"They're not here yet," Ronald informed Bryan, being a concerned about their delayed arrival.
"It's okay, they must be on their way," Bryan reassured him, though disappointment in his voice can been understood easily. "But it's your wedding, and they're your parents, how come they're not here yet? How could they arrive at their own son's wedding as mere guests?" Ronald's frustration was evident as he struggled to understand why Bryan's parents weren't bothered about their own son's wedding. "They have their own schedule of works, you know how busy they are, but they're making an effort to be here for me," Bryan explained, trying to calm Ronald's anger. "So, are you grateful for that now?" Ronald asked with a sigh not understanding why Bryan is grateful for a situation like this. "I'm always grateful," Bryan replied with a nod, acknowledging the adjustments his parents were making to be present on his special day, their conversation was interrupted by a loud noise, drawing their attention towards the commotion outside. Bryan and Ronald hurried outside to find Josephine, Bryan's mother, slapping a servant. "What's wrong, Mom?" Bryan is concerned about the cause of his mother's anger. "This damn servant was being disrespectful to me, he is clearly looking down on me" Josephine complained, being furious at the servant in front of her, Bryan turned to the servant, expecting an explanation, the servant hesitated before speaking still shivering in fear, "sir, I've shown the rooms to your guests, but Madam wanted a luxurious master bedroom for Sir Jake, unfortunately, all our master bedrooms are already occupied, madam is furious about this." Bryan sighed, understanding the situation, "Mom, there are only two master bedrooms here, and they're reserved for the bride and groom to get ready for the wedding, so try to understand" he explained patiently hoping her to understand the situation. Josephine's expression softened slightly as she considered Bryan's words, Bryan thought finally his mother understood, but her words in the next minute stunned him, "Then why don't you give up your room for Jake?" Bryan shook his head, as it's not a proper solution for the problem, "Mom, we can't do that, let's find another suitable arrangement for Jake," he suggested, trying to resolve the issue. "No, just let Jake have your room," she demanded. "Mom?" Bryan was taken aback by his mother's demand. "Yes, you're getting married to the woman you wanted, you're having a luxurious wedding, you have everything, why can't you just give your room to your younger brother?" Josephine words made Bryan speechless. "Aunt, but Bryan is the groom," Ronald couldn't help but to intervene. "So what?" Josephine snapped back, "Can't he do this much for his younger brother? Bryan, do you want Jake to feel left out in front of everyone? Is that why you're being stubborn? Are you this selfish?" "Fine, let him take the room, I'll find another one," Bryan said, handing the keycard to his mother and moving to a different room. "From the master bedroom to the guest room," Ronald sneered looking at Bryan, "It's quite a downgrade, huh?" "Are you being sarcastic now?" Bryan asked, clearly being irritated. "Maybe," Ronald replied with a sigh, "Because you don't seem to appreciate pity." "Then just be quiet," Bryan coldly responded sitting on the couch holding his head. Ronald sat beside Bryan, but he kept silent, he didn't want to make things worse for his friend, who was clearly hurting, there was nothing he could say to fix the situation. "Sir, it's time for the wedding," a servant informed them, Bryan nodded, "What about the family photo before the ceremony?" "Your younger brother isn't here, so Madam asked to postpone the photo session for now," the servant explained, Bryan hummed in response, then got up from the couch and headed to the aisle with Ronald. The stage was decorated with roses and lilies, creating an elegant setting for the wedding. The venue buzzed with the clinking of glasses and the joyous cheers of celebration. Soft music filled the air as Bryan, his handsome face catching the eye of many, walked confidently to the stage waiting for his beautiful wife. Tracy, adorned in her veil and showered with flowers by the flower girls, walked towards Bryan with a noticeable frown, with no signs of any smile or excitement. She seemed almost reluctant, as if being forced into the marriage. The priest is ready to begin the sacred wedding with exchange of vows, but still Tracy's face didn't show any interest in the marriage. Bryan, sensing the tension and feeling the weight of the delay, glanced at the time with worry evident on his face, "when can we start the marriage?" He questioned aloud, his concern palpable. His father, Neil, frowned being disappointed, scolding Bryan for his impatience, "Jake isn't here yet," he said, his voice filled with concern, "can't you see how worried we all are? You can't always think about yourself Bryan." Tracy's sneer cut through the air as she added