Chapter 82

Qi Yaqiu watched Elise Whitmore’s open, bewildered expression and felt her jealousy sharpen.

She let the silence stretch, then sighed as if the truth pained her. “Your brothers have been lying to you.”

Elise blinked. “What?”

Qi’s face softened with practiced pity. “That bracelet was the auction’s headlining piece. Julian Whitmore paid five point six million dollars for it. And the clothes you’re wearing are couture, designed by a famous French designer. Every piece is worth a fortune. I’ve never heard of that designer giving clothes away for free just because she worked with a local celebrity.”

She pulled out her phone and searched for the auction coverage. The article announced that the head of the Whitmore Group had bought an extraordinarily expensive piece. The photograph beneath the headline showed Elise’s blue diamond bracelet.

Elise stared at it.

Julian had lied to her?

Qi watched disbelief settle over Elise’s face. A little satisfaction crept into her smile. At last, she had found something that made the distance between them feel smaller. She had wondered what would happen if she told Elise the truth. Elise would get angry. She might even take it out on her brothers. Julian was a man of consequence. He had gone to all this trouble to choose a gift, only for Elise to reject it and get angry with him. What an ungrateful, spoiled little sister. How long would the Whitmores keep indulging her then?

Just seeing Elise upset would have been enough. If it drove a wedge between her and her brothers, so much the better.

Elise kept looking at the article. “Wait. They told me it cost sixty dollars. How did sixty turn into five point six million?”

So Julian had lied. And Adrian had, too?

Her brothers had given her several things lately. Had those all been expensive as well?

And the jewelry box Julian had brought over, the one he said belonged to Mom. Had that been another lie?

She had been so happy, thinking the pieces had belonged to her mother. She had treasured them for weeks.

Elise’s breathing quickened. Her hands curled into fists. She could understand why her brothers had hidden the prices. They knew how frugal she was and had worried she would refuse the gifts. They had wanted to be kind.

But Julian had told her the jewelry box was their mother’s keepsake. That was different. She couldn’t accept that.

Qi saw Elise growing angrier and felt her own mood lift. Go on. Get mad. Let it out. The more fiercely she reacted, the more her brothers would dislike her.

Who wanted to give someone a gift and get a tantrum in return?

Elise pushed herself to her feet. Her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen, went still, and answered.

“Ellie, come to the entrance,” Julian said. “We’re here to take you home.”

Miles’s voice crowded in from the background. “Ellie! Come on, we’re right here!”

Elise hung up. Fine. Julian and Miles were both here. She was going to ask them exactly what had happened.

Qi could barely contain her excitement. She followed Elise, eager to watch the brothers fall out with their sister.

An extended Rolls-Royce was waiting outside the venue. Before Elise had crossed the sidewalk, Miles had leaned halfway out of a rear window and was waving at her.

“Ellie! Over here!”

Adrian and Theo had both tried to stop Miles and Julian from coming to get her. Miles had sulked for a long while. Eventually, he and Julian had agreed that they might as well bring everyone home together.

Adrian and Theo were already waiting beside the car. They had heard about the plan before Elise. Julian got out as she approached.

The four brothers stood together, each with a different presence. More than a few people turned to look.

Elise’s face held no trace of a smile. She was furious.

Qi trailed behind her, unable to hide her anticipation.

Julian noticed Elise’s expression. His smile faded, and he frowned. “What happened?”

“Julian, the jewelry you gave me,” Elise said. “You told me it belonged to Mom. It didn’t, did it?”

Julian’s face stiffened for an instant. The others caught the change. Their expressions shifted, too.

Had she found out they had been hiding the value of the gifts?

Miles, Adrian, and Theo exchanged a glance. This was bad.

They had all given Elise things worth a fortune. They knew how carefully she watched her spending, so every one of them had decided to hide the price. Had she figured out the truth?

Elise saw Julian fall silent. “It wasn’t just the box, was it? You’ve all been lying about what your jewelry costs, too?”

