2 – SURPRISE ENGAGEMENT

Alex staggered against a nearby wall as horrible flashes from the video tormented him.

Melissa…and Derek? How? When? Why?

When he finally calmed down long enough to analyse the situation, pure, raw anger burned through his veins. He balled his fingers into fists and took a deep breath.

“This cannot be happening.” He muttered to himself, already burning with jealousy.

Everyone in New York City knew that he and Melissa were married. Although they’d tried to keep it hush-hush, the news of their marriage had been all over the news because of the high status of Melissa’s family in the city.

What was Derek’s excuse for kissing another man’s wife?

Enraged, Alex started the journey back to the Baron mansion without pausing to give his decision a thought.

Half an hour later, hungry and exhausted, he finally arrived.

When he caught his breath, he noticed that the mansion’s grounds seemed to be teeming with people. On a closer inspection, he discovered that they all seemed to be offloading party decorations from a huge truck parked outside.

Confused, Alex came closer.

No one had informed him that his in-laws would throw a party tonight. As their son-in-law, it was mandatory that Alex attended all their parties with Melissa on his arm.

He quickly approached the gatekeeper .

“Hey, excuse me. What’s happening, please? Are my in-laws throwing a party?”

The gatekeeper, a short, pot bellied man in his late forties took one look at Alex’s tattered appearance and burst into laughter.

“What did you call them?” He asked once he finally brought himself under control. “Your in-laws? I’m sorry, young man but just in case you’ve not been informed, it is high time you erased that “in-law” mentality from your brain.

You’re a nobody in this family. An absolute nobody.”

Alex chose to ignore his hurtful words. Instead, he tried to walk past him.

He barely took two steps when the gatekeeper roughly grabbed his arm and pushed him farther away from the premises. He was blazing with rage at that point.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going, you sneaky little devil? I’m sorry, but you’re not allowed to go in there.”

Alex narrowed his eyes on him.

“What the hell is going on here? I have every single right to go inside. This is my house, too. I’m the son-in-law of this family. I belong here!”

“Take a look at yourself.” The older man sneered. “Aren’t you even the least bit ashamed to claim you’re a member of such a prestigious family?”

Alex glanced at his dirty, shabby clothes. All the allowance the Barons ever gave him was channelled towards his brother’s medical bills. He never bought any new things for himself.

He shook his head and stepped forward.

“Please, just let me in. I’m not going anywhere until you let me in.”

The gatekeeper eyed him angrily and flipped out his walkie-talkie.

“Hello, ma’am. The riff-raff whom you asked me to keep out is back here. He’s causing a lot of commotion at the gate.”

Alex waited impatiently as the gatekeeper rounded up his conversation and put away his walkie-talkie.

“Look, let me give you a piece of advice. Mrs. Baron herself will be coming out that door in the next few minutes. It would be better for you to leave than wait here and face even more embarrassment.”

Alex swallowed nervously but stood his ground.

Truthfully, a few minutes later, Mrs. Baron herself arrived at the gates.

She took one look at Alex’s shabby appearance and her face twisted into a mask of disgust.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here dressed like the cleaner? Get out of here before anyone of importance or a member of the press sees you.”

Alex stared at her for a split second. She was all primped up in her most expensive, custom made Balenciaga dress and expensive pearls even adorned her neck.

“What’s going on, mother?” He asked suspiciously. “What event are you hosting today?”

Mrs. Baron looked away and Alex instantly believed that something was indeed very wrong somewhere.

“Is my wife attending this event? Shouldn’t I accompany her?” He asked desperately.

Mrs. Baron finally snapped.

“Will you stop with these useless questions and just get the hell out of here?”

Alex put on his phone, navigated to the video and played it, holding it up for his mother-in-law to watch.

The moment Mrs. Baron laid eyes on the video, her face hardened with rage.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, you dimwit? What do you hope to achieve by flaunting that video everywhere?”

Alex’s heart sank as realisation dawned on him.

“You knew, didn’t you?” He muttered bitterly. “You know that your daughter, my wife, has been cheating on me with my own boss. How long has this been going on?”

She folded her arms and lifted her chin.