her own criticism, "what else can he do besides being selfish and greedy?" She remarked, her words sharp and hurtful enough to hurt Brian, "Egoistic, never caring about anyone else apart from himself." These words struck Bryan hard, bringing back all the pain he had grown used to, it was always like this, feeling invisible next to his younger brother, Jake, who seemed to be everyone's favorite while he is just nobody even with having everyone around him. The past was always there, haunting Bryan's thoughts because it was something he could never shake off not even in his sleep. He could still remember those lonely days in the orphanage, with nobody to call his own, Bryan had been separated from his family when he was just two years old, and since then, he had grown up in the orphanage, feeling like an outsider and getting bullied by his peers. But then, everything changed when a family showed up, claiming that he was their long-lost son, lost years ago in an unfortunate accident. Bryan couldn't believe his luck, finally, getting found by his real family who are affectionate and happy to find him once again, everything felt like a dream to him. He found out that his parents were among the richest in the whole city, and just being with them made Bryan felt all his past sufferings with poverty will be gone, so he can live happily without worrying about hunger anymore. When he found out he had three older sisters and a younger brother who was adopted in his place, since his parents never thought they would find Bryan ever again, so they adopted Jake, Bryan wasn't upset or anything about this. Actually, he had always wanted siblings while growing up in the orphanage, but meeting them didn't turn out like he had hoped, none of them seemed interested in welcoming him into the family. Unlike his sisters, Jake has a kind smile towards Bryan which made him to approach Jake for a hug, hugging him back, Jake whispered, "You're just a piece of trash, picked up from the dumpster, sooner or later, you'll be tossed out, because I'm the only son of this family.""I'm the only son of this family," Jake's words hit Bryan like a thunderstorm.Confusion clouded Bryan's mind as he struggled to understand what his brother meant "What?" He asked while not being able to hide his bewilderment.But Jake quickly dismissed Bryan's question with a casual kind smile on his face, "Ah, it's nothing, brother, I'm just glad to see you, welcome home brother," he sounded cheerful as if he was excited to meet Bryan for a long time.Despite him being certain about what he had heard, Bryan couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt regarding whether he heard it for real or just imagining the odd things.His mother, Josephine, affectionately ruffled Jake's curly hair, being proud of his kindness, "My sweet boy, I can see how excited you are to meet your big brother," she took Jake to her embrace with maternal warmth."Yeah, Mom, I can't wait to have fun with my brother," Jake shared his thoughts with a bright smile, his behaviour suddenly shifting to innocence and kind
Bryan informing the guests about the wedding update, looked at the father in an apologetic way, "Father, I'm really sorry for wasting your time, I'll let my driver drop you at your place."He walked straight away from there without looking back at the venue once filled with laughter, cheering and clinking of glasses, now filled with void of confusion and disbelief as everyone are bewildered by the sudden incident.Ronald followed Bryan, as he headed to the parking lot, "Hey man, where are you going?" he asked being extremely concerned about Bryan.Bryan remained silent despite Ronald calling him continuously, even Ronald also didn't mind the silence of Bryan as he can feel the pain of Bryan, unlike other times, this time, the humiliation and insults he faced in front of everyone hurts deeper than before, so Ronald decided to stick by Bryan's side."Bryan, you don't have to be like this man," Ronald tried to comfort him, "we all know what they're like, I know anyone can get hurt by the
Bryan left the room without talking back, he sank onto the couch in the waiting area. Ronald had disappeared, leaving Bryan to think about his situation. Resting his head against the wall, Bryan couldn't help but wonder where he had gone wrong, why his parents always seemed disappointed in him no matter what he did.It wasn't just a one-time thing, Bryan could recall countless instances where he felt ignored by his family. The time he got accepted into a top university, he had been beaming with excitement, eager to share the news with his family thinking they'll be proud of him, but when he called them, they were on a picnic with Jake, too busy to even pick up the phone and answer him.Bryan waited the entire day for his family to come back home, but when they finally arrived close to midnight, all he heard was, "Let's talk later, Bryan, we're tired now."When Bryan prepared to leave for university, hoping for a heartfelt farewell from his family, he found them preoccupied with coa
