Well, He's Not Mine Anymore!

Zack, mad with wrath, went home in a fury. He grumbled and cursed everything or everyone he had met on his way. He can't believe Ewen didn't let him know he was leaving.

"What will he do if something should happen to him?" he whined while kicking in an invisible object."If he starts avoiding me and doing things alone, that means he's ready, right? So, I won't let him slip through my fingers. I'm all he's got. "

He passed in front of his mother, who, absorbed in a gardening manual, did not see him walking on her flowerbeds, which she cherished more than anything in the world. Céline Édouard, by her maiden name, is the third child and the youngest of the Édouard family.

After the sudden death of their parents in a road accident, his eldest brother married him to his childhood friend, Richard Clifford, whom he thought was the best for his fragile and sweet sister, like those flowers she loved so much...

With Richard, everything was more straightforward and transparent. He always had inexplicable control over those around him and knew what he wanted. He was perfect for Celine, and he proved it.

Today, Celine lives the most beautiful life with her three children and her loving, attentive husband... But let's say her two children and her conservative husband since...

She doesn't work; she didn't like it, it's too tearing. Her husband is the only one who takes care of the house's finances. The vacation trips and tours of shops in Paris, Milan, and such cost him the skin of his ass, but he is wealthy. Since for his three daughters, as he usually says, he can do anything. She lacks nothing; he even manages to find her the rarest plants.

Zack's four years old older sisters, Aurelie and Ava, are twins. Celine acts like her two daughters; there's no difference between the three. Yes, that's right, sometimes Richard sees his wife as his daughter too. She is a rotten spoiled lady.

Mother and daughters spend a lot of time together shopping, caring for their skin, their hair, and the twins' career in show business, and the father has to keep his company afloat and work a lot more every day. Therefore, Zack is the one who is on the sidelines, a leftover.

Luckily, he met Ewen in boyhood; since then, they have been inseparable. Zack is growing in muscle and strength, while the other is all grace and beauty.

He had always been very protective of Ewen. He considered him the brother he never had, and then that changed without warning, without him realizing it himself.

He has become the most important person in his eyes. The person for whom he is ready to do anything without complaining or asking questions, and he practically lives with the latter.

When they were eight years old, Zack wanted to get off the table after an argument with his older sisters over dinner. At the same time, his parents praised the girls accepted into the most prominent ballet school in London, just like Ewen was.

The girls hated Ewen's flexibility and natural grace; despite his young age, he climbed the ladder at an impossible speed for them, and they took his head with it. They were the primary source of intimidation in his little life.

His mother was proud of him, but she couldn't brag about her darling son's innate talents and passion for dancing in front of others, especially at the family gatherings that her idiot husband attended.

She can only congratulate and smile when everyone talks about their children. But that did not prevent her from encouraging her son and accompanying him in all his recitals. She never missed any of his performances, whether it was a small or big event.

While Zack played soccer, he was good, but no one in his family cared about that. The girls were the only ones who got all the attention while he was tossing away as if his presence didn't matter that he was making them uncomfortable.

Ewen always required his parents to bring him to his matches to see Zack play, and that's how his father became close to Zack, completely forgetting which of the two was his son. He accompanied him even when Ewen was not there. He saw in Zack, the son he would have liked to have had.

Without his parents' consent and the house's masters, Ewen got up from the table and went to his friend without even looking at his elders.

While Aurelie shouted at Zack that he was selfish to want to leave the table at that very moment, they started talking about her when they had only done that since the guests had crossed the threshold of their home.

Celine joined the party and ordered Zack to shut up and behave in front of the guests. "I just want to get out of the table," said the poor thing, desperately on the verge of tears. " Why don't you want to shut up?" added Ava, watching the amusing scene.

Ewen and his mother were horrified by how they treated Zack. However, Richard casually looked at them as if he was watching a show of bad taste unfolding in his own house.

Neither took sides with one other, but it was clear that the girls had priority in the house. He is never available for Zack's football games but will do everything he can to attend the girls' performances.

That day, everyone was antagonizing the helpless little Zack, who wanted nothing but to get out of this dammed table and go away from this damn dinner, which was only a way for Celine to promote the merits of her daughters.

Even though he was the youngest at the meeting, Ewen was fed up with this situation. So suddenly, to everyone's astonishment, he got up from the table without asking anyone's permission.

With a firm step, he walked with a clenched fist to Zack's chair, took his hand, forced him to follow him, and left the room, perplexing everyone without a backward glance.

Since then, these two have become the shadow of each other. It earned them much more torment from the twins. They kept bullying Ewen because they were jealous of his natural grace and ability to reproduce any step without too much difficulty and because he was always the favorite at the dance school. The teachers always spoke of him on good terms.

