The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

In the Hawthorne estate, only Kyle and Quinn remained.

"Where are the others?" Quinn asked, puzzled by the empty estate.

"Eloise’s father’s funeral is today. It seems she had his ashes all this time, and now she is going to lay him beside her mother. Jane joined Eloise and Damien. Am I the only one who feels that our dear sister is plotting?" Kyle asked, surprised that Jane tagged along. "Jane hates funerals."

"She might be on her best behaviour, so Damien won’t send her away again. Hopefully, she doesn’t cause trouble at the funeral," said Quinn.

"You should take a look in the mirror. All this while, Damien was helping his wife to send off her father, and you were picking fights with him. If I were you, I would feel awful. Your jealousy was getting the better of you while-"

"I understand, Kyle. You are in no better position to judge me after how you have acted. You bother him just as much," Quinn said, unwilling to let Kyle judge him.

"Yes, but Damien never got so angry that he hit me. I know when to stop before it gets that far, and I have been the only one not to bother his marriage. I have my questions, but I keep quiet. Dare I say what we have all been thinking? I am his most loved sibling," Kyle boasted.

"Not by a long shot. It is Jane," said Quinn.

"What!" Kyle yelled, angered by the fact. "How could it be Jane when she is the one who bothers him the most?"

"She is the only girl in the family. It is to be expected. When do you see Damien go out of town and leave Jane behind? When have you ever seen him return without a gift for her? He doesn’t care what happens to us the way he cares about Jane."

"That doesn’t make her the favourite. I care for Jane the same way, but it is because she is my little sister. My favourite is a brother," said Kyle.

"Who?"

"Not you," Kyle replied, not needing to say more. "They should be back soon, so before they are here, I am going to get a drink. Would you care for one?"

"No. Kyle, about what we spoke of yesterday. Can you not speak a word of it to anyone?" Quinn asked, wanting his feelings for Eloise to stay a secret.

"No offence, but I was too tired all day to recall what I said or did. I know we spoke of your jealousy towards Damien," Kyle said, trying to recall the talk he had with Quinn.

Quinn shook his head. "You’re hopeless."

"Oh! Was it about your feelings for Eloise? Would you look at that? My tiredness just went away," Kyle said, flashing Quinn a smile. "I think I just became your favourite sibling. It’s a bit pricey to get me to keep my mouth shut."

"If I kill you, I wouldn’t need to worry," Quinn said, walking towards Kyle.

Kyle stepped back. "If you harm me, you’ll find out just how much Damien likes me, too. I’m the youngest brother, so I am most loved after Jane."

"Kyle?"

"Oh, sweet goodness," Kyle muttered, relieved to hear Jane’s voice. "They’ve returned, which means you can’t hit me. And here I was going to keep your secret."

"You tried to blackmail me into keeping your mouth shut. A good brother wouldn’t do that," Quinn said, keeping an eye on the door.

"And a good brother wouldn’t lust for his brother’s wife, but you aren’t so perfect, are you? The secret is safe with me," Kyle promised.

Quinn didn’t trust Kyle, but there was nothing Quinn could do to make Kyle shut up.

There were worse secrets Quinn had to worry about, like Damien finding out about Teressa. As long as that night stayed a secret, they could all move on from this.

Kyle straightened out his shirt and said, "You must hope that Damien never suspects it. He has ears all over the estate."

"He knows," Quinn revealed.

Kyle froze and feared for Quinn’s life. "Yet he didn’t hit you even harder? I would have sent you out of the estate to keep you away from her. Damien is kinder than I thought. You should apologise to him, and fast."

"There you two are," Jane said, entering the study with her hands on her hips. "Did you not hear me calling your name, Kyle? We have all returned."

"I heard you. I did not think I needed to respond. You surprised me, little sister. You hate to attend funerals, yet you went along to Eloise’s father’s. You didn’t know the man," Kyle said, suspicious.

"Eloise has been kind enough to bring a dressmaker here, and she will allow me to sit with my friends. The least I could do was join her. It is good that I did, since there wasn’t a large crowd. Many of her family and friends are out of town," said Jane.

"That is all? That is the only reason you decided to join them. You have declined to go to the funerals of our relatives. Now you are fine going to the funeral of a man you did not know. Quinn, I cannot be the only one finding it suspicious," Kyle said, turning to Quinn for support.

"It is a bit odd," Quinn agreed.

"I didn’t care for the relatives who passed. Why don’t you die and see if I attend your funeral? I overheard Eloise speaking to Damien about not many people being able to attend. Being the good lady I am, I joined them. It was different from other funerals," Jane confessed.

"You have not attended many funerals to compare," Kyle said, patting Jane on her head as he walked by.

"It felt like how our parents’ funeral was, but without the guests who only showed up for appearances’ sake. I felt that the crowd loved her father. They didn’t go for the sake of saying they went. It was good," Jane shared her honest feelings.

"If either one of you tells Eloise what I shared, I will get you both in trouble with Damien. When the dressmaker arrives, stay out of mine and Eloise’s way. It is about time I have a moment with a lady. Don’t spoil this," Jane said, brushing Kyle’s shoulder as she walked ahead of him. "Pat me again, and I’ll bite your hand."

Kyle watched Jane walk away. "And you say she is the favourite. We should all avoid Jane since she’s a ball of anger."

"I heard you!" Jane yelled.