The Billionaire’s Sudden Bride
Chapter 191
Brandon’s POV
The oppressive silence in the Stark family living room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Elle Sinclair stood before me, her face a perfect mask of practiced vulnerability–pale, eyes wide and swimming with unshed tears.
“Brandon, I know you’re upset, but I don’t blame you!” she said, her voice breaking at just the right moment.
I scoffed, giving her a dismissive once–over before turning toward the stairs. The longer I stayed in this room, the more I felt my control slipping.
As I headed for the staircase, Parker, our long–time butler, fell into step beside me.
“Mr. Stark, I’ve prepared the tea service as requested. Should I-
“Bring it upstairs,” I replied, deliberately softening my tone. “I need to speak with my father and Uncle Gavin.”
I felt my mother’s gaze burning into my back.
I knocked firmly on the study door before entering. Father and Uncle Gavin looked up from a stack of papers spread across the mahogany desk.
“Brandon!” Uncle Gavin greeted me with genuine warmth, gesturing me over. “You made it.”
“Yes, Uncle,” I replied, moving toward them as Parker quietly entered with the tea service.
I waited until Parker had set up the tea and exited before taking a seat. With practiced movements, I began preparing the tea, a ritual that had always helped focus my thoughts. Father and Gavin wrapped up their conversation about some investment property in Boston as I methodically measured the leaves.
“You saw your mother?” Father asked, his voice carefully neutral.
I nodded once. “Yes.”
“Elle came with her,” he added, watching my reaction.
I kept my expression perfectly controlled. “I noticed.”
Uncle Gavin sighed, giving Father a pointed look. “Brandon’s a grown man, Robert. He can handle his own affairs. You don’t need to
worry.”
“You don’t understand, Gavin, Father responded, rubbing his temples Jane is still bitter about what happened years ago. And now with Ell in the picture…”
He turned to me, his expression softening into something uncomfortably close to pity. “Brandon, it’s time you considered settling down. Lyanna is gone–has been for years. You can’t keep holding onto her memory forever.
My hand stilled momentarily over the teapot, the mention of her name still carrying a sting I’d never quite mastered. “Do you honestly believe she has any influence over my decisions?” I asked, my voice deliberately cool.
“But Lyanna-
Father,” I cut him off, “my personal life is not up for discussion. You’d be better served focusing on Mother rather than me.
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Chapter 191
Father sighed heavily, the weight of decades of marital tension evident in the slump of his shoulders. “Your mother is not easily managed, Brandon. The wounds between us run deep. Do you think he came back for me? She has her own agenda, as always.”
“Then you understand why this conversation is pointless,” I replied evenly. “No one–not Lyanna, not Elle, not even Mother–can force my hand in anything.”
“But your mother-
“Her place is at Washington,” I stated flatly. “If she prefers it there, she should stay there. Her absence from New York would be a welcome development.”
A noise outside the door caught my attention. I rose from my chair and crossed the room in a few swift strides, pulling the door open without warning.
Mother and Elle stood frozen in the hallway, their expressions confirming they’d heard every word. Mother’s face was ashen with shock, while Elle looked like she’d been slapped.
“Brandon, Mother gasped, “you…”
“Do you really hate me that much?” Elle whispered, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks.
I felt my control–always so carefully maintained–begin to slip. The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop as I stared them down, letting my mask fall away completely.
Elle reached for my arm, her fingers closing around my wrist. “Brandon, you know how I feel about you. How can you say such things? You and I… that time in Washington, you clearly-”
“Get off me,” I snarled, yanking my arm from her grasp with enough force to make her stumble backward.
I turned on her, all pretense of civility abandoned. “You’re not Sinclair blood, but I assumed years of proper upbringing would have instilled some dignity in you. Clearly, I was mistaken. No matter how much gold plating you apply, you’re just like your mother underneath–worthless.”
I shifted my gaze to my mother, whose face had gone from pale to crimson. “The great Sinclair heiress, and this is the best you could do with your precious ward? You’d rather embrace someone like Elle than acknowledge Alice. Perhaps you should return to the Sinclair estate permanently. Don’t bother coming back to New York.”
The crack of her palm against my cheek echoed in the hallway. “How dare you!” she hissed, trembling with rag Your father was the one who betrayed me, not the other way around!
. am your mother!
I met her gaze unflinchingly, unmoved by the blow. “Is that so? Do you truly believe I’m still that naive child who doesn’t know what really happened?”
She took two involuntary steps backward, something like fear flickering across her face.
“I’m not Father,” I continued coldly. “My tolerance has limits. Stay out of my personal affairs–especially my marriage. If you insist on interfering, you won’t like the consequences.”
I brushed past them both, my footsteps echoing in the silent hallway At the top of the stairs, I found my grandfather, William Stark, leaning heavily on his cane.
“Grandfather, I greeted him, my tone immediately warming.
“Brandon,” he replied, studying me with shrewd eyes that belied his eighty years. “When did you arrive?”
“Just now. I was speaking with Father and Uncle Gavin about some business matters.”
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Chapter 191
He nodded, satisfied with the explanation. “It’s been too long since
“Of course,” I agreed, offering my arm. “Let me help you downstairs.
As I assisted Grandfather down the stairs, I could feel Mother’s gaze radiating from her was almost palpable, but I found I didn’t care. She
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Chapter 191
He nodded, satisfied with the explanation. “It’s been too long since ve seen you. Stay for dinner tonight.”
“Of course,” I agreed, offering my arm. “Let me help you downstairs.
As I assisted Grandfather down the stairs, I could feel Mother’s gaze burning into my back from the doorway of the study. The fury radiating from her was almost palpable, but I found I didn’t care. She had made her choices long ago, and I had made mine.
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