They would have slaughtered him if he were a girl or any lowborn kitten. They are not even at his level to dance with him in a duo. "He is a rare pearl," they said when they spoke about him in the dance school.

If he continues at this rate, he will be the youngest danseur etoile if he keeps his footing and interest.

As much as they praised and complimented him, it is as much as his father hated him and refused everything that made him who he was, a flower of rare and lavish beauty.

Zack was lost in his thoughts when Aurelie's voice brought him out of his lethargy. "So we're venting on Mom's flowerbeds, I see." Zack turned slowly towards the voice, trying to keep the anger he felt inside him. Aurélie was perched on the stairs like a swan. These two are often found in weird positions in every nook and cranny of the house; for those who meet them for the first time, it will be difficult for them not to have an attack.

But it's Zack's routine; he observed her emotionlessly and glared at her without considering her words. He headed for the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

"Is it your boyfriend who put you in this state? has he finally jilted you?" Ava threw herself at him the minute he crossed the threshold, bent over in the fetal position on a padded chair.

They used his friendship with Ewen to insult him, calling him nasty words like a fag because he didn't follow their father's footsteps and preferred to take a man as his lover instead of a pretty, good girl as their mother.

Zack didn't even know what that meant when they started insinuating those things. He grew up like this; not a day goes by without these two throwing nasty words at him since that famous day Ewen took him off the table, and they became the best friends in the world.

" Are you going to stop meddling in things that don't concern you?" He asked calmly. "I'm in no mood to put up with your bullshit. By the way, you need some updates on your vocabulary."

"Not when you have this funeral face," she replied with a clear voice despite the position in which she was.

" So, tell me, little brother, your boyfriend finally realized that you were just a real asshole, a trash who stole his parents' love from him and decided to reject your fake attention towards him, it's that right?"

" Shut up. Ava, shut the fuck up!" He yelled at her, unable to keep his cool for long. "When are you going to stop being a bitch? "You know you are too old for that bullshit now, right?"

" Who are you calling old hag?" asked a rough voice behind him; he didn't even bother to turn around. He drank the glass of water he had served himself in one gulp and pretended he didn't hear her by heading away from them.

" I'm the oldest here, and I'm not old. Would it be my daughters that you call old hags, brat?" took back the voice he ignored.

" Do you see any other embittered and jaded shrew in the room than you?" Zack retorted bitterly.

Celine let out a little nervous laugh; she was always uncomfortable around Zack, which is why she never complained when the latter practically moved in with the Schröders without asking their permission. Nobody didn't ask him any questions either.

Her brother outright sold her to her husband, who fortunately treated her like a national treasure. She hasn't spoken to her brother for over twenty years now. Their parents had accumulated a mountain of debts that he would have to pay since he was the eldest, and his best idea was to leave her in the hands of his best friend for a nice little sum of money.

Richard had eyes on Celine, but she was too young, her parents and elders brother were overprotective of her, and no one was good enough for her, let alone someone ten years her senior. So, Richard didn't hesitate for a second when he got his friend's offer, even though he was disgusted by his behavior. But better, it is him instead of someone else. And Zack is the spitting image of Colle Édouard. The poor brat looks like two drops of water like his shitty uncle.

"If you don't mind, ladies, I'd like to take my leave." And he walked away. "I'm going to my room; I don't want anyone to bother me." he threw over his shoulder.

"Who would dare?" Said Ava with a pout; he left the room without giving them the slightest attention after that. He only has one thing in mind to go upstairs and call Ewen.

" Our happy little couple seems to encounter some dramas in their lives. Despite our lousy talk, Zack never got angry, not once. And today, it seemed to be somewhere else. Do you think it has something to do with his boyfriend?"

" He's not his darling," said Aurelie ironically, "they're just friends, good sweet friends."

They all three burst out laughing, not caring about Zack's problems. Just who is Zack to make them worry about him, hm?

" What do we have today? " asked Céline changing her uneven tone to a soft one.

" We're working on flexibility and balance," replied Aurelie with a hint of annoyance; she had joined the team earlier to gang up against Zack.

" Is there something bothering you, darling?" asked her mother.

" No, but I wonder if one of us would be chosen for the opera?"

" Why are you worried about that?" Her mother uttered as she headed to the mini bar in the dining room to pour herself a glass of wine.

" Well, we're missing a little something, they say. Professor Alekseï and Andreï ask us a lot, and they don't stop complaining that Ewen is the best place for the role. Only the latter can express that little something they are looking for correctly. Pffffff," she whined with a disgusting face.

