Page 8

Fabian

I can't shake the feeling that my bad mood has transferred to Helena. She's seated next to me, her fork hovering above her untouched plate and the vibrant room visibly contrasts her somber expression.

For someone who seemed equal amounts of nervous and excited to come here, it seems like it's all been stuffed out of her, but I can't exactly pinpoint when this exactly happened.

I reach under the table and take her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. We only need to get through dinner and then we can leave. I’ll take her home like I promised or we can celebrate Christmas alone at my penthouse. Preferably in bed and naked.

“So, Fabian, when did you start dating Helen Jerkins?”

My eyes shoot up and meet Nico’s. The brat is seated directly across to me and from the mischievous glint in his eyes, I can tell he’s trying to stir trouble so I ignore him. He’s always been like this since he was younger and it seems he still has some growing to do.

“Helen Jerkins?” chimes in Aria. “Isn’t her name, Helena? Wait, how do you know her surname? She hasn’t told us yet.”

Nico makes an act of dropping his folk drawing all attention to his mock surprised face. There is a sudden stillness in the room as everyone tunes into the attention whore of the family. “Oh, she didn’t tell you? Helen and I went to high school together.” He says, picking up his wine and taking a long sip and he must know that almost everyone is hanging on his every word because he takes his words before speaking the next words. “We even went to prom together in our senior year!” he says with a chuckle that grates my nerves. “I’m just as shocked as you are that my prom date is now dating my big brother. The heir of the family!”

"I didn't know," Helena whispers but her voice is low, and barely anyone hears her. Judging from the terrified look in Helena's eyes, I can tell whatever she and my brother had did not end well. I know Nico well enough to know what a little shit he can be.

Competitive too. It must sting him knowing he’ll never run the family business and hates the fact that soon I will take over. The only reason he gets away with living recklessly now is because my father enables it, willing to do anything to praise his mother.

It’ll all end with me!

Once I take over everything, Nico will be among the first people to get cut off. I don’t entertain bullshit just because these people are family and they will have to earn their stay and work just as hard once I take over everything. With my father’s declining health and with me running most of the business deals anyway, that will be happening sooner rather than later.

“Maybe if Helen hadn’t run out on me during our date, I would have been the one bringing her to the family Christmas dinner!” Nico says, turning his eyes on my date. “Maybe she just figured there was a bigger fish out there and… it looks like she went fishing.”

"Enough!" I say, slamming the table and causing Helena to jump in fright and knock down her wine glass, spilling the drink onto the table.

"Oh God," she cries out, her chair scraping away from the table as she struggles to get up and escape the wine but it's too late. Her dress is already stained red, and all eyes are on her. Her face turns beet red, and her eyes tear up as she looks down at the mess of her dress "Oh, God, I'm so sorry."

Aria, who is seated on Helena’s left gets up with her and places an arm on her shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. This family is messed up like that,” she comforts her. “We’re about the same size, I think I have a dress that would fit you just right?”

"Thank you," Helena whispers, and the two start to leave when Nico stops them with his next words.

“Running again?” he mocks. “You always have to be the Cinderella of the ball, don’t you?”

I am vibrating with rage and it’s taking me everything to not snap and punch Nico in the mouth just to shut him up but it seems his words have drawn back everyone’s attention to him.

"Wait, did something happen between you two?" asks someone before others quickly start, all oblivious to the plight their words and actions are causing Helena. Nico eats up all the attention.

“Yes,” he says with a smirk. “Something did happen between us.”

It’s clear what Nico is trying to imply and everyone catches it too. Judging from the horrified gasps and the disgusted looks on their faces. Except Nico is a lying piece of shit.

I would have believed Helena if she said that she’d never been intimate with my brother even if I hadn’t taken her virginity last night. But I did. I saw the red stains on my sheets. I am the one who claimed her innocence. The only one who ever will.

“So does that mean your brother is dating your ex?” chimes in an aunt, judgement thick in her voice.

“Well, I mean, she was my date first so…”

“We were never dating,” says Helena for the first time, drawing all attention to her prompting Aria to wrap an arm protectively around her. “W-we only went to prom before he…”

Nico smirks. “Before what?”

I tap my finger on the table, pulling my brother’s attention from my date and to me. “Nico, I said enough. That is all the warning you are going to get.” I warn calmly.

Everyone in this table knows my numbers policy and not resulting in violence but it's not because I am incapable of it and from the way Nico looks at me, he knows it too. But the cocky bastard is sure I would never do anything in front of my father or the rest of the family. He is mistaken.

“What, you are not interested in your girlfriend’s background? You don’t want to hear how she pined over my dick–”

Everything happens fast. Perhaps too fast for my brain to even process it or Nico to see the danger or for any one of the many people in the room to stop me.

One second Nico is running his mouth and the next he is pinned to the wall with my hand wrapped tightly around his throat. He is lanky, it barely takes any effort to lift him off the ground with the only thing holding him up being the hand on his throat. He scrambles to grab my hand, his eyes turning red and wide with panic when I cut off his air.

My nostrils flare, eyes unblinking as I watch the man who moments ago was busy talking crap but cannot back his words with actions.

I warned him.

Helena is off limits for anyone to mess with. Not even my family is allowed to mock her and least of all, Nico!

The room is silent. Too quiet you can hear a pin drop, but no one dares get close to us. Not even my father. Even though he knows too well not to come close when I get like this he tries to preserve his image as the head of the family.

“Fabian!” he tries firmly. “Put him down!”

But I don’t. Nico was begging for me to punch him when he started on my date. He knew I would not let this fly. He’s getting what he worked so hard for. He so desperately wanted my attention, now I am giving it to him.

"Apologize to her!" I say roughly, eyes locking with my brother and I hope he sees the devil when he looks into them. "And call her name right this time!"

"Fabian!" comes my father's firm voice again but I pay him no mind. Heck, he should be proud of me. Isn't this what he was hammering into me just yesterday morning? How respect is the reward of violence?

“Sorry,” Nico chokes out, the garbled sound barely audible.

"He can't talk! Fabian, you are killing him!" calls out a voice from the back, concern for Nico that was absent for Helena.

“Then he should make haste with his apology.” I grit but I loosen my grip a tad.

"Sorry," he chokes out, tears streaming down his cheeks even as he claws desperately at the hand on his throat.

“Enough, Fabian. Jesus, you have made your point!”

Not quite, but I am about to. I will make an example out of Nico so everyone in my family thinks twice before they start poking at Helena.