Page 103 of Delilah In Discretion

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah, I know...learned that the hard way,” she muttered, and he leaned up, placing a small kiss on her lips.

Having heard enough of their conversation, I made my way to the stairs, but Vivienne spotted me and spoke.

“Hi, Archer. You’re home late.”

I cleared my throat by the steps. “I was busy. Had a few matters to take care of.”

“I’m sure you probably got a lot done in that tux,” my father chuckled sarcastically, but Vivienne sent a small slap to his forehead, cutting him off.

She looked back at me and smiled genuinely. “Whoever you were with, hon, I hope you guys had a good time.”

My father muttered under his breath, “I could think of a few people he’d be with.” She sent him another look, and he pouted slightly as he looked away from her.

I said nothing more as I began to leave, but I paused as I heard a voice.

“This family is a fucking joke.”

The mood instantly went south, and I turned to my right as Stephan approached them, taking a drink of scotch and slamming the glass down on the table.

“Stephan—” I began, but he only glared at me and snarled before I could speak any further.

“You don’t even care about me. Fuck you,” he seethed.

My father and Vivienne quickly came over to us.

“Stephan, stop it right now,” Vivienne said with a small tremble in her voice.

Stephan let out a dry chuckle. “You even got my mother on your side. My own flesh and blood. For some reason, I’m always the suck-up and tryhard older brother, so why bother anymore, hmm? You get everything handed to you on a silver fucking platter, while I’m left picking up the pieces,” he seethed.

I remained silent as he approached me slowly.

“It’s the same old fucking story. Archer gets everything he wants, and I’m left dealing with the aftermath. Well, guess what, little brother… you will never be anything to me—” he began.

Our father spoke up in a rage. “Stephan, that’s enough.”

He glanced over to our father and then back to me. He nodded his head. “Oh, that’s right. Let’s not upset the golden boy of the family. Heaven forbid he doesn’t get his way. He can get angered rather quickly, and he’s far too precious... and pathetic. You wanted a relationship with me; well, that ship fucking sailed a long time ago. And you know, I used to think the problem was with me, but look at you—still obsessed and fixated on some girl that our father uses to—”

“That’s enough, Stephan!” my father screamed, and it went silent to the point where you could hear a pin drop. Stepping forward as he let go of Vivienne’s shaking hands, he pointed to the door. “You need to get yourself together. We can talk in private if you want, but taking it out on Archer is just unacceptable—especially in front of your mother. In the meantime, you need to leave. Now.”

Stephan smiled as he grabbed his jacket and looked over to me. Neither of us uttered another word, and I stood silently as Stephan left, slamming the door in the process.

Vivienne held back her small sob. “Archer. I’m so sorry.”

My jaw clenched slightly as I nodded my head. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to steady myself.

“I’m going to stay in my penthouse for a while,” I muttered, and my father ran his hands down his face as Vivienne grabbed my hand. Even her warm embrace wasn’t enough to soothe me.

“Let me know when you get in safely,” my father said, and I nodded as I squeezed Vivienne’s hand one last time before I made my way to the door silently.

Chapter thirty-five

Delilah

As I walked my mom to her car, she kept a permanent smile on her face. I gave her a look. “Why are you so happy about this?” I asked her, and she laughed.

“I like to relive a few of my moments through you. Your father and I had our share of dates... he almost forced me to marry him each time. Looking back on it now, I acted as if it annoyed me, but I knew that was his way of telling me he wanted to be with me.”

“Gosh, this was our first date, and Archer already mentioned proposing.”

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