Kaiser's eyes caught a hold of Brent and he smiled and quickly let go of Anthony's hand.
"I will be right back." He whispered and made his way to Brent who was standing alongside his father and a few other cousins. He seemed to be forcing a smile as they rallied around him, telling him to calm down.
"Brent!" Kaiser shouted to announce his presence, making everyone beside Brent who was badmouthing his branch of the family to quickly shut their mouths.
Kaiser stood before Brent and smiled at him patting his shoulders.
"Do not take it to heart. I only wanted to teach Laycon a lesson so he won't speak carelessly next time, I didn't expect you to jump in. Speaking carelessly is a very dangerous thing and can get anyone in trouble. Making a bet you can't fulfill is even worse, some people lost an arm because of it. Even if we are the Meyers, we should still watch our attitudes outside. If he keeps it up and creates a problem outside, won't cleaning it up be a mess? That's why I decided to stop him now, lest it become a habit. I'm also doing it for his own good. Insulting the next patriarch won't get him anywhere. As his good brother, of course I needed to do something." He whispered with a huge smile on his face, showing his fake sincerity.
Brent smirked coldly as he listened to Kaiser's 'apology'. He was giving him a warning and rubbing the humiliation in his face, while pretending to have acted out of righteousness, making Brent incredibly annoyed. But in this game of theirs, the one who let their façade snap first is the loser, which is a title he would never let himself be affiliated to.
"Kaiser, you also shouldn't have done that. It's alright that you forced him to keep his end of the bet. But taking the side of a useless brother, who couldn't even speak for himself, and clashing with the rest of your brothers as a result is an incredibly foolish thing to do. But of course, I understand since it's hereditary." Brent whispered and patted him, indirectly calling him foolish.
Kaiser's smile got even broader after the insult, and he held Brent's arms with both hands in a 'brotherly' pat.
"Brent, it's too early to tell who is useless. Besides, he programmed K-city at such a young age and made all that money without any support whatsoever. Unlike our brother Laycon who had all the necessary resources but still remained average till now. It's really sad. However, Brent, we shouldn't be focusing on those trivialities. You're my favorite brother, and you know that. Even if we clash sometimes, we are still close. You shouldn't let this little family drama taint our brotherhood. Right now, we should focus more on the rivals outside and the businesses instead of minding little family scuffles like this. Anytime you have the time, let's go to the race track, it's been long. Are we good now? You shouldn't keep such things in mind, it's bad for your health. We're brothers after all." Kaiser said with a huge smile and pinched Brent's cheeks which were stretched taut with his fake smiles.
Kaiser gave him a light hug and friendly punch, before he made his way out. Brent smiled while clenching his fists, pretending they were alright. Keeping up appearances was a must. Otherwise, when the other party gets attacked, you will be the first suspect, even if you were not the one. So, pretending to be loving was a must. While Kaiser spoke sweet words, his meaning was obvious to him. 'Instead of trying to take away the power inside, secure the wealth outside. I'm watching you, this is not over yet. So you better stay in line and focus your energy on the people outside.'
Kaiser's sweet words had an annoying challenge hidden beneath the sugar coated haws. Brent knew it, and so did some others. However, they had to agree that it was an 'apology' and an attempt to make up. At least, superficially. Brent's father patted and winked at him with a huge meaningful smile on his face. Brent nodded and adjusted his suit, before making his way out of the room alongside a few others.
*****
"Hey, You! There's no space for you here. You will just make my poor brother enemies with everyone here in his bid to protect a troublesome waste like you." A sixteen years old girl with auburn hair shouted, blocking Anthony on his way to the dining table where most of the family members were rallying around. His mom was directing one of the servants to set up one of the tables instead of going to join the main table, abandoning her initial spot. Anthony was on his way to join her when the fiery haired girl with cognac colored eyes blocked his way, scowling at him like he was her long time enemy.
Anthony sized her up. She didn't seem to be more than sixteen years old, and was dressed in leather biker shorts that just covered her ass, leaving her flawless thighs exposed. She was wearing an expensive designer top and her hair was held back with a string of tiny diamonds. She was wearing emerald earrings, and her bracelet was made of platinum, diamonds and emeralds. Her high heeled boots added to her height, letting her come almost up to Anthony's height. However, she looked stubborn, like a piece of work. Her posture was haughty as she stared at Anthony, gearing up for a fight.
"And who might you be?" Anthony asked coldly, preparing to teach the brat a lesson.
"Trash is not supposed to know my name. You're a disgrace to our family, causing a weak link. Now everyone is laughing at our once perfect family. If you dare to cause problems ever again, you will get it from me." She said, wagging her fingers at him.
"Do that one more time and I will break that little finger of yours. Your parents must be utterly useless for not teaching you manners." Anthony replied, making the girl outraged.
She huffed out in anger and scowled, swinging a punch at him. Anthony immediately caught her hand and twisted it back. She hissed in anger and retaliated with a kick to the back of his legs, while her other palm made a fast swing towards his chest. Everyone's attention had long since diverted to them, making murmurs to ripple through the crowd.
However, the result they expected didn't come for Anthony stood tall instead of landing on his knees after receiving the double attack. The girl frowned and quickly changed her posture, sending her legs flying to Anthony's crotch. Anthony effortlessly avoided it and spanked her ass.
"How dare you, you animal?" The girl growled and immediately freed herself from Anthony's grasp, swinging another punch at his face.
"It seems like you're not happy that I left one of your arms for you. Do you want me to break this one too?" Anthony muttered through gritted and caught her palm.
Kaiser suddenly appeared behind the girl and grabbed her by the ear.
"Rona! You brat, how dare you attack your older brother the moment he returned? Are you itching for a beating? Is that your welcome gift to him? How dare you turn us into the butt of jokes in the family? Even if your cousins attack him, are you supposed to harass your older brother? Or do you just want me to tattoo your back with my whip?" Kaiser muttered, making Anthony frown.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Big brother, let me go. I was only giving him a warning. Who would have expected that he dared to fight back? Why are you even protecting this waste who has embarrassed our family?" She whined, earning her a slap from Kaiser.
"That waste is your eldest brother whom you were supposed to stand with in the storm. Do you want me to teach you a lesson?" Kaiser asked, pushing her away from his body where he was initially holding her while twisting her ears.
The girl stared at Kaiser incredulously and touched her cheek.
"You, you— you slapped me because of this trash who you just met today? Big brother, you slapped me!" She roared, anger and disbelief shining in her glassy eyes.
"And I will do it again if you don't learn how to respect your elders." Kaiser whispered, smiling at her while rubbing her blood between his fingers.
"Rona! Kaiser, stop it immediately." Joyce shouted, running over. Anthony's mouth fell open as he watched the unfolding drama. What the fuck was going on?
"I will never acknowledge this waste as my big brother! You slapped me because of this thing that disgraced our father's legacy out there, making us into jokes. I will remember this!" She shouted and turned to Anthony.
"And you bastard, I will never acknowledge you as my older brother. And if you make my brother get in trouble, I will kill you myself! I hate you! Go to hell!" She roared and ran off.
"I apologize. Our little sister has always been spoiled silly. It's all my fault for spoiling her." Kaiser whispered awkwardly.
"She's really our sister? Oh no!" Anthony shouted and quickly went after her.
He caught up to her at the door and held her hand.
"Rona, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have twisted your hand. I didn't know you were my sister. Let me reset the bone, alright? I'm so sorry." Anthony stuttered, looking at her with a stomach filled with regret.
"I'm not your sister, go and die!" She shouted and pushed his hands away.