“And who told Yasmin it was me who wanted a crack at Belle when those words, Miles, came from your f**king mouth?” Jack asked, his voice low, rumbly and very, very angry.
Oh dear.
Belle needed to do something she just didn’t know how.
Or, in fact, what.
“Miles did, of course,” Yasmin whispered before Belle could figure it out.
“She misheard me,” Miles stated quickly.
“She did not,” Jack ground out. “You lied in an effort to cheat during a ridiculous, one-sided competition that I cannot f**king believe we’re still discussing months after the drama was over and only f**king weeks after the woman I love was shoved down the goddamned stairs and lost our child as a result.”
Miles’s torso swayed back and he whispered, “You love her?”
“Jesus, Miles, what do you think this is all about?” Jack asked, planting his hands on his hips.
“You love her,” Miles repeated in a whisper.
Jack didn’t get a chance to respond.
Unfortunately at this juncture, Joy was racing up, calling out, “What’s happening?”
“Belle, take Mum and Yasmin to the house,” Jack ordered, his eyes still locked on his brother.
“Please, no fighting,” Joy begged, arriving and immediately getting close to Jack so she could wrap her hands around his upper arm. “We were all getting along. Let’s not go back to fighting.” Her eyes moved to her younger son. “Please Miles. Especially not now.”
“I didn’t come to fight,” Miles told his mother. “Because Belle is sensitive, I took the chance to incur Jack’s wrath in order to warn her, after what’s happened, to tread cautiously.”
Really, Belle thought in disgust, eyeing Miles, it was high time to stop being meek and mild if her sensitivity set her up for this type of kindness.
“We’ll finish this, once and for all, between you and me,” Jack clipped then again ordered, “Belle, take Mum and Yasmin back to the house.”
Belle thought this was a capital idea and started to move but Joy asked, “Tread cautiously with what?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Miles answered. “She refuses to heed my warning.”
“What warning?” Joy pushed as Belle got close and grabbed her elbow, trying and failing to pull her away.
“It doesn’t matter,” Miles repeated, his eyes on his brother.
Belle froze when Yasmin stated softly, “You took me away from him. I participated but you did it and you did it purposefully. Now, you’re trying to take Belle from him too?”
“What’s this? What are you talking about? What’s going on?” Joy demanded, her hands giving Jack’s arm a shake.
“Belle, get Mum and Yasmin back… to… the house,” Jack growled.
Belle pulled gently at Joy’s elbow, she resisted and Yasmin ignored all of this and asked Miles, “Why would you do that? What could possess you?”
At this, Miles’s head turned slowly to Yasmin. “Possess me?”
“Yes,” she answered quietly. “I’ve known you both what feels like my whole life and Jack has never done anything to deserve this. So yes, when you behave like this, Miles, what possesses you?”
“He sees something, he takes it,” Miles replied and Yasmin shook her head.
“He didn’t take me. I gave myself to him. The same with Belle.”
“He sees something, he takes it, even if it doesn’t belong to him,” Miles went on stubbornly.