Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 135: Mother’s Gift

Chapter 135: Mother’s Gift

"The Pharmacy Minister insinuated that it might be Talia and I didn’t know how it is possible," Jordan eyed Arthur now leaning on the chair leisurely and rubbing his glabella with his two index fingers.

"You can leave now," Arthur excused Jordan.

Arthur decided to visit his brother to get more details on this. He really couldn’t believe that Talia went over her way and talked for Lord Wallace’s company.

Does she have the means to do that? Yes!

But would she go out of her way and speak for others? Umm... No..

She usually walks in her own lane and doesn’t bother others. She won’t actively try to hurt others and she won’t actively try to do good for others too.

Arthur was there when Jerome talked to the President of A Country immediately after they received the news of the attack on her. It was a short call and the wait for the call to get through was longer since he was the President and his calls were screened.

Judging by the time the articles with the picture of her leaving were published, the call should have been made just as she left the luncheon.

"Anthony!" Jerome’s voice was so authoritative as if he was talking to his subordinate and even Arthur was surprised. "I heard my granddaughter visited you?"

Arthur could only smile hearing that. Surely the President has more power than Talia and he has control over who he meets, but it was she who met him? Jerome... For him, his granddaughter is the most precious and important person in the whole world.

" Did you treat her well?" Jerome asked after letting the President speak for a generous two seconds. "I heard some ill-bred brat pulled her hair... Is that true?"

Of course it is true! Arthur wanted to do something about it, but Jerome said he’d take care of it. Now there are many stories of people who have witnessed that incident coming forward in television interviews and many have filed complaints against Peter Campbell.

Arthur knew it was an intimidating technique used by Brunton. By pretending to inquire the validity of the claims, he is actually threatening the President to take action for it. Jerome is letting the President know that he will act on behalf of his wronged granddaughter if no action is taken from the other side. In a way he is giving a chance for the President to save his face by not letting an outsider interfering in his business.

The phone call ended after a few seconds but Arthur saw the darkness in Jerome’s face.

’I need to learn a lot more’, Arthur was starstruck by Jerome the morning. If it was his grandfather, he’d have sent a group of thugs with guns and threaten his enemy and make a big deal out of it and ruin his name along the way.

Jerome in a way is more scary! He can make people do what he wants in the most calm and the most intimidating way.

In the evening, Arthur went to his brother’s house for dinner. It was a typical suburban, four bedroom house with a lawn in the front, now covered with snow. They had an open kitchen and the house looked small but cozy; it was lively.

Roderick had only returned from A country some hours earlier and he still looked jetlagged. Those two rampant monkeys his brother spawned, mowed all over Arthur and Arthur’s scare techniques to frighten them went over their heads.

’Are they even humans?’ Arthur wondered as those two children had no fear in their bones. They seemed to have some fear for their mother and none for their father.

Spoilt brats!

Maybe because they don’t get lectured or spanked by their grandfather!

After dinner, Arthur went to his brother’s study and locked the door.

Roderick pointed at a glass of whisky on the table and Arthur walked to him in a lazy stride and sat in the chair after picking up the glass.

"Tired already?" Roderick chuckled seeing Arthur rubbing the back of his head with his eyes shut.

"I’m getting headaches lately..." Arthur looked at Roderick with his eyes, half lidded. He really couldn’t bear the pain.

"Did you see a doctor?" the mirth in Roderick’s face vanished. Somehow he got reminded of his mother. She used to get headaches too and one day she...

"I did. They wanted me to take scans. I don’t have time-"

"What’s more important than your health?" Roderick was a bit mad about Arthur’s attitude towards his own health. His little brother is still stupid.

Arthur sat straight and took a good look at his brother. He looked mad.

"Don’t worry, it should be the stress..." Arthur smiled and Roderick wasn’t convinced.

"Always going his own way, never listening to others advice... Idiot!" Roderick mumbled as he emptied the glass and the ice in the glass made a tinkling sound.

Arthur’s lips curved up as he felt warmer in his chest.

He always felt the same with his brother. No matter how old he gets, he’d always be his little brother who knows nothing. His dear brother... He always is the same. A typical firstborn carrying the weight of the world in his shoulder!

He looks different though, Arthur thought. It’s been ten years since he had a good look at his brother. He is nearing forty and there were very minute signs of aging in his face. And that only made him look mature. He used to have baby face and he always looked like a boy. He even got elected using that boy-face of his; the votes of younger and older women altogether went to him just because of his face.

As he looked at him closely, he felt like Roderick resembled their uncle; the one who killed Talia’s mother.

That shape of his nose and the position of eyes and mouth...he greatly resembled him. Arthur hurriedly shook his head.

My brother is nothing like my uncle!

He looked around the room. There were various framed certificates of Roderick, some medals and shields he got as prices, some sports team posters and there was a signed cricket ball on the messy table among other things.

