Billionaire's Second Chance At Love

Chapter Seventy-One

Carmen watched as the nurse fixed her IV, smiling at her when she was done. "Can you tell me how long before I feel better enough to take care of myself?"

The nurse beamed back, checking other vitals on the screen. "Maybe another week or so, but to be honest, it all varies from patient to patient. Some understand the gravity of their health and take very good care of themselves, and then there are some..."

Carmen didn't need to ask in which category the nurse had fitted her. "I never really liked hospitals, they make me anxious."

"Well then, good for you," the nurse looked around and shrugged. "You're home."

Hardly, Carmen thought, but didn't say out loud.

* * *

Eric sat in his office, going through some papers on his desk when the door to his cabin was shoved open, and in came his ever-raging younger brother. Ronin strode straight to his desk, pulled a chair, and sat down, his nostrils flaring. "I need your help."

Eric, now more amused, leaned back and stroked his chin. "In what?"

"I'll tell you that, but first, I need to know if I can count on you."

Eric scoffed. "Do you really have to ask?"

But Ronin wasn't amused; he simply stared blankly. "Actually, I do. Because I know for sure that when it comes to Carmen, no one else matters to you. If you think I'm stupid for not understanding how you betrayed your own brother on the cruise that night, you really underestimate me a lot."

All the amusements vanished from Eric's face, and he ended up wearing a frown that matched Ronin's, as if it were a second skin.

Ronin continued, leaning forward with his hands on the table. "But I'm not here to talk about that, am I?"

Eric, who neither denied nor admitted the accusation made by his younger brother, simply tightened his jaw. "Then what are you here to talk about?"

"About the woman we both want, but neither of us deserves."

"Come on, Ronin," Eric rolled his eyes. "Carmen would have been mine if you and Grandpa hadn't roped her in with the fake marriage. You talk about betrayal? Guess who betrayed whom first."

A stab of guilt shot through Ronin's chest, the same guilt that had been eating him alive since the day he learned how much his brother was attracted to Carmen. Fuck! If only he could have...

No. There was no time for dwelling on what had happened in the past. Carmen was missing, and it was time she was found. Averting his eyes, Ronin took a moment to gather his thoughts before meeting his brother's gaze again. "So, is that your way of saying no?"

"I didn't say no."

"You didn't say yes either, and that's just as good as saying no."

"Ronin," Eric sighed, rubbing his temples, growing increasingly annoyed. "Until you tell me what you need my help with, how am I supposed to make any promises?"

"Because we're talking about Carmen, asshole," he growled, pushing the chair back with force and leaning down to fix his brother with an unwavering glare. "And I need you to make up your fucking mind if you can work with me without stabbing me in the back this time."

* * *

Grandpa Edgar sat on the couch, one leg thrown over the other, when he heard the doorbell to his hotel suite go off.