CHAPTER 8

"Finally!" Reardon greeted his guests with a warm, affectionate smile, hugging them all. "The whole Cavallieri family under my roof. I'm moved and honored. I missed you, my friend." The man sighed. "Another annoying business trip. You know how things are." He gestured to the living room. "This way, please."

"I'm supposed to be this man of wisdom but right now I don't feel very wise," Brian started, once everyone was seated. "What I have to say isn't easy." The man ran a hand through his long hair, coughing nervously. "What a mess." He shook his head in defeat.

"What's wrong?" Stephanie scanned the librarian with worried eyes. "You are scaring me," she whispered.

"Well, from what Dad told me, his and Mom's marriage was falling apart when I was thirteen." Brian swallowed hard. "He had an affair with a woman and told me that the woman was pregnant and wanted him to have nothing to do with the child." The man stopped, anxiously licking his lips, then continued in a thick voice. "Dad asked me to look for the child, but he didn't know they were twins, so he doesn't know I found you. Don't judge our father, please. He and Mom went through more than we can imagine. It would break most." The librarian shook his head. "I wanted to be angry when he told me but I couldn't."

"Wait…what are you trying to tell us?" Stephanie was on the edge of her seat, all tense, eyes wide with surprise. "Why would Bailey and I judge your parents?"

"Because we share the same father." Brian smiled tentatively, arms wide open. "I'm your eldest brother. Edwin and Edward are also your brothers."

"No way." Stephanie vehemently shook her head. "No. No, this is… Just no," the young woman chanted, at a loss for words. "I'm sorry." She felt like she was suffocating.

"Did you feel guilty for how your father treated our mother?" Bailey asked in a pain-filled voice. "That's why you helped us? Because he walked out on us and left her like she was an unwanted pregnant cat?"

"Sorry, we had a father, one who took care of us and gave us the love we needed, when we needed it." Stephanie, who seemed a little bit calmer, spoke again. "Come on, Bailey, we are leaving." She left her seat.

"Of course we are." The young man imitated his twin sister, then turned to Reardon. "Sorry, but under these circumstances, we can't stay any longer."

"Your mother told Dad to leave her." Brian was determined to lay all the cards on the table. "I don't know why, and it doesn't really matter. I helped because you both are my brother and sister, no matter what our parents did or didn't."

"I just don't buy your story." Stephanie shook her head again, but this time her voice didn't have the harshness from before. "Of course, for a guy, things are simple. Don't want the babies, walk away. Think about it. Why would Mom, a single woman, want to raise a baby by herself?"

"I don't know why things happened the way they did. Only your mother and our father can answer that." Brian's voice was tinged with pain. "And it's not my story. It's what little information I was given. I'm sorry." The man sighed in defeat.

"Well, make it only your father, because Mom passed away two years ago." Stephanie blinked away the tears threatening to spill. "She knew the end was coming, don't you think she would have told us?" the young woman asked in the same reasonable voice from earlier.

A heavy silence followed Stephanie's words. With a long, heavy sigh, the young woman plopped down on the armchair again, at a loss of what she should do. In all honesty, she wouldn't want to leave; from what she could see when walking the distance from the car to the imposing mansion's entrance, the backyard was an immense playground.

Two extra-large sandboxes, two huge playhouses installed on the ground, and another one built in a tree, a few slides of different heights, a mini-pool—the place had it all and much more, a real children's heaven. However, the best part about it was the children of all ages filling it with sounds of happiness and excitement.

Stephanie followed the hosts into the house, but she secretly longed to be outside, with the kiddies, running, laughing, playing hide-and-seek, reliving the happy moments of her own childhood. When she looked at Bailey, the young woman saw the same yearning in his eyes, and she replied with a small nod, an unspoken promise that they would go outside as soon as the social conveniences would allow.

Repressing a sigh, Stephanie cast a look at the men in the room, and she didn't detect a trace of anger, disappointment, or bitterness on their faces, just a mix of sadness and confusion. None of the three Cavallieri brothers or their husbands understood why she rejected the blood bond they shared, why she didn't give them a chance to know each other better.

Reardon started to whisper softly as he rubbed Edwin's huge belly, and Stephanie's heart melted at the sight the two of them were offering. At the same time, she felt a pang of guilt in her chest; maybe the scene she caused earlier had an important contribution to the man's state of distress. We should go, though. It's for the best, the young woman thought.

Stephanie was about to stand when a little girl, no older than six, came running into the room and stopped next to her seat. She was Brian's youngest, the twin of shy Simon, the hosts' favorite nephew. The little girl gave the young woman an inquisitive look, then a frown creased her forehead, but it disappeared the next second.

