The quiet was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Es turned, her eyes landing on Ryan as he stepped onto the balcony. He was wearing a familiar nightgown, its panda pattern a quiet, comforting reminder of simpler monts amidst the tension that lingered in the air.
Ryan paused, nodding at her in silent acknowledgnt. Es returned the nod, her gaze softening for a mont. She shifted slightly, allowing him to join her in the quiet of the night.
Ryan’s voice was soft but edged with a seriousness that made Es look up. "You don’t ever say that you smoke when I’m sitting with you," he said, eyes trained on the night sky, his gaze faraway and thoughtful.
Es snickered and pressed her cigarette into an empty beer can beside her. "Stopped long ago," she replied, her voice light but layered with sothing deeper. "But sotis... sotis it’s just needed."
Ryan’s tone grew heavier, pulling the mont into sothing more somber. "You think it’s Grandfather, right?"
Es’s movent stilled, her eyes narrowing. "What?"
Ryan continued, his words careful yet sure. "I knew. You’re thinking it’s him. And maybe... maybe you’re not wrong. I’ve suspected it for a long ti myself, even if there’s no proof to put him at fault."
Es took in his words, the weight of them sinking in. She turned to look at him, absorbing the calm strength in his expression. "Ryan..."
But he pressed on, voice softening. "You know, Es, my brothers... they’re too honest for their own good. They look tough, they play the part, but they’re so pure, too pure sotis. They’d never think to question what’s happening around them, or wonder if soone’s playing them."
A small, wry smile crossed Es’s lips. "But you... you’ve always known things, haven’t you? You were already aware of Second Aunt’s sches before I even pieced it together, weren’t you?"
Ryan gave a quiet nod, a ghost of a smile on his lips.
"So why didn’t you say anything to them?" Es wondered aloud, almost as if speaking to herself.
Ryan’s gaze dropped, his tone turning wistful. "You know... Ray’s only ten minutes older than . Then there was Kai, born five minutes after him. But then... Jay and I? We were supposed to be born together, as twins, but sothing went wrong."
His voice dropped, quieter now. "When I was supposed to be born, the doctor said... they said I was tangled, trapped in the umbilical cord. They’d already given up on . Said my father and I couldn’t both make it." His voice held steady, but a quiet tremor belied his outward calm. "They thought I wouldn’t make it."
He paused, eyes distant, as if he were staring into the past. "But Jay... my foolish brother Jay... sohow, he pulled out. My mother said that when we were finally born, we were holding hands. I ca into this world with his hand in mine, like he was grounding , making sure I didn’t get lost before I even took my first breath."
Es’s smile softened as she looked at him with a newfound understanding. "So... you’re a blessed child," she murmured, the words holding a quiet reverence.
Ryan glanced at her, a shadow of a smile on his face. "Blessed, maybe. Or maybe just lucky. But from the very beginning, I had protectors—three of them—even before I knew what it ant to have family." He looked back at her, a glimr of vulnerability and gratitude beneath his usual composure.
Ryan’s voice softened, carrying the weight of years, of responsibilities and dreams that had been bound and abandoned. "You know," he began, his eyes distant, reflecting a life he’d never fully lived, "from childhood till now, it feels like I’ve been stuck in this cycle. Sick, fragile, always in bed. The world was outside, just beyond reach, but I was too weak to go out and seize it. And while my mother and father loved us deeply... they had their own lives, their own work. They gave us ti, don’t get wrong—they weren’t absent. They played with us, made us feel important. We loved them. But, even with all the affection, there was a gap they couldn’t fill."
Es listened, catching the nuances in his tone, the hint of resentnt and nostalgia mingling into sothing too complex to na.
"Ray..." Ryan continued, with a touch of reverence. "Ray took on so much. The company, our family’s na... all of it was thrust onto his shoulders, even when it should have belonged to all of us. But it was as if our father had anticipated I’d never be able to step up. Thought my health would hold back from standing on my own feet, let alone leading an empire." He paused, letting out a slow breath. "So the company went to him, with a clause. A clause that made it so... I’d inherit it. It was ant to be my legacy, not Ray’s."
Es’s brows knitted as she studied him. She hadn’t known this—the history buried behind that polished, almost effortless authority Ray held.
Ryan’s gaze turned inward, a flicker of regret dancing behind his eyes. "But I never wanted it. I wanted to be free, Es. Free to fly, to live without feeling chained to anything, just... to roam the open skies." He smiled, wistful, then continued.
"Ray... he wanted to be a pianist. He had this gift. Even as a child, he could make a piano sing like nothing I’ve ever heard. When I was sick, just hearing him play... it would calm . Put to sleep. His music had a way of making feel... whole."
A silence settled between them, heavy and bittersweet. Es could almost picture a young Ray, fingers dancing over piano keys, unaware of the weight that would one day crush that innocence.
"He sacrificed it all," Ryan said, voice rougher now, tainted with a bitterness that had aged like old wine.
"Sent Kai to law school with my mother’s approval. Ray fought for him, told my mother that Kai had potential, that he deserved a future. But there was a price for everything. And Ray... he paid it, forfeiting his own dreams."
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