Chapter 58 The Line He Crossed

Finished

Yunice rested her chin in her hand and, with a small, subtle movement, slipped an earbud into her ear, letting her hair fall to

cover it.

She’d nted a bug on Owen before they left. So even though he’d gone into Maplecrest Manor without her, she bwasn’t /bgoing to bmiss /ba single word of what went down inside.

Owen didn’t bother knocking. He stormed straight into Paul’s room and, without a word, mmed a punch right into his jaw.

Caught off guard, Paul crashed backward onto the bcouch/b.

He jumped to his feet, furious, and grabbed at Owen. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouthb. /b“Sh1–Tm bleeding”

Owen didn’t even flinch. “That was just the start. Owennded another punch, this time to the other side of bPaul’s /bface. “Youid a hand on Elsie? Beating the crap out of you would still be going easy”

Paul hit the couch again, groaning. “F*ck!” he spat, but this time he didn’t fight back. “Are you insane? What the hell is your bproblem/b?” he snapped. “I’m dating Elsie. bWhat/bb, /bI’m not allowed to touch her now?”

Owen’s voice dropped lowb, /bdangerous. “bYou /bknow exactly what I mean.”

Paul froze. At first, he hadn’t thought much of it—but now, with the way Owen was looking at him, something shifted in his expression. A flicker of guilt.

Owen saw it. He lunged forward, grabbed Paul by the cor, and pulled him close. “bWhat /bdid you promise me? Huh? What did you swear to me?”

Paul’s face darkened. He bdidn’t /bsay a word.

But Owen wasn’t letting him off beasy/b. “You slept with Yunice. I let it slide–but I warned you. If you ever touched Elsie, I’de for you. You said bshe /bwas the one you cared about most, the one you couldn’t bbring /byourself to hurt. And now? You’ve screwed around with both of my sisters.”

Paul’s jaw tightened, the vein in his neck visibly pulsing. He looked like he wanted to fire back–but the words caught in his threat. After a long pause, he finally muttered, “It wasn’t like that. Elsie and 1. we care about each other. It just happened. I didn’t force her.

Owen didn’t buy it. He punched him again. “Bullshit! You really expect me to believe that? You’ve always been like this. Your probably pushed her into it. And she still covered for you this whole time. If she hadn’t, I would’ve been here a long time ago.”

Paul spit blood to the side and red at him. “Wait–did Elsie tell you I forced her?”

“Spare me the excuses,” Owen snapped. “You touched her, now you take responsibility”

Then he let go bof /bPaul’s shirt and pointed toward the door. His tone was bitter, like he didn’t care how ugly this got. “I brought Yunice with me. She’s outside right now.”

bPaul’s /bgaze bshifted /bpast him, bthrough /bthe open doors.

There, beneath the canopy of red maples, sat Yunice–quiet and still. Her ck hair draped softly over her shoulders as she sat in the bpavilion/b, poised blike /ba painting–elegant, distantb, /band untouchable.

“You hooked up bwith /bboth of my sisters,” Owen said, his voice cold. “Now be a bman /band make a choice. Take bresponsibility/bb./bb” /b

Paul’s temper red. He jumped to his feet. “Are you kidding me right now? You think bthis /bis some kind of game show where I just point and bpick /ba prize?”

Chapter 58 The Line He Crossed

#Finished

Owen stepped in again, pressing harder. “So what is this then? If you won’t choose, bwas /bElsie bjust /bba /bfling? Something easy to toss once you got what you wanted?”

“Hell no!” Paul snapped. He and Owen had grown up together–Yunice or not, they were close. Messing around was one thing, but not with Owen’s sister. That was a hard line he never meant to bcross/b.

“Then choose,” Owen growled, stepping aside and pointing toward the courtyard. “Look at Yunice. Say it to her face. Let’s see if you bcan /blive with your choice.”

bPaul /bbcouldn’t /bsay a bword/b. The truth bwas/bb, /bhe still felt too young to be tied down. He really did care about Elsie–but getting married now? That wasn’t in his ns.

But after what happened, Owen bwasn’t /bgoing to let this go. He wanted ba /bclear answer. Right now.

His eyes drified out to the courtyard. Yunice bsat /bquietly in the distance beneath the trees, calm and unreadable. His chest tightened. Elsie or Yunice?

Owen’s eyes narrowed. “You’re hesitating. Unbelievable. Guess that says everything. If Elsie really mattered to you, you wouldn’t bhave /bpaused for even a second.”

Paul clenched his fists. The words stung, and he fired back. “You think I’m like you? Just picking and choosing like it’s bnothing/b? You left your own sister to burn and walked away like it didn’t matter!”

Owen went still. That hit hard.

Paul saw it and didn’t let up. “You act like some protective big brother, but let’s be honest–you never really cared babout/b: Yunice. You brought her here to use her. To back me into a corner. You know she’s not ‘good enough anymore–her name’s ruined, her face is scarred. And you made her sit outside in front of the staff just to humiliate her. Just to make sure, I’d feel too ashamed to choose her over Elsie.”

Owen’s eyes flickered–just for a second. But Paul caught it.

He let out a bitterugh. “Don’t y dumb, Owen. We both know how this works. I see right through you.”