Billionairess's Dilemma: Reclaiming His Heart

18: Ambition

***trigger warning for brief mention of abuse against a child-physical only****

Archer Thornton

Four weeks…one whole month since Polly broke off our engagement. I honestly thought I’d already have her back. It’s always been so easy to convince her to take me back. This time though, she’s digging her heels in and Kevin f*****g Harris seems to be back by her side. Her f*****g pit bull guard. I destroyed their relationship but he remains willing to act as her white knight f*****g hero.

Striding purposely through the house to find my dumbass brother, I grumble about three years of hard work went down the toilet in one minute. Can’t hold my Scotch apparently which leads me to talk a little too much. Didn’t confess everything so there’s that.

“What were you thinking? You scared him Eric!” My mother’s shrill voice cries out and I follow it.

“He was with her again!” Eric begins to defend himself until I clear my throat loudly.

“Archer! There you are. Your brother was incredibly foolish today. He went after Kevin.” Casting a quick silencing glare at my brother, I internally calm myself.

“I heard. I think Eric might have been reacting to Polly and him calling the police about me the other day. But he only wanted to talk to him Mom. He wasn’t going to hurt him, right Eric?” I turn my head and my brother uses his brain for once. “Yes Mom I was upset. She’s not good enough for Kevin and she keeps finding him. Won't go away.”

“Yes I know. It will be ok. Archer will fix this and once we bring him home where he belongs, he’ll understand. We’ll be one big happy family, all three of my babies together again. My little sprouts that have grown and changed." Her eyes have that faraway expression she gets when she is remembering the past. She shakes out of it turning back to me. "We should choose where we’d like to start over soon. I want to have a house set up long before he comes home. Archer, do you have a plan to get access to her money?”

I sit crossing my ankle over my leg. “Yes. I will have to use my contingent plan, but we’ll have it all by the time we disappear.” Her sharp green eyes assess me and I keep my expression cool. The tall brunette might look delicate, but she is nothing close to it. A steel spine and will lie beneath that exterior along with an obsession that has burned brightly for almost fifteen years. “Very well. I want no chances it could fall apart. I have waited a long time to have my baby back. That family stole him from us. His birthday is coming up and I want to celebrate together.” She makes a fist and bites down on it. Regulating herself the same way she taught us to. It works for me, but Eric can’t control his temper. The accident caused a brain injury and that impulse control was lost.

“We will take him back Mom.” I assure her.

She smiles before coming and patting my cheek softly. “Such a good boy. If only your father could be here with us. I’m off to dinner with the Fentons. Don’t get into trouble! I mean it Eric. Listen to your brother. Archer has been waiting eagerly to bring Kevin back to his rightful home. You’re hurting all of us if you act rashly and ruin it.” The desperation in her voice peaks but she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a minute. They reopen as a smile spreads slowly across her face. “Goodnight my loves.”

The receding sound of her heels echoes through the house until I hear the front door slam shut.

I count to thirty in case she forgot something before turning to unleash on Eric. “What in the actual f**k were you thinking? You now have them digging into every inch of your background I’m sure. You couldn’t lay low and let me take care of this?”

He has the decency to look a bit ashamed. “It’s just that girl. She’s always after him and you know what Mom thinks of her. She’s not good enough for him! He needs to stay away from her. If we just tell him who he really is, he’ll listen to us, Archer. We’re his brothers!” Eric has worked himself up. His face growing redder by the second.

I hold up my hands. “Breathe Eric. Slow and easy. Let’s talk about your favorite place in the world. Nice, deep breaths.”

He visibly breathes in and out before talking about the villa in Southern California. “Where we would play for hours outside.”

“Good. That’s good.” I say soothingly. Once I can tell he’s rational again, I calmly begin explaining. “I need to handle this. You would scare him. Once he comes home, he’ll remember that you’re his big, strong, protective brother. His lion. But we need to get him there first. And to secure that, we need Polly’s money. Gotta ease off her too, Eric.”

“Alright.” He says mulishly like a child. He basically is. Doctor said his brain never developed rationally or emotionally much past a ten year old. A big one with the hormones and strength of an adult bodybuilder.

He and my mother are both stuck in that time frame. Their minds locked in. It’s been hard being the only one who could be responsible and level headed. Though Mom taught me that was dangerous territory considering it went against her plans.

“Go get a cookie and some milk from James. I need to go take a shower. We can watch a movie tonight.” He nods and scampers away to find the butler. I rake my hand down my face tiredly. Not much longer and I can be done with all of this nonsense.

Her voice pierces through my skull. I was thirteen when she burned me the worst. The scalding water wringing tears and screams from me as she poured it on my thigh. “We will be a whole family again! Say another word against it and this will have to happen again. Don’t disappoint mommy.”

I shake the memory away. I will have Polly’s fortune and Delilah and I can write our way out of this. I can eliminate my mother's hold and have my brother placed in a facility that can take care of him. Mom can go to one too. Because Kevin Harris will never be part of my family. I loathe him. All her obsession with her long lost child and neglect of us ever did is make me despise him more. She doesn’t know that I broke him. I crushed his heart. He was in love with Polly Barnes and I snatched her away before he could tell her. Icing on the cake was she was his only true friend. If isolated him and left him alone.

Mom only thinks that I iced him out with his family. I did somewhat, but I tore one of his most important bonds first. It caused a rip in their family that I noticed while I was dating Polly after he left. A small crack can turn into a chasm with the right manipulations.

“Hi baby.” I hear as I open the door to my room.

I quickly unknot my tie and shove my jacket off.

Delilah continues. “You look stressed. I heard yelling.”

She sits up and the covers fall away, showing her naked body.

“It’s handled. Eric went off the rails.” I slide into bed and kiss her.

“Everything still in place to take her money? I don’t like being on a budget.” She pouts.

“Yes. By the end of summer. And Kevin Harris will be no more then too. Which should destroy his father and grandfather giving you your revenge for your family.”

Delilah’s mouth curves up in a smug smile. “Perfect. Those bastards deserve to pay. After that we can go anywhere right?” She runs her fingers up and down my arm. She had been easy to bring to my side when I looked into people who might have grudges against Kevin Harris or his family. And she was crazy enough to be ok with crossing the moral lines of right and wrong. We've enjoyed sneaking around behind everyone's backs.

“Yes. You know where you want to go?”

She grins before leaning on my chest. “An island called Vanuatu. Beautiful year round and no extradition treaty.” She grins up at me.

“Sounds perfect.”