Syn

I walked outside through the door Cain left out of and followed the gravel pathway into the forest. It was pretty early but since the sun didn't shine much in the Underworld it looked pretty dark outside.

I continued walking with my hands in my pocket until I saw Cain sitting on a bench with his face buried in his hands. With a sigh, I walked towards him and took a seat at the bench across from him.

He looked up as I sat across him and he ran a hand through his hair. "Hey," he said.

"Hello."

"Sorry about going off on your mother. I just...I couldn't hold it in."

"I understand," I said honestly. "Queen's your sister, you have every right to be upset. I'm thankful that she had you while I was gone."

"Always," he said with a nod.

"What's going on?"

"I just needed some air," he admitted weakly.

"Hmm. You don't want to be with Mia, do you?"

"It's not that," he said. "I love her..."

"But..." I added.

"Even though I'm the one chasing and getting rejected by her, everyone always asks how she's doing or if I'm bothering her. I'm the bad guy no matter what," he said. "No one ever asks me how I'm feeling."

"Well," I started as I leaned forward. "How are you feeling?"

He laughed softly and gave me a large grin. "You want to know, little brother?"

"Never call me that again. I'm not your little brother."

"Technically you are. You're with Queen and I'm a LOT older than you," he said as he tapped his chin. "Maybe it should be baby brother."

"Stop trying to change the subject," I said seriously. "How are you feeling?"

His smile dropped and he let out a large breath as he rubbed his palms on his pants. "I'm tired, Syn."

"Care to explain?"

"I know everyone wants me to continue chasing Mia and to be with her...but I'm so tired."

"Tired of what?"

"Being heartbroken, told I'm not good enough, everyone's opinions...I'm fucking stressed out. When Mia and I met, she told me that she wasn't dating at all because of her issues. I accepted that and within two months, she was with somebody."

"Ouch," I said.

"Yeah...fucking ouch. I let it go and continued pursuing her but it's like she rubbed her relationship in my face for years. She knew how I felt about her yet she talked about him whenever she got the chance. I asked her to stop a bunch of times but I feel like...she liked it when I got mad. That was more in the beginning and I chalked it up to her past issues but it hurt."

"Sounds like her," I muttered.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, the Mia I knew was a mess. She used plenty of techniques to make me jealous but of course, they didn't work. She used to be an attention fiend."

"And I heard she chased the HELL out of you," he said. "How did you manage to do that?"

"I have no fucking clue," I admitted. "And if I knew, for your sake, I'd never tell you."

Cain laughed at my words and shook his head. After he was done he leaned back on the bench and crossed his arms. "What would you do, Syn?"

"If what?"

"Say you and Queen were friends and you were in love with her. She tells you she can't date and doesn't feel the same...and then one day dates your brother, Felix. What would you do?"

"Why would it be my brother?"

"Hypothetically Syn, the man Mia is marrying used to be a brother to me. Of course, Mia doesn't know but still."

"Okay in this hypothetical, Queen doesn't know he's my brother?"

"Nope, say he's lying to her about his identity."

"Truthfully?" I asked.

"Yes."

"If it was any girl, I'd say fuck it. But if it was Queen, I'd kill my brother."

"What if Queen is in love with him?"

"Shit," I muttered. "This is going to sound bad, but don't take it as bad as it comes out."

"Okay..." he said slowly as he leaned forwards, clearly intrigued.

"I'd plan his murder," I said with a shrug. "He somehow dies in a fire or car accident...and I'll be there to comfort her until she falls for me."

"Goddamn," Cain laughed. "That's cold."

"Yes, but that wouldn't ever happen. Mia isn't Queen. If she was, I would've been with Mia a long time ago."

"That's true, I guess. What do you think I should do?" He asked.

"As lame as it sounds, follow your heart. Fuck what everyone has to say and do whatever the hell you want."

"It's not that easy," he answered.

"But it is. You will never be happy in life if you do what everyone else wants. Fuck it all."

"That's not all there is to it, Syn," Cain said. "Mia told me that she loves me."

"Then why aren't you with her?"

"She still loves her ex and...I kind of like someone else," he almost whispered with a shrug.

"The girl from the hospital, huh?"

His head snapped up to mine and I sat back in victory. Of course, I was right. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," I said. "Do you like her more than Mia?"

"I don't know," he said. "It's different. With Mia, when I met her it was like I needed her. I'd never gone after anybody the way I did with her. But with Iris...I can't breathe when I'm around her."

I sat back in my seat and a slow smile spread across my lips as I recognized the feeling. "I get all weird and shit and I can barely talk sometimes. I admit she's not the type of girl I've been within the past but it's..."

"Better?"

"In a way, yes," he said. "With Mia, it feels like she's a hard game that I'm trying to win. And if I make one wrong move, someone else takes over."

"But Iris?"

"I'm not aware of how she feels at all, but I don't feel the need to be perfect around her. Granted, I've only gotten to know her as a sub, but she keeps me...I don't know the word."

"Grounded," I said.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Just a guess," I lied.

He sighed and looked down at the ground. "That's my dilemma. I do still love Mia, but if I were to be with her I'd always wonder about Iris. And that's not fair to either of us. Besides, if she were to be with me right now, I know she'd run to Jackson whenever anything goes wrong."

"You both shouldn't be together, at least not right now," I said.

"That's what I was thinking," he said. "I'm just not sure."

"Do you want my opinion?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Mia is a grown woman, who is still making childish decisions. She's not ready to be with anyone, to be completely honest. If I were you, I'd move on. At least until she shows a little bit of initiative."

He nodded as he seemed engrossed in my words and I continued. "A person who truly loves you, won't purposely make you fight for them. When it gets to the point where someone has to choose between you and someone else, you've already lost."

"Wow," Cain said. "You're fucking good at this."

"I've watched a lot of Under-Love Court with Queen," I said. "I picked up on a thing or two."

"Well Love Doctor SinClaire, what do you suppose I do with Iris?" He asked.

"Get to know her outside of your work environment. You may realize that you don't actually like her. But whhatever you do, do it as friends," I said. "You don't want to lead her on and hurt her."

"Okay," he said with a determined nod. "Thank you, brother. It's nice to know that I can come to you when I need someone to talk to."

"Hey, relax," I said as I held my arms up. "I didn't say all of that."

It was decent helping him figure things out but there was no way in hell I would let this become a regular thing. I didn't like talking to people as is, I didn't need to consistently be some sort of therapist. This was a one-time thing.

"Syn, you need to give up," he said as he shook his head. "You know you love me."

"I-in what...in w-...wow," I stuttered. "In what realm of thought, do you open your mouth and voice that conclusion?"

"You love Queen, correct?"

"Yes..."

"I'm her brother, correct?"

"Sure..."

"You love me by association."

"Oh, fuck no."

"Oh, but fuck yes," he argued.

I heard a twig snap in the distance and my head turned to the darker part of the forest. I stood up to try to look out at the distance and Cain looked at me in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I heard something."

"What was it?" He asked.

I ignored him and continued looking into the dark woods. As I listened longer, I heard something else in the distance and I shook my head.

Not what...but who.

"Go into the palace and tell Queen to hide the baby," I whispered.

"Syn, what..."

"Cain, now!"

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Author's Note

THE END

Book 3 Coming 2022

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We're barely halfway lmfao but imagine I just ended it there😌. I just know some people are not gonna see this and go crazy but for the ones that are here I love you😈.

What did y'all think of Syn's advice👀
Who is stalking them?
Lmk your thoughts ✨