After leaving Malissaâs room the two brothers made their way to Harveyâs wing of the mansion where they could have their conversation without any disturbances. Harvey sat down on the sofa before stretching his arms above his head. Hayden took the seat opposite from his brother but didnât say anything.
âDo you still believe in peace, Hayden?â Harvey asked, getting right to the point.
âIâm not sureâ¦â Hayden replied.
âAmelia believed in peace. She believed in it so much that it started rubbing off on me,â Harvey said before laughing softly.
His eyes travelled to the various portraits of Amelia that hung from the walls as if he was recalling memories of her. Hayden followed his brotherâs gaze as his blue eyes passively took in Ameliaâs beauty.
âThat was my faultâ¦â Hayden whispered, his tone heavy with regret.
Harveyâs eyes returned to his brother before he shook his head slowly from side to side.
âMaybe it was or maybe it wasnât. No one knows and itâs up to you what you want to believe,â Harvey replied calmly.
âI shouldnât have told her anythingâ¦â Hayden muttered.
Harvey smiled sadly at his brother before his gaze shifted to a portrait of Amelia. After a while of staring silently at it, Harvey turned to look directly at Hayden.
âI got this painting commissioned when I made up my mind to marry Amelia. She probably thought that I proposed to her on a whim but that wasnât the case at all. I thought long and hard about it. I even consulted our old man about it. She wouldnât believe me if I told her that, thoughâ¦â Harvey said casually.
Haydenâs eyes travelled to the painting that his brother was referring to. Much to his surprise, the painting depicted Amelia with her eyes closed with a serene smile on her face while her hands were bounded together by deep green vines of red roses with sharp thorns.
âI guess this was after you locked her up in one of the rooms underground for a few days and she survived?â Hayden asked mockingly.
âCorrect. Sometimes, I think youâre being too nice to Malissa but then Iâm not so sure,â Harvey said, only half-jokingly.
âSo, why are you telling me all this?â Hayden asked.
After seeing that his brother had taken a look at the painting, Harvey decided to continue with what he wanted to say.
âItâs not easy being a mafiaâs woman and our dead mother is great proof of that. Casual dating is fine, and all good but serious relationships and marriage is difficult. Then thereâs the whole issue on producing the heir to take over the gang,â Harvey said with a sigh.
Haydenâs eyes rested on the small trickles of blood oozing out from the wounds on Ameliaâs arms in the painting. He imagined her pain and recognized the contrast of that against the peaceful and serene smile that Amelia has on her lips.
âContent and willing to bear the painâ¦â Hayden surmised softly with his eyes still resting on Ameliaâs face in the painting.
âCorrect,â Harvey reaffirmed.
âIs that what youâre worried about? The succession line?â Hayden said as he started to frown.
âPartly. I would be lying if I told you that I donât worry about that at all. Iâm not like you. I completely side with our father on this one. This gang needs an heir to properly secure the future for the gang and all its members,â Harvey said as his eyes narrowed at Hayden.
âI seeâ¦â Hayden murmured.
âI know we were not raised the same but trust me when I say this. Iâm very worried about you and Malissaâ¦â Harvey said solemnly.
âShe wonâtâ¦end up like Amelia. I wonât end up making the same mistakes,â Hayden stated resolutely.
âDonât blame yourself too much. Amelia wouldnât like that,â Harvey said quickly.
âMy beliefs almost got her killedâ¦â Hayden said before closing his eyes in pain.
âDonât overestimate yourself. It wasnât your beliefs; it was her own beliefs. Amelia has her own beliefs and things that she wanted to fight forâ¦â Harvey replied with a faraway look in his eyes.
âBut if I didnât talk to her about bringing about peace between the gangs, she may not have gotten so involved,â Hayden murmured sadly.
âShe was engaged to the heir of Silva. It doesnât matter what you said or didnât say, she was already involved. Amelia and I, we both knew that it wouldnât be easy to cut her ties with Silva. Both Ethan and his father are hard to deal with,â Harvey stated matter-of-factly.
âBut stillâ¦â Hayden murmured, still not completely convinced.
âWe knew that our decision came with a price, and we were willing to pay it,â Harvey said decisively.
âAmelia never should have ended up like thisâ¦â Hayden muttered as he looked away.
âBut she did. Itâs not your fault,â Harvey said sadly.
âI donât know what I should do anymoreâ¦â Hayden admitted with a loud sigh.
âI donât know what you should do either but what about what you want to do?â Harvey asked.
âWhat I want to doâ¦â Hayden said softly as if thinking to himself.
Harvey watched his younger brother as he seemed to struggle with his own thoughts. If anything, Harvey wanted Hayden to understand what he wanted even if it was different from what he should do.
âI know that Iâm running out of time,â Harvey spoke up after a while.
âShe might wake up so please donât give up on her,â Hayden said in an attempt to comfort his brother.
âI wonât ever give up on her. I canâtâ¦but you donât need to lie to me. Youâre a doctor after all. You donât think that sheâll wake up, right?â Harvey said knowingly.
âI donât knowâ¦â Hayden mumbled.
âWeâll stick to the same deadline. If Amelia doesnât regain her consciousness by then, Iâll let her go,â
Harvey said flatly.
âHarveyâ¦â Hayden whispered in shock.
âItâs fine. Ameliaâs been officially dead for a long time now. Weâre just going to make reality match the papers,â Harvey said before smiling sadly at his brother.
âYouâll be forced to marry someone else if you decide to take over. The old man isnât going to give up on securing an heir,â Hayden reminded his brother.
--To be continuedâ¦