The part she couldn’t get past was Julian saying those pieces had belonged to their mother. It had made her happy, and moved her, for weeks. She had imagined that they were some of Mom’s favorites, maybe even pieces she had worn herself. Had Mom really left her none of the jewelry she had worn?

Tears gathered in Elise’s eyes. Julian wanted to keep the truth from her, but when he met her gaze, the words wouldn’t come.

He sighed. “Ellie, can we talk about this at home?”

Qi wore a look of regret, but excitement shone through it. Of course Julian wanted to go home. People nearby were already watching the strained exchange. Why humiliate himself in public?

This was Julian Whitmore, the head of the Whitmore Group. So what if Elise was his sister? If a woman embarrassed him on the street, how could he face his employees afterward? How could he keep his authority?

Elise bit her lip. The anger had risen too far for her to hold it in. “You’ve all been awful. You’ve been lying to me for so long!”

Her voice carried. People around them began whispering.

Qi studied Julian and the others. They were frowning. She felt a burst of delight. They disapproved of Elise making a scene. If it had been her, being turned into a public joke, she would have been mortified. She would have wanted someone to cover Elise’s mouth.

The brothers were frowning, all right. They simply looked as if they were in trouble.

Ellie was this angry. How were they going to make it up to her?

Miles wondered if he should go home and kneel on a keyboard. The last time Elise had been upset with him, he’d lain awake worrying all night. If she stopped talking to him for good, what would he even do with himself?

Adrian was so worried he could have gone gray. The last time Miles had made Elise mad, Adrian had written a song to help smooth things over. This time all four of them had messed up. One song wouldn’t be enough. He’d have to make her an entire album.

Theo had been sharp-tongued with Elise plenty of times, but she’d never really gotten mad. This was the first time he’d seen her this angry. He thought of the little ornaments he had given her, claiming he had picked them up while wandering around town. In truth, he had tracked them down through collectors.

Qi waited for the brothers to lose their tempers and teach Elise a lesson. Nothing happened.

How could the Whitmore men all be so patient?

Julian saw the tears gathering in Elise’s eyes, and his own heart seemed to tighten. He lowered his voice, almost pleading. “Ellie, please don’t be angry. I was wrong. I’ll make it up to you. I’m sorry. Don’t cry, okay?”

His voice held little pride, only a plea.

Adrian spoke quietly. “We’re all at fault. Ellie, Your Honor, please be merciful and forgive your brothers.”

Miles scratched his head. “I messed up again. I’m not that bright, so I’m bound to make mistakes. Don’t stop talking to me, okay? You can keep an eye on me and make sure I don’t do it again.”

Theo let out a soft sigh. “You’ll look terrible if you keep crying. How are you supposed to get married someday?”

Qi stood there, stunned. The Whitmore men weren’t just easygoing. They had no temper at all. Instead of getting angry, they were soothing her in voices so humble they were almost begging.

In Qi’s experience, a man who was publicly embarrassed by a woman would at least walk away. Plenty would put her down, because their pride came first. One brother being patient was one thing. But all four?

Elise was crying because she was angry. Watching them bow and scrape only made her angrier. They were always so good at saying the right thing, and then they went right back to lying.

She slapped Julian’s hand away when he tried to smooth her hair.

“I’m never talking to you again!”

She ran to her car and slammed the door. A moment later, it pulled away.

Qi laughed under her breath. She had seen Elise slap Julian’s hand away. That gesture had humiliated him completely. Everyone had seen it.

Julian’s hand hung in the air. Elise had hit it hard enough to leave a red mark. It still stung. He frowned and watched her car disappear, then let out a heavy sigh.

The sting in his hand barely registered. He could think of only one thing.

Ellie had said she would never talk to them again.

How were they supposed to make her feel better?

The others were just as worried. They watched the road with long faces.

Adrian turned on the others. “What are we supposed to do now? I told you not to push it, and you did it anyway.”

