Ethan got back into his room and took his clothes off. He took a quick shower, after which he poured himself a glass of alcohol.
Just then, he heard a knock on the door and almost immediately, the door knob turned to reveal a young man who seemed to be younger to Ethan with a year or thereabout.
“Who the hell are you?” Ethan asked as he stared at him intently.
“Well, that can wait for another time. Actually, I’m here to take a tour at my father’s house”, the young man explained and chuckled calmly.
His eyes darted to the bottle of alcohol that Ethan drank from.
“I guess they missed out the part of my brother being an alcoholic”, he said with a wide grin, causing Ethan’s face to turn red in rage.
“One more word from you and I would send you to your early grave!” Ethan threatened as he stood to his feet and took slow steps towards him.
“Easy brother! It is not your intention to hurt me before my official introduction”, the young man said with a wide smile that pierced right into Ethan’s heart.
“Get out!” Ethan bellowed angrily and walked closer to him.
“I guess they also missed out that my brother is hot-tempered. I mean, you are a lot different from what I was told about you. The only thing is that I’m seeing more of the negative part of you. So pathetic!” He was saying when Ethan threw a quick punch at him, with the target being his lips.
He jerked him up on the collar of his shirt and stared at him dangerously.
“You would never want to cross paths with me, trust me!” Ethan gritted his teeth and pushed him away.
“The strongest ones don’t make noise at all”, the young man replied and chuckled, after which he straightened his shirt and walked out of the room.
“See you at the meeting tomorrow, brother!” He said aloud, while Ethan staggered and fell back to his bed.
He quickly poured himself another cup of alcohol and once he gulped it down, he let out a loud scream.
“Son of a bitch!” He shouted angrily when his phone started buzzing.
“I need you to be present at the meeting during breakfast tomorrow. It is a must”, Mr. Philip said and ended the call, without waiting a minute to hear Ethan’s voice.
Ethan chuckled and broke into miserable laughter.
“I presume that if I fail to attend the meeting, I no longer stand a chance to be the heir”, he said sarcastically and fell to his bed.
Ethan clenched his feet and tried to think of his life and where he was heading to. It still seemed like a puzzle and the more he tried to unravel it, the more it became difficult.
He was about to get married, and to someone he wasn’t in love with.
He was never a fan of love, and the more he thought about being with only one woman, the more his heart ached.
“Get married first! The rest can come later”, he said to himself and took a deep breath.
***
Ethan slowly walked into the dining room, with a massive scowl on his face, and ignoring the greetings coming from the maid and housekeepers.
“You came down late”, Mr. Philip said, with an obvious look of dissatisfaction on his face.
Ethan ignored him and shot a dead glare at his brother, who was smirking at him and making funny gestures.
“Apologize!” Mr. Philip yelled angrily, causing Ethan to jolt off his thoughts.
Ethan shrugged, with his fists clenched and his heart thumping rapidly.
He felt totally embarrassed, but knew that he had to succumb to what his father ordered.
“I was busy with some things, I apologize for keeping you”, he muttered and took in a deep breath.
Almost immediately, he heard the sound of someone munching on something hurriedly and lifting his head up, he saw his brother chewing on a piece of chicken that barely fitted into his mouth.
“What the hell! Must you show us that you’ve been starving all these while?” Ethan said, raising his nose in disgust.
“Ethan, be mindful with your words”, Mr. Philip said almost immediately.
“You haven’t started eating your food, it would get cold”, the young man said, with his mouth still filled with food.
The mere sight of that disgusted Ethan as he swiftly turned his gaze to his father.
“Dad! Can you see this?” He asked, looking at his father, who seemed to be a little helpless at the moment.
Ethan was fuming in rage, and realizing that his father had nothing to say in the situation enraged him more.
“You know what? I would have my breakfast in my room”, he announced and stood to leave when his father cut in abruptly.
“Sit down!” Mr. Philip yelled angrily and gestured on him to take his seat.
“We are yet to get into the discussion for today”, he added, and returned his gaze to the chicken before him.
Everywhere became dead silent, with Ethan staring at the young man who was eating ferociously.
“Ethan, meet your brother, Richard”, Mr. Philip finally said as he dropped his fork and dabbed his mouth with a napkin.
Ethan smirked calmly and turned to look at Richard, who was smiling triumphantly.
“Hey brother! I'm pleased to meet you!” Ethan added and quickly stood to his feet, ignoring the questioning look on his father’s face.
He was truly exhausted, and looking at his father made him feel a lot more irritated.
“He would be living here as well”, Mr. Philip went further and smiled at Richard calmly.
“How do you even know that he is your son?” Ethan suddenly asked.
“His name is Richard”, Mr. Philip replied.
“Ohh! So, anyone named Richard is your son?” Ethan couldn’t believe his ears.
He had thought that his father was a wise and knowledgeable man, but his display this moment made him to have a rethink.
“I planned that with his mother. When we were together, we concluded that we would name our son Richard”.
Ethan dug his hands into his head and shook his head in disappointment.
“An hungry-looking young boy shows up and says he is your son because his name is Richard. And stupidly, you accept that because you once planned to name your bastard child Richard…”, Ethan said angrily and that was when his father stood to his feet and slammed his hands on his desk.