Belated Moonlight: He Regretted Only After I Left-Chapter 185: Brothers Turn Against Each Other!
"Brother." Rhys Lennox’s voice suddenly came from behind.
Shane Donovan’s movements paused, but he didn’t turn around.
Rhys still kept his head down, looking at the document in his hand, his Adam’s apple moved violently, "Be nicer to her."
As soon as the words fell, the air in the office seemed to suddenly drop to freezing point.
The fingers Shane Donovan had on the doorknob tightened fiercely, the knuckles turning a pale bluish-white.
He slowly turned around.
"What did you say?" His voice was not high, yet seemed to carry shards of ice, each word hammering into Rhys Lennox’s eardrums.
Rhys raised his head and met his gaze.
Since the crack had already been torn open, he was unexpectedly filled with a reckless sense of desperation.
He pulled out a roguish and provocative smile, repeating again, one word at a time: "I said, be, nicer, to, her."
"Bang!"
The response was a loud crash as Shane Donovan kicked the door fiercely!
The heavy solid wood door groaned under the strain.
In the next second, Shane took a few steps to the desk, grabbed Rhys Lennox by the collar, and yanked him up violently from his chair!
Rhys was pulled into a stagger, the office chair sliding back and crashing into the bookshelf with a clang.
He offered no resistance, just looked at Shane Donovan’s face, which was clouded with enough malice to drip, seeing the rage surging in his eyes.
"Rhys Lennox," Shane’s voice was very low, "are you looking to die?"
Rhys licked his somewhat cracked lips, his eyes showing the same bloodshot defiance and disregard.
"Yeah..."
Before the words were finished, Shane Donovan’s fist, carrying a sharp gust of wind, smashed hard into Rhys Lennox’s jaw!
This punch was quick and heavy, with no reservation.
Rhys grunted, his head knocked to the side, his lip instantly split, ooze blood, and the metallic taste of rust spread in his mouth.
He rubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, seeing that glaring red, and instead, he laughed softly.
He turned his head back, looking at Shane Donovan with a rapidly swelling mouth corner and cheekbone, his gaze equally fierce and untamed.
Through countless days and nights, he had wavered and struggled, the torment he suffered only known to himself.
If this punch could lessen some guilt, he was more than willing.
"Well done." He spat out a bloody spit, pressed his numbed cheek with his tongue, his voice hoarse, "I accept this punch."
He suddenly raised his hand, clutching Shane Donovan’s wrist that held his collar, the force astonishing, "But listen carefully, from this moment on, I, Rhys Lennox, owe you nothing."
Each word pronounced like an oath, or a break:
"You’d better, treat her well."
"Otherwise," he looked Shane Donovan in the eye, unflinching, every word ground out between gritted teeth, "next time, I won’t hold back."
The two brothers, their noses almost touching, their gazes collided fiercely in the air, exuding a chilling and frightening aura all around.
The air was frozen, the tension palpable.
Shane Donovan stared into Rhys Lennox’s eyes filled with unmasked obstinance and madness, seeing the conspicuous bloodstain at the corner of his mouth, the raging fire of violence in his chest was like magma, scorching.
He knew Rhys was serious.
Those signals that he had consciously ignored, or subconsciously did not wish to ponder deeply, were now laid on the table in this manner.
Shane Donovan adjusted his disheveled tie and suit, his gaze returning to his usual cold and piercing sharpness. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
He no longer looked at Rhys, turned around, and, with steady steps, walked toward the door.
As he grasped the door handle, he didn’t stop, leaving only a cold remark, "I want to see you at the airport next Monday."
The door closed with a quiet click.
Only Rhys Lennox was left in the office.
He leaned against the disordered bookshelf, slowly sliding down to the floor.
The wound on his forehead seeped blood, mixing with the bruises at the corner of his mouth, utterly disheveled.
He raised a hand to cover his eyes, a glint of moisture faintly visible between his fingers, quickly wiped away roughly.
He looked up, gazing at the glaring crystal chandelier on the ceiling, tugging at the corner of his mouth.
It’s fine.
This way, it’s fine.
No need to sneak around anymore.
Since everything is laid out bare.
He also wants to fight for once.
Even if he loses in the end, it’s better than living cowardly.
He’s spent his life living freely and recklessly, but the time he fell for Stella Sterling was his most struggling and tormenting period...
Now, he can finally let go and give it all he has.
...
In the study of the Donovan Family’s old residence, the heavy rosewood door was tightly shut.
Usually, when Rhys came over, before he even entered the courtyard, the old man’s hearty laughter could be heard.
But today, the house was frighteningly quiet, the servants avoiding it from afar, not daring to breathe heavily.
In the study, the pressure was so low it could squeeze out water.
Old Mr. Donovan wasn’t sitting on his usual armchair; he stood, back facing the door, staring out into the heavy night sky.
The dragon-patterned rosewood cane he had polished for years was gripped tightly in his hand, the tendons on the back of his hand bulging and pulsing.
Rhys Lennox was kneeling behind him.
His eye-catching blond hair had been dyed back to black, neatly cropped short, with a bandage on his forehead, and his mouth still bearing fresh blue-black bruises.
His back was ramrod straight.
"Say it again." Old Mr. Donovan’s voice, as if crushed out from deep in his throat, was filled with an extreme storm of repression.
Rhys lifted his eyes, the roguish impudence of his usual self gone, leaving only a decisive determination to burn the boats.
"I want to enlist."
"Bang!"
Old Mr. Donovan suddenly turned around, the cane in his hand swinging with the wind, smashing into the floor beside Rhys Lennox!
The thick carpet was dented, emitting a heart-pounding dull sound.
The fine rosewood cracked with a faint line.
"Enlist?!" The old man’s chest heaved violently, staring at him, eyes sharp as tempered blades, "What do you think The Donovan Family is? Huh? A playground you can come and go as you please?! Your older brother just handed part of The Donovan Group to you, and this is how you repay him?! This is how you repay The Donovan Family?!"
Rhys endured the thunderous wrath, his jawline taut like a cold, hard stone, the muscles subtly twitching.
"The Donovan Group is enough with my brother." His voice hoarse, yet exceptionally clear, "With or without me doesn’t make a difference."
"Nonsense!" Old Mr. Donovan was so angry his hand trembled, pointing at him, "Do you think the current situation of The Donovan Family came about just relying on one person?! Your brother is braving the front, and you’re dismantling behind him?! Rhys Lennox, I was really wrong about you! I thought you had settled down, that you’d become reliable, but turns out you’re still this way! For a woman, you’re even willing to abandon the family business?!"
The word "woman" was like a needle, stabbing fiercely into Rhys Lennox’s eardrums.
His eyes immediately filled with alarming bloodshots, his head snapped up, staring directly at the old man, eyes wild and fierce, carrying the shame of having his secret fully exposed and a madness of utter disregard.
"It has nothing to do with her!"
