Married to Mr. Reid

Chapter 23

Isaac

I met Ethan at our favourite spot, it's a small cafe on the outskirts of the city and even though the ride here is long and tiresome, the cosiness accompanied with delicious food and the best hot chocolate is enough to lure anyone here.

Me and Ethan have been coming here since our teenage years, our home always felt cold and lonely with dad always at work and with mom not being there, it was hard for the both of us, and bringing Ethan here for a cup of hot chocolate was the best I could do to make him and myself feel better.

"I told Amber everything about the dinner" Ethan said after we ordered our food.

"What? Why would you do something like that?" I asked in disbelief.

"She deserves to know the truth, and besides all that, you now have dad's blessing to get divorced without waiting for your contract with her to get over. I made your job easier" he stated leaning back in his chair with a relaxed expression on his face.

Realisation hit me and I stared at my baby brother for a little too long before finally opening mouth.

"You're right, thank you for making my job easier" I said in a rather rude tone and got up swiftly, I need to get back home and see what Amber knows about this.

"What's the rush brother? We've only just begun our conversation" he said with a smirk on his face.

"Would it kill you to admit that maybe you've started to like Amber?" he finally asked and I scoffed.

"I was forced into marrying her Ethan, how can I like her?" I questioned in astonishment, I was still standing but my feet weren't moving, it's as if my brain was telling me to run away from whatever Ethan has to say but my heart wanted to hear it all.

"Then why are you running straight to her after I told you she knows everything?" he asked back.

"I'm not running to her" I answered with a scowl but his words truly struck me, I really was running to her.

"You're truly pathetic in so many ways" he chuckled earning a glare from me.

"Don't forget you're talking to your elder brother" I reminded him straightening my tie.

"I haven't and that's why you need to listen to me" he said with all seriousness eyeing the empty seat, indicating me to sit down once again.

I sigh heavily before giving in and taking a seat opposite him "What is it that's going on in your mind, spill it"

He leaned forward clasping his hands together "I don't like playing mind games so I'll cut directly to the chase, I told Amber what happened at dinner with aunt Evelyn that day but I didn't tell her that dad wants you both to get divorced as soon as you can".

"I'm sorry but I'm not getting what you're trying to imply here"

"This is your chance to finally win her"

"What?" I exclaimed in shock, he has gone insane.

"Calm down will you, there are people here" he tried to shush me.

Our food arrived just then and I had to restrain myself from saying something inappropriate to the waiter for interrupting our conversation like this, he's only doing his job after all.

I was glaring at Ethan the whole time the waiter was serving our food.

"What is your mind up to now Ethan?"

"One which includes seeing you and Amber happy together" he said.

"Are you out of your mind? Did you not hear everything at the dinner? Do you not know how both me and her are suffering in this sham of a marriage?" I questioned, running my hand through my hair in exhaustion.

"I did and that's why I was so angry about the whole situation, Amber doesn't deserve this and neither do you, maybe you both are equally broken in different ways and maybe dad was right, his way of executing the idea was very wrong but what's done is done, what matters now is how you choose to handle this situation" he explained looking at me with those blue eyes of his that are almost identical to mine.

"You're being delusional now, just because two people were thrown into a marriage together doesn't mean they'll eventually fall in love plus I don't know about her but I'm definitely not broken" I said sternly making my point clear.

He scoffed before opening his mouth "Isaac you might not want to accept the truth but deep down you know it as well, after mom died, nothing stayed the same, growing up without a motherly figure around and with dad always busy with his business we both had to deal with some really fucked up things on our own and there are certain parts of our souls that need to be mended... for me Elle is the one-" I cut him mid sentence with a show of my hand indicating him to stop.

"Please don't say whatever it is that you're going to say next about me and Amber... I'll divorce her this week and end this fake marriage, maybe then you'd find yourself worrying about other things" I said but he simply shook his head.

"I'm your brother Isaac, you can't fool me, if you hated Amber so much you would have told her everything that happened at the dinner that day itself... deep down even you know that she's good, you know she isn't what you thought her to be, she's not after your money or the name and fame that comes with being married into the Reid family" he said calmly which further fuelled my anger, who does he think he is?

Your baby brother

"I don't care what you think about the whole situation but the only reason I didn't break the news to her that day was because of her mother, who has been through a lot in the past few months and I thought it might be wise to let the marriage stay as it is for a little while longer for her mother's sake, who knows what might happen to her at hearing such a shocking news? She's very happy to see her daughter in the Reid family plus I don't think you know the condition I found Amber in when I reached home" I said in a low voice, Ethan's facial features suddenly changed to one of concern.

"What happened to her?"

"Migraine... she was on the verge of passing out" I stood up finally, I can't take part in this conversation any longer, it's getting too much for me now.

"Wait I-"

"No, I've heard enough of what you had to say, stop trying to force me into being with someone I'm not interested in" I interjected.

"As you brother all I want to say is, don't lose her... you might never find another woman like her" he suggested and I shrugged.

"Thanks, I'll keep this in mind when I file for divorce" and with that I was out of there. Ethan doesn't know what he's talking about, the only reason I even thought of enduring her for the next six months when I had a chance to get out of it as soon as possible is because of her mother and my dad's love and affection for Robert's family.