after they met her

thirtyeight

i v a n a

My heart sank as I saw my brothers storming toward us. Logan, Asher, Matthew, and Gray—all of them looked furious.

Some of them had bloodstains on their white shirts, evidence of the brutal encounter they'd just come from.

Was he actually dead? Did they actually find him?

I tried to imagine what they said to him? How did he react?

Was he laughing or was he apologising? Was he begging for his life?

I snapped out of it.

Matthew's eyes locked onto Ray, and before I could say anything, he grabbed Ray by the collar and shoved him to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Matthew shouted, his voice trembling with rage. "I told you to stay away from her!"

Ray tried to get up, but Logan stepped forward, his face full of cold fury. "Do you have a death wish, Ray?" he hissed. "How dare you kiss my little sister!"

Asher stood back, arms crossed, his jaw clenched. "This is the third time he disrespected our family," he said quietly, but his tone was filled with menace. "He is supposed to protect her, not take advantage of her."

Gray stepped forward, his expression hard as steel. "I really admired you, Raymond. Haven't you learned your lesson after everything?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "We trusted you, and this is how you repay us?"

Ray struggled to his feet, his face pale. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice shaking. "I didn't mean to—"

"Shut up," Matthew snarled, grabbing Ray by the collar again. "You think sorry is going to cut it? You think you can just kiss our little sister and get away with it?"

My brothers closed in around Ray, their presence intimidating and suffocating.

"Please, stop!" I called out, stepping forward. "Don't hurt him!"

My heart was racing, and my lips were tingling. Seeing Ray like this, I completely forgot about everything else. All I wanted was to speak to him some more, kiss him some more.

I forgot about everything that happened between us, I just wanted for us to be close again.

They all turned to look at me, their eyes softening slightly, but their anger was still palpable. "Stay out of this, Ivana," Asher said, his voice stern but not unkind. "This is between us and him."

Ray looked up at me, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and determination. "Ivana, we will talk late—"

Gray cut him off, stepping closer and towering over him. "You're lucky we don't deal with you right here," he said, his voice a growl. "You've crossed the line, Ray. And this time, there will be serious consequences. So shut your mouth and don't even look at Ivana."

My heart pounded in my chest as I watched the scene unfold, helpless to do anything but hope that my brothers wouldn't go too far.

They like Ray, right?

Raymond was put into his room, and I was sat in the living room, surrounded by my brothers, who towered over me with their arms crossed. Their stern expressions made the room feel smaller.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Gray demanded, his voice carrying the weight of his authority.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing," I replied.

They exchanged glances, clearly not expecting my casual response.

"Nothing?" Logan echoed, his eyes narrowing. "You let him kiss you and all you have to say is 'nothing'?"