she slept with me that night before your wedding day." He had avoided telling him about that night, knowing how Tessa had almost destroyed his life.

But he could not protect his brother from this secret forever. He had to tell him eventually since he would find out about it soon enough.

But he thought Dale would handle it better than this since he was supposed to be in love with Chantal and over with Jules.

But, just as he feared, Dale was still a lost child, trapped in a man's body. He still needed to grow up as he allowed his emotions to cloud his judgment.

"No, that is a lie." His brother screamed furiously at him as his fist balled up, ready to strike him again.

"No, it is not. But if you don't want to believe me. Then, that is up to you." Damon said as he turned away from his brother, ready to return to his wife and the ongoing party.

He did not see the point of talking to him, especially when he was not ready to listen.

"But if you still value me as your older brother, I hope you will consider what I said." Damon knew he could not do anything else at this point.

He had done everything he could to protect his younger brother. Now, it was up to his brother what he would do next.

"But I still believe you are better off without her. Besides, you are marrying Chantal. She is the right woman for you." He added his final words, but before he could leave the room, James hurriedly entered, looking worried.

"Sir, we have a problem." He uttered without preamble. "Young Master is missing. He is not in his room. And we can't find him."

"What?"

"Who?"

The two brothers asked at the same time.