"This slutty thing gives us a lot of work; despite him stopping dancing, everyone is still talking about him. A minute never goes by without someone mentioning his name, which isn't enjoyable. He plays both male and female roles equally well. I wonder what he is?"

" Calm down, darling. No need to get angry; what matters is that he's not there at the moment, so you're in the best position for the role," Celine clapped between two sips of wine.

She wants to keep calm to push her daughters better to keep confidence in themselves, but it's only a facade. You have to observe how she is drowning in her wine.

"He bothers me too, but we can't help it, and that's how it is. "

"Why does he bother you? " Aurelie asked sharply and curiously.

Céline cringed before smiling stupidly at her daughters, who were staring at her waiting for an answer.

She did not even realize that she was speaking without paying attention. Of all that she would like to say, her last sentences were the least she would say aloud.

" Well, I envy him," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "If only you had had the minimum of his talent, you would already be danseuse etoile today. He motivated you when he was active; your performance was much better. And if he returns today after these two years of break, he will be etoile as he left before he dropped everything."

" You're not helping us," yelled Aurélie, furious.

" You're not going to get into it, too, we're aware of our mistakes and lack of concentration these last few days, but it's not that bad. You talk like we suck."

" You suck," replied Céline, furious in turn.

This perfectionist has always admired Ewen's footwork or the bearing of his arms. Sometimes she can't visualize him in a boy's body, even though he's a boy. Everything about him is grace, softness, beauty, and aesthetic flexibility. She would have liked her daughters to have these qualities too, but they must work hard to reach this level. And despite this, it is not guaranteed that they will ever arrive.

What seems to be very easy for Ewen, he dances with such confidence and grace that he looks possessed on stage. Even Richard looks at him with a glimmer in his eyes that she doesn't recognize he could have.

Richard eagerly waited for Ewen to come on stage each time with this same gleam in his eyes, and she had started observing him over the years.

When Ewen is on stage, everything begins to glow around him; every detail takes on an important place and becomes alive.

He gives life to everything when he is dancing, and the assembly lets itself be transported into the world where he drags them without resisting into a trance.

But Richard never commented on his performance, it's just his eyes and the expression on his face that always speaks for him, and he's sure no one notices how head over toe about the boy he is.

Once, he just bought three bouquets, including two bouquets of pink roses for his daughters and an orchid bouquet with three ranunculi stems right in the middle for Ewen.

This gesture deprived Céline of sleep for whole months. The choice of flowers had left her speechless; it was calculated and carefully chosen. She thought that he wanted to give them to her.

The orchid embodies supreme beauty, splendor, and sensuality; it talks about love and seduction. The orchid is the flower of utmost passion, and because of its beautiful colors, the ranunculus evokes luxury and has become the emblem of the refined toilet.

In the language of flowers, the ranunculus means: "You are radiant and charming," "You are dazzling," and "You are brilliant and attractive," which can go as far as "Your body is magnificent."

Celine found the bouquet grotesque, but the message was clear and so damn clear as the nose in the middle of her face; you can't mistake it for something else. There was no confusion.

Her daughters did not pay attention to the message or the bouquet. They only pay attention to themselves in general. It is known to all.

While she thought he shouldn't know anything about flowers, their meaning, and care. She was wrong about her husband; he is an even more attentive man than he showed, she thought.

That day, she understood this was not the case, and it distressed her to such an extent that she could no longer sleep at night. She spent hours staring at her sleeping husband, heaving soul-melting sighs while the latter slept peacefully next to her, unaware of the discomfort he had awakened in his wife.

Her husband doesn't give her all these expensive and rare plants for nothing; he knows a lot about them. Still, he doesn't talk about them; besides, he's not someone who talks a lot; his actions speak for him.

And that's what almost killed Celine. She does not know what is going on in her husband's head when he pays much attention to preparing a bouquet for a boy whom she considers a threat to her daughters' careers, making her feel like shit, as if the latter had cheated on her with another woman.

And the fact that the person in question was Ewen made the story even worse because the attention in question belonged to a child, who can be used as an emblem of gentleness, tenderness, and beauty. It was an absolute insult to her.

She would have done everything if she knew how to prevent this bouquet from reaching Ewen. Nobody realized her discomfort. She believed this strange bouquet was for her, and this attention alone earned Ewen her hatred. She hates him.

He somehow robbed her of the feeling of being important and loved when she saw this bouquet, which she would call grotesque later when she realized it was not intended for her.

Ewen pops out of her eyes and every hole of her body. That's the reason why she says it. It has nothing to do with her daughters' laziness and lack of talent. It's a personal matter.