III. The Impact of Her

~ Twenty-Seven ~

I closed my eyes as I gave myself a moment to prepare.

I took a deep breath and slowly faced him.

'That was a good way to greet someone who has been your family for years,' I thought to myself.

I asked, "Is that your new manner of greeting a long-time friend and confidant, Benjamin?" With a few steps forward, I continued, "Is that how you treat your brother now?"

Gonzalo scoffed as he raised a brow at me. "Brother? Brother?! You call yourself my brother after you betrayed me?!" he ranted even more as he walked towards me. Gonzalo kept him in arms' reach as he followed behind Benjamin. "You took everything from me! You are the reason why she rejected me!"

Gonzalo's eyes widened as he heard Benjamin's complaints. It just gave further confirmation as to what Gonzalo had already suspected: that I met a woman in the Mortal Realm and she was the reason for my frequent visits. From utter shock, Gonzalo slowly shifted to furious.

I sighed and replied, "Benjamin, I never did anything to influence her choices. I didn't tell her and I didn't force her to choose me instead of you. Must I remind you that I supported you amidst my own heartbreak?" I took a few stops but I still kept my distance. I continued, "I encouraged her to choose you. You, Benjamin. Even though it was a sight that broke me, I told her to give you a chance. Instead of competing with you, instead of fighting for her, I chose to be the brother that you needed. And you have the nerve to accuse me of betrayal?!"

"You did betray me," Benjamin growled as he moved closer. Our faces were now inches away from one another. "If you had any conscience, you would never have made contact with her. I had a chance, Robert! I had a chance but you," he pointed at my face, "You just had to ruin everything!"

"I met her first, Benjamin! I loved her first!" I screamed at his face as I allowed my emotions to get the best of me. I continued, "I knew someone else was fighting for her affections! But I never expected for that man to be you because she never told me anything! All she said is there was another man. But she said she was not interested in that man."

"You can say that because you don't know how I feel!" Benjamin shouted as he pushed me. Gonzalo immediately held him back by the arms. But Benjamin was strong enough to push Gonzalo off of him.

Benjamin then sprinted towards me and grabbed me by the collar. "You don't know how I feel because you never felt this way before! You are not the one who watched the love of your life, choose the person that you trusted the most! You don't understand!" He then swung a punch at me, which made me fall to the ground.

As soon as I hit the floor with a loud thud, my guards rushed into my room. They helped Gonzalo hold Benjamin back. Gonzalo quickly pinned Benjamin's hands behind him. The guards stood in front of him and placed their hands on his chest in an attempt to stop him.

I stood up and wiped the blood that came from my mouth. I stared at him as I caught up with my breathing. "How dare you assume that I don't understand you?" I gritted. I continued, "The audacity that you have to accuse me when you were the one who did exactly that? How dare you!"

Stunned, Benjamin's eyes widened as it watered.

"When you knelt in front of Laura," I took slow steps towards him, "That image tore me to pieces. And do you want to know why?" I asked.

Benjamin stood silent as he stared at me. Our eyes never left each other as I got closer to him.

I stood immensely close to him. My face met his once again as I continued, "It was because the woman that I loved was pursued by another man. And that man was the brother that I loved the most. I had to make a choice and who did I choose? Tell me, Benjamin. Who did I choose? WHO?"