That night, Felix Shaw didn’t return to the apartment, afraid his mother would see the marks on his face and ask questions. He called her and lied, saying he had to work overtime, then went to stay at Evander Lancaster’s place.
After dinner, Evander took a pack of beer from the fridge. The two brothers leaned back on the sofa, drinking beer to pass the time.
"Felix, don’t mind my chatter, but I told you from the start that Elizabeth is a good woman. You’re just like our second brother. You didn’t cherish her when she was around, and now that she doesn’t pay attention to you and wants a divorce, you start clinging desperately."
Evander crushed the empty can and tossed it into the trash. Felix sat on the floor, resting his arm holding a beer can on the coffee table, glancing sideways at Evander. "You talk like you’re a love expert. If you’re so knowledgeable, why are you still single?"
"Me? I just don’t want to find anyone!" Evander pressed down on the can with one hand and pulled the tab open with the other, nodding with a sigh. The two brothers had already drunk a lot of beer, and Evander’s face was turning pale.
"I’m just not interested in women anymore, lost my faith in them."
"Pfft," Felix scoffed dismissively. "You talk as if you were heartbroken by a woman." With that, he turned and took another swig of beer from his can.
Evander also took a gulp of beer and leaned back on the sofa, sighing, "Felix, you’ve probably realized by now, the deeper the betrayal by those closest to you, the more it hurts."
A painful memory resurfaced in his mind. Ever since discovering that secret, he had lost faith in women altogether.
Such a gentle and kind woman, he couldn’t believe she would do such a thing unless he had seen it with his own eyes.
"You got hurt? By whom?" Felix turned back around, his lips bruised, a band-aid on his cheekbone, and his eyes bloodshot from the beer.
"No, I was just rambling." Evander snapped back to reality and leaned forward. "Come on, Felix, let’s have a drink, just the two of us."
Felix gave him a slight glance, picked up a can, and clinked it against Evander’s. The two of them tipped their heads back, downing the beer.
Evander crushed another can and tossed it into the trash, then leaned over to hand a fresh one to Felix before opening one for himself. "Felix, let me tell you something, if big brother keeps pressing Sophie, someday he’s going to regret it."
"What’s there to regret?" Felix held a can, supporting himself on the floor, leaning against the sofa with his head tilted. "The girl is too wild. Big brother just wants to teach her a lesson by ignoring her."
"Hah, teach her a lesson," Evander took another gulp of beer. "Once Sophie actually ends up getting sentenced, she’ll probably hate him forever!" When the ones you trust most abandon you in times of trouble, anyone would hold a grudge.
"Let’s not talk about big brother’s issues. I’ve got enough on my plate," Felix took another swig of beer, his head resting on the back of the sofa as he sighed at the ceiling.
"Felix, have you ever thought about how Elizabeth managed to find the shooting set where you were?" Evander turned his eyes towards him, being a man keen on observation and analysis.
At the mention of this, Felix suddenly sat up straight, giving Evander a fixed look as if pondering something. "You mean... it was Elizabeth too?" His father-in-law had mentioned it before, but at the time, he hadn’t paid attention.
"What do you think?" Evander sneered. "You and Elizabeth have been involved for so long, and your wife didn’t even know she existed. How could she suddenly know about her pregnancy?"