"Are you our auntie?" Breanna flashed a cute grin in the young woman's direction, showing all her teeth. "We would love to have an auntie to go shopping with us. Alana and Antoinette think Papa and Dad have horrible tastes in clothes. Well, we are lucky to have Martino, who is the best." She paused and took a deep breath. "Nicola, too. Don't worry about the time. Tanner is patient, he never rushes us."

"My princess, you break Papa's heart." Brian put a hand over his heart in a theatrical gesture that made the little girl giggle and also put a smile on Stephanie's face. "However, I suppose you're right." He chuckled.

"No offense, big brother, but you and Bart here suck at buying girls' clothes." Edwin grinned. "Yeah, kill me now." The man burst into a fit of laughter.

"Babe, I'm glad we both have horrible taste in girls' fashion." Brian turned to Bart, who gave him two thumbs up. "I'd hate to be the only one." He then winked in Edwin's direction. "Nah, I'll let Reardon deal with you."

"I'd love to help you girls buy clothes," Bailey found himself saying, then covered his mouth with one hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"You can go clothes shopping with the sophisticated young ladies anytime you want." Brian gave the younger man a kind smile. "We don't mind, on the contrary. Both of us are grateful for the help. You heard the little princess yourself."

"Yay! You are the best!" Breanna triumphantly wiggled her fist into the air, then kissed Bailey on both cheeks.

Brian felt the need to be alone, so he went into the kitchen and absently started to peel a banana, when he heard Bailey's voice. "Please, can you unsay the words about us being siblings? Steph likes you very, very much, but as a friend, and I feel the same. That's what I want you to be. Our best friend."

"Alright." Brian nodded, managing to hide how much his brother's words hurt him. "I won't take your choices from either of you, no matter how much it hurts me. I'm grateful that you want me in your life, even if only as a friend."

"Look, I don't want to sound like an ungrateful bitch, but we don't need complications in our life right now." Stephanie stepped into the kitchen and gave the librarian a sad smile. "Bailey was married, and look how it ended. I had a boyfriend, and… You know, Mom is right. We thrived when we were alone." She looked between the two men. "I'll leave you guys to talk."

"Please, be our best friend. We need one. A brother, not so much," Bailey said the last part in a whispered voice, lowering his gaze. "A best friend could convince Steph to give Bastiaan Speer a chance. She would listen. She would never, ever trust an older brother." He inhaled sharply, then cleared his throat before continuing. "I consider you a friend. The best I ever had. I'm going to tell you a secret. I'm pregnant with Grant's child and I don't know what to do about it."

"What do you want to do?" Brian gave the other one a warm, understanding look, then raised his hands in surrender. "Just a simple question, no judgment."

"It's a baby," Bailey whispered, protectively putting his hands on his flat belly. "I want to keep it, of course," he said in a slightly louder voice.

"Then that's what you should do." Brian gave his brother a tender, encouraging smile, softly patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm afraid I won't be a good parent for it." Bailey spoke in a shaky voice. "Mom was the best, but I… well…I'm not her."

"I think every parent has this fear." Brian's heart broke a little when he heard the sadness in his brother's voice. "Not that it would matter, but I think you'll be a great parent." The librarian hesitated for a moment, before continuing in a warm, affectionate voice. "You have us. You can always ask questions if you want, and above all, you have memories of your mom and how she was with you and your sister."

"You really are the best of friends." Bailey smiled radiantly. "I treasure our relationship, believe it or not."

"I'm happy you feel this way, and yes, I believe you." Brian protectively put his arms around his brother's waist. "I'll be around whenever the two of you will need me."

"I…I'll tell you a secret, because I trust you, and I'm sure it'll be safe with you." Bailey stuttered and started to fidget. "I'm neither a man, nor a woman. I discovered that by myself, at seventeen, and no one except Mom and the specialist knew anything about me. Not even Steph." He paused for a long moment. "Mom was that way, too."

Bailey plopped down on a kitchen chair, face buried in both hands, and after a few seconds, started to tell Brian his mother's story, as he knew it from the one who gave life to him. They were always sad and alone, eating leftovers, shouted at and kicked around by their siblings. Their parents didn't have very much for them, either, and were never proud of their outstanding achievements at school.

Bailey described the feelings of his parent and the oppressive atmosphere in their house in such vivid colors, that Brian experienced the same despair, abandonment, and low self-esteem that poor, unfortunate person did, and was shaken to the core by his sibling's revelation. That explains a lot, he said to himself and apologized to the ghost, hoping they were around somewhere and could receive his apology.

Don't worry, Brian continued to message the spirit, your children will be happy and cherished, and they will find the right partner, someone to share their dreams and raise a family with. That's a promise I make to you, and I'll do my damnedest to keep it. Bailey already took the first steps down the path to a happy, fulfilled life, because I'm sure Lennox will never hurt them, and something is telling me you know this, too.

But first, I have to get rid of the piece of shit who nearly destroyed my sibling's life, Brian concluded his internal monologue, repressing a cruel smile.