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"She's leaving you half the money. And that's even though your fiancée turned out to be a total failure." Cameron clenched his teeth.
"Shut your mouth!" I balled my hands into fists and raised them in front of my chest. Don put a hand on my arm. He wanted to calm me down. I shook off his hand. I DIDN'T WANT to be calmed down.
"Oh? Shut my mouth? Is that all you can say?" Cameron sneered.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Maybe it was better not to start a fight so close to the award ceremony, but to simply ignore Cameron's provocations. "Our grandmother just realized that her strategy to get me married off wasn't the best. You can't force a happy marriage after all."
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying Hanny isn't happy with me?" Cameron snorted indignantly.
"I couldn't care less." And I really didn't. My brother could do whatever he wanted. Grandma Ruth had explained to me shortly after his wedding that she wanted to divide the inheritance equally between us, regardless of whether we were married or not. In my mind, I heard her words.
That was a mistake, Carter. I wanted you to be happy and used completely wrong means to achieve that. Happiness can't be forced, especially not at a specific time. You'll find the right woman for you eventually.
I wasn't convinced of that, but I had been careful not to contradict Grandma Ruth. I didn't want to take away her hope of seeing me married someday.
"Hanny and I are happy. She would never play such a false game with me like that slut you brought to the wedding." Cameron grinned at me.
At that moment, I saw red. I lashed out. Quick. Hard. My fist landed in Cameron's face. My brother stumbled down a step and stared at me indignantly. Then he made a forward motion.
"Stop!" A hand was placed on Cameron's shoulder from behind.
Tony.
And at the same moment, I felt Don's hand on my shoulder.
"You're not going to start a fight here." Tony looked at me intently.
"Why not?" I countered aggressively. The punch had felt good. I felt relieved. Finally, a part of the anger I had been carrying around for weeks for no apparent reason had left my body.
I could hardly wait to strike again.
"You don't want to be disqualified after the fact, do you?" Tony kept Cameron firmly in his grip. Don had a bit less trouble with me. I wouldn't strike as long as Cameron couldn't defend himself. I wasn't that unfair.
"This isn't about the race." I wanted to get rid of Tony as quickly as possible.
"What's it about then?" Tony wanted to know.
"None of your business." My tone was unfriendly. Dismissive. Rightly so. This matter was none of Tony's business.
"Ever since that slut cheated on him, my poor brother has been as sensitive as a woman about to get her period." Cameron grinned at me.
At that moment, I didn't just see red. I blew a fuse.
"You... miserable pig..." I wanted to rush down the stairs and knock all of Cameron's teeth out. Don barely managed to hold me back.
"You'd both better go home now," Tony said. "This isn't the right place for your family disputes." With these words, he grabbed Cameron even more firmly and led him across the graveled parking lot to his car.
I stared after them angrily. I felt truly cheated.
Cheated out of a good, proper fight where Cameron would have lost all his teeth. The vein at my temple was pulsing violently.
"Do you miss her?" asked Don, who was still clutching my arm.
"Who?" I growled.
"Who else. Isabella, of course."
"NO!" I tore myself away from Don and whirled around. I stared at him angrily. "Why would I miss her? What makes you think that?"