One Night Stand With My Husband’s Brother

He tried to stop his fingers from trembling, tried to stop himself from tapping away on his legs, tried to hide the flames that spread from his mind and poisoned every part of him, but it was impossible to.

His children had been asking of him for years, missed him for years, even after they had returned to Greenville. Yet she kept him away from them.

How dare she? What could have possibly given her the audacity to do that to him?! After everything…everything?

The more Chase thought about it, the less sense it made. And the less sense it made, the more his heart broke.

He was stunned and irritated by her audacity. To think that she had somehow believed she could hide his children away from him forever, in his own city. Why? How did they get here?

She cut of communication with everyone in Greenville after leaving for North Dakota, which he completely understood. But after she was back, they would have never met – she would have never come look for him – if he had not found her and lured her to Axford Hotels. She never planned to tell him about the children.

His children.

Chase watched from the corner of his eyes as his father struggled to rise from the ground. He held onto the children’s hands and flashed him a soft smile, one that Chase did not return.

He still could not believe he had children, twins! No matter what had happened, no matter how wrong the situation would seem like to the rest of the world, he deserved to know his children.

Fuck the rest of the world.

Chase sniffed in air and struggled to straighten his stance. He took time to gather composure, he needed it, and slipped his hands into his pockets to hide how firmly his fists were clenched.

He took a step closer to the kids and ran his hands through their hair. Cameron laughed, but Calista did not seem very pleased. Chase had a feeling his daughter didn’t like people getting her hair rough, but his son didn’t seem to care.

“I’ll be back big boy. Don’t miss me too much princess.” He spoke to both Cameron and Calista respectively.

He lowered himself to place kisses on their forehead. The feeling was new, yet it filled him with pure bliss.

“I’m here, Chase. I’ll be here with them till you get back.” His father called out to him.

Chase met his father’s gaze and forced a smile. He was not looking forward to speaking to Mackenzie, yet he was bursting with so may questions that needed answers.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“So, Calista, Cameron, shall we get ice cream?”

“Grandpa, would you come home with us? My aunt, Felicity, makes the best apple pies! And they are so delicious.” Cameron licked his lips as he spoke, and Richard laughed.

“You don’t say? I would really love to taste your aunt’s apple pies. Let’s go for a walk, and you can tell me all about your favorite pies.”

“Mine is cranberry…” The rest of Calista’s statement grew more inaudible the farther they walked away.

Richard helped Calista hold her puppy and adjust her glasses on the tip of her nose, and continued their journey to the ice cream stand.

Chase and Mackenzie walked side by side in silence, both quietly searching for a spot that would give them the privacy they needed.

It was a weekday, so the park was not crowded. Still, Chase could not afford to take any chances. He had already had his name blown once, he could not afford to allow any bit of his conversation with Mackenzie go public.

He tilted his neck to glance at his father. Richard Axford was a totally different man from the man he had met in the hospital. He was no longer in his depressed mood, sighing and complaining about everything. The man behind Chase was bubbly, happy, almost contended. It was the happiest he had seen his father in years.

How could Mackenzie hide such a source of joy away from them? Away from his family?

His rage lit up like a match in his stomach again, and he fought to suck in deep breaths to put the tiny flame out before it turned into a whole burning bush.

Chase stopped by the sea shore and stared into the horizon. The soft wind blew past his face, the breeze rustled his silk locs of hair, along with the leaves on the trees. The sun above was setting and looked beautiful. It was like every normal bright and sunny day.

Everything was normal beside him. He had lost control of the match in his stomach, and now he was a furious burning mess, seeking to drive his clenched fist into something, and watch it fall and break into pieces like his shattered heart.

“I know it’s belated, Chase, but I’m so sorry…”

His right nostril twitched at the sound of her voice. Did she not think she was several years late?

“I was going to tell you, I swear. When I asked you about your day the other night, I was going to bring the kids to you, to tell you. Honestly, I thought hard about it. I am so…so sorry.”

Chase did not respond. He could barely look at her face, talk more of looking into her eyes. She had lied to him twice…twice. How was he supposed to move on from that?

“Chase, please…” the plea in her voice was too raw to ignore.

“Please just look at me.”

Mackenzie had wanted him to look at her, but she was not prepared for what she saw when he did.

His eyes were bloodshot red. She could sense the rage oozing from his skin, could see his pain dance in his deep blue orbs.

Her heart shrunk in her chest. She had never seen him like that; broken, hurt.

What had she done?

He turned swiftly, away from her, as though he could not bear the sight of her.

“I’m so sorry, Chase. But you have to know I did not mean for any of this to happen. I am…I am shocked too.” She could feel herself begin to hyperventilate.

“My children’s information are on tabloids all over the world. I…I…just can’t…” Mackenzie broke into tears, clutching the sleeves of her cashmere sweater. She tried to sniff in her tears, but the harder she tried, the more they poured out with ease.

Chase dipped his hand into his pocket and stretched a handkerchief to her.

Mackenzie snatched the blue soft and silky fabric from his hands with her shaking fingers, and wiped her tears dry. She blew her running nose, before she got the opportunity to sniff in the sweet scent of the handkerchief.

She closed her eyes to savour the scent of him.

“I’m still waiting for your reason, Mackenzie.”

She dropped her hands and raised her eyes to look at him.

“There has to be a reason you kept the children a secret from me, and I’m hoping to God…I’m really hoping that it’s a good enough one.” He stopped speaking and paused to catch his breath.

Chase combed his hair with his fingers, a disgruntled sigh escaped his lips.

“Chase…”

“Because it’s not making any sense, Mackenzie. I’ve gone through it in my head, over and over again, but I cannot seem to phantom why. Did you…did you think I would not be able to protect my children?”

He was not yelling at her. God, no!

Frankly, Mackenzie would have preferred he yelled, screamed, threw his hands into the air dramatically. She would have preferred anything besides the icy stare he gave her, and the deadly quiet tone his anger settled in.

Goosebumps flooded the surface of her skin whenever he parted his lips to speak.

“You say you were thinking about it?” A bitter chuckle escaped his lips.

“What was your plan, Mackenzie? To think for how long? Twenty? Thirty? Did you plan to ponder until you were old and gray haired? Perhaps you would have told them the truth as a parting gift?”

Mackenzie shook her head, but he continued.

“Did you plan to spend all the days of your life weighing your options, wondering what the world would say, without putting my feelings into consideration?”

“No.” She had meant to say, but it came out as a bare whimper.

He turned to face her and took one step closer to her. He peered deep into her eyes, making sure he seized her gaze with his.

“How would you feel if I take them away from you right now, and rob you of just a year of their lives? Put yourself in my shoes, Mackenzie. Why don’t we be even?”

Mackenzie shivered at the thought. When she tried to speak, she ended up sobbing again.

“I’m so sorry, Chase. I swear that it wasn’t my intention. I…I was scared that your family…that Jeffrey…”

Oh! For the love of God. Chase rolled his eyes.

“Excuses, Mackenzie. You would always make excuses. This time, I’m not willing to hear them.”

“Chase…” She sniffed, “Please…”

“We’re leaving.”

He turned his back to Mackenzie without another word, and headed back to the tree he had left his father.