Chapter Thirty Six - Brother

I was nervously tapping my feet while looking at the tray infront of me. I messed up.

Either way, I had to go upstairs before Alec could wake up and realize that I wasn't there.

I went up to our room--previously just Alec's room--and lifted my hand to turn the knob right before the door swung open and he was standing infront of me.

"Where were you?"

My eyes grew wide.

His gaze darted down to the tray in my hands and then, he looked up once more only this time in surprise.

I grinned at him.

"Happy birthday, Alec."

He still looked a little taken aback when I leaned up and pecked his lips.

"How did you....?" He trailed off and looked down at the cake once more. "I never told you."

"Pfft I'm your wife," I rolled my eyes and walked inside the room, setting the tray down on the coffee table.

Looking back, I realized that he was still standing in the doorway. With a laugh, I walked back to him, took his hand in mine and brought him inside the room.

The cake could have been better.

"I wish the bakery or Martha didn't bail on me at the last moment. I suck at cooking or baking and I know it's a little deformed-"

"I love it," He smiled.

My heart melted at the sight and I lifted my hands to caress his cheeks. "That's so cute. But I wish you would say that after tasting it."

He let out a laugh.

I handed him the knife and he bent over to blow the candles.

"Make a wish."

"I already have what I wanted," He gave me a sly smile, making me blush.

As he blew the candles out and cut the cake, I sang him the birthday song.

I took a small piece of cake and lifted it up to his lips. "Is it tolerable?"

He chewed for a while before nodding. "It's good, actually."

"Yeah right," I let out a laugh.

He lifted a piece to my mouth.

"Mm. I can't believe I made this."

It was actually better than what I had expected.

Instead of licking the icing off my fingers, I rubbed it on his cheeks.

His eyes narrowed playfully as he advanced in my direction but I was quick in jumping away from his reach.

"I was about to lick it off your cheeks," I huffed while rounding the bed to get away from him.

His eyes lit up.

"But never mind now."

"What? Why not?" His jaw dropped.

"Because you're chasing me."

He halted in his tracks. "Not anymore."

With a laugh, I walked up to him but he was fast in pushing me on the bed and climbing on top of me. He quickly pinned my hands above my head.

"You fooled me," I gasped.

"Yeah I did. What are you gonna do about that?" He smirked.

He rubbed his cheek against mine and I felt the sticky icing on my skin.

"Oh wait," I opened my mouth to speak but stopped abruptly when he started raining kisses along my jawline.

His other hand lifted my tshirt up and started caressing my waist. I took in a shaky breath and shut my eyes.

He grazed his teeth along my skin and started biting gently along my neck. I moaned out in pleasure but then, he stopped.

I opened my eyes. "What? Why did you stop?"

"You told me to wait. Do you want something?"

I blinked in my haze, then remembered what I had to say.

Alec let go of my hands and let me get out of the bed.

I walked inside the closet and fished out a wrapped box that I had hidden behind my clothes.

"Here's your gift," I spoke in excitement and handed it to Alec.

I had spent all day looking for a good present for him and all I found was a watch. But to make it special, I had our initials A and S engraved on it.

"A and S? Does that mean Alec Sinclair?" He asked.

I deadpanned.

"No. It was supposed to be ASS. He probably missed out another S-"

I was cut off when he pulled me down on the bed and captured my lips with his, kissing me passionately.

"I know what it means," He chuckled. "Thank you."

I shrugged shyly. "You're welcome, husband."

"So let's get back to where we left off?" He suggested.

"Didn't I call you a horny creep in Barbados?"

He ran his finger across my lower lip sensuously before his eyes locked with mine. "Yeah you did."

Guess that makes the two of us.

****

I rubbed my eyes and made my way downstairs in a groggy manner.

I knew I would find him in the kitchen.

Alec sitting on the bar stool, sipping on his coffee with his shirtless back staring at me was a sight for sore eyes.

He must have heard me as he turned around halfway and held his hand out with a smile.

I took his hand and he pulled me on his lap. Just what I needed. I placed my head on his shoulder and yawned.

"Are you okay?" His voice was laced with worry.

"Mm," I mumbled.

His hand lifted up to my forehead.

"I don't have a fever."

"You seem tired. What's the matter?"

I let out a fake cry. "I hate exams."

He chuckled. "Tell me about it."

I had my exams coming up and there was so much I had missed in classes because of the past events. I had to catch up soon. Graduation was coming up and I needed a lot more than extra credit to get my degree.

"Coffee?" He asked.

I nodded and he lifted his coffee mug to my lips.

"Thank you," I muttered and looked up at him.

He ran his finger across my cheek and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Are you going to college today?"

I nodded.

"Don't go. Stay with me and I'll work from home today."

"No not at all. I've skipped so many classes already. I have to go."

"Please," He pouted.

"No no and no. That face won't work everyday, Alec."

"But it's my birthday."

