Liam had just left the racing club when he received a message from his older brother, James
After reading what James had to say, Liam was startled.
“What are you up to? Are you trying to play the overbearing big brother.character and stop me from finding true love? This is the first time I’ve ever liked someone so much, so don’t try to stop me. I’m nineteen! I’m not some little kid with a puppy–love
crush.”
Liam rambled on non–stop for a bit.
After all, James had a history of being strict like that. He never allowed Liam to skip class or date early, and demanded that
Liam be the perfect student.
Now that Liam was in college, everyone else’s girlfriend was still the same from high school. He was the only one who was still single. Now that he finally found someone he liked, he wasn’t about to let his wicked older brother break them up!
James ignored his ranting and simply sent a photo he had taken at Bruno’s house.
“Take a look. Is this by the artist you like? The name Aelia is wrapped in lilies in the corner… I remember you showing me
that before. It looks exactly the same.”
Liam examined it closely and realized it was indeed as James had said. He knew all the paintings by Aelia, and he didn’t
remember this particular one.
He started typing on his phone again.
“Hey! Are you trying to steal my girlfriend? If you try anything funny, I’ll tell your wife!”
Before he could gloat about catching his brother’s evidence, James‘ next message made him panicky.
“I found this painting at Bruno Russell’s place. He said it was painted by his fiancee. Is your artist’s name Aelia Lawson?”
These words left Liam completely stunned. He couldn’t believe it. “Seriously? That’s impossible! Maybe that Russell guy is just delusional? I never heard her mention a fiance!”
This was enough to make Liam completely restless.
She had a fiance?
“No, I need to ask her about this.”
Liam jumped into his car and raced over to my home. He saw me sitting peacefully in the garden; after mustering his courage, he took a deep breath and walked toward me.
“Are you hiding something from me?” he asked carefully.
My hand, holding the brush, froze as I looked up.
At that moment, Liam looked like someone with a lot of emotions bottled up, as if he had just caught his wife cheating. A storm was swirling up inside, but he couldn’t bear to do anything because of his love for his wife.
I blinked, confused. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you…are you engaged?” Liam’s voice was shaky and urgent
If I didn’t explain it now, he might start crying
So, I said, “I’m not.”
“Then who’s Bruno Russell?” Liam’s lips drooped, his big eyes filling with tears. He looked utterly miserable.