Chapter 362

Gary

I sigh and watch the new teacher leave my office.

He doesn’t know,probably never will but I know his family. His parents. Back in some era long ago, both of his Alpha dads were once interested in my older brother.

It was a scandal when the two CEOs had their relationship exposed. They even got married in a foreign court. Had a child. Only to get divorced after five years together.

The two-year custody battle was messy. Very public. Their son grew up in the public eye—the child of two Alphas who couldn’t make it work.

Maybe that’s why he decided to become a teacher at my tiny high school on the outskirts. To escape. To find somewhere no one knew his name.

The bell rings. I gather my things and get up to leave.

I check my phone. A text from my wife:

Don’t forget groceries. Milk, eggs, bread.

I smile. A small one. After everything, I still get to have this. A family. A home. A life.

The reason I decided to be a principal at this small school is because of my brother. I needed to be close. Needed to be able to visit. Needed to make sure he was still there.

I drive to the institution on the outskirts of town.

The building is gray. Imposing. The kind of place you don’t notice until you have a reason to. The staff knows me. Security lets me in—after the usual pat-down, the usual checks, the usual questions.

I’ve been coming here every day for twenty years.

"Hello. How was work today?" The receptionist smiles. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"As one might expect, working with teenagers to be."

She laughs softly.

I walk through the familiar halls, past the familiar faces. Staff. Orderlies. Other visitors, here to see their own broken loved ones.

I wait by the visiting room.

Soon, they bring my brother.

He’s wearing white clothes—soft, tear-proof, standard issue. Barefoot. His hands are strapped behind his back in a straight jacket. He has manic episodes, the doctors say. Attacks others. Attacks himself.

It makes me sad to see him like this.

They sit him in the chair across from me.

"Hey, Ellie." My voice is soft.

He turns toward me. The left side of his face is marked by a large scar, running from his temple to his jaw. His left eye is blind—clouded, unfocused, gone.

I clench my fists.

Every time I see this scar, the rage comes back. My brother was once extremely beautiful. Before all of this. People looked at him and saw sunshine.

Now they look at him and see a monster.

The person responsible for this scar was never charged.

How could I expect Daphne Han to be charged?

She’s practically royalty. And besides—Ellie did kill her omega.

I should be glad she didn’t kill him.

But sometimes, late at night, when the rage is fresh and the grief is raw, I wonder if it wouldn’t have been kinder if she had.

"Ellie." I reach for his hand. He doesn’t pull away. Doesn’t hold on. Just lets it sit there, limp and cold. "I brought you a book. The one you wanted."

No response.

I set it on the table between us.

"The doctors say you’ve been eating better. That’s good. I’m proud of you."

His good eye blinks. Once. Twice.

"Gary." His voice is raspy.

"Yeah, Ellie. I’m here."

"Tell me about her."

He asks every time. Every single visit.

"Who?"

"You know."

I sigh. I don’t understand this obsession with her. Maybe if I had noticed it earlier? Intervened? Stopped him before he went too far?

"No, Ellie." I say softly. Firmly.

He’s quiet.

"Why isn’t she here yet?" His voice rises.

"With that bitch gone, she should love me."

I lean forward. Say what I’ve said every day for the past two decades.

"She doesn’t love you, Ellie. After... what you did... she never will."

"Wrong!" He screams.

I exhale. As expected.

"Why won’t you love me?!" His voice echoes off the white walls.

"You think this fire will change my love?! Ha ha ha!!! I’m still alive! It’s proof that my love is stronger!!!" He thrashes against the straight jacket.

"She hasn’t come back to life! I have! My love is stronger!!!!"

He starts screaming—incoherent, how it’s hot, how it hurts, how he needs air, he starts laughing , he’s screaming again like an animal. The nurses rush in. A needle. A tranquilizer.

His body goes slack.

They catch him before he falls.

Guess today wasn’t the day. Some days—rare days—I can have actual conversations with him. Can make calls to my wife and kids. Can call his daughter and tell her he’s having a good day.

But today is not it.

*

On my drive back, I pick up the groceries.

My phone rings. My niece.

"Uncle Gary!" Her voice is bright. Young. Full of the future. "I love it here! The city is amazing! I got the internship!"

"That’s great, sweetheart. I’m proud of you."

"Can you come visit? Please?"

"Soon," I say. "I’ll try to come soon."

We talk for a few more minutes. About her classes. Her friends. Her life,so far from all of this.

Thinking of my niece makes me angry.

Not at her. At him. Dr. Wang. That bastard.

When everything went down, he refused to take custody. Refused to even acknowledge the child. He cut off all contact. Disappeared. Left his own daughter with nothing.

The only person who secretly helped—with legal fees, with institution fees, with everything else—was Damien Han.

I guess he’s the only one of all those Alphas who ever truly loved my brother.

I had to support my niece through college myself. I didn’t hate it. My brother did the same for me, back when I was young and he was still him.

The difference is, all he had was his body.

Which is why, despite everything,I still love him.

He’s my brother.

He always will be.