Niles couldn't believe what Wesley had just asked him. "Hello? I have to work too, you know. I'll be late if I send her off first," he protested.
"Figure it out yourself," the elder brother nonchalantly replied.
"Fine. All right." Niles had no other choice but to comply with Wesley's demand.
"Second, you have to update me with how she is, every day."
"But I'm not a spy," Niles retorted. But he knew Wesley wouldn't take no for an answer. "Okay, fine. I'll update you every day," he replied in defeat.
"That's all I'm asking you. Promise me you won't forget."
"Yeah, yeah. Those are just two things. I won't forget," Niles promised. "Hey, Wesley, you have red marks on your neck. What's wrong?" Niles' eyes widened in surprise.
Wesley cast a warning glance at him. His eyes were sharp and fierce. Before leaving the office, he gave Niles a few reminders. "Her work starts at 8 in the morning. Her shift ends at 6 in the afternoon. Keep that in mind, yeah?"
"Don't change the topic. What is wrong with your neck? Were you bitten by mosquitoes?" Niles knew well enough they were love bites. He rarely got the chance to make fun of the soldier and he was not letting this chance pass. He knew his brother was never a good liar.
Wesley stopped in his tracks and turned around to face his younger brother. "So, I had a romantic night with my wife. What's wrong with that? Are you jealous? Go find a girlfriend so you could do the same," he said matter-of-factly.
"Okay, get out. Now! Our conversation is over," Niles spat. 'Now I'm questioning the reason he came back. It might not be because of Blair's leg injury. I think he just wanted to have sex with her, ' he thought.
'It looks like they're in a good place right now. Soon enough, I'll be an uncle. I really hope it's a boy so he could give Wesley a living hell.'
Blair was used to being away from Wesley most of the time. She woke up the next morning knowing he was gone before she even opened her eyes.
After she ate her breakfast, she went to snoop around their place hoping to find her morning-after pills. That was when she remembered Wesley's warning from last night. "If you take the pills again, I'll keep you from getting out of our house. You won't be getting out until we get a baby."
Blair was frozen in her tracks. She stopped looking for the pills. She knew Wesley was not bluffing. She didn't want to get grounded. It was more terrifying than when she was younger.
Suddenly, her phone started to ring. It was a call from Niles. "Good morning, Niles. What's up?"
"G'morning, Blair. I've been waiting for you for more than ten minutes now. Can you come downstairs now? Are you done? You'll be late for work if we don't leave now." Wesley told Niles he could only wait for Blair downstairs. He would wait for Blair to come downstairs in the morning, and in the evening, he'd have to wait downstairs as well until the lights in their apartment were turned on.
"Huh? Why are you waiting for me?" Blair was confused. Wesley didn't tell her about their new daily setup.
"It's because of your dear husband. He said you got an injured leg and that you wouldn't be able to drive. Now that he'd left, I'll be driving you to work. I'll also be picking you up after work," he explained.
She was deeply moved. Wesley may have left, but he still made sure she was taken care of. He must really care for her to ask Niles to help her. "Okay, I'm heading down now."
"Can you walk on your own? How about I go up and carry you down?" Niles offered.
"I'm okay. I'll be taking the elevator."
"Okay then." Niles didn't want to go upstairs after all. He only offered to carry her as courtesy. Although, it wasn't the case that he did not want to carry Blair. He was just worried his brother would find out he went up. Then he'd be in so much trouble.
Two days passed and Blair noticed her leg was so much better. She didn't want to bother Niles anymore, so she asked him not to drive her to work or pick her up after work anymore.
"Well, you still need to visit the hospital tomorrow. You need to have your dressing freshened up. If the wound has healed, you can go to work on your own."
"Thank you so much, Niles. You've been a great help these past few days."
"No worries, Blair. You can count on me whenever Wesley is not around. I'm his brother, after all."
Blair looked out the car window, her heart full. She would always remember what Wesley had done for her.
Time passed by quickly, and it had already been a month since Wesley left.
Blair's leg had long healed. She had been quite busy recently.
There was a party in the evening. She intended to skip the party the moment it was announced. She was really tired and was looking forward to getting some rest after work. She was too drained to socialize and enjoy the party.
Orion, however, came to her in person and told her it was necessary she attended the party. A bunch of influential and powerful people would be there. It would be a great chance for Blair to widen her network and gain new connections.
Blair was forced into saying yes. As a result, she'd be Orion's date for the evening.
Blair didn't realize the party was thrown by the ZL Group until they arrived at the venue. It was filled by well-known celebrities.
James was the CEO of ZL Group. He'd be there for sure. This wasn't the first time Blair had met him, but the first time after Colleen had told her what kind of person he was.
'He looks so gentle and affable, but deep down, he is cruel and scheming, ' she thought to herself.
Orion was busy mingling, so Blair was also busy translating for him.
She then saw Curtis, Colleen, and Damon with his wife. Megan and Niles were also with them.
Niles waved at her when he saw her. Although, he didn't approach her. He could tell she was working and he didn't want to interfere.
Blair smiled and nodded at him in response.
When Blair looked away, Niles took some photos of her and sent his brother a message. "Bro, I'm at the party held by the ZL Group. Blair is here too. She is so stunning! Want her photos?"
"Of course!" Wesley replied in record time.
"But you know, I'm kind of living on a shoestring right now," Niles replied.
Wesley sent him a voice message. "Are you sure you want to play this game with me right now?"
Niles got annoyed, but he didn't dare to disobey his brother. Despite his unwillingness, he sent the photos of Blair to Wesley.
Wesley got up to his feet at once. He went to a quiet corner where he sat down and lit a cigarette. He smoked silently, enjoying his wife's photos.
Blair was wearing a black strapless evening gown, a shiny necklace and light makeup with red lipstick. Her brown hair was tied back in a simple ponytail.
In the first photo, she was holding a glass of red wine while talking to a woman. Her face was adorned by her beautiful smile.
In the second photo, she was drinking wine, her head slightly raised, revealing her neck.
Wesley had to admit Niles took great photos. He felt good looking at them.
He kept on enjoying the photos. In the next one, Blair was chatting with a group of people. He was about to move on when he saw a hand out of place.
Wesley zoomed in the photo. A frown formed on his face. The hand was placed on Blair's waist, too big to be a woman's.
Wesley's hand shook a little. The photo he was looking at snapped back to its normal size. He was unable to tell whose hand it was by just looking at the picture.
He found no other trace of the said hand in other photos, so he called Niles. "Where is she?" He did not beat around the bush.
Niles knew who Wesley was referring to. He scanned the area but didn't find Blair. "Huh? This is strange. She was just right here."
"Go find her!" Wesley ordered.
"Okay, okay. Is everything alright?"
Wesley remained silent on the other end of the line. "Don't hang up."
"Okay, sure." Niles went to look for her everywhere, but he still couldn't find Blair. Both she and Orion were nowhere to be found.
He walked past a corner, and there he heard a familiar voice. "Of course."
Niles remained quiet as he extended his neck to see where the voice was coming from. He saw a man pressing Blair against the wall by a window.
It was pretty dark, and Niles was unable to make out Blair's face. The two looked quite intimate.
Before he could even say anything, Wesley asked, "Have you found her?"
"Umm, yeah. She seems to be in big trouble."
