BILLIONAIRE'S UNINTENDED BRIDE

Chapter 20: Shattered Past

Chapter 20: Shattered Past

Sebastian

The memories of our childhood came flooding back as I sat in the silence of my new penthouse, each one etching a deeper mark on my soul. Luke and I had grown up in a home shadowed by our father's anger, a volatile and unpredictable storm that often erupted without warning. Our mother and I were not spared from his wrath, but it was Luke who bore the brunt of it.

From as early as I can remember, Luke had been the shield that protected us. He was just 12 years old when he first began to offer himself as a buffer between our father's fury and us. Our mother and I pleaded with him, time and again, to stop sacrificing himself, but he was steadfast in his resolve. Luke's courage in the face of our father's rage was both awe-inspiring and heart-wrenching.

He went to lengths to protect us, changing the locks on most of the doors in our house and keeping the master key with himself. Whenever our father stormed in, fueled by his anger, Luke would quickly usher our mother and me into one of the locked rooms, ensuring our safety at the cost of his own well-being. He would then face our father's rage alone, absorbing the blows meant for us.

I can't shake this one memory when I was 14. Dad pushed me so hard I hit the wall. Mom was helping me patch up when I could hear the chaos downstairs. Luke was taking it all, every punch, every slap. And the crazy part? Luke, beaten and bruised, and still, he wouldn't let me step in. His face was a mess from Dad's fists, his back covered in welts and cuts. I tried, I tried so hard to get him to let me take over, to beg Dad to stop. But it was like talking to a brick wall. Dad was hell-bent on breaking Luke, wanted to see him cry, see him crack. But Luke? He was like some kind of rock, taking it all without a sound.

Mom and I, we were desperate to stop it, to do something, anything. But things went from bad to straight-up nightmare when Dad pulled a gun. He had it trained on us, cold and steady. Said he'd shoot Luke if Mom moved an inch. It was the kind of standoff you see in movies, only this was real, and it was my brother in the line of fire.

Through it all, Luke kept his cool, not a single tear. But then, Dad turned that gun on me, pressed it right against my forehead. That's when Luke broke. The thought of him losing me, it was too much. He started crying, pleading with Dad not to shoot.

That's when Dad showed his true colors. He laughed, said he never planned to shoot. He just wanted to see Luke cry for me. It was all some twisted game to him, a way to prove his control, to push Luke to his limits. And in his twisted mind, he won that round.

Sitting here now, away from all that madness, it still feels like a bad dream. But it was real, too real. And it's stuff like this that sticks with you, that shapes who you are. Luke, he's more than a brother to me. He's a survivor, a fighter. And that night, he showed just how far he'd go for me.