"Is Grandpa arriving tomorrow?" Robert asked, peeling an apple with one of Joanne’s blunt knives.
"Yep," Joanne called from the kitchen, "and your PA is ssaging Jeff, complaining that you’re not looking at your emails. Apparently, there’s an issue with a supplier of the hotel in Paris and..." she trailed off when she saw Jeffrey walking in and taking over the conversation.
Jeffrey sighed. "Robby, seriously."
Robert didn’t even pretend to listen. He was staring blankly at the apple peel curled on the table like he’d just discovered a new species.
"Robby!" Jeffrey called, sharper this ti.
Robert blinked. "What?"
"When are you going to end your vacation?" Jeffrey asked, tone firr now. "Your company needs you."
Robert turned his head slightly, as though the sunlight through the windows demanded more attention than his cousin’s voice.
But Jeffrey wasn’t letting it go. He stepped forward, stood right in front of him, and grasped his shoulders—not forcefully, but with the weight of sothing real.
"I’m not our grandfather," he said softly. "I don’t know what he told you guys that day, but I’m not as smart or as capable as him. I can’t handle everything alone. I’m not ashad to say it—I need help. I need you, Robert."
Robert looked up, startled by the sincerity. Jeffrey’s voice wasn’t demanding. It wasn’t weak either. It was honest. Vulnerable, even.
"Let’s stand side by side," Jeffrey said. "This is not an empire. There’s no need for a king to rule everything. Let’s share the burden, shall we?"
The silence hung like early fog over Rockchapel’s fields. Robert looked into his cousin’s eyes—green like forest leaves—and saw no pride, no manipulation, no competition.
Just truth.
"This is how you’re going to handle it?" he asked after a pause.
"Yes."
"And your wife agrees to it?"
"She does," Jeffrey said without a beat of hesitation.
.
Robert let out a small, wry chuckle. "I see why Grandpa wanted to leave everything to you... just because you chose her."
There was no jealousy in his voice. Just a strange realization.
If he had inherited the heirdom, and if he had suggested this kind of shared approach, Brianna would’ve called it weak. If he had stumbled, she would’ve brought in her people. She would’ve preserved the throne, not the people sitting on it.
"Grandpa told us your wife has his permission to throw any one of us out of the family," Robert said with a low chuckle.
"But she would never do that," Jeffrey said instantly.
That was the truth, and they both knew it.
"I know," Robert murmured, looking out the window where the grass fluttered in the breeze. Maybe Grandpa gave her that authority because he knew she’d never use it. She had a softness about her that even their sharpest words couldn’t wound.
And Jeffrey... Jeffrey wouldn’t go against Joanne for anything. The way he looked at her—no, stood with her—proved it.
No wonder Philip had chosen them. He had chosen soone who would embrace everyone, even the ones she didn’t like.
"By the way," Jeffrey said, a little more carefully now, "Jo offered to talk to Bri..."
Robert’s gaze snapped to him.
His cousin raised both hands. "She offered. Not ."
Robert exhaled, jaw tightening. "No."
He didn’t want Joanne walking into Bri’s line of fire, not while she was very pregnant, not when Brianna would say anything to win, even if it ant drawing blood.
"She’s worried for you," Jeffrey added gently. " too."
Robert looked at him. The man he once tried to outrun, outshine, outsmart. The man he once despised. And now... he was offering his shoulder. His strength.
This was what family looked like. Not blood and legacies, but standing by soone when they needed you, without asking why they didn’t deserve it.
)
"I’ll end the vacation this month," Robert said finally, then added with a mock sigh, "Since you’re begging so desperately for my return, I’ll grace you with my presence."
Jeffrey chuckled. "Whatever floats your boat."
Robert let out a slow breath. And for the first ti in a long ti, it felt like a weight had lifted from his chest.
"By the way," Jeffrey added, grabbing his keys, "I’ll be out till evening. I’ve a eting for Shamrock. Will you please—?"
"I’ll keep an eye on your wife for you," Robert said, cutting him off with a dramatic wave. "I’ll call you if she so much as sneezes. I’ll take her to the hospital if she hiccups. I’ll make sure she rests... though I have zero hope of that actually happening."
Jeffrey grinned. "Then I’ll depend on you, cousin."
Robert rolled his eyes but didn’t hide his smile.
"Go," he said. "I’ve got this. And hey—when you’re back, tell where Grandpa wants to hang his hat this ti."
-----
Joanne lay curled on the couch after lunch, her fingers gently resting on her belly. Her lips curved softly when she glanced through the open window and saw Robert seated on the porch, phone in hand, probably catching up on emails.
She’d told him he could go lie down in his room or take a walk if he wanted, but he had simply stayed—never straying too far, as if guarding her with quiet determination. She was certain Jeffrey had asked him to keep an eye on her while he was away, but she hadn’t expected Robert to take the task so... literally.
Closing her eyes, Joanne tried to lull herself into a nap, but sleep had beco an elusive thing these days. Her body was heavy, stretched and aching in places she didn’t know could ache. There was a low discomfort in her belly that had been lingering since morning, along with an occasional tightening. At first, she’d dismissed it as more of the usual third-trister discomfort—but now... it was starting to feel different.
She reached for her phone and checked the ti. She had spoken to Jeffrey just over an hour ago. He had been stepping into a eting, but not without checking on her first—his voice tender, almost pleading, reminding her to call for help at the first sign of anything. As if she didn’t know that. As if she’d risk their baby’s life.
A wave of nausea rolled through her, followed by a cramp that made her wince. She pressed a hand to her abdon and stilled, waiting. Her belly had gone tight again—painful, lasting longer this ti.
She shifted slowly, intending to stand and head toward the bathroom, when it happened.
A sudden gush.
Her water broke.
Her breath caught.
Okay. It’s ti.
Reviews
All reviews (0)