8

Alfred.

Okay, is this behavior normal in this household! He didn't even apologize for his actions or seem remotely embarrassed about being caught! What kind of entitled person behaves this way?

"Unbelievable," I muttered, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Watch your mouth, Liam! And get out now! This instant!" Sebastian's voice boomed through the room, making both of us jump. "And don't even think to come close to my Alfred ever again! Do you understand me?"

Sebastian groans and rubbed his chin slowly, a gesture I was beginning to recognize as his attempt to control his temper and hide his anger. Okay, he really looks so mad now, his eyes darkening dangerously, his posture tense like a predator ready to strike.

"I've never seen someone look so furious," I thought, both frightened and oddly comforted by his protective rage.

"Why bother defending him so much? Who is Alfred anyway? Whatever!" Liam widened his eyes in mock confusion, throwing his hands up dramatically as if this whole situation was overblown.

"Is he always this disrespectful?" I wondered, shocked by his attitude toward his apparent brother.

"Liam, I should introduce properly since you clearly have no manners of your own," Sebastian's voice was dangerously controlled now. "This is Alfred, he will be my husband by tomorrow morning, and sure, you should attend the wedding if you can behave yourself appropriately."

Sebastian took a step closer to Liam, towering over him menacingly. "I will forgive your reprehensible behavior now only because you are so fucking drunk that you can barely stand straight! But hear me clearly - from this moment forward, you are not allowed to come close to him under any circumstances!"

Sebastian's voice grew even more threatening as he continued, "Besides, you have never shown any interest in men before, not once in your entire life! So what the hell happened to your retarded brain tonight that suddenly made you think you could touch what belongs to me!?"

Sebastian peered at Liam intensely, explaining the situation to him but with such a stern tone that it sent shivers down my spine. I had never heard anyone speak with such possessive authority before.

"Does he think of me as a possession?" I wondered silently, unsure how to feel about that.

All that I wanted to do at this moment was chuckling nervously at the absurdity of the situation. Who would have thought my first night here would include fighting off a drunk intruder?

The look on Liam's face as he processed Sebastian's words was truly swoon-worthy to be captured for posterity. His expression morphed through several emotions in quick succession - confusion, disbelief, shock, and finally something that looked disturbingly like challenge.

He dropped his jaw comically wide, scratching his head vigorously as if trying to make sense of what he just heard. Then he began rubbing his chin thoughtfully and scrunching his nose in obvious disapproval.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Liam asked finally, his voice lower but still slurred.

Then he turned to stare at me with narrowed eyes, assessing me from head to toe as if trying to determine my value. After a moment, he swayed his head dramatically to stare back at Sebastian, his expression darkening.

"What you just said cannot be true! Are you seriously getting married to a guy? To him?" The disgust in his voice was unmistakable, making me flinch despite my attempt to appear unaffected.

"I wonder what his problem is," I thought. "Jealousy? Homophobia? Or something else entirely?"

"Hello, Mr. Liam!" I decided to interject, trying to establish some dignity in this bizarre situation. "I'm Alfred, as your brother just mentioned. Sorry I can't say it's nice to meet you because of this extremely weird and uncomfortable situation we find ourselves in."

I took a steadying breath before continuing, "But could anyone of you gentlemen kindly tell me who exactly you are to each other? Or is it some kind of family secret I'm not supposed to know about?"

I narrowed my eyebrows questioningly, looking between them. "Because normal brothers don't typically act this way toward each other, at least not in my experience."

"I'm Sebastian's younger brother, you clueless pretty boy!" Liam announced with unnecessary volume, as if being louder made his claim more legitimate. "And what the hell did you do to my brother to bewitch him like this? What kind of tricks did you use?"

His voice rose to an accusatory shout as he continued, "How did you convince him to commit this crime and actually marry you? Did you drug him? Blackmail him? What's your angle?"

Liam hollered these questions while stepping closer to me menacingly, his alcohol-scented breath hitting my face as he advanced. I stepped back instinctively, trying to maintain distance between us.

"I didn't do anything to him," I protested. "This arrangement wasn't even my idea!"

I continued retreating until my back swatted against the wall behind me, leaving me trapped with nowhere else to go. Liam took advantage of my cornered position and leaned his head uncomfortably close to mine.

"What are you really? Are you a magician with some kind of love spell? Did you hypnotize him somehow?" Liam ground his teeth together in frustration, his words bitter and accusatory. I noticed with disgust that he was actually drooling slightly as he spoke, either from intoxication or some disturbing emotion I didn't want to identify.

"Get away from me," I whispered, turning my face away from his.

Suddenly Sebastian moved with surprising speed for someone his size, pulling Liam away from me by gripping the back of his neck forcefully. "F-ck you, Liam! What the hell is going on with you tonight? Have you completely lost your mind?"