The front door slammed shut with a loud bang as Lane stormed into the living room, his fists clenched so tightly that the veins on his arms stood out. His jaw was stiff, his face red with barely suppressed rage.
On the couch, Cassidy was lounging with a game controller in hand, eyes on the TV as he mashed buttons with focus. Hearing the door, he turned lazily then paused, surprised at Lane's stormy entrance.
"Where is mum?" Lane snapped, voice sharp like cracked glass as he strode across the floor.
Cassidy blinked, confused by the intensity in his brother's eyes.
"Why do you look so mad bro? She's in grandma's room."
"I'm gonna go meet her!" Lane didn't wait another second. He turned on his heels and marched toward the hallway.
Cassidy furrowed his brows, glancing at Mila who had followed Lane in, face tense.
"What's wrong with that idiot?"
Mila dropped her bag by the side and sat on the armrest of the couch, folding her arms. "Something big, brother. It was posted on the school site today that Frances confessed to Rain that she likes him and he makes her heart flutter."
Cassidy froze. His game controller slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a soft thud. He slowly rose to his feet, eyes wide in disbelief.
"She said that? Is she crazy?" he barked, pacing in circles as his voice rose with fury.
"You can't believe it, brother. She didn't even ask him to be her boyfriend yet. She wanted to chase him first. She even bought him gifts and flowers."
Cassidy gritted his teeth, then turned toward the stairs. "Let's go and meet Lane upstairs. This is quite serious!"
Without another word, they bolted out of the room and climbed the stairs in haste, reaching their grandmother's chamber.
Inside, the atmosphere was tense.
Lane lay dramatically across Delilah's lap, eyes squeezed shut as he forced sobs from his throat. His shoulders shook with theatrical grief, though no tears fell. Delilah gently caressed his hair, her face etched with irritation, while their Grandmother sat in her grand chair, arms folded, an icy scowl carved into her aging face.
Cassidy nearly burst into laughter at the sight of Lane pretending to cry, but the tension in the room kept him grounded.
"I can't believe that girl will even decide to follow Rain," Delilah snapped, glaring at nothing in particular, her lips curled with disdain.
"Mum, she did. She is the one chasing Rain, it's crazy. Why would she leave me and follow Rain?" Lane sat up abruptly, clutching Delilah's hand like a heartbroken prince.
"Mum! Rain is being presumptuous these days. He clearly knows that Lane likes Frances yet he goes ahead to get himself attached to her instead of paving way for Lane," Cassidy added quickly, his eyes burning with frustration.
Delilah frowned harder, lips thinning. Her hand stilled on Lane's shoulder.
"I'm definitely mad about Rain being with Frances, but are you really in love with Frances? I thought you just wanted to sleep with her?" Mila said dryly, her arms folded, one brow arched with suspicion.
Lane's eyes widened and he turned to face Mila
"What nonsense are you saying, Mila? I don't wanna date her for real? I'm not just gonna sleep with her. Which idiot will date Frances and let go after?"
"You!… you have been lying to us! Didn't you want us to share the girl?" Cassidy's voice cracked with fury. He stepped closer, fists clenched.
Lane scoffed, incredulous.
"You must be joking bro. I'm not sharing any girl with you. She is mine alone."
"I'm gonna kill you, bastard!" Cassidy lunged forward.
"ARE YOU GUYS NORMAL?" their grandmother's shrill voice thundered through the room, slicing through the tension like a blade. "This is my room, not yours! Will you stop that useless argument?!"
The brothers froze in their tracks, retreating like chastised dogs.
"Grandma!" Lane and Cassidy muttered in protest.
"Who is the girl y'all are even fighting over? Does she have any good family background? Can she help you all in the future?"
Mila raised a hand quickly. "Grandma, she doesn't! She's even an orphan!"
The matriarch leaned forward slowly, her expression cold and calculating.
"An orphan? And what exactly will she do for you two?"
"Mum, please don't take them seriously. They're boys, they know what is good for them. They definitely just wanna play around with the girl," Delilah said, with a flick of her wrist, dismissing the situation like a bad rumor. Audrey nodded slowly.
"Lane, don't worry. Rain can do whatever he wants for now. Just wait till Taylor leaves, I will definitely ask him to leave the girl for you, okay?"
Cassidy stepped forward defiantly, fists at his side.
"That's impossible! The girl should be given to me instead, mum!"
Delilah's eyes flashed. "What nonsense are you saying, Cassidy? It was clearly Lane who has always liked the girl, not you! Are you trying to get Lane mad?"
Cassidy rolled his eyes. "Whatever! He won't even get the girl anyway. As if Rain will listen to you and hand her over."
"Don't worry. I will make sure that he does. Right now, we need to watch out for Taylor. It will be bad if he reports to my brother about us."
"Mum, why are you scared of Taylor? He is not the head of the house!" Cassidy asked, confused.
"His father is! So that makes him one too. Do you want us to be sent out of the mansion?" She narrowed her eyes at them. "You need to stay with the Pipers, all of you. Your father already married someone else and he doesn't care about us anymore."
"We can get our own apartment and move out of here," Mila murmured quietly.
