Chapter 5: The Secret Jason Wanted to Uncover
I found Jason in the kitchen, standing beside the counter with a glass of water in his hand.
He didn't turn when I entered.
For several seconds, the only sound between us was the refrigerator humming.
Then he spoke.
“You really couldn't have told us?””
I leaned against the doorway.
“I did tell you.””
“No, you sent some pictures.””
“I sent wedding announcements. I texted photographs. I called Mom.””
He turned around.
“And you never thought to call me directly?””
I stared at him.
“Would you have answered?””
His expression hardened.
“What's that supposed to mean?””
“It means we haven't had a real conversation in years unless you needed someone to listen to you talk about yourself.””
Jason laughed.
“You've always been dramatic.””
“And you've always thought being louder made you right.””
He set his glass down.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he rubbed a hand across his face.
“Look, Brian. I'm trying to understand this.””
“Then ask questions without insulting my wife.””
“Fine.””
He took a breath.
“How did you meet Emily?””
It was such a normal question that I almost didn't know how to answer it.
I had spent so much of the evening defending myself that I had forgotten what it felt like to share something good without preparing for an attack.
“We met through a mutual friend at a small gathering.””
Jason nodded.
“And you got married two years ago?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“In a garden outside the city.””
“How many people were there?””
“About twenty.””
He looked genuinely puzzled.
“No big reception?””
“No.””
“No expensive venue?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
I shrugged.
“Because we didn't want one.””
Jason studied me as though that answer made no sense.
Then he shook his head.
“I don't get you.””
“You don't have to.””
He ignored that.
“And the baby? How old is he?””
I felt my expression soften despite myself.
“Nathan is still little.””
Jason looked toward the dining room.
“He looks healthy.””
“He is.””
There was a pause.
Then Jason asked the question I had been waiting for.
“So, what does Emily do?””
I answered him.
He asked another question.
Then another.
Where did we live?
How much had the house cost?
Was the business profitable?
Did we have plans to expand?
At first, I answered politely.
Then I noticed that every question seemed to lead back to money.
“How much is your business worth?”” he finally asked.
I laughed in disbelief.
“Why do you want to know that?””
“I'm curious.””
“Since when?””
His face tightened.
“Why do you have to make everything difficult?””
“Because you're asking questions you wouldn't answer if I asked you the same things.””
He crossed his arms.
“I'm your brother.””
“And?””
“And family should be able to talk about these things.””
“Then start by treating me like family.””
Jason looked away.
For a moment, the confidence he wore so easily seemed to slip.
When he spoke again, his voice was quieter.
“You know how hard things have been for Amanda.””
I did know.
I had heard enough about their fertility treatments to understand that their journey had been painful.
“I do.””
“We've spent years trying to build the family we want.””
“I know, Jason.””
“And then you walk in here with everything.””
I stared at him.
Everything.
A wife.
A baby.
A house.
A business.
As though my life were a collection of trophies arranged on a shelf for him to compare against his own.
“I didn't take anything from you,” I said.
He shook his head.
“That's not what I mean.””
“Then what do you mean?””
He opened his mouth.
For once, he didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, “You always make things look easy.””
I almost laughed.
Easy?
He had no idea what our first year of marriage had looked like.
He hadn't seen Emily and me working late into the night to keep the business running while preparing for Nathan's arrival.
He hadn't watched me sit beside Emily when she was exhausted and worried, trying to reassure her that we would figure everything out together.
He hadn't been there when I wondered whether I was ready to become a father.
He hadn't seen the bills, the sleepless nights, the difficult decisions, or the sacrifices.
He had seen none of it.
Yet he stood there talking as though my happiness had somehow been handed to me without effort.
“Jason,” I said quietly, “you don't know anything about my life.””
He looked at me.
“Exactly. Because you never tell us anything.””
I held his gaze.
“Maybe I stopped telling you things because you never listened.””
His face reddened.
Before he could respond, Amanda appeared in the doorway.
“Jason, your mom wants you.””
He turned toward her.
“Tell her I'll be there in a minute.””
Amanda hesitated.
Then she looked at me.
“Brian, can I talk to you for a second?””
Jason frowned.
“What do you need to talk to him about?””
“Alone.””
He looked between us.
Finally, he muttered something under his breath and walked past her.
Amanda waited until his footsteps faded before speaking.
“I owe you an apology.””
I blinked.
