4 Brothers

Ryan woke up late because of his birthday party yesterday. It was past lunch when he left his room. Stepping out of his room, he noticed the gloomy atmosphere. The house was usually quiet but for some reason, today it was like a graveyard. He was the only lively one in the house but it was never as quiet as it is today, you'd normally find maids as you walk round the house but there was none.

'What's wrong again today?' he questioned no one but himself. He went to Carl's room to see him, but there was no one in. He assumed his brother was out and so he went towards the kitchen to eat, there was no one in the kitchen as well. 'Did they fire the staff?' he wondered.

Since there was no one to give him food, he decided to search for food himself. But there was no food prepared for him. Opening the fridge, he took out a bottle of milk, he quickly grabbed an apple, taking a bite to satiate his hunger. After which he prepared a simple oatmeal. This was the only available meal that's easy to prepare.

After eating, he realized Carl was supposed to be home. Ryan went around the house searching for Carl. 'Where could brother have gone to? He's not busy at work, he has no friends, he's normally indoor if there's no outdoor activity of importance.' He could not help but wonder where his brother could have gone to. He wanted to ask the maids, but he's yet to find them. He made up his mind to go to the staff quarters. On reaching there, they were all whispering to each other. He didn't mind as he thought it was normal for maids to gossip.

He instead, sought after the Head Butler, the Head Butler informed him that Carl had attempted to r*pe his mother the previous day, as a result was kicked out of the house, banished to State A for 5 years. Ryan shook his head in disbelief. He knew the kind of person his brother is, after all, they grew up together. He concluded that his mother had schemed against his brother again. He felt defeated. He felt guilty.

He immediately went to search for his mother. He could not understand why his mother would stoop to this level. 'Is that why grandma and grandpa cut ties with her?' he questioned himself.

His maternal grandparents cut ties with his mother because she was greedy and black-hearted. She was aware that his father was a married man but she still schemed her way into his house. His maternal grandparents advised his mother against her actions but she refused to listen.

He had to beg for a couple of years before they acknowledged him but they still refused to acknowledge his mother. The only reason they accepted him was because they felt the sins of the mother should not be paid for by the innocent son.

Now he understood why even after pleading for his mother's sake they refused to have anything to do with her. She was always scheming to get her way, she was too greedy. He was disappointed that he was born into the Blackwood family. Yes, they're aristocrats with a few hundred years of history, he felt this was not what it meant to be aristocratic. The Blackwood family started declining some 50 years ago, and his parents only made it worse because of their selfish desires.

He barged into his mother's room, there she was admiring herself in the vanity mirror. She must be feeling pleased with herself. She managed to kick the first master of the house out.

His mother wasn't really surprised to see him, If anything she was prepared to face him.

"Ryan, you're here." She said in a calm voice. Her eyes, lazy.

Ryan looked at his mother, yes she was beautiful, but he felt he was staring at the face of the devil. 'This is what a scheming face looks like.' he thought to himself. For future reference? I'm not sure, but one thing is, don't judge a book by it's cover.

"Why did you do that?" He questioned, feeling disgusted by her innocent looking face.

"Do what Ryan, you have to be clear with me." She said, brushing her hair. Her voice still undisturbed.

Ryan wanted to retort, but then he remembered his mother would say she did it because of him. That wasn't right, he never wanted any of this. He never asked to be born, but here he was talking to a woman who did things out of greed and claimed it was for him. As he didn't want to hear her silly excuses, he didn't bother with his mother again as he left for State A to search for his brother.

___

When Carl saw the car, he knew it was his brother. Ryan was willowy, he had a pair of dark eyes that was filled with guilt.

"I..."

Ryan, on his journey to State A had practiced how to present a suitable apology to his brother. But on seeing him, he couldn't help but stare at his own feet. 'Maybe if I wasn't born, she wouldn't have an excuse to hurt him.'