“I won’t have you disrespect my wife.”
“The wife you left behind?” Lionel asked, raising an eyebrow. “You can’t swipe away the past, Brandon.”
Brandon’s hands curled into fists. “Whose fault was it that I left in the first place?”
Mary’s eyes widened. “What?” She looked at Lionel. “What’s he talking about?”
“You tell mom,” Brandon said with a shrug. “Tell Mom how you gave me two options. Marry some woman you found for me or join special Ops.”
Mary looked like she was breaking apart, and Brandon turned. I heard Ilsa coming up the stairs as Brandon walked into the kitchen. Ilsa had a smile plastered on her face, an ice cream cone in her hands.
I could see the anger in Brandon’s face, but he quickly placed a smile on as soon as he spotted us.
“I found the ice cream,” Ilsa said, waving her cone.
“Great.” He glanced at me and then back toward Ilsa. “Ilsa, we are going to head home. Mary is coming down with a headache.”
Ilsa frowned. “Shouldn’t we say goodbye?”
Brandon shook his head. “I did for you.”
He pointed toward the other way to the entrance, letting us slip right past the tense dining room. Ilsa shoved her shoes on, keeping one hand on her cone. I could feel eyes on us from behind me, knowing it was likely Lionel. I didn’t bother turning around.
I stepped outside with Ilsa and heard Brandon shut the door behind him as he exited. We all got into the car, and I tried to brush the conversation off, but I couldn’t. It was one thing to suspect how someone felt about you, but it was another to hear it firsthand.
Once home, Ilsa went upstairs to play. I sat down on the couch. I grabbed the remote, trying to look for something towatch. Brandon paused by the wall near the TV and gave me a soft smile.
“You don’t need to listen to what my father said.”
I lowered the remote and chewed on my cheek. “He’s not wrong. I should practice using it.”
Brandon shook his head. “You have more purpose than just a gift, Jade. You gave birth to a beautiful child.”
I loved Ilsa with all my heart, but I had fallen into that tunnel. “But I don’t want that to be all I’ve done. I feel that I’ve been a good mother and I’ve played the wife role well, but that’s not all that I am.”
Brandon frowned. “I never said it was.”
I nodded. “I know. He was wrong to say that was all I was good for and that I was suddenly useful. But he wasn’t wrong in saying I should be practicing because I should be. My gift could save people.”
Brandon walked over, sitting down next to me. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “No matter what happens, Jade. You have always been useful. I don’t want you to ever think that you weren’t.”
I swallowed, knowing he meant those words. I heard how forward he was with his parents, and I believed him.
“Brandon!” Ilsa yelled from the stairs, and we both jumped apart. I felt my face grow hot as Ilsa stood on the stairs. “Can you help me hang up my picture?”
Brandon smirked as he pulled himself up and turned to Ilsa. “Of course.”
I watched him walk after her, knowing that, as fake as this was, it was real. Every part, every moment was real.
Chapter 19 - Brandon
I sighed as I tapped my fingers on the desk. Kaleb sat across from me with Westley and Asher sitting on both sides of him. I stared at the map we had laid out, taking in all the little x’s that were marked. They were places where they spotted a hybrid.
“Have we seen the big army that Chelsey was talking about?” I asked, scanning the map.
“Nope. Just been either individuals or a pair together. No groups yet.”
I huffed and leaned back, shaking my head. “How many other people does she have assigned out there?”
