My Husband Wiped The Handle My Brother Touched And Called It Clean Chapter 02

My Husband Wiped The Handle My Brother Touched And Called It Clean Chapter 02

“Chloe, what kind of tantrum are you throwing in the middle of the night?”

“I’m not throwing a tantrum. I’ve never been clearer.”

Ethan suppressed his temper. “The company is busy preparing for an IPO. The financing can’t afford a single mistake. Do you have any idea how many investors I have to meet every day?”

“Do you know how many messes I have to clean up?” he continued. “Can you grow up for once?”

I looked up at him. “Right, you’re so busy. So busy that when someone else’s brother gets scolded by an instructor, you drop everything to back him up.”

“So busy that you have time to pick out an expensive helmet for him,” I said. “Ethan, when you were broke and down on your luck, Logan emptied his piggy bank to help fix your car.”

“Now, Austin gets chewed out, and you rush over like the house is on fire,” I added. “But you treat Logan like filth just for touching your door?”

Ethan’s eyes flickered, avoiding my gaze. “Stella was crying her eyes out. What’s wrong with me checking on them at the driving school?”

“Besides, she’s an employee at my company,” he muttered. “Do you really have to demand a divorce over such a trivial matter in the middle of the night?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Fine, today was my fault. Tomorrow, I’ll have accounting wire Logan ten thousand dollars as a graduation gift. Let’s just drop it.”

With that, he turned toward the guest room. The door slammed shut with a loud thud.

Staring at the closed door, I walked back to my bedroom.

Ten thousand dollars. In his eyes, my brother’s dignity and my family’s pride were worth exactly that much.

Early the next morning, Ethan left for the office before dawn. I dragged my suitcase out from the closet and began packing my things.

At ten in the morning, the doorbell rang. It was Ethan’s assistant, Justin, holding an orange designer shopping bag.

“Ma’am, Mr. Miller specifically told me to pick this bag up from the boutique first thing this morning. He said he upset you yesterday and hopes you won’t take it to heart.”

My gaze fell on the slightly open edge of the bag, where a white slip of paper was peeking out. I reached out and pulled the paper out.

Justin’s expression changed instantly.

It was a speeding ticket. The vehicle involved was that old modified car.

The driver’s name on the ticket read: Austin Vance. The timestamp was 4:00 PM yesterday.

That was right around the time Ethan claimed there was a company emergency and left the dinner.

I pulled out my phone and opened my social media feed. The top post was an update Stella had shared thirty minutes ago.

The picture showed the designer bag alongside the racing helmet.

Her caption read: Someone said this color looked too mature for me and insisted on getting me a pink one instead. But my little brother absolutely loves his new helmet!

Looking at the photo, I closed my eyes. So, this bag was just Stella’s reject.

Right in front of Justin, I dialed Ethan’s number. The phone rang for a long time before he finally answered.

“Did you get the bag? Are you finally done throwing your tantrum?” His tone sounded relieved.

I crumpled the ticket into a ball. “Ethan, Austin was driving without a license and severely speeding. How exactly did you get him out of jail?”

The line went dead silent for a second.

“You went through my things?” His voice dropped coldly. “Chloe, don’t push it. Austin was traumatized by his instructor, so I let him take the car out for a spin to blow off some steam.”

“I already scolded him, and I paid the fine. What more do you want?” he snapped.

I gripped the phone tightly. “You hand me a bag Stella didn’t even want, and you ask me what I want?”

Ethan went silent for two seconds. “That bag was bought for you from the start. Even if Stella didn’t want it, so what?”

“It’s a ten-thousand-dollar bag,” he added defensively. “Are you saying it’s not good enough for you? Stella, Austin is only nineteen. Do you really need to hold a grudge against a playful kid?”