Chapter 277: His Troubles

"This isn’t the first and won’t be the last time that he’s going to do this. No one will find out. Even you had a hard time distinguishing between the two of us at first, right?" Hayden said carefreely.

That was sort of true but…

"From the photo, I guess you’re right, but I could tell almost right away when I met Harvey that he wasn’t you," I replied.

"Harvey’s going to be here soon. I suggest you stop worrying about him and focus on getting some clothes on," Hayden said as his eyes moved from my face down to my hand that was still clutching the sheets to cover my naked chest.

I had to admit that he was right.

…

By the time that Harvey arrived, I was dress up well enough to greet him. The door slid open, and Harvey walked in proudly. As always, Harvey was dressed in a very similar style to Hayden and the way he styled his hair was the same. Looking up and down his profile, I had to admit that they really did look alike.

With the effort that Harvey had obviously put in to look like his younger brother, I was certain that the staff couldn’t tell them apart.

"Here are your clothes…" Harvey said lazily as he tossed some clothes at Hayden.

"Did you run into anyone?" Hayden asked while sounding bored.

"No. Can you put some clothes on now…please..." Harvey replied as he sat himself down on a chair and waved Hayden away.

I watched Hayden’s naked back as he walked into the bathroom. It was strange but I had started getting used to seeing Hayden naked. Hayden did have a habit of walking about naked, and I guess Harvey didn’t enjoy seeing his brother like that. Harvey let out a sigh after Hayden had disappeared into the bathroom. He seemed drained of energy and there were dark circles under his eyes.

The two brothers seemed a little tired as of late and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something that was bothering them.

"You look a little tired…" I said softly as I tried to gauge Harvey’s reaction.

"If you want to know what’s going on, you have to ask Hayden. But you’re right, we’re both tired," Harvey replied very directly.

Right…

"You really can’t tell me anything?" I whispered just in case Hayden might hear us.

"He explicitly told me not to tell you anything and I was forced to agree to his request. So that is that," Harvey said before shrugging helplessly.

"I see. Well then that can’t be helped…" I said regretfully.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What can’t be helped?" Hayden asked as he walked back into the room.

I wasn’t sure if Harvey did it intentionally but the clothes that he had picked out for Hayden looked very similar to the ones that he was wearing. The style, the color, the pattern, and everything was very similar.

"Umm…it’s nothing…" I replied before smiling at him to cover things up.

He didn’t just here everything that I said to Harvey, did he?

"Malissa was asking if something is wrong because she’d observed that we both look tired," Harvey summarized royally well to his brother.

My eyes bulged at how quickly he had spilled the beans. Did I have to tell him directly that I didn’t actually want Hayden to know what we were talking about? Plus, I wasn’t mentally prepared to ask Hayden about what was going on. I sneaked a small peek in Hayden’s direction and saw that his face had settled into a stern look.

"There’s something that you want to ask?" Hayden asked as his icy blue eyes focused on my face.

I wanted to disintegrate into thin air while I cursed Harvey for putting me right on the spot like this. What do I say now?

"Umm…Harvey’s right. I just thought that you two looked tired and stressed out lately…so I was wondering about the cause of it…and if there’s something that I can do to help," I said hesitantly.

Hayden’s eyes remained glued to my face as he slowly took in my words. His expression did not change, and I had no idea what his reaction was to my honest question. I glanced nervously in Harvey’s direction to beg for his help with my eyes. Harvey’s eyes met mine and he smiled innocently at me before quickly looking away. It was clear that he had no intention whatsoever in helping me.

"There are some decisions that Harvey and I need to make. It doesn’t concern you and there is nothing for you to worry about," Hayden replied flatly.

"Ok…" I mumbled as I nodded my head slightly.

Harvey’s eyes returned to my face, and I could tell by the look on his face that what Hayden said wasn’t entirely true. Harvey looked like he had something that he wanted to say but then quickly decided against it before he looked away from me again.

"Malissa, can I borrow Hayden for a bit?" Harvey asked before smiling sweetly at me.

"Oh, sure. Of course…" I replied as I tried my best not to stutter.

"Thank you. Don’t worry, I’ll bring him right back to you when we’re done talking," Harvey said reassuringly.

"Aha…" I mumbled as I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Let’s go. There’s no need to put this off any further," Hayden said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

I watched silently as the two men made their way out of the room. Before the door closed completely behind them, Hayden turned around and looked directly at me.

"Wait here. I’ll be back soon," he said.

If I wasn’t daydreaming or simply imagining things, then there must have been some warmth and gentleness in Hayden’s voice just now.

The door closed firmly behind them, and the automatic mechanism locked the door immediately. I had no idea what the brothers had to talk about, but it seemed important. Anxiousness and curiosity filled me, and I had no remedy for it apart from Hayden’s parting words to give me comfort.

I had a few things that I needed to get Hayden’s permission for, and I decided to use the time that he was away to gather up my courage to talk to him properly.

--To be continued…