Page 33 of Entwined with My Best Friend's Brother

Gwen's eyes blink in confusion, "Parent-like figure?"

I nod, "Yeah. Ryan told me."

Gwen sighs, catching on to what I am saying, "Oh. Him. I admit I didn't tell you because there are some things I'm hiding from Cale and you."

"Why are you hiding it?"

She seems guilty, "I didn't want Cale and you to distance yourselves from me. I belong to a family that goes way back in history. That means we still hold much power even if we may not be rich or socially influential. We don't like to be in the spotlight much."

"What are you talking about?"

Gwen appears to have given up, "Okay. Look. I will tell you an important secret I probably shouldn't without Ryan's approval."

"Why do you need Ryan's approval?"

"Because he is the next head of our family. Whether he chooses to raise our family's reputation or let it fall is totally on him."

"You are making this too confusing. Just say it. What is it?"

Gwen is quiet before she lets it out all at once, "Ryan is the heir to the Arnoult Empire."

I can't help but stare at my best friend disbelievingly. How could Ryan Hale, as a Hale, inherit the Arnoult Empire? I laugh as I try brushing it off, "Alright. I see. I'm sorry. You are too tired now. Let's go to sleep."

I turn when she sits up, turning me to face her again. "No. Really. Ryan is the heir to the Arnoult Empire."

I pretend to go along, "So how is he as a 'Hale' inheriting the Arnoult Empire?"

Gwen stretches it out as if I were stupid, "Because Arnoult Baldwin of Arnoult Empire was our guardian. The person you referred to as our parent-like figure."

Sitting up, I stare at her. She returns the stare. Oh my gosh, she isn't joking.

Two years ago, Arnoult Baldwin was the hottest topic in high-class society. Everyone knew him. He was an influential figure who had built his wealth up from scratch. People knew that if anyone wanted to enter a business, they should learn from Arnoult. He had managed most of the biggest companies. The aircraft, oil supply, medical equipment, pharmaceutical, you name it.

"So, this is why you didn't tell me when your parent-like figure died?"

"Yeah. You would distance yourself from me if I told you about Arnoult."

"Why would I distance myself from you?"

Gwen's countenance seems to turn down a little, "You'd be surprised by the number of people who completely changed their attitudes around me just because of my status."

She is right. I wouldn't know. Gwen and I are from entirely different worlds. Whatever challenges she faces are different from mine, "If you want, you can tell me. I can't promise I will understand completely, but maybe it will ease your worries."

Gwen smiles, "You are unbelievable."

This is the first time Gwen uses that phrase to describe me, "What do you mean?"

"You have always been like this, you know. You don't know what I may discuss, but you easily accept it. You accept everything as it comes and goes, adjusting where you can and going with the flow where you can't. You have always been so decisive about your next action plan that sometimes you make a regretful decision. But you have never regretted any decision you have ever made. And I admire you for that. I want to be like you. I want to be decisive and firm, able to adjust easily to any change in my life, stand on my own two feet, ignore the world that doesn't know anything about me, and enjoy even the unexpected."

I can't help but look at Gwen in confusion, "What are you talking about? Please don't put me on a pedestal. I don't know how you come up with such stuff. I have also committed countless blunders with Cale's situation. I ran around the place, making trouble for Ryan and you."

Gwen glances at me, smirking, "You didn't make any trouble for us. And even if you did, would you say you regretted anything you did in the last couple of hours?"

Reminiscing on my little sexual entanglement with Ryan, my cheeks burn. I probably wouldn't have done that under normal circumstances. Still, I did what I did with Ryan due to utter loneliness, hopelessness about my future, and the fact that I had felt sexually frustrated since Gwen introduced Ryan. I should probably feel regret over my actions being a single mother whose child has recently been kidnapped. But I feel a relief of some sort. I feel as if I am ready to move on.

Since my husband's tragic incident, I have denied the very idea of his death. Slowly, that denial has developed into a crazy assumption that it is all just a huge conspiracy. Even when I went to confirm his dead body right in front of me and made his funeral arrangements myself, I felt he was still alive. So naturally, getting into any relationship felt like I was betraying him. However, slowly, two years have passed, no news has come, and his death has become more evident than ever. And the sexual encounter with Ryan was probably what I needed to realize that my husband was dead.

"You know, Gwen. I don't regret the last couple of hours, but you know why I don't regret my decisions?"

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