"I met her" Roderick looked sternly at Arthur.

"Wha- who?" Arthur pretended to not understand what his brother meant.

Roderick rolling his eyes, threw the cricket ball he had on the table that was sighed by a top player, at Arthur’s face.

Arthur was startled but caught the ball before it hit his nose.

"Don’t pretend like you’re here to meet me or the kids!" Roderick shook his head and Arthur with a wide grin, played with the ball in his hand.

"I came to see those undisciplined monkeys... You... And along the way, ask about her."

Roderick snorted, "Yeah, right, " he took a deep breath. "The talks weren’t going well as they asked more export tax for the medicines... All I know is, it wasn’t going well until she went and had a private meeting with President Carter and after she left, we got the green. Do you think Mr. Brunton would have-"

" No... "Arthur shook his head. Jerome didn’t talk about Wallace pharma with anyone. It shouldn’t have been him. It should be Iris!

" Is she following our news closely then? She predicted our purpose of visit because our Pharma Minister was there too and talked on behalf of us? Interesting..." Roderick laughed gleefully. She is very impressive!

"We even got a chance of talks between Esteria and Rosandale! That girl... I love her! She’s - "

"You cannot ’love’ her! You’re married! She’s mine!" Arthur threw the ball in his hand at Roderick and he caught it too.

"Wow! Are you jealous? I do love her. What of it?" Roderick teased Arthur.

"Rod, don’t!" Arthur pointed his finger at his brother.

"I love her!" Roderick said and seeing Arthur’s eyebrows twitching stood up hiding his smile.

As usual, it is easy to anger his brother!

"Take back what you said!" Arthur lunged at Roderick and the two brothers started to wrestle with each other. Both of them trained well and one couldn’t take over the other and in the struggle, a frame in the wall fell down and the glass broke creating a big ruckus.

" What’s going on?" Emily with fright apparent in her face, opened the door of the study.

"He says he hates you!" Roderick said as he was struggling to pin Arthur’s hands.

"Wha-? Why would I hate Emily? I love her!" Arthur got more angry and tried to trip Roderick.

"Why did you say you love my wife?" Roderick in the end won as he pinned Arthur at the wall and Arthur no matter how much he struggled couldn’t get out of his brother’s grip.

Emily rolled her eyes and locked the door on her way out. Boys!

"Stupid!" Roderick smiled.

Arthur only then realised what his brother said and calmed down. Turns out, he really is stupid and fell for his brother’s tricks once more. He needs to tame his temper.

"Our ma would’ve loved her... Ma never hated the. Brunton family like our grandfather did," Roderick patted Arthur’s shoulder and walked to his chair wiping his sweat on his sleeves.

"Mmm," Arthur agreed with his brother. He knew his mother would have loved her.

"Wait for me..." Roderick said and walked to the safe in the wall and pressed the password and it opened with a beep.

"Ma wanted us to gift three of her favourite jewellery to our respective wives. You were too young to understand it all and so mother gave them to me for safe keeping. As I told you before, I took a ring for myself and I proposed with that ring and Emily accepted it. There is a ring and a bracelet left. You can pick whatever you want..."

Roderick passed the jewellery box to Arthur and Arthur’s hands shook.

Three gifts! Only two will be taken because one is already dead; he died in the hands of his brother.

" Don’t feel bad for Ray, Artie! " Roderick understood Arthur’s thoughts. "I’m not the one to judge, but he had it coming, Artie. If it was not you, it would have been someone else. That’s how he lived;on the edge."

Arthur looked at his brother. Both of them were the same height but in his heart, his big brother is always as tall as a mountain.

"Ma would have been disappointed in me through," Arthur’s eyes misted. He’s never talked about it with anyone before. It was his deepest nightmare.

"Don’t think that way, Artie. You wouldn’t know what ma would have thought and you can’t change the past either. Who’d know, if ma was alive, Ray wouldn’t have become the person he was growing up. He might not have grown attached with grandfather and he might not have strayed. We don’t know any of it. And what you did wasn’t deliberate; it was self-defence. I for one am grateful that Talia was protected. I won’t blame you, ever! So don’t think about it too much,"Roderick hugged Arthur and patted his back.

Unknowingly a single drop of tear rolled down Arthur’s cheek.

His brother might be right!

" I already have a ring to propose. Can I take the bracelet? "Arthur asked without even opening the box.

It doesn’t matter if it is a lowly bead bracelet or a diamond bracelet, he knew his Iris will accept it with a smile in her face if he said it is a gift from his mother. Arthur was sure if it.

" You aren’t even looking? You can gift the ring too, you know?" Roderick smiled, "Although I expected you’ll choose the bracelet."

"Why?" Arthur was intrigued and opened the box. In the box was a big diamond that could be over fifty carats and worth millions and a bracelet.

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