redith.
redith looked up from the sofa, a handful of nuts still sitting in the bowl beside her. Her eyes widened the instant she saw .
She straightened her back, startled. Then I caught the quick flick of her arm as she tried to push sothing behind her back.
It was subtle... too slow.
My gaze didn’t waver. In fact, I didn’t need to see the object to know what it was.
redith stamred, trying to find her footing in the conversation before I reached her.
"W-what are you doing here?" she asked quickly. "Do you need sothing?"
I didn’t answer her, my feet moved. Three strides brought to the front of the sofa where she sat.
She leaned back a little, caught between mischief and apprehension.
Without a word, I leaned forward and reached behind her in one fluid motion. My fingers closed around the cool, unmistakable curve of her phone.
Her eyes widened even further.
I drew back and raised the screen to my eye level, letting the light flicker across my face.
redith had a phone. That had co as a surprise to the second I realized she had been the one trying to prank .
I glanced down at the lavender device in my hand and ran my fingers along the strimlined curves. It was perfect. A perfect fit for her purple eyes.
And her phone was unlocked, still open on the ssaging app.
And right there, I saw what should have been my na, ’Hubby’ with three red heart emojis.
My brows lowered, and for a second, I just stared at the screen—at the ridiculous contact na, the hearts, the smugness baked into that little smiling face in the text she sent .
This was bizarre. Why would she save my contact like that?
Then I slowly turned my gaze on her.
She was still trying to compose herself, lips slightly parted like she had half a defence ready but didn’t know which version of it to go with.
"You’ve been busy," I said flatly.
She swallowed but didn’t look away.
I held her phone between my fingers, the ssage she sent still glowing faintly on the screen like a soft taunt between us.
"Who bought this for you?" I asked quietly.
She blinked. "Dennis."
Of course.
"I didn’t have a phone," she continued, her tone still even, "so he got one as a gift."
A gift. My jaw ticked.
"If you needed a phone," I said, stepping slightly closer, "why didn’t you co to ?"
She t my gaze directly then. "I didn’t need to go to your brother and ask him for a phone before he gifted one. He just noticed I didn’t have one. That’s it."
The air between us shifted.
She crossed her arms loosely, shoulders drawn back, her voice gaining a subtle edge. "He was attentive enough to do sothing for without asking."
My eyes narrowed.
There it was—what she wanted to hear. What she knew would dig sowhere deeper than irritation.
She wasn’t just explaining. She was saying it outright: he noticed what you didn’t.
Indirectly, she was telling that I don’t pay attention to her, and only my brother does.
Fury prickled in my chest like thorns slowly piercing through skin. My fingers tightened around the phone.
"You have been looking for a reason to be mad at her," Rhovan said in my head, his tone almost amused. "And finally, she has presented you with one."
I exhaled slowly through my nose. The tension simred, but it didn’t boil over.
Instead, I stared into her eyes and asked calmly, "Are you upset with ... because I wasn’t the one who got this for you?"
She scoffed. "I’m not the one who looks furious and jealous right now."
I didn’t answer.
"Over a phone," she added, crossing one leg over the other, "which you’ve never once thought of buying ."
My jaw clenched again, but I kept my voice steady. "I see."
Refusing to let her words rile up, I opened the contact list on her phone. Only two nas stared back at .
The ’Hubby’ with the red hearts and another one, ’BF’.
My eyes darkened. I turned the screen toward her. "Who’s BF?" I asked, though I already knew.
She glanced at the screen. "Oh. It’s Dennis."
My gaze lifted slowly. "BF is Dennis?"
"Mm-hm," she humd with zero guilt. "Why?"
"Do you even know what BF stands for?" I asked.
She replied, "Best Friend."
"Boyfriend," I said at the sa ti.
The silence that followed was instant and thick. We stared at each other. Her brow furrowed. My heart dropped just slightly.
"What?" she snapped, rising to her feet. "Are you serious?"
I stepped back half a pace.
"You actually thought that ant boyfriend?" she demanded, her voice rising. "He’s your brother!"
I said nothing.
She blinked, stunned. "How could you think about us like that?"
I shifted my weight, trying to refocus my thoughts, but her stare burned through . She looked genuinely offended now, and worse, disappointed.
Rhovan’s chuckle echoed in my head. "See where your jealousy has driven you."
I wanted to slap him. Rhovan just didn’t know when to tease or not.
redith crossed her arms again, her chin tilting slightly.
To change the subject, I pointed to the other contact. "And what’s with this na? The hearts?"
Her glare only deepened.
She dropped back onto the sofa with a dramatic exhale, wrapped her arms around herself, and pushed her chest forward without realizing.
My eyes caught her cleavage, then I looked away quickly and moved my gaze back up to her face.
"Dennis was the one who saved both your contacts," she muttered. "If you don’t like yours, I will just ask him to change it when we et this evening."
She reached forward to snatch the phone from . I stepped back, pulling it just out of her reach.
She scowled and sank back against the cushions.
"Leave the contact," I said coolly. "No need to change it."
My thumb moved across the screen. A few taps later, I replaced ’BF’ with ’Dennis’.
Then, without a word, I handed the phone back to her.
She didn’t look at the phone when she took it. She hadn’t noticed what I had done, and I didn’t plan on telling her.
She simply rested it beside her on the sofa, arms still crossed over her chest like a small fortress.
I gave her one last glance. She was annoyed, but satisfied.
I turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind with controlled force.
Rhovan stirred restlessly beneath the surface. "You should have told her thank you," he said.
For what?
"Waking you up. You’ve been too dull lately."
I ignored him and went straight to Dennis’s room. I knocked once and pushed the door open without waiting for permission.
Dennis was sprawled sideways on his bed, one arm hanging lazily off the edge. A half-finished glass of sothing golden sat on his bedside table. His phone was on his chest, lit up.
A glint of surprise flashed across his eyes.
"Ah," he said without sitting up. "Look who just decided to pay his brother a random visit."
I closed the door behind .
"You bought a phone for redith," I said.
"I see you’ve t the phone," he replied with a grin. "I take it she used it well?"
I didn’t answer that question. But sothing told he had an idea of what must have transpired between and redith.
Dennis sat up slowly, phone sliding to his lap. He stretched his arms above his head, yawning like a man who didn’t have a single care in the world.
"You knew exactly what you were doing when you saved my na as ’Hubby’ with three red hearts," I said.
He chuckled. "Are you touched?"
I stared at him. Then I stepped forward slowly. "And BF? Why did you save your contact with that?"
He blinked. "She is my friend." He spoke as if it were a normal term. Then a wild grin suddenly appeared on his lips. "Don’t tell you thought it ant sothing else."
My jaw ticked, and my palms itched to slap that smirk off his lips. I hated that he caught still, I made sure my face revealed nothing.
A loud laughter tore through his throat. "You really are jealous, aren’t you?"
I took a step closer, but he didn’t back down.
"Brother, you know, you should pay more attention to your wife. She feels more relaxed when she is with than when she is with you," Dennis said, voice lower now. "She is lonely."
I stared at him. "What do you know about how I treat my wife?"
He shrugged. "But don’t worry, big brother," he said. "She still thinks you’re terrifying and emotionally constipated. That should count for sothing."
"You are asking for a beating," I said, then watched him put his hand up in surrender.
I gave him one last look, then turned and walked out of the room, frustration gnawing at my insides.
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