Jack studied his brother and saw, to his surprise, he wasn’t lying.
Still, he carried on, “Regardless, when I caught you with her, you were physically abusing her. Then, months later, when you knew she was pregnant and I’d moved her into my home, which is something which should have given you a clue as to what she meant to me, another clue was the fact you walked in on us kissing, you didn’t duck out quietly. Instead you abused her verbally.” Jack watched his brother’s face go tight and he went on, “Therefore, Miles, I don’t think I need to meet you halfway.”
“We should have talked about this four months ago when it happened,” Miles told him, “I was angry. You must understand I was angry.”
“Anger doesn’t excuse physically abusing a woman. Nor verbally doing it,” Jack retorted.
“She f**ked my brother while she was dating me!” Miles clipped.
“No, I f**ked her. There’s a subtle difference Miles. You know me. You knew her. You had to know the way it happened. You can’t think I believe for one second you didn’t. You took your anger at me out on Belle. As a result, I nearly lost her and I’m finding it hard to forgive you for that.”
“And you can’t believe for one second that, if the same thing happened to you, and a woman you cared about spent the night with me, that you wouldn’t be livid,” Miles shot back and Jack’s patience slipped another considerable notch at his brother’s very selective memory.
“If a woman I cared about spent the night in your bed, my first thought would be that you could have her,” Jack returned with complete honesty and the look on Miles’s face showed he knew it. As he would. As it had happened before and, even though Jack didn’t need to remind him, he did, “For instance, when you f**ked Yasmin.”
Miles looked away and muttered, “That was a long time ago and you two weren’t exactly together.”
“It was a long time ago. That doesn’t change the fact that, years ago, you discovered Yasmin and I were having difficulties because of a ridiculous argument she blew out of proportion. We’d grown up with her. You knew the way Yasmin behaved. How she’d take any opportunity to screw up her life. You also knew how I felt about her. You purposefully got her pissed out of her skull and took her to your bed. When she admitted it to me, she was a f**king mess because she knew it was over. And it was, irrevocably. I shouldn’t have forgiven you, or Yasmin for that matter, but I did. That’s two women in my life you’ve toyed with because of this ridiculous compulsion to best me and, if I didn’t make it clear in the stables, I will now. I’m done, Miles. This is finished.”
Miles stared at Jack and Jack returned his stare.
This went on for quite some time.
Finally, and quietly, Miles said, “I’m done too, Jack.”
“I’m supposed to believe that?”
Miles nodded and repeated, “I’m done.”
Jack shook his head but Miles took a step forward, Jack pushed away from the desk and Miles stopped.
“This is my family we’re talking about,” Miles went on, still quietly and, when Jack didn’t speak, Miles continued, “Not just you, but Mum, even Yasmin isn’t talking to me and now Belle’s expecting. That’s my niece or nephew she’s carrying, Jack. And I’m banished from my own f**king house.”
“You brought it on yourself,” Jack retorted ruthlessly.
“I know!” Miles shouted, “God damn it, I know,” Jack watched his brother swallow and then he said, “Dad would be so pissed off, Jack, if he saw us now. He’d be furious.”
“He’d be furious at you,” Jack returned.
“I know,” Miles whispered, shut his eyes then opened them and focussed on Jack, “Okay, not halfway, Jack. You win, I apologise. I’ll apologise to Belle.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Jack cut in.
“You can be there,” Miles put in quickly and repeated, “You can be there, Jack. And I’ll try to…” He hesitated then carried on, “Figure out why I do the things I do and I’ll control it.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed and he remarked, “Yes, I guess you will. A nice reunion of the Bennett Brothers to show the press that you aren’t a sore loser and we’re one big happy family.”
“That’s not what this is,” Miles informed him.
“That’s what you led with the minute I entered this room,” Jack retorted.
“It’s eating me. I’ve admitted that but it’s more and you know it.” He paused then reminded Jack, “We used to be close.”
“We haven’t been close since Yasmin,” Jack reminded Miles.
“We can get that back, if you’ll let it happen. Mum would be thrilled and you know Dad would have been.”
Jack’s body went solid, his patience vanished and his voice went low when he warned, “Don’t use Dad in your games, Miles. Don’t you f**king dare use Dad in your games.”