"Your birthday was four days ago," I deadpanned.

"Post birthday celebration is a thing," He shrugged.

"And neither will that excuse work everyday," I rolled my eyes and jumped out of his lap to go upstairs and get ready, not missing his deep sigh behind me.

I didn't put in much effort for my outfit. Just slipped into a hoodie and random denims with white sneakers. Tying my hair up into a ponytail, I slipped my backpack around my shoulders and went downstairs.

Alec was in his business suit, waiting at the dining table.

I gave him a bright smile and slipped into my seat.

"I can drop you off to college," He spoke.

"No. I have to go somewhere after classes. I'll take my car."

"Where?" He raised a brow.

"Nicole wants to meet up."

"Oh. Everything okay?"

I shrugged. "Yeah maybe just for catching up."

I quickly had my breakfast and got up to leave.

"You're leaving?" He asked right before shoving a piece of pancake in his mouth.

"Yeah," I muttered while picking my phone up in a hurry.

"Come here."

"What?" I rounded the table to get to him.

The look in his eyes gave away his thoughts and I stopped when I was a few inches away from him to step back but he reached forward and locked his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him so I was leaning over him.

"Alec," I groaned.

"What? I can't give you a goodbye kiss?"

"You and I both know where that one kiss will lead us."

"You do?" His eyes darkened.

I nodded.

He scrutinized my face for a moment. "Are you sure you can't spare a few minutes?"

"Very sure."

He sighed before loosening his grip.

I chuckled and pecked his lips before pulling back to walk towards the elevators, feeling him smiling at me.

"See you in the evening," I called over my shoulder.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

****

"I'm so sorry. I was stuck in college because of some work," I muttered while slipping into the last booth.

"That's okay," Nicole nodded.

Me and Nicole had been hanging out a lot after the kidnapping and stuff. She suddenly became a very good friend of mine.

"Are you okay?" I asked when I had settled down.

"Yeah," She shrugged.

"What's wrong?" I frowned.

"I just...I," She sighed and shook her head. "It's stupid."

"You can tell me."

"It's Walter," She finally breathed out. "We got into a fight."

"Oh," was all I could say.

I wasn't equipped with enough brains to solve fights. For all I know, I could make it worse.

"See? I told you it was stupid," She frowned.

"Oh no! Not at all. It's normal for couples to get into fights. I mean me and Alec fight all the time," I spoke.

She blinked at me. "Really?"

"Of course," I nodded. "You can talk to me about it if you want."

She seemed hesitant for some reason, which was weird since we had become close enough to share stuff. We had been on shopping together, helped each other at picking sexy clothes and did other normal stuff you do with your girl bestie.

Lily did not like her at first because she thought that Nicole was the third wheel in our friendship but then, they both got along eventually.

"Walter is....keeping stuff from me," She spoke in a low voice.

Would I seem nosy if I ask what kind of stuff? Oh God, what do I say?

I opened my mouth to speak something but Nicole looked somewhere behind me and her eyes grew wide. "Walter?"

I turned around in confusion to find Walter walking up to us.

"Hey, Scarlet," He greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Walter."

"Mind if I join you guys?" He asked but he was already getting into the seat beside Nicole.

They both stared at each other.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I'll....uh go to the bathroom. Excuse me."

Without wasting a second, I got up and sprinted past them to go the bathroom. Whew! Nice save.

I played some games on my phone for ten minutes and then decided to go back.

Their backs were to me and they hadn't seen me yet. They were still talking. I almost turned around but something caught my attention.

"You didn't even invite your parents to our engagement party, Walter," Nicole said.

His parents?

Alec's parents?

"They understand, Nicole. I just don't understand why we are fighting over this."

"Because you're keeping something from me. But more than that, you and Alec are keeping a huge secret from Scarlet. It's not fair to her."

Walter sighed. "Look I can't do anything about it. It's Alec's choice."

"Why is he doing this-No! Don't say you don't know. I know you, Walter."

"Nicole, I can't tell you. It's not my secret to tell. It's Alec's."

"Is he forcing you to do all this? Tell me, does he have something against you?"

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous. Alec would never blackmail me."

"Then why? Why are you both lying to her? She's a good person. She doesn't deserve to be kept in the dark."

What the hell is going on?

"I know but I also know where Alec is coming from. He's had enough misery in his life, Nicole. And if a little lie keeps him happy, I'll play along for as long as he wants me to."

What lie?

What misery?

What was Alec hiding?

"I'll never understand this," She shook her head.

"It's better this way," He spoke softly.

Nicole heaved a deep sigh.

"But why do you have to pretend to be his brother?"

Hey guys!

You didn't think last chapter was the happy ending, did you?

Hahahaha! This was the original plan all along! But don't worry. I won't be stretching the drama too much. 42nd chapter will probably be the last.

Stay tuned to know more secrets! 😉

Vote, comment and share! ❤