“Alex, let this be the first and last time I will ever say this. You have absolutely no right to come to my home and ask any questions because I do not answer to you. Got it?

Now, get the heck out of here before any of my important guests sees you. Don’t let me get security.” She hissed.

With that said, she turned on her heel and walked away. Alex watched her go, his guts burning with a strange feeling.

Something was wrong. He could feel it.

“You heard the boss.” The gatekeeper sneered at him. “Take your wretched self away from this gate and never come back!”

***

Another half hour later, Alex arrived at the GreenLand Baron Memorial Hospital where his brother was currently being admitted.

Exhausted, hungry and completely dejected, he collapsed into a seat in the waiting area, thankful that not many people were around to see him in that deplorable state.

He just wanted to catch his breath and clean up a bit before going in to check on his brother.

Two seconds after he shut his eyes, he felt a hand on his arm and at the same time, the delicious scent of butter filled doughnuts wafted into his nostrils.

His stomach growled loudly and his eyes flew open immediately to meet the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes he’d ever seen.

His cheeks colouring with embarrassment, Alex sat up quickly, dislodging her hand from his shoulder.

“Dr. Blakely. Hello. What a pleasant…surprise.” He stuttered.

Blakely, a twenty three year old neurosurgeon smiled warmly at him. She was one of the doctors in charge of his brother’s ward and one of the few people who bothered to speak to him nicely.

“Hello, Alex. Are you okay?”

Alex shot to his feet so fast, his brain spun.

“Of course. I’m fine. How’s Jayden? Is he okay?”

Dr. Blakely joined him on her feet, her smile still firmly in place.

“Your brother is doing just fine. Here, I brought this for you.”

Alex stared at the sweet-smelling coffee and doughnut she stretched towards him and almost rejected it. Almost.

His growling stomach had him stretching to collect her gifts.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Blakely. Er… I’ll pay my brother a visit now.”

Without waiting for her reply, he spun and zoomed off in the direction of his brother’s ward, his heart pounding wildly for a reason he could not quite understand.

When he arrived, Alex paused outside the door and took a deep breath to compose himself and his emotions. Finally, he pushed the door open and stepped into the cold room.

The moment his eyes fell on his brother’s small figure on the hospital bed, his heart broke a little bit more.

Jayden had endured so much pain from a young age. Sometimes, Alex wished he could take his place.

He shook his head and headed to the bathroom to wash his face before going in to meet his brother.

He sat beside the sleeping boy and ran a finger through his hair softly. The moment he touched him, Jayden’s eyes flew open.

“Alex.” He groaned, smiling tightly. “You’re here.”

“Shh. Don’t speak.” Alex chided softly. “Are you in pain?”

Jayden lowered his gaze and nodded, his eyes filling with tears.

“It hurts, Alex. I feel like my head is on fire.”

“I’m sorry, Jay. I’m sorry that I can’t help you.”

Jayden patted his hand affectionately.

“Don’t say that. You help me every single day. Life would be easier for you if you’d just abandoned me to my fate like our parents did. But you cared for me. Please, don’t be sad.”

Looking at his brother’s pitiful blue eyes, he did not have the heart to tell him that the hospital might throw him out soon due to unpaid bills.

How could he tell his brother that he didn’t even have the money to buy food for them tomorrow?

Alex sighed deeply. Just as he reached for the doughnut which Dr. Blakely had given him earlier, a reporter’s voice from the television on the opposite wall made him freeze.

“…and breaking news from the world of business, entertainment and lifestyle. We gathered today that two of New York’s most prominent families, the Hunters and the Barons will soon become one in holy matrimony.

News reaching us is that the Baron’s first daughter, Miss Melissa Baron, and the first son and heir to the Hunter family fortune, Derek Hunter got engaged a week ago.

Their engagement party is slated to be held tomorrow night at the Baron family mansion…”

The reporter’s voice gradually faded into nothingness as Alex stared at the TV, completely horrified.

All of a sudden, his chest felt too constricted, making it almost difficult for him to breathe.

Melissa not only cheated on him with her boss. They were planning on getting married behind his back!