The Kidnapped Bride

His fierce gaze was enough to make Jennifer feel slightly altered. Subconsciously, she stared back at Charles who was constantly glaring at her ring, or to be more specific, her hand.

'What is wrong with him?' She was confused yet her heart shattered when Charles's eyes shifted from her hands back to her face.

Glancing into her eyes, she noted his frosty expressions mixed with surprise. Her heart started to beat at an erratic rate when she immediately put her hand down from her neck, back to her lap. 

The discomfort was evident in her face which Charles knew was all because of his stare. At the same time, his eyes traveled to his brother who sat beside Jennifer. 

"Javier… is everything going to work well?" the quite sudden question put Javier wondering what happened to him. "Yeah? Things are going smoothly...I'm still in a learning state."

"T-That is good to learn because I feel… sometimes the circumstances affect the work too. Made me wonder that your sour relationship with Emily must not tarnish your work and reputation.." with this, he took a sip of his red wine. 

Yet his hard gaze at them made Jennifer gulp the saliva present in her mouth. To not let her emotions come on her face, she took another bite of her food. 

But somehow, Javier was still in thoughts. "I know how to differentiate between my situation and workplace. Don't worry, I will not let it affect my pace."

"You shouldn't…" 

As these words slipped out of his mouth, he didn't initiate the conversation anymore. Rather he kept quiet and ate the rest of the dinner in silence, much to Jennifer and Javier's shock. 

Soon afterward, the dinner came to an end when most of the people made their way back to their respective rooms. 

But before that, Javier turned his face in Jennifer's direction, "You go ahead. I will have a walk with my brother.."

"But I..feel..he..saw..'' Her hesitation was clear in her voice to which Javier just gave her an assured smile, "Don't worry. He's my brother and I Will handle him. Have a good night and don't think much.."

Getting so much assurance from him made Jennifer feel a little bit relaxed. Giving him a peek at his face, she moved back to the room while Javier let his way towards the garden.

He arrived at the garden, only to his dismay, find something abnormal.

"You haven't quit smoking?" Javier asked when he saw his brother still using a car. Turning around, Charles shook.

"I left but it was years ago that I started once again. Old habits are hard to die…" Javier's eyebrows raised when he evaluated the reply.

"So.. this is also related to Sierra. What isn't even related to her?" Javier was slightly worried, why was his brilliant brother becoming the worst person ever, because the lady left him?

Letting a dry chuckle out of his lips, Charles puffed out the smoke. "Everything.. everything changed after her departure."

"Hmm. I can already see the changes in you." Javier encoded when his gaze never tore from his brother's expressionless face.

Throughout the time, the same, aloofness surfaced. However, he found this to be different than the rest of it. 

He wasn't being himself but being more distant to him ever.

Tugging his hand in his pocket, he walked to the other side to ask, "So.. what was there when you said you wish to call me?"

"I had one thing earlier at dinner.. I saw something else which.. made the talks not one, but now have three major topics." Turning his body in Javier's direction, he faced him with a giant smile lifting his lips upwards.

His eyes were already shining due to the coldness which he continued to omit. "Something… which really took me back."

"And that is?" Javier asked with amusement written all over his face but in return, Charles just looked too surprised by his baby brother's acting.

"Javier…. I asked you something. Or to be specific, I told you to not hire my people." The words made Javier recall the last conversation they had.

He had clearly instructed not to hire Sierra yet he did. And Javier immediately knew that this was also related to her only. "Whom are you trying to refer to?" 

Yet Javier still tried to act to be a dumb person here, in the hope that his guess might not be the true

However, his last threat of joy died when Charles came straight to the point. "Siera… I told you not to hire her and reject her resume no matter what!"

"And I told you that she is in need of this job opportunity. She has kids to raise.. a home to carry one. Was I supposed to leave like this?" Javier had his own thoughts which he put forward within his speech.

His brother might not like the idea but it never means he won't care about Sierra.. all because she is his brother's ex-girlfriend.

"She has kids. Yeah, she does but I TOLD YOU NOT TO HIRE HER BECAUSE I HAD DIFFERENT PLANS!" 

For the very first time, Charles raised his voice where anger and fury were already present on his entire face. It was hard to say that this doesn't make Javier see his new brother.

But somehow he was able to keep his calm and let his chin be tightened. "Your different plans... Do you think I had no idea what you wanted to do?"

"Keeping her in your company. Oh, forget about that. I say you would have sent her the offer to apply for the job in your company but… do you think she should have accepted that afterward what has happened between you two?"

Javier walked straight onto the point without the delay in his talks. His eyes shined in determination showing that he will stand by his words and about the promise which he made earlier.

But Charles's expressions depicted that this was enough to keep his nerves down. "She is my ex-girlfriend.. the girl who broke me.."

"...then she is the girl whom I shared the brother-sister bond with..."