Free Web NovelChapter 183: The truth (2)
Ian helped Victor to one of the rooms on the first floor so he could lie on the bed. "How could you not notice you were burning up? Outside is cold, are you trying to make yourself sick? Why are you smiling like a fool?"
"It feels like I am being scolded by an old brother. I think it is the first time," Victor answered.
He was still a bit out of it as his sight was blurry since he needed some rest and there was a headache that was starting to be overbearing, but Victor could still hear what Ian said. He only wished he wasn’t so tired that he could see Ian now.
"You are a fool. Why would being scolded ever be a good thing? You just had to come here and almost pass out," Ian muttered, rubbing his temple as he could already hear the noise Layla would make in his ears. "You could have waited till morning to come and tell me about Noelle."
"It is hard to find you sometimes. I never know which home you are in and then you are always with Scarlet. Besides, I was banned from visiting your business. The guards won’t let me in since my last visit. I didn’t think it was so bad that you would put me on a ban list. What if I just want a drink?" Victor asked.
"There are plenty of places for you to get a drink in town and how can you drink when you are said to be sick? Are you trying to kill yourself? Then again, I’ve been hearing that you’ve been cured of whatever you had," said Ian.
Victor looked to his right at Ian. His vision was starting to get better now that he was lying down. "I’ve never been cured. Mother and father just force me to pretend that I am. If I start to feel like I can’t stand by myself, I have to go off alone to find a room to hide until I feel better. I have to fake looking healthy until I am." frёewebηovel.cѳm
The last party he had to hide at was the garden party where he saw Ian. He was lucky enough to have made it through the king’s party today as his father would not forgive him if he showed signs of being ill there.
"You know father. A Kingsley should not show any weakness. Even if that weakness is out of my control. Before you returned, I know that he was reaching out to one of his relatives to be his heir. I never told my mother," Victor revealed.
Despite the money Hank put into finding doctors and what he liked to say about Victor being his only heir, Victor knew that his father didn’t have faith he would live long or at least be strong enough to handle being the next lord.
Victor would never doubt that his father loved him, but Hank cared more about having the best heir to take after him.
"Ian, why don’t you play nice and steal everything? You would make my mother lose her mind if she had to see you as the new lord," said Victor.
Victor saw it fitting that Ian inherited everything others wanted to keep from him. Ian would have the power to send Layla off the estate if he wanted.
"I don’t want anything to do with the Kingsleys. I am looking forward to the day I can get rid of the name. You keep it," Ian said as it had always belonged to Victor.
"I don’t think I’ll live-"
"With that attitude, you won’t. A doctor should be on their way here so just sit still for now. Honestly, if you weren’t in this state I would hit you. Of all nights, why? Why?" Ian questioned, his voice getting louder.
Victor folded his lips, not afraid of Ian because he knew the frustration was misplaced. "You can go back to Scarlet. I will just be on my way," he said, trying to get up but Ian pushed him back down.
"If you get up from there, I will drag you back to the bed. Sit still for once. Must I get some rope?" Ian wondered. He recalled now how Victor could never stay in one place for too long when they were younger.
Victor used to circle Ian while asking him if he wanted to play.
"I don’t want to ruin your night," Victor said, attempting to sit up once more but lying back down after the look he received from Ian.
"It is not ruined, just disturbed. I know that I might regret this but if the doctor says you need to rest, you can spend the night here. You’ll need to be the one who comes up with an excuse when your mother friends out. If she comes here, she will lose her head. Stop laughing. It’s annoying me," Ian said, hating the sight of Victor’s smile.
Ian thought he could hit Victor and Victor might like it because he was being beaten by his older brother.
"You haven’t changed at all. You get irritated just as fast as you did in the past. I’m glad that you are still the same brother I remember. Ian, please forget about what I asked earlier. About why you hate me. I already know that answer and I don’t want to hear it from you again," Victor said.
This moment of Ian caring for him was better than dwelling on the memory of Ian telling him once more why he didn’t like him.
Ian sat down on the chair beside the bed so he could wait for the doctor. "I don’t hate you. You just annoy me. I disliked that you would come around me after I sent you away and you would get me in trouble. That is all. As annoying as you are, you are still my brother."
Nothing could ever change that they were half-brothers.
"It feels like you hate me. Even when I am willing to leave my mother’s side for us to be close you don’t want me around. I love my mother, but I cannot continue with what she does to me. Please, let us try to be brothers. It is the only thing that I want," Victor said, nervous as he feared being told no again.
"You know that I plan to kill your mother. How are you to be close to her murderer?" Ian asked.
Victor smiled. "I would thank you every day. Ian, you never wanted to speak so I could never tell you why I kept running to the cottage every day instead of staying inside the big house. I can’t be the one who keeps her calm anymore. It hurts too much to do it."
