My Brother, The Devil ✔

17

Blair POV.

Antonio doesn't speak on the other end of the line. After two seconds, he immediately hangs up.

I text him instead: "What? Got a dick and forgot about your friend, huh?"

"Antonio, you're heartless!"

He still doesn't reply. I sigh softly, pick up the dessert, and return to the living room to deal with his mother.

Typically, when a man gets married, his mother doesn't show much warmth to the daughter-in-law, perhaps out of a subtle feeling of "I've spent over 20 years nurturing my little cabbage only to have someone else take it away."

But this time, Antonio's mother seems to be here just to give me the property deed. She finishes her coffee and dessert, reminds me to take good care of myself, and then gets up to leave.

I stare at the property deed for a few seconds, then try calling Antonio again.

He's been making love all night! It's already the second day, doesn't he worry about dying of exhaustion?!

After a few seconds of beeping, the call finally connects.

"You finally answered?" I ask.

But I only hear Antonio's faint voice on the other end. As I'm turning up the volume, Antonio utters a hoarse monosyllable, and the next second, the phone hangs up again.

When I dial again, the phone is off.

Something's happened to Antonio.

Barbara is out of town on a business trip today. Since I got pregnant, she's been handling most of the company's work. I change clothes and go out to look for Antonio, taking a taxi to the recording studio he had mentioned before. The staff there look at the photo I provide and say they saw the person in the photo yesterday, but he left a long time ago.

I then ask if they have the contact information for Jay-X's lead singer.

The staff shake their heads, saying it's a privacy issue and they can't disclose it.

I take out my phone and log onto the social media site to check Jay-X's official account. I haven't been following the band's news for a while since George locked me in the basement of Sea of Clouds.

The account shows that Jay-X is now signed with the famous entertainment company Echo, but strangely, they haven't had any performances, new songs, or even shared daily updates with fans for months.

I go back home and try calling Antonio again, but still no answer. I grit my teeth and call Antonio's mother, asking if she's seen Antonio today.

Her voice is very kind, "You can't reach Antonio? The hospital has a temporary training camp for intern doctors. He might be busy at the hospital for a while."

"But..."

"He didn't tell you? That guy! Don't worry, when he finishes the training, I'll personally bring him to apologize to you. No matter how busy work is, he can't ignore his wife's messages."

"When did he start the training?"

"He got the notice yesterday."

Someone knocks on the door just then. I hang up and open the door to see the chef George hired to cook for me.

"Miss Blair, it's time for your dinner."

"I'm not hungry," I say. That phone call makes me feel that Antonio is in great danger. Only Antonio's mother knows nothing and thinks he's at work.

"Miss Blair, you're pregnant and need to take responsibility for yourself and the baby, and get proper nutrition."

"I'm not hungry," I repeat.