Page 79 of The Billionaire's Royal Challenge

He recalled the hardness in Stephen’s eyes as he rose from his seat in the armchair across the room, speaking four short words. “We need to talk.”

“Stephen…” he answered, holding up his hands.

“Don’t.” Stephen wagged a finger at him, his voice dripping with venom. “You couldn’t even wait until we were home to try to ruin my life? Seriously? I thought you were so happy with Ellie, but it looks like you’re still ticked off about what happened with Chloe.”

Nate braced himself for the onslaught, knowing that hisbrother’s anger would be painful to bear. “I’m not. Stephen, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet you are.”

Nate pressed his lips together, trying to hold onto his patience. His brother was hurting, likely stunned. He didn’t want to make things worse. “I truly am. I didn’t want this to happen.”

Stephen scoffed. “You were just waiting for it to happen. You can’t stand Chloe, and you always see the worst in her.”

“See the worst in her? Stephen, there’s no good to see. Come on, man, she slept with you while she was engaged to me.”

“Because…never mind. I’m not going to argue with you about that again.”

“And I don’t want to argue about it either. But once a cheater, always a cheater.”

“No!” Stephen’s sharp voice trembled a little.

“I know you don’t want to believe it. I understand. I lived through this. I know what it’s like.”

Stephen’s forehead crinkled as his lips tugged into a deep grimace, upset etched into every line of his face. “No, you can’t…you can’t understand.”

Nate scoffed at the words. “Can’t I? Stephen, I asked her to marry me. And then I walked in on you two in bed. What part of her cheating do you think I don’t get?”

“Yeah, well, you weren’t meant to be. You moved on to Ellie. You’re happy now. You’re going to be a prince.”

Nate heaved a sigh at his brother’s jealous comment, but let it slide given the circumstances. “Yeah, I’m happy with Ellie. Really happy. But…I went through a lot of pain to get here. I mean, I…fell apart when I found out about you two. You know that. I hit rock bottom.”

“Because you couldn’t handle the truth. Andyou still can’t.”

“It doesn’t sound like you can either. I may have seen Chloe leaving his room, but Julian admitted it. Elena recorded it all. Did you hear the recording?”

“Yeah, I heard it. He only admitted to it after she forced him. You set this up. The two of you.”

“That’s not true. Ellie wouldn’t lie about this.”

“Yeah, right, because she’s always so truthful. The day you met her, you knew who she was, right, bro?”

Nate slid his eyes closed as his brother threw her hidden identity scheme into his face. “We both were cautious because of who we were. This is completely different.”

“Is it? Because it deals with how far you’re willing to go to get what you want. And you want Chloe gone.”

“She’s not a nice person, Stephen. She’s just not. I don’t want her gone so much as I want better for you.”

Stephen tossed his head back with a laugh. “What a joke. You don’t want to be reminded of what a loser you are, and that’s what happens every time she’s around. You’re reminded that she didn’t want you. And guess what, I’m pretty sure Ellie’s going to realize this, too. She’s going to leave you for Prince Eric.”

The words sliced at him. Still raw from being cheated on over a year ago, Stephen knew exactly how to push his buttons.

“And I hope you dive back into the bottom of a bottle again.”

“That’s uncalled for,” Nate shot back, his fingers clenching into fists.

“What’s uncalled for is my jealous brother doing anything he can to break up my marriage.”

“I didn’t. Chloe did that. With Prince Julian. He admitted it. Please, Stephen, wise up before she ruins you, too.”

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