Chapter 4One Brother Is All I Need

From that night on, I completely ignored Hunter.

When the fridge ran low, I only prepared meals for Jeff. At my birthday dinner, I kept my arm looped through Jeff's, treating Hunter as if he were invisible.

Our mother noticed the icy atmosphere. "Have you two had another argument?"

I simply ignored the question, and Hunter's expression turned incredibly sour.

The truth was inevitable; the protagonist would eventually take her rightful place.

Later that night, my phone buzzed. It was a video call from my best friend, Harper.

Through the noisy background of a club, she called out frantically, "Gemma! Come quick! Your brother got into a massive fight over some girl, and he is bleeding!"

My heart leaped into my throat. "Which brother? Is Jeff hurt? I am coming right now!"

If it was Jeff, I would run there barefoot.

The line went quiet for a few seconds. "No, it is Hunter."

I let out a breath and sat back down on my bed. "Oh. Tell him to take some aspirin then. I have to go." I hung up immediately.

Hunter hated my interference anyway. This was exactly the freedom he wanted.

The next morning, I walked out of my room to find Hunter waiting for me, his face dark. "Gemma, did you not get the call last night?"

I kept my voice calm and polite. "I did. But I am behaving now, just like you wanted. I didn't want to annoy you by showing up."

His face flushed with an anger so intense it looked like he wanted to tear something apart. He opened his mouth to snap at me, but the door behind him opened.

Jeff walked out of his room. The moment I saw him, I forgot all about Hunter, rushing over to inspect him. "Jeff, I heard there was a fight last night. Are you hurt? Did you get any scratches?"

Seeing my frantic concern, a subtle, pleased smile touched Jeff's lips.

A loud slam echoed through the hallway.

Hunter had violently kicked his own door shut, glaring at me with bared teeth. "Am I invisible to you now?" His lip was split and bruised, his knuckles raw.

I didn't care to argue. "You can take care of yourself."

Hunter’s jaw clenched, his voice dripping with venom. "Fine. See if I care. Just do not come crawling back to boss me around tomorrow."