A Heart Claimed By Two Brothers Novel by Elara Voss _ Novel




A Heart Claimed By Two Brothers Novel by Elara Voss _ Novel

A Heart Claimed By Two Brothers Chapter 01

At my boyfriend Jayceon Earlston's birthday party, I watched as his friend, Laylani Risdale, pressed her body flush against his while dancing.
Pleased, he gave the money he'd set aside for my mother's surgery to Laylani.
Panic seized me, and tears started pricking at my eyes. "Jay, we need to pay for the heart transplant soon. If the money doesn't come in time..."
The crowd around us stared and jeered.
"Arabella, stop acting so entitled just because you've stuck around for four years. You both started from nothing, but Laylani knew how to please him. She gave him her virginity for his birthday. What have you ever done?"
I froze on the spot.
After the party ended, Jayceon pointed at Laylani and me, both wearing identical waitress uniforms, and said to the manager, "Layla's quitting. I'll take care of her."
The manager looked astonished. "Mr. Earlston, what about your girlfriend, Arabella?"
Jayceon smiled faintly. "She left me for half a year while I was in a coma. Does that still make her my girlfriend?
"The commission from tonight's drinks goes to her. That should cover her mother's heart transplant."
Hiding in the shadows, I let out a bitter chuckle, tears streaming down my face.
Jayceon, I had lied to you.
It wasn't my mother who needed the surgery.
It was me.
***
The birthday song was still looping in the room.
Despite the heartbreak, I went back to clean up. I couldn't afford to lose tonight's pay.
Laylani's heels came into view—black with red soles. They were worth months of my pay—and six months of my medication.
She picked up an unopened 15,000-dollar bottle of wine from the table and simply let go. It crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.
She sneered, dragging her red nails across my anxious face. "Arabella, you've beaten me at everything from high school to college, haven't you?
"I told you I'd take the one thing you love most.
"You took a knife for Jayceon and even tried his food to make sure it wasn't poisoned—big deal! He went to bed with me before you!"
"You lost." Laylani laughed and walked away.
The manager stormed in, pointing at the shards on the floor, and barked, "This bottle costs 15,000 dollars! Mr. Earlston never ordered it, so it wasn't on the bill. You're paying for it!"
I couldn't afford it, so I pulled up the security footage and sent it to Jayceon. But there was no sound—just the images.
After watching it, Jayceon was eerily calm—just like the day we were reunited a month ago.
That day, he held me tightly and said, "It's good to have you back."
He didn't ask me a single question. Over the past month, he'd given me everything that I asked for.
Even when I hesitantly told him I needed to borrow 35,000 dollars for my mother's heart surgery, he agreed without hesitation.
He owned the club. I thought he'd let me off the hook since I hadn't broken the bottle of wine.
But all I heard was a dismissive chuckle over the phone. "Arabella, you left me for another man for six months. And he isn't even willing to give you 15,000 dollars?
"I saw the footage. There's no sound, but you must've pissed Layla off for her to smash the bottle like that.
"You're an adult. It's time you pay the price for your own actions. Settle the debt yourself!"
He hung up, and I sank to the floor. My face stung. When I reached up to touch it, I realized a shard of glass had cut my skin.
Tears spilled from my eyes, a deep ache gnawing at my heart.
Since I couldn't pay for the wine, the manager wouldn't let me leave. I had no choice but to work through the night to chip away at the debt, laboring until dawn.
When I finally dragged myself back to my rented apartment, Jayceon was there, leaning against the door with his hands in his pockets.
Before I could even react, he swept me up in his arms and hauled me onto the bed.
He was like a man possessed, pinning me down against the narrow mattress as a storm of frenzied kisses rained down on me.
At the very last second, I found the strength to kick him away. Trembling, I curled into a ball at the corner of the bed.
Jayceon froze. Then, he slapped himself hard twice across the face.
After he calmed down, he sat on the edge of the bed and said, voice low and gravelly, "Bella, I've settled the bill for that 15,000-dollar wine. I also had Laylani transfer the money for your mother's medical expenses...
"But can you tell me... why did you leave me six months ago? Why did you leave without a single word?"
At his question, I bit my lip and shook my head frantically.
Jayceon, you wouldn't want to know.
And I... I couldn't tell you.

READ FULL NOVEL HERE