Brother's Darling - Chapter 2
Last night had worn me out. Lying on the bed, I drifted into a hazy sleep.
It was three in the afternoon when I woke. My body felt unbearably heavy, and my head ached from my temples to the back of my skull. I rolled over and realized I was still sticky.
I’d forgotten to shower. I hadn’t cleaned out what he’d left inside me, either.
I forced myself into the bathroom for a quick wash, then lay down again. A little later, a call came from an unfamiliar number: Siyan’s driver, a middle-aged man.
When I went out, he took my suitcase and put it in the trunk. He hesitated before using the title he’d always called me by.
“Young master, is this everything you’re taking?”
I nodded and got into the back seat. There wasn’t much I treasured or cared about. I’d packed a few personal belongings and changes of clothes.
Sitting in the car, I felt a little nauseous because I hadn’t eaten lunch. I closed my eyes, meaning to ride it out. Somewhere along the way, I lost consciousness.
When I came to, I was lying in an unfamiliar bed with an IV in my hand.
Siyan’s private doctor gave me a professional smile. “You fainted with a fever. You’re also a little malnourished. You’ll need to take proper care of yourself.”
I thanked him.
After the doctor left, Siyan pushed open the door and stopped a few paces away. He was wearing a suit and polished shoes, probably straight from the office.
I studied him without letting it show. Siyan was strikingly handsome: strong brows, bright eyes, a high, straight nose. Tall and lean, he made anything he wore look good.
He rarely showed much emotion, and there was an authority about him that made people feel small. In a suit, especially, his austere elegance was impossible to ignore.
Now his handsome brows drew together slightly. His gaze moved from the hand with the IV to my face.
“Why have you lost weight?”
I turned my head and stared at nothing. “I haven’t had much of an appetite lately.”
“You’re getting a checkup tomorrow,” he said, as though issuing an order.
“I’m not going.” I put more force into my voice.
He ignored it. “I’ll take you tomorrow.”
I lifted my eyes. “What does my health have to do with you? I’m not your real brother.”
At last, something shifted in his expression. He came to the bedside and bent over me, catching my chin in his broad hand and forcing me to look at him.
“Xie Li, you were the one who gave up being my little brother first.
“It’s barely been any time at all, and look what you’ve done to yourself.
“You’re in no position to refuse me now.”
“Then what am I to you?” I demanded. “Why should I do what you say?”
He hesitated for a moment. “What do you think?”
A lover? A rent boy? An ungrateful impostor?
Siyan had always kept everyone at a distance, but once, I’d been the closest to him. I was the only brother he’d looked after and favored.
He’d never treated me like this before.
My nose stung. Tears slipped out before I could stop them, falling one by one onto his hand.
His fingers trembled briefly. Then his thumb brushed my cheek, and his voice softened.
“Why are you crying again?”
“I…” I wanted to tell him I hadn’t drugged him, but the sob in my voice was painfully obvious. Embarrassed, I bit my lip and swallowed the words.
Siyan let go. He watched me with a searching, assessing look for a long moment, then turned and left.