Miles protested, “She wouldn’t accept the gifts otherwise. And whose idea was it to say the jewelry was Mom’s? That was Julian’s lie.”

Theo glanced at Julian. He hadn’t known about that part. So the hidden prices were only one problem. The keepsake lie was what had truly hurt Elise.

“You really had nerve,” he said.

“Don’t I know it?” Julian muttered. He was already regretting it.

Adrian said, “Let’s figure out how to make it up to her.”

The four of them started brainstorming on the spot. Gifts. Snacks. Kneeling and begging. A way to win her sympathy. Ideas piled up one after another.

Qi’s face went pale, then flushed. Elise had slapped Julian’s hand away, and he still wasn’t angry? What kind of person was he?

They had already moved on to planning how to make her forgive them. They didn’t care that people were listening. It was as if making Elise feel better was the only thing in the world that mattered.

What kind of bizarre world was this?

Elise sat in the car with her eyes still a little red. Her emotions had settled, but she was still angry.

Her brothers did love her. But she couldn’t accept their using lies to make her take their gifts, especially when it came to Mom’s things.

Ethan was quiet for a while before asking, “Miss Whitmore, should I take you home?”

Elise thought it over. Her lips pushed into a pout. “Not that home.”

She didn’t want to see her brothers yet.

When the doorbell rang, Mrs. Bennett opened the door. Seeing Elise there, both she and Mr. Bennett broke into smiles. The Bennetts lived nearby, but they had always made a point of keeping some distance from the Whitmores. Elise still came to visit now and then.

“Why are you here so late?” Mrs. Bennett said. “You should’ve come earlier. I could have made you something good.”

Then she noticed Elise’s red eyes and hesitated. “What happened?”

Elise nestled into her arms, her voice thick with tears. “My brothers were mean to me.”

Mrs. Bennett frowned. How could her brothers have been mean to her?

Since meeting them, she had finally stopped worrying that Elise would be mistreated in the Whitmore home.

She pretended to be stern. “What did they do? Tell me. I’ll set them straight.”

Elise managed a watery smile and told her what had happened.

When she finished, Mr. Bennett shook his head, helplessly amused. So it was a happy problem after all.

Mrs. Bennett understood why Elise was angry. She would have felt the same way. The Whitmore boys treated Elise well, but sometimes they could be so foolish. If they wanted to show her love, couldn’t they have done it some other way? Why choose this?

Mrs. Bennett put on an indignant face. “How could they treat our Ellie like that? That’s outrageous. Next time I see them, I’ll smack their behinds until they can’t sit down.”

Tears still clung to Elise’s lashes. She pictured the brothers getting spanked and laughed aloud. The anger eased a little.

Mrs. Bennett comforted her for a while, then fixed her a late-night snack.

After eating her fill, Elise said, “Mom, I don’t want to go back tonight. Can I sleep here?”

She was still upset and didn’t want to face her brothers. Tomorrow was Sunday, so staying over would be fine.

Mrs. Bennett blinked. She had thought the siblings had just had a little spat and would be over it by morning. But Elise really didn’t want to go home?

The four brothers would be worried sick.

Mrs. Bennett hesitated, then sighed. “All right. You can stay.” She would have loved to have Elise living with her all the time. But the Whitmores loved her, too, and for Elise’s sake, she thought it was better for her to live with them.

The condo was one Elise had bought for the Bennetts. They weren’t used to a large home, so they had chosen a two-bedroom place. The couple shared one room, and Elise could sleep in the other.

Elise went to the spare bedroom and straightened the bedding.

The doorbell rang again. She looked up. Mrs. Bennett peered through the peephole, then turned back with a resigned smile.

“They all came.”

Elise pressed her lips together. She still didn’t want to see them. Why had they come?

She considered it, then gave a small huff. “Mom, tell them to go home. I don’t want to see them yet.”

Then she closed the bedroom door.

She made the bed by herself. It was already nine at night, and the sky outside was dark.