Chapter 5 THE UNINVITED GUESTS

~ADRIAN~

I wake up to the sound of running water in the bathroom. It takes me a moment to realize that my single days are over. Weirdly, my new 'wife' hasn't uttered a word since last night, even her silence is deafening. It is like she is constantly reminding me about the trouble I have gotten myself into.

My phone vibrates vigorously on the nightstand. I could tell it is Victoria. My phone has her ringtone set to a witch's cackle. Trusting the woman that she is, the ringtone is the perfect description of her. It is annoyingly loud, and, it is always a bad omen when she calls.

The phone screen lights up with a short text:

Vanessa landed twenty minutes ago. Go pick her up

I don't respond right away. I close my eyes, groan, and sigh as I pull my t-shirt over my head. I have enough problems for the day without the worst one coming at me.

I head down the hallway, but the peace is short-lived. The front door flies open before I can reach the last steps and I know exactly who is standing at the threshold.

The way the door opens with no announcement of a visitor, and the sound of the footsteps without any pause tells me who it is. Only one person at this house has the security codes, and absolutely no manners.

Vanessa.

She walks in as if she owns the place in a cream fur coat, although we are in the midst of a scorching summer. It is not the best attire for the hot weather, but Vanessa is a dramatic woman. Her low ponytail is perfectly tied, it probably took a whole team of hairdressers to fix her hair. Her eyes, red from the long flight but flawlessly put together, sweep the entire house until they land on me.

For a second her face softens, and I think that maybe, just maybe this day can take a turn for the good. The anger in her eyes disappears but it is only for a short while because she looks past me.

Upstairs, and her face turns the color of the berries that grow on the bush every year. I follow her line of sight to see Aria standing at the top of the stairs in one of my t-shirts, twice her size, I might add. That reminds me, she wore my clothes last night as well, as if she owns them. The hem of my t-shirt is wet, the water dripping on the wooden floor, and her hair sticks to her round face from the water. She looks adorable next to the large staircase, and she doesn't seem scared at all.

Vanessa processes the information in her head—the bare legs, the big shirt, the fact that Aria is in my house—and her face turns a deeper shade of purple.

"Adrian." Vanessa's voice is careful, the kind of carefulness that comes before a blade comes out. "Tell me this is a prank."

"It's not," I say, my voice cold. I keep my hands in my pockets, making sure not to comfort her.

She nods, her face twisting in the most disgusted manner.

"A Bennet," she hisses, and the word tastes like poison as it leaves her lips. "You married a Bennet."

"Yes," I reply, being stingy with the words as usual. I don't waste words on explanations for things I don't care about.

She looks at me expecting to give her an explanation that I certainly will not.

"Do you know what your father did to her father?" she demands, stepping closer to me.

"I was in the courtroom," I say, my voice completely emotionless.

"Then why..."

"Because I want to."

That is a complete lie, but it is the best lie I can come up with at the time to shut her up.

The atmosphere changes behind me. The heavy tension thickens the air, and then the footsteps start. Slow and sure.

I don't have to turn around to know who it is. The golden boy, the perfect older brother everyone wants to be.

He stops two steps behind me. I can sense him looking me over, Aria and Vanessa, assessing us like he is looking at a wrecked car and calculating the price of the damages.

"Well," Ethan says, his voice smooth and sarcastic. "What a surprise."

"Don't," I warn, my chest tightening.

"What?" He takes another step closer, crossing his arms. "I'm not allowed to be surprised? My little brother elopes. With a Bennet. In the middle of a board war." He pauses to let the words hang in the air. "Bold. Reckless. Stupid."

Vanessa turns to him like he is her salvation. "Ethan. Thank goodness. Tell him..."

Ethan puts a hand up, not even bothering to look at her. His eyes are on me. "You dragged a stranger into our mess. Put a target on her back..."

"What?" Aria interjects as she takes a step down the staircase, her hand gripping the railing tightly. "Why do I have a target on my back, Adrian? You better start talking."

Vanessa's mouth drops open. She couldn't believe Aria has the audacity to interrupt Ethan. Surprise flickers in Ethan's eyes, but he quickly covers it with a false smile. He then looks at Aria. Head to toe.

"Miss Bennet," he drawls, his voice dripping with false politeness. "I don't think we've met. I'm Ethan Cole. Adrian's brother."

"And I’m Vanessa Adams," Vanessa says in an icy, chilly voice, stepping forward. "Adrian's best friend and the only woman in his life before," she lets her eyes sweep over Aria's bare legs, "you showed up."

Aria scoffs.

"Best friend, right," she says. "Nothing says best friend like flying eight hours just to throw a tantrum because a man who just married someone else didn't pick you up at the airport. Do you need a tissue or are you going to keep sweating in that fur coat during a summer heatwave?"

Vanessa's face looks like it is going to explode. "You think a piece of paper changes anything? I am the one who has been by his side since we were five and what, you show up out of nowhere and think you can ruin everything? You..."

"Enough!" Ethan's voice cuts through as Aria is about to deliver another piece of her mind to Vanessa. He steps between them, his face darkening. "She's right. Adrian did choose her for reasons best known to him. And we are all going to have to live with it."

"Don't pretend like you're okay with this," I say, shooting him a glare.

"I'm not," Ethan replies, his eyes returning to me. Ice cold. "I think it's the dumbest thing you've done, but again, what can I say. It's your decision after all."

Victoria's voice echoes in the dining room. "Enough. All of you, breakfast. Now."

No one moves.

Then Ethan walks past me, giving me a shove on my shoulder.

"Little brother," he whispers, his voice low, leaning close enough to speak in my ear. "You have no idea what you've just started."