Beyond These Walls (The Walls Duet #2)(5)

“Well then, I guess I’d better get in the shower. You owe me, Jude.”

I heard a high-pitched yelp before the line went dead.

I shook my head in disgust, wondering how my brother had managed to sink further into the cesspool of his own lack of mortality since I’d returned home.

When he’d brought Lailah to me, seeming genuinely concerned for my well-being, I’d thought that maybe he was on a path of redemption. But as soon as I had started to get my own life back on track, his had begun to spiral.

I’d tried to speak to him about it, get through that snarky tough exterior to figure out the reason for his sudden turn, but he wouldn’t let me in. He wouldn’t let anyone in. I was honestly starting to wonder if there even was a reason or if that brief glimpse of the man I had seen, who could be so much more, had been nothing more than an elaborate act.

After all, he’d gotten what he’d wanted. I’d taken my place in the company and pulled it back from the brink of collapse, and now, he was free.

He was free to be the nonexistent * I remembered.

My phone rang, and as I looked down at the number showing up on the caller ID, I instantly felt the anger Roman had caused dissipate.

“Hey, Angel,” I said with a smile as I cradled the phone in my hand.

“Hi,” she answered cheerfully. “Just thought I’d check in and see how your day was going. I know you have that big meeting this afternoon.”

Shaking my head, I let out a puff of air as my fingers came to the bridge of my nose.

“Did I get it wrong?” she asked, suddenly alarmed.

“No, no. You always remember everything perfectly.”

Unlike others, I thought to myself.

“Oh, okay good. So, are you ready?” she asked, excitement ringing through the tone of her voice.

“Yes, actually. I spent the morning going over everything, and in a minute, I’ll be heading over to the boardroom to do some last-minute strategizing with . . . mostly everyone, but I think we’ve got it.”

“Roman isn’t there, is he?” she asked, the exuberance now gone.

“No,” I simply answered.

“That . . . well, he’s just not a nice man.”

My mouth twitched as I tried not to laugh, instantly warmed by her. She was so meek, yet when needed, she could be as fierce as a lion.

Even now, my lioness still couldn’t bring herself to say a bad word about anyone.

“Yes, he is, but he’s my brother, and unfortunately, that means I have to put up with him.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to kick him the next time I see him.”

A chuckle escaped my lips as I imagined her scrawny frame kicking my imposing large brother.

“You do that.”

“Go knock it out of the park, Jude,” she said warmly.

“I will. See you tonight?”

“Okay. I’ll save you some dessert.”

“No, you won’t.” I laughed.

“I’ll try.”

“Deal.”

“I love you,” she said.

“And I love you,” I replied before hanging up.

My eyes fell to the picture I kept on my desk. It had been taken at the wedding of Lailah’s mother a couple years back, just before I’d surprised her with our trip to Ireland. The water was behind the two of us, and there was nothing but future and possibility in our eyes.

It was how I wanted us to look forever.

“That wasn’t so bad?” Roman touted.

We hopped into the back of the chauffeured black sedan that had been hired for the evening. Another car had been instructed to take our dinner guests back to their hotel, so they could rest for their return flight to Tokyo.

“Thanks to me,” I muttered as I loosened the knot of my tie. My hand moved down to unbutton the top two buttons of my shirt.

“Not only thanks to you. Who wined and dined their Japanese asses off tonight? That would be me. I showed them a good time—something you sure seem to be lacking these days. Rough waters at home? Honeymoon phase over before the honeymoon can even start?”

His goading did nothing. I simply turned and smiled. “Things are excellent between Lailah and me—in fact, never better. And to think, I owe all this overwhelming happiness to my generous, selfless brother, Roman. Oh, wait . . .”

He deadpanned, no longer in the mood for joking. Instead, he lunged for a bottle of water in the cooler under the seat from the small bar area that had been set up by the car service.

Good, he needed to dry out.

“There was nothing selfless about what I did. You were moping around here like a wounded puppy, Jude. Someone needed to do something to get your ass back into gear, so I did the easiest thing possible. I gave you what you wanted. I just figured it would mellow you out a bit.”

“I am mellow,” I argued. “With everyone else.”

“Ah, so the truth comes out.”

His gaze narrowed, and our eyes locked. When I looked at Roman, sometimes, it felt like my future self was staring back at me. We had so many physical traits in common, yet our personalities clashed like oil and vinegar.

“I just wish you would take something, anything, in life seriously.”

He patted my back, and his head motioned toward our building as the car pulled up. “Now, that’s what we have you for,” he said.