Xavier stood by the doorway, looking at Elleard and Elena in turn. Elleard continued to enjoy his coffee quietly.
"You come?" asked Elleard, without looking at the door.
Xavier was rarely in this mansion. After the incident, he bought a house for him to stay in. Elleard knew that. He understood that living in this mansion was too painful for Xavier because, for him, every day was a nightmare to see everything that reminded him of their deceased parents.
Xavier would only come if Elleard summoned him here. As a good younger brother, he didn't want to let his brother go and find him, so he would always come when Elleard asked. Now, Elleard had expected his brother would come home when he heard the wedding plans. Ah, surely Xavier now came because he wanted to talk about it.
Xavier walked leisurely toward Elleard. He pulled up a chair in the middle of the dining table, sat there, and spoke in an urgent tone, "I have something to tell you."
Xavier looked at Elleard as he spoke, then his gaze shifted to Elena's beautiful face. Their gazes met.
Elena was about to open her mouth to greet Xavier, but the young man looked away and acted as if he didn't know her. Elena lowered her face and kept to herself the words she was about to say.
Was… this a sign that Xavier didn't want Elleard to know that Elena had been staying at Xavier's house?
"Don't talk business at the dinner table," Elleard said, still as calmly as ever. He turned to Xavier and then Elena. "You've already met my future wife."
Future wife.
Xavier swallowed. He had heard directly from his brother's mouth that Elleard was indeed going to marry Elena. Xavier turned to Elena and nodded lazily. "I have."
Elleard's gaze was fixed on Elena. His lips were smiling sweetly. "You've met my brother at the cemetery. This is Xavier."
Elena got up and held out her hand to Xavier. She tried to be as formal as possible to the man. "Nice to meet you, Xavier. My name is Elena."
"Your name is Elena?" Xavier gave her a mocking look.
GULP!
Elena lowered her head and nodded slowly. Ah, fate really liked to play with her. It turned out that the man who helped her and gave her shelter when she needed it the most was the younger brother of her future husband. Now, they suddenly met again as future in-laws.
The atmosphere in the dining room became quiet. Nobody wanted to talk. Elena did not know what to say, while Xavier had been forbidden by Elleard to talk about business matters at the dinner table. So he just kept quiet and waited until the dinner was over.
"Uhm… I'm done eating," Elena said finally. "Can I go to my room now?"
She looked at Elleard and waited for the man's approval. Elleard nodded and waved to Elena, signaling her to come closer. The girl got up obediently and approached Elleard. The man tilted his head and somehow Elena understood that he wanted her to kiss his cheek.
Elena's face immediately flushed red. She leaned in awkwardly and kissed Elleard's cheek.
"Good night," said Elleard, patting Elena's arm gently. The girl blushed and mumbled her answer almost silently.
"G-good night…" She then turned to Xavier and mumbled goodnight too. Xavier didn't answer.
Elena then left the dining room followed by Elleard and Xavier's gaze until her body disappeared behind the huge double door. After the girl left, Elleard waved and asked the servant to pour him a glass of wine.
"Wine?" He offered to Xavier. His brother just nodded.
The servant poured wine for the two men and handed the glasses to them.
Elleard's wheelchair moved automatically onto the terrace overlooking the koi pond. His hand holding the wine glass was shaking slightly.
After months of physiotherapy as soon as he woke up from his coma, finally, Elleard was able to move his upper body well, but sometimes his hands would still shake if he lifted something for a long time.
The sight always made Xavier feel sad. He knew that his brother was badly injured and ended up crippled for saving him. If Elleard hadn't jumped up and blocked the bullets for him by then, it would probably be Xavier who was paralyzed now and in a wheelchair instead of Elleard.
Xavier understood why Elleard was sometimes so angry and frustrated with his condition that he wished he was dead. Elleard often said that death was better than living with a crippled body like this.
Xavier realized that if he were in Elleard's position, maybe that would be the one he would choose too. It was better to die than live half a life. However, as a younger brother, Xavier wanted to be a little selfish. He couldn't bear to lose Elleard too after their parents died.
When Elleard was in a coma, Xavier could just give up and took all the life support that kept his brother alive. However, at that time he could not do it. Xavier couldn't bear to lose Elleard.
"I heard you're getting married," Xavier started the conversation. "So, it's true,"
Elleard just smiled at his brother's words. "It's not that big of a deal that you have to come here and interrogate me."
Xavier sipped the wine in his glass and tried to find the right words. "Why don't you just continue having fun with various women, when all you need is sexual pleasure?"
Elleard turned to Xavier and looked at him with an irritated look. "That is none of your business."
Xavier held his brother's shoulder "Are you marrying her on purpose because she looks like Lisa? She's not Lisa. She will never be Lisa."
Elleard's upper body instantly stiffened when Xavier said the woman's name. His previously calm expression now changed, filled with hatred.
He spoke again, this time in a very cold tone. "That is... none of your business."