His Shortcake

Chapter 49

Tamara Ramirez

Alec was nowhere to be seen when I left the apartment, with Emil trailing a few steps behind me. Despite my refusal of his services, he still insisted on coming along to the mansion with me. At this point, I think Emil is just easing his guilt about what happened.

We used Dustyn's car to get to the mansion.

The place had been furnished and cleaned. There was also a guard waiting by the gate and a maid to maintain the cleanliness of the house. Both were surprised to see us pulling up the driveway with bags in our hands. The woman scrambled to her feet, eager to show her skills to her employer.

"Miss Mara. We weren't told you'll be here," she said as she took the bags from me. She followed behind us as we entered the house.

"Looks different from the party," I said as I sat on the couch, crossing my legs. "Doesn't it, Dy?"

Dustyn nodded, standing by the stairs where he placed the bags in his hands. "It does, but it looks a lot more like it did back when May designed it."

I nodded, agreeing with his words. It seems more like a house than a museum now. I guess I can stop calling it a 'mansion' since it has reverted back to what it really was: a house. A home. My home. And that gives me more comfort than I could ask for.

"Miss Mara, where shall I put my things down?" Emil asked as he stood by the door awkwardly. I never thought I'd see him looking like that since he always appeared to be calm and collected.

"Right..." I said, thinking of where he could stay. I looked at the maid. "Could you show him to a room, umm...?"

"Tianna," she said. "Would the room beside our quarters suffice?"

I nodded. "Give him access to the security cameras and everything he may need. He's a bodyguard that Alec hired; he might want to know the names of everyone who goes in and out of the mansion."

"Of course, miss," she said diligently as she guided Emil through the kitchen and probably to the left side of the house, where their quarters are.

I turned my attention to Dustyn, who was typing away on his phone. I didn't have to ask who he was talking to; I already knew it was Alec. He probably doesn't care, but Dustyn still wants to keep him updated for whatever reason. "You can also tell him he can show up here when he's ready to tell me everything."

Dustyn sighed loudly, putting his phone down. "Tamara, you need to ease up on Alec. This is hard on him, just as it is on you. You can't push the man to tell you everything."

I rolled my eyes, my annoyance still high at Alec's secrets. "None of you understands how it feels to be the only person who doesn't know anything. Both of you love keeping things from me until I have to practically force them out of you."

Dustyn would never get it. He is as bad as Alec. He's someone who would keep a secret until he was forced to speak out about it, either due to circumstances or pressure. He doesn't know the thoughts that go through my mind whenever I learn of a secret. He doesn't know that I berate myself for not being observant enough to realize that Alec has been keeping something this big. He doesn't know that I spend hours thinking of how to make Alec comfortable enough to let me know what's on his mind.

Alec is my brother. It doesn't matter who his father is. I don't care. All I want is for Alec to stop keeping these things to himself. Bottling up his emotions will do him more harm than good. And I don't want to see Alec suffering if I can help it in any way.

"You should go," I said coldly.

"I can stay," Dustyn replied. I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to spare him another glance.