Chapter 16

They stood in front of what seemed to be the garage. Jay opened the door and Dan was instantly captivated by the sight before him: a Harley-Davidson Iron 883. He approached the bike slowly, like a predator eyeing its prey.

"May I touch it?" he asked.

"Of course!" Jay replied.

Dan gently caressed the motorcycle, inspecting it with admiration. He was truly mesmerized by its beauty.

"Do you like it?" Jay asked, leaning against the wall.

"Like it? I love it. It's... incredible," Dan exclaimed, a keen motorcycle enthusiast.

"The Ducati Diavel belonged to my brother, but this Harley-Davidson Iron 883, it's my baby," Jay confided. Dan was surprised to hear Jay speak of his bike in this way. He had finally found someone who shared his passion for two-wheelers. In contrast to Jack, who preferred cars.

They then discussed their shared love for motorcycles, exchanging their feelings of freedom they experienced when riding.

"I'll let you ride it one day, but maybe we should head back to the party, right?" Jay suggested. Dan nodded in agreement. "Was that your bike I saw outside?"

"Yes. It belonged to my father."

"It's sublime."

Joy watched her brother Jay and Dan return home together, both men sporting radiant smiles.

"They would make a very handsome couple, don't you think?" she asked her boyfriend. Jack glanced at her before following her gaze to Jay and Dan.

"I don't know. But I won't let your brother hurt him," he replied. Joy was offended by his words.

"My brother is a good and respectful man. He would never harm Danny."

"Call him Daniel," Jack said. "I don't like it when anyone else calls him that."

"Okay," Joy replied, giving Jack a strange look. The two men, Jay and Dan, approached them.

"When are we cutting the cake?" Jay asked.

"Soon," replied his younger sister. The party kicked off with alcohol and an abundance of food. As promised, before everyone got too drunk to eat cake, Jay brought out the cake with its twenty-one candles for Joy to blow out and make a wish.

The "Happy Birthday" song filled the room as everyone sang and cheered joyfully. At the end, Joy blew out the candles and was about to cut the cake when the unexpected happened.

Jackson had spoken to his mother, who adored Joy, about his official intentions towards her. He had also hinted at something to Dan. On that day, at Joy's birthday party, as she was about to cut the cake, Jackson knelt before her and presented her with a gold ring. It was a simple yet beautiful ring, which Dan immediately recognized as the one worn by Jackson's mother, accompanying her wedding ring. It was the family's engagement ring.

Joy's face lit up with joy, but Dan felt anger and sadness. He felt betrayed and broken. Jay, witnessing the distress in Dan's eyes, understood that he was in love with Jack. He could only feel compassion for the young man's pain, having experienced a similar situation himself.

"I do. I do. I accept you as my husband," repeated Joy, her eyes brimming with tears, but tears of happiness. "It's the most beautiful gift I've ever received," she added, as Jack slid the ring onto her finger, the one on her left ring finger.

For a brief moment, Jack had forgotten about his friend's presence, but after the passionate exchange and congratulations, he searched for Dan in vain. The revving of his motorcycle outside indicated his imminent departure.

"Why can't he ever be happy for me?" wondered Jack as he tenderly kissed his fiancée.

"I'm going for a ride outside," Jay announced as he kissed his sister on the cheek. "Congratulations to you both," he wished Jack. After giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, he left the house for a cigarette.

"Poor guy," he thought.

Dan was driving at full speed, tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn't know where he was going, but he kept driving endlessly. Eventually, after narrowly avoiding an accident, he parked on the side of the road and broke down in sobs to release his pain and sadness.

"Now it's over. It's all over," he declared amidst his tears. "I... he won't want me anymore. No, who am I kidding, he never wanted me." He thought to himself. "And... I don't want this relationship anymore either. Being treated like a mere object of desire by my best friend, loving him in secret, it's eating away at me from the inside."

Dan no longer had the strength to go on. Knowing that Jack was going to marry another woman, be with someone he despised. He knew that Joy was kind and loving, but he couldn't help but hate her. She had everything he desired simply because she was a woman. It was unfair.

But Dan also understood that it was neither Joy's nor his own fault. In reality, no one was to blame.

"He doesn't belong to me anymore," he murmured before letting out a desperate laugh. "What a fool I am. He never belonged to me. And he never will." He let out one final cry to bury the love he felt for Jack.

"I give up."