Her big brothers

Chapter 81: hot chocolate

"Sounds like Dad put a lot of pressure on Alex," I say.

Aiden nods, stroking my hair. "He did, a lot. He knew he'd take over the business someday, so he always had high expectations of him,"

"How strict was dad?" I ask curiously. I knew Dad was stricter than my brothers, but I wasn't sure to what extent. I don't recall being in trouble with him either, except for one time.

"Hmm, take the strictness of Alex and multiply it by at least three," Aiden tells me. "Dad had a really hot temper too, so that just made everything worse when we messed up,"

"That must've sucked," I say sympathetically. My brothers may be brutes, but they're at least fair. Mostly.
"Eh, it was okay for the most part. He did give us a great childhood,"

"Mom did too," I say softly.

"Since we're on the topic, did mom ever punish you when you misbehaved?" He asks me.

"No, not really. I'm pretty sure I never got a spanking. I had some time outs, but that was pretty much it," I say.

"Dad always had a problem with that," Aiden says with a sigh. "Mom didn't agree with spanking, and Dad didn't agree with... not spanking."

"Was that a reason for their divorce or something?" I ask.

"I honestly can't confirm, or deny. Dad never liked talking about it. If we asked, he'd just tell us that 'they fell out of love'. We used to speculate that it was for other reasons, though."

"Oh," I say, accepting the fact that we'll never know for sure.

"What's the most trouble one of you have ever gotten into with Dad?" I ask, slightly changing the topic.

He scratches his head and thinks for a while. "Probably Noah, sometime in high school." He tells me vaguely.
"Really? What did he do?" I ask excitedly.

"You're gonna have to ask him for that story," He says, shutting me down.

"Oh, come onnn! Please?" I beg. "You know he's not gonna tell me."

"Then you're just not going to know," He says simply.

I pout. "It's not fair. All of you have known about all of my punishments, why can't I know about this one? Plus, it was ages ago," I huff.

He looks at me hard for a moment, before sighing. "I'll tell you, only if you promise not to tell Noah or anyone that I told you,"

Grinning, I enthusiastically declare, "I promise!" and playfully extend my pinky finger.

Aiden chuckled and interlinked his pinky with mine.

"It's cold," I shiver, grabbing a fluffy blanket from the couch and wrapping it around myself, after a cool breeze from the large windows entered the room.

"It is," he mumbles, a grin forming on his face. "Want some hot chocolate?" he asks.

Eagerly nodding, I reply, "Yes, please."

Aiden heads to the kitchen, skillfully whipping up two mugs of delicious hot chocolate. Each mug was @topped with a dollop of whipped cream, chocolate shavings, a drizzle of caramel, and, of course, generously topped with big, fluffy marshmallows.

He hands me the mug, and I bring it close, feeling the warmth as the aroma of hot chocolate wraps around me. Seated carefully, Aiden stirs his hot chocolate.

"So, Noah was quite the rebel, especially in high school," he begins, but I can't help but interrupt. "What about Alex?" I ask.

"Well, Alex was more reserved and kept to himself most of the time. He usually steered clear of trouble," he explains.