Chapter 2

Hugo waited outside and watched his brother emerge from the main entrance of the county hall. He opened the door of the black Range Rover.

"Do you need a hand, brother?" Hugo said, offering his hand.

"Get your hands away from me, like you haven't done enough!" Andres barked, and with the support of his upper body, he pulled himself onto the back seat of the car.

Hugo pressed his lips together as he folded the wheelchair and lifted it into the back. He returned to the driver's seat when two women walking through the parking lot caught his eye. He immediately recognised Laura Cunnington, who had become quite a town celebrity following her divorce, but he had to rub his eyes again when he saw the woman next to her.

The woman's golden locks were exactly like her mother's, but she had inherited her icy blue eyes from her late father. Just like a tiger eying its prey, Hugo found himself lost in the sway of her hips as she strutted in high heels. He watched her open the door for her mother and then walk around her car. He held his breath when the black dress ran up her thighs and stretched around her bum as she sat behind the steering wheel.

"I couldn't believe my eyes either when I saw her today at the funeral. She has changed," Andres said from behind him.

Hugo broke his stare and powered the engine. "Okay? I didn't even notice."

"Of course you did. I could see it miles away. Too bad she is only the heiress of the shitty log house her father built to impress her cheap mother once upon a time. With our looks, you could do so much better."

"I'm not interested." Hugo shrugged, but his brother's words stuck in his mind.

With his athletic, 6'2-foot body and Hispanic heritage, he had never had trouble awakening the interest of the opposite sex. On the contrary, his brother had taken full advantage of the exotic appearance that had given them charm and mystery since they were teenagers. His brother swept women off their feet more than Hugo could remember, often to the extent that he usually found sanctuary at the local library or the forest surrounding the Ferrero estate.

Considering the time he had spent in the forests during his childhood, it was no wonder that he had ended up roaming the foreign lands to look for new product lines for his father's ever-growing multi-billion empire.

"I don't know if I should feel relieved that you find her attractive now. Back in the day, I remember you checking out her small tits and boyish frame more than I'd like to remember."

Hugo turned and swung his fist at him, but Andres still had the instincts of the ex-captain of the cricket team, dodging just in time and glaring at him with rage.

"You think that's funny? I've been discharged from the hospital literally last week and I've lost my ability to walk. What's wrong with you?"

He was right.

"Cut the crap, Andres. Let's go."

Hugo huffed through gritted teeth and backed out of the parking lot before sinking into his thoughts again.

Andres hadn't been completely wrong. Coincidentally, it was at the local library where Hugo had first set eyes on Melissa as a young girl. It hadn't been the boyish figure he had been after, but the peace and quietness that had surrounded her. Just the medicine Hugo had been looking for after losing his mother.

There was nothing boyish about her now, Hugo thought and let the small Fiat Punto push into the car park. She couldn't see him through the darkened front glass, which offered Hugo an opportunity to watch her bite her lower lip as she drove the narrow exit.

"Well, since you obviously have zero interest in her, I hope you don't mind that I asked her for dinner tomorrow night at the mansion?"

Hugo's first instinct was to punch his brother, but his vulnerable stage stopped him and instead, he remained silent as he manoeuvred the car outside the parking lot.

"I don't care what you do, Brother. You want to ask her out, do it. You want to fuck her, do that as well."

Ignoring his brother's words, Andres leaned back in the seat.

"I might since she accepted my invitation without a struggle. On the contrary, she seemed to be quite excited about it. Desperate even," he mocked, tabbing his legs.

Hugo glanced at him from the interior mirror. "There is nothing funny about your medical condition. You should be happy to be alive."

Andres's face darkened. "And whose fault is that, Brother? Who condemned me to this chair for the rest of my life?"

Andres' words hurt, especially as Hugo had driven the car on the night of the accident.

"It doesn't matter, we have more important things to consider, such as getting you up to speed with your physio. The doctor said there still might be a chance you could walk."

"Right, walking with crutches or other aids like Grandpa, but I will never run or play cricket again. Shoot me now, please."

"On the contrary, Brother, you have been given a second chance in life, don't waste it."

"It's easy for you to say. How I wish it was you in that passenger seat instead of me, maybe you would stop being a dickhead!"

"Well, we would have all died in a blink of an eye because you were drunk on that night and in no condition to drive," Hugo said and parked the car near the front entrance of the Ferrero mansion.

"Shall I get the nurse out to help you?" Hugo asked, eyeing the recently added ramp on the side of the stairs.

"Well, I can't possibly get up myself, can I?"

Hugo made a quick call, and after a short while, a nurse appeared from inside. "You should consider hiring permanent help. The nurses can't work from the house forever."

"I would but I can't work anymore, and I've got no money for it," Andres complained.

Hugo sighed. "Andres, you know you haven't worked a day in your life. Your monthly allowance has been more than enough to cover all your costs and impulse purchases."

"Well, even if I wanted to work, it's too late for me now. Plus, my monthly allowance is not enough to look after this house and hire help."

"Right, I'll have a look at the finances tomorrow and make necessary adjustments to your allowance," Hugo said and returned to the car. "But you should know, many people work in your condition and live a happy life. Why don't you change your attitude? I don't know, start working out, get married and stuff."

"Sure, I'll make a note to suggest that to Melissa tomorrow during our romantic night together."

Hugo tightened his crib on the car door until his knuckles whitened and his face turned red, but he swallowed his rage. There was no point arguing with his brother.

"Do whatever you find it necessary, Brother. Good night," Hugo said and disappeared behind the steering wheel.

On the way to the main motorway, Hugo let his mind wander. He knew that his brother's mean, self-deprecating jokes attempted to cover his pain, and in any other circumstances, he would have tried to console him, but Andres' sulky attitude had always kept their relationship distant.

We might look the same, but our lives couldn't be more apart, Hugo thought as his mind wandered to Andres' words about Melissa.

Melissa

Andres' joke about her wouldn't have had the impact it did if she had declined his dinner invitation, which would have made sense since Melissa had never shown any interest in either of them, but something had clearly changed.

My unstable brother and the self-confident Melissa couldn't possibly be a good combination, especially since there was something in her icy blue eyes that could trap a man in a heartbeat, Hugo thought and took the exit from the motorway.

London would have to wait.