Chapter 4
Brandon winced in pain, about to lash out, but then he saw Grandpa Harrison approaching and immediately bit his tongue.
“Grandpa, why are you hitting me? Willow’s completely terrified.”
A profound silence fell.
The butler, who was supporting Grandpa Harrison, and the maids behind him, all silently turned their gaze to me.
Brandon, completely oblivious, spoke to the maids.
“Quick, call a doctor to check Willow’s leg.”
“You fool!”
Grandpa Harrison was furious. He shook off the butler’s arm, picked up the cane from the ground, and struck Brandon’s shins several more times.
Seeing the veins throbbing on Grandpa Harrison’s forehead, I worried he might suffer a heart attack and quickly intervened.
“Dad, don’t get so worked up, it’s bad for your health.”
Brandon’s mind went completely blank. He even let go of Willow, who tumbled to the ground, without noticing.
He gripped my wrist tightly, reminding me,
“Alexis, you’ve got it wrong. This is Grandpa, how can you call him ‘Dad’?”
Grandpa Harrison roared.
“Alexis is your uncle’s wife!”
“Let go of her now!”
Brandon’s pupils contracted. He flinched, letting go and taking a step back in shock.
“No way!”
“Uncle? How could Uncle marry her?”
It wasn’t surprising Brandon would think this, as Devin Harrison was famously aloof.
Everyone outside the family speculated he either had impossibly high standards or simply wasn’t interested in women.
Before the wedding, Devin and I had only met twice.
Once at the engagement party, when he accepted my toast.
Once at the wedding, when he took my hand.
I never imagined he would agree when I asked to swap grooms.
Brandon frantically grabbed a maid, pointed at me, and demanded,
“Tell me, what’s her relationship with my uncle?”
The maid, seeing his furious expression, stammered,
“She’s… she’s Mr. Harrison’s wife.”
Mr. Harrison, meaning Devin.
“Get out!”
Brandon pushed the maid away with a cold face, then turned to the butler.
“Butler, you watched me grow up, I trust you wouldn’t lie to me. You tell me!”
The butler was silent for a few seconds before speaking.
“It’s true, Madam married Mr. Harrison.”
“Liars!”
“You’re all liars!”
Brandon’s face was utterly wretched. He remembered his elder sister, Clara, who lived overseas, and quickly dialed her on FaceTime.
When she answered, Clara’s mocking voice came through.
“Well, well, aren’t you still in Africa watching elephants? How do you even remember to contact me? I thought you only cared about your adopted sister, not your own flesh and blood!”
“Then again, you didn’t even want your own wife.”
Usually, Brandon would argue back, but now he just wanted to know if I was truly married to his uncle!
He shoved the phone camera close to my face, asking urgently,
“Clara, tell me, who is she?”
Clara saw me and smiled, greeting me.
“You’re getting more and more beautiful—”
Her voice cut off. Brandon had ended the call.
He hung his head, his fists clenched tight.
Grandpa Harrison thought he had accepted reality and was about to offer some words of comfort when Brandon spoke.
“Grandpa, why did you let the whole family put on an act to trick me?”
“It was wrong of me to stay in Africa for two years. You’ve hit me, I’ve knelt, but this kind of joke isn’t funny.”
He was still in denial.
I stopped Grandpa Harrison’s cane from rising again. Looking into Brandon’s eyes, I said calmly,
“You can look up the news from the day you ran away two years ago. My marriage to Devin Harrison was front-page news.”
“My room in the estate, and our wedding photos, go ahead and see for yourself.”
“If you still don’t believe it, I can even show you our marriage certificate.”
At the words “marriage certificate,” Brandon collapsed onto the ground, his eyes bloodshot, as if I were the one who had betrayed him.