Bryan glanced at Ronald with a questioning look, "Where did you vanish out of a sudden?"Ronald sat down next to Bryan, "Is this an answer to my question? Don't tell you're frowning because of me, do you miss me?"Bryan shrugged his shoulders opening the tin, "just some random stuff that popped up in my mind, who would miss Mr. Annoying?" "Aish, whatever, I got a call and went away for a while, remembered that you had nothing from the morning, so decided to grab a drink for you, while I'm going this much for you, you're just calling me annoying," Ronald complained taking a sip of his coke.Bryan chuckled, taking a sip of his own drink, "you know very well what I mean or what I don't mean, so stop being a drama queen not in a mood to coax you."Ronald glanced around with ease since somehow he changed the mood of Bryan, "should we stick to this couch, until the young master of the Winterwood family wakes up from his beauty sleep?""What other choice do we have apart from this?" Bryan
The sharp slap across Bryan's cheek stunned him, leaving him momentarily stunned, but it wasn't the sting of pain that hurt the most, it was the crushing weight of his mother's words that pierced his heart."Mom!" His voice trembled as he spoke, but she turned away, refusing to meet his gaze, "I can't even bear to think that I'm your mother, and gave birth to someone like you,"Bryan's world seemed to crumble around him as Josephine continued, her voice dripping with disappointment and hatred, "I always hoped you would grow up to be kind and compassionate, but instead, you've turned into a heartless monster, finding happiness in your brother's suffering.""But Mom..." Bryan's protest was cut short as his mother silenced him with a sharp glare, "Shut up! Don't even dare to call me that, I'm disgusted by you, it's more disgusting to hear you calling me mother."Stunned, Bryan took a step back, he had grown accustomed to being neglected and ignored, but he had never imagined his mother w
Bryan felt dizzy. He couldn't accept that his fiancee had cheated on his brother. He turned around and ran out of the hospital. He needed to calm down now."Bryan, stop!" Tracy shouted. She was a little scared. If this scandal was made public, her and Jake's reputation would be ruined.Jake's face was gloomy. He didn't expect that his secret would be overheard by Bryan. However, he had another way to let Bryan keep the secret.Dead men don't reveal any secrets.--Seeing Bryan rushing out of the hospital, Josephine frowned."Bryan, have you properly apologized to your brother?" she shouted, but Bryan didn't answer her at all.Bryan ran out of the hospital. He was walking like a zombie on the street, and he didn't know where he was.However, a van suddenly appeared in front of Bryan. Before he could react and call for help, several strong men rushed up, knocked him unconscious and pulled him into the truck.In the hospital, Josephine still didn't know what was happening outside. She wa
The pain, the numbness, the sensation of dying all of it vanished in an instant, Bryan blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of his surroundings. To his surprise, he found himself lying in a hospital bed, dressed in a patient's gown. As he concentrated on his surroundings, Bryan couldn't shake the feeling of disbelief that washed over him, he had been certain that he was dead, yet here he was, alive and seemingly well, and he still couldn't understand who saved him and brought him to the hospital. Bryan's thoughts and confusion were shunned by the sound of a familiar voice, shouting with anger. "I don't believe it, he's perfectly fine, he is too healthy. How did he suddenly become ill? You're lying!" He watched as his mother expressed her anger towards the doctor, her voice fuming with fury. At first, Bryan assumed she was just worried about him, but then her accusations turned sharper, "You must be paid off by him, there's no way he's sick enough to be unconscious for a week.
"Thanks to your tricks, Jake has been miserable at the amusement park, as he was forced to come back before he even enjoyed" Josephine sighed, she doesn't even know how to express her frustration, "and I had to endure being insulted by that doctor, how much longer do you expect us to suffer because of you?" "Suffer? Who's the one suffering here?" Bryan retorted, no longer able to tolerate the way they're accusing him, "have you ever stopped to consider how I feel? All you ever care about is Jake, why is it always about Jake when I'm the one who is suffering?" "What exactly have you suffered?" Josephine's anger triggered as Bryan talked back at her, "if you hadn't come back home, you'd have been out there struggling to survive in that orphanage, we have provided everything for you, food, clothes, shelter, but instead of being grateful, you're just greedy for more, you're being selfish, Bryan." Bryan forced a bitter smile, trying to hide the pain inside him as he fought back the tear