“I am the real bastard, Max. Not you,” Julian said before swallowing hard. “For fear of being dumped, I made up a story that made Papa believe that you weren’t his son.”
After giving the confession, the man sobbed louder. His narrowed throat started to burn. “I’m sorry, Max. I didn’t expect my lies to go this far.”
In the midst of his brother’s tears, Max laughed blandly. With teary eyes, he looked away. “You idiot,” he mumbled, successfully stopping Julian’s blinking.
“Why are you laughing? I’m not lying, Max. You are Herbert’s biological son. You’re part of the real Evans family,” the older brother said hoarsely.
“I already know.”
Hearing the statement, Julian’s tears suddenly stopped. After a few breaths, sending oxygen to clear his head, he shook his head for an explanation.
“What do you mean?”
Suddenly, Max looked up, holding back tears from crossing the line. After taking a deep breath, he looked back at his brother.
“I already know that you are the root of all the suffering I’m going through. You told Mr. Herbert that Mom and I had twin necklaces. It’s a perfect lie to make the assumption that I am the illegitimate son.”
In an instant, Julian’s lips trembled, just as his heart didn’t know what to feel. Max’s confession had paralyzed his brain.
“H-how could you know?” Julian’s sigh was almost inaudible.
“You don’t have to worry about that. What’s clear is I already know,” Max said before taking a deep breath.
“Since when?”
“Since I cut off all our ties. Because of it, I don’t want to deal with the Evans or Quebracha anymore. I want to forget my misfortune and start a new life. But it turns out, you’re not tired of bothering me. You come here and persuade me to come back.”
A second later, a disbelieving sigh escaped from Max’s mouth. After that, sad laughter slashed the heart of his brother.
“How ignorant,” Max muttered sarcastically.
Not sure what to say, Julian blinked and looked in all directions. His trembling hand was not clear what he was going to do, while the senses were increasingly clouded by disbelief.
Noticing his brother’s strange behavior, Max snorted again.
“Are you relieved now?” he asked with a bitter curve of the lips. “You’ve already revealed what’s bothering you. A heavy burden must have been lifted from your shoulders.”
Shaking head faintly, Julian furrowed his brows deeper. “If you already knew, why didn’t you just beat me up yesterday?”
“What for? I’ll just get my hands dirty and make my wife worry. I don’t want to make her cry.”
Receiving such an answer, more confusion permeated Julian’s mind. He couldn’t think. The surprise from his brother gave him a hard slap.
“Then, what should I do now? How can I make you forgive me?” he muttered quietly.
“Nothing,” Max answered without thinking. “Sorry is only useful for overcoming regret. I don’t want you to be free from that burden.”
Hearing his brother’s assertiveness, cold sweat started to roll down Julian’s neck. With shortened breaths, he tried to find the middle way.
“How about you go back to Quebracha now? I will reinstate the CEO title and clear your name. You also still have time to mend your relationship with Dad. Everything can be rearranged.”
“It’s in vain, Julian! It’s useless,” Max exclaimed in a hanging tone. “I don’t want that life anymore. I’m at peace here with Gabriella, as long as you guys don’t send any new chaos.”
With heavy steps, the older brother walked over to his brother. Holding Max’s shoulder, he tried to instill confidence. “But it’s all yours. You are the true successor of Quebracha. I have absolutely no right.”
“That company has no meaning in my life. So I don’t really care. Don’t force me to come back,” Max said as he pushed his brother’s hand away.
A second later, the younger brother got up from the chair, headed for the room. However, Julian didn’t let him escape so easily.
“What about Dad? Do you have the heart to let him go with such great guilt and remorse?” the man asked, gripping his brother’s arm.
Contemplation instantly froze Max’s steps. After clenching his jaw, he turned his head and swallowed bitterly. “He doesn’t even think about my feelings. Why do I care about him? After all, he doesn’t think of me as a son anymore.”
“You’re wrong, Max. Dad’s awake. He had accepted the reality. That’s why he wants to meet you. To apologize.”
“I told you, sorry is only useful for treating guilt. That word won’t change anything in my life. Now, get out of the way. I don’t want us to destroy my new home,” the younger brother said before jerking his arm. Then, without further ado, he entered the room and locked the door tightly.
“Max?” Julian sighed before gripping the head that felt like it was about to burst. There’s too much pressure in it.
“Tsk, what should I do now?”
After a flash of thought, Julian finally approached the door of his brother’s room and knocked.
“Max, please …, if you don’t want to forgive me, at least go to see Dad. He really wants to meet you,” the man exclaimed using the last hope.
Unfortunately, five seconds passed, no sound was heard from inside the room. That fact succeeded in dwarfing the hope that was threatened with extinction.
“I know, I’m outrageous. I am too coward. I shouldn’t dare to sacrifice my own brother’s happiness. But, you have to consider Dad’s position. He did all that because he thought you were me, the son he wanted to destroy.”
Realizing that Max would not respond, Julian gave up hope. Sitting against the door, he started laughing like a madman.
“Isn’t life funny? I thought that all would be well when Dad gave you the trust to lead Quebracha. At that time, I even felt envious and depressed because life as an illegitimate son was not as bad as I imagined.”
After the laughter died down, Julian’s chin twitched again in agony.
“Aren’t I so embarrassing? When I was little, I was always envious of you. You had everything I want. Courage, achievement, great biological father.”
With a dreamy gaze, Julian bemoaned the unchangeable past.
“I feel so angry when it’s just Dad and you on the Ferris wheel. Do you know that later, I couldn’t sleep because I was sorry? I repeatedly scolded myself. I should have dared to go with you. Why was it so hard for these feet to keep up with challenges?”
After a moment of silence, Julian took another deep breath.
“When Dad’s attitude started to change, I thought I’d be happy to see you suffer. But as it turned out, I was secretly crying too. I feel my life is full of sin and falsehood. But strangely, I was able to withstand the burden and kept my secret tight.”
A second later, Julian started banging his head on the door behind him. He hoped that the tormenting pulse would go away. However, the pain only invited more memories.
“Do you know my reaction when I found out that Amber loved you? I think that you’re very greedy, although I know, I have stolen your life. Isn’t that sad …? And what’s worse, I wanted to hate you.”
Once again, Julian jerked his head back. The door of his brother’s room could have a hole if he kept doing that all day.
“Surprisingly, no matter how much anger and envy I have on you, I can never hate you. You always show a relaxed and innocent look in front of me, as if I am the brother you care about the most, the only person you can rely on. How could I hate you?”
After a short pause, the man lowered his head and closed his eyes.
“That’s why I chose to leave. I think my life could be calm and free from your shadow in a new place. But it turned out, I actually melted by Amber’s persuasion and began to hope that I could match you. I forgot that in reality, everything I have is yours.”
In a voice his little brother could no longer hear, Julian continued to lament. “I’m sorry, Max. I’m sorry,” he regretted endlessly.
There was no more hope left. However, his lips still wanted to describe the feelings. Julian’s heart was too tight with guilt.
Behind the door, a man was expressionless. He pondered, remembering the days that felt sorrow. The happy laughter when he managed to tease his brother, had become flat. Moments that used to be so bright, had looked so gloomy.
After a while, Max wiped away the traces of his sadness. He had shed too many tears. With tightly clenched fists, the man rose to his feet. After taking a quick breath, Max finally turned around and opened the door.