“For what?””
“For the things I said at dinner. About you being single. About your life.””
I wasn't expecting that.
Amanda clasped her hands together.
“I knew Jason was being cruel, but I laughed anyway. I didn't want to disagree with him in front of everyone.””
I leaned against the counter.
“Why are you telling me this now?””
She glanced toward the dining room.
“Because I know what it's like to feel like everyone is watching you and deciding whether your life measures up.””
Her voice trembled slightly.
“Every family gathering becomes another reminder that we don't have a baby yet. Every conversation turns into questions about treatment. People keep telling us to stay positive, as though we haven't been trying to do that for years.””
I felt my anger soften.
I hadn't forgotten what they were going through.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Amanda.””
“I know.””
She looked down.
“But I think I started resenting the fact that you seemed so unconcerned with what everyone thought of you.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“You left. You stopped coming to things. You stopped explaining yourself.””
She gave a sad little laugh.
“And somehow, that made everyone talk about you even more.””
I considered that.
Then I said, “I didn't leave to punish anyone. I left because I was tired of feeling like I had to defend every decision I made.””
Amanda nodded slowly.
“I understand that now.””
For a moment, we stood in silence.
Then she looked toward the living room.
“There's something else.””
I waited.
“Jason's been under a lot of pressure lately.””
“Work?””
She hesitated.
“Work. Money. Everything.””
I watched her carefully.
“What kind of pressure?””
She pressed her lips together.
“I shouldn't say anything without talking to him.””
That answer made me uneasy.
“Amanda, what is going on?””
She shook her head.
“I'm sorry. I really shouldn't.””
She started to leave, then stopped.
“One thing, though.””
“What?””
“Don't let Jason convince you that you're doing something wrong just because your life looks different from his.””
She met my eyes.
“Sometimes, when he feels like he's losing, he starts looking for someone else to blame.””
Then she walked away.
I remained in the kitchen, trying to make sense of what she'd said.
Jason was under pressure.
He was worried about money.
And he had been asking suspiciously specific questions about my business.
I couldn't put the pieces together.
Not yet.
When I returned to the dining room, Emily was standing beside the window with Nathan in her arms.
My mother sat nearby, watching the baby with a tenderness I hadn't seen directed toward me in years.
My father was talking to my uncle.
Jason had returned to his chair and was speaking animatedly about something on his phone.
The moment I entered, he looked up.
“There he is.””
I ignored him and walked to Emily.
She turned toward me.
“You okay?””
I nodded.
“Mostly.””
She shifted Nathan into my arms.
Our son had fallen asleep again.
His tiny hand curled around my finger.
I kissed his forehead.
Then Emily leaned close enough that only I could hear her.
“Amanda told me Jason's been asking about your business.””
I looked at her.
“How do you know that?””
“She overheard him talking to your father before we arrived.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did he say?””
Emily glanced toward the table.
“She didn't tell me everything. But she said they were discussing whether you might be able to help them with something.””
I looked at Jason.
He was smiling at our uncle now, pretending nothing had happened.
“What kind of help?””
Emily shook her head.
“I'm not sure.””
Then she touched my cheek.
“Whatever it is, we don't have to agree to anything tonight.””
I nodded.
That was one of the things I loved most about her.
She never tried to control my decisions.
She simply reminded me that I was allowed to make them.
Across the room, Jason suddenly stood.
“Brian, can I get you for a minute?””
I sighed.
“What now?””
He smiled broadly.
“Relax. I'm not attacking you.””
I followed him toward the living room.
My father was already there, standing near the fireplace.
On the coffee table sat a folder I hadn't noticed before.
Jason picked it up and held it against his chest.
“Dad and I have been talking about something,” he began.
I looked at my father.
He nodded.
“It's a business matter.””
I glanced at the folder.
“What business matter?””
Jason took a breath.
“We're considering an investment opportunity. Something that could make a significant difference for the family.””
I waited.
He smiled.
“And since your business has apparently been doing so well, we thought you might want to be involved.””
I stared at him.
For the first time that evening, his expression looked less like arrogance and more like desperation carefully dressed up as confidence.
“What kind of investment?”” I asked.
Jason opened the folder.
And when I saw the first page, I understood why he'd suddenly become so interested in the details of my life.
Because the document wasn't an investment proposal.
It was a request for money.
May you like
A very large amount of money.
And my name was already written on it.