"And then what?" Audrey scoffed, leaning back comfortably on the chair. "Do you think you are living here because there's no house outside there? It's because of reputation. Your mother already divorced your father and he has another family now and neglected you people. None of you are being criticized because you stay in the Piper mansion and are well regarded by me."
She paused, letting the weight of her words hang in the air.
"If you should move out of the mansion or I treat you the way I treat Rain, do you think you can stand on ten toes in Frosty City?" Her voice was like ice, slicing straight through them.
They all fell silent, guilt creeping over their faces like a storm cloud.
"Your reputation is bound to this mansion. If you should leave, just know that your life is over because everyone will know that you have been rejected by the Brooks and the Pipers as well. No one will be friends with you or work with you in the future. Do you understand?"
"Yes, we do," they muttered, their voices low and sullen.
"So, whatever your mother says, just listen to her. Wait till Taylor leaves before going against Rain. As for the girl, I will help you out. Since she's just an orphan without any support, she's easier to deal with."
"Grandma! What if Rain refuses? He is stubborn," Lane asked hesitantly.
"I will just tell him that the girl will be returned to him later once you get tired of her. At least it's someone like that he deserves. We can't risk Rain marrying someone with influence like his mother or else we might not be able to control them just like his parents."
"You are right, Mum! He should marry someone like that. I don't wanna deal with a family like the Lincolns again. They're so scary. His mother was so useless, she was clearly riding on our heads when she was alive," Delilah spat bitterly.
"His mother was so annoying I can't unsee it. Thankfully, she died on time. I would have been answering to her right now," Audrey sneered. "Well, that's all. Y'all can leave my room now. I need to rest."
"Alright, Grandma. We will leave now!" they chorused, filing out one by one.
Rain stepped into the mansion just as the soft clatter of cutlery and distant chatter floated from the dining room. The moment he caught sight of everyone gathered at the table, Taylor at the head, Lane brooding beside Raven, Delilah pinching at her food, and Cassidy silently scrolling through his phone, his smile instantly vanished.
His voice was cold and impassive as he walked past them.
"I'm home."
He didn't wait for a response, not even a glance toward the table. His shoes clicked against the polished marble as he disappeared up the staircase, shoulders straight, aura detached.
A tense silence followed, only broken by the sound of Fallon's hurried steps as he followed behind. He clutched the small box of video games and bouquet of flowers close to his chest, his grin almost splitting his face.
"Fallon?" Taylor called, brows raising in surprise.
Fallon turned into the dining room and gave a quick respectful nod.
"Boss!"
Taylor's eyes narrowed as they landed on the items in Fallon's hands. "Where did you get that from?"
Fallon brightened even more, stepping closer like a boy ready to tell a juicy tale. "Oh. You know the girl that the little master likes in school? She gifted them to him."
Raven spat her water right across the table, eyes bulging. "A girl gifted Rain? That slow boy?" she gasped in disbelief.
Clink! Taylor dropped his fork gently and turned his head slowly to her.
"Slow boy?" His tone was even, but the sharpness in it made Raven's throat tighten.
She looked down immediately, cheeks flushed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that…"
Her voice trailed off, almost inaudible. No one defended her.
Taylor returned his gaze to Fallon, who didn't seem to register the growing tension.
"What was it for?" he asked, leaning back in his chair curiously.
Fallon practically beamed.
"She said she likes the young master and would chase after him, so she bought the gifts to confess."
Lane gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white. His jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle ticked near his ear.
"Chasing after him is crazy! Not even a girlfriend yet?" Raven said, still recovering from the shock.
"Not just that," Fallon added with a chuckle. "The young master said that she kissed him on the lips."
CRACK!
Lane's palm slammed hard into the dining table, rattling the plates and making Mila flinch beside him. He shot up, his chair screeching backwards.
"Repeat what you said, Fallon?"
Fallon paused, clearly not reading the room.
"They shared a kiss."
Lane's breath caught. His eyes darkened, and for a second, it looked like he might explode. Delilah immediately threw a daggered glare at him, and he faltered. Shoulders shaking with barely held fury, he sat down again, fists clenched tightly on his lap.
"Do you have a problem with that, Lane?"
Taylor's voice cut through the air like a blade, mocking, layered with quiet threat.
Lane's lips parted, then closed. He shook his head quickly, not daring to meet Taylor's eyes.
"I don't!"
Taylor gave a sharp nod, then stood up, turning to Fallon.
"Cool! Fallon, give me the gifts. I will go and check on my brother, he must be floating on the cloud right now!"
He reached for the gifts and turned toward the hallway, his expression glowing with amusement. As he walked off, he glanced back at the table one last time.
"Y'all being mad on behalf of Lane looks too immature for this kind of big family. You should be happy for Rain too, after all, he will become the head of this family in the future."
The room froze. No one moved. His words hit like stones across their chests. With a smug smile, Taylor disappeared toward the staircase, his polished shoes echoing down the hall.
Delilah slammed her hand on the table and stood abruptly, her nostrils flaring.
"Is Taylor crazy? Is he threatening me? Rain being the head of the family. Dream on! Humph!"
She spun on her heel and stormed out of the dining room, her heels clicking angrily against the floor, her robe sweeping behind her like a curtain of disdain.
The rest of the table sat in heavy silence. Lane stared at his untouched food, Cassidy scratched the back of his neck, and Raven nibbled her lip in uncertainty.