One Night Stand With My Husband’s Brother

Chase stopped on his tracks and turned to take one last look at Mrs. Weston’s door. He was still perplexed, seeing as Mrs. Weston seemed to be doing fine. He pulled his phone out of his side pocket and quickly placed a call across to Nora.

He called to ask if Mackenzie had returned to the office, but found out she had not. He thanked her for her time and ended the call.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and continued his stroll around the hospital. As he walked, his mind wandered back to Eleanor and his father. Once again, he felt pity for the old man.

Just as he was about to walk past the hospital’s exit door, his eyes caught a familiar figure standing in the hallway, right in front of the door he knew belonged to eye patients, he had walked the corridors of the hospital long enough to know every nook and cranny.

Chase paused, and tilted his neck to take a closer look at the woman. He spotted the wave of curls that poured down her back after she tied them in a low bun. She folded her arms across her chest in a posture he knew far too well. Still watching her, he noted how she tilted her neck to the side, eyes fixed on the door.

Mackenzie.

He could spot her in a crowd of a million people.

Clad in a black suit pants and a peach long sleeved shirt, Chase could tell she had come directly from the office. She should have been sitting down, not standing and staring at the door. His brows furrow as he starts to walk towards her.

Why was she here? Was she waiting for someone? If yes, who could she be waiting for?

He was only a few meters away from her when he caught sight of the poster that had stolen her attention.

A picture of Doctor Camilia, his mother, was pasted on the door. Chase’s jaw clenched as he stared into his mother’s bright eyes. She was an opthalmologist, and the poster in front of the door was made by her foundation, Camilia Axford Foundation for Eye care, in honour of her. The foundation was geared towards enlightening and helping people with eye defects.

“Eye care is underated. Have you checked your eyes today?” He read the inscription on the poster in his head. He focuses on his mother’s face, but his gaze continually shifts to Mackenzie.

She had not noticed him yet, engrossed in the poster in front of her. Chase narrowed his eyes on her. He found the interest strange and confusing. He could swear Mackenzie had never seen that face before.

“Do you know her?” He asked, speaking up for the first time since he stood by her side.

The voice drew Mackenzie out of her dazed state, she was more than aware of who it belonged to, but it didn’t make her any less surprised. She jerked up in shock, and made a quick spin to catch a glimpse of the man behind her.

She blinked sporadically when she found Chase Axford peering down at her. She had not expected to run into him at that point in time. How did he manage to find her?

She dropped her gaze to his lips, then tore her eyes away from him almost immediately.

“What?”

Chase managed to tear his eyes away from her for a split second to look at his mother’s photo, before he turned back to her.

“You are staring at the picture as though you know her.” He replied, and Mackenzie shook her head in response.

“Not at all. On the contrary, I have never seen her before. But her name…” She stopped speaking and cast another glance at the poster. She squinted her brows, taking a closer look at the name on the poster.

“Her name here says Camilia Axford.”Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

She returned her eyes to him and found him looking at the poster, but not with the same surprise she did. In that moment, Mackenzie seemed to forget the fact that she had tried to hide from this man, and she still had a huge secret behind that door, one that she hoped to keep away from him for as long as she could.

She forgot the fact that he was the one man she was supposed to stay away from, and allowed herself bask in the aura of his presence.

Mackenzie dropped her hands to her sides. She found herself clutching the fabric of her pants.

He looked so handsome standing beside her. He always did, but there was something about him when his suit jacket was off, and his dark hair was scattered all over his head – a sharp contrast to his usual gelled and laid back style – she noticed the stuble underneath his chin. The messier he was supposed to look, the sexier he found him.

“Yeah, that’s right.” He finally spoke, a dry chuckle escaped his lips.

He was looking at her again.

“She’s my mother.”

The statement hit Mackenzie like a shockwave. She could feel her jaw almost drop to the ground as she gaped at him.

“I had no idea.” She said aloud, still visibly and internally shocked.

“Yeah, I know.” He slid his hands into his pockets as he looked at her.

“You were never exactly curious.” He continued, and Mackenzie sighed.

“I mean, it’s not like I was never curious, but I had never seen a picture of her anywhere. I had always known Eleanor was not your biological mother, she couldn’t be, but I just never had an idea of who your biological mother was. There was never a painting, a potrait…” She threw her hands in the air, and allowed them fall freely.

“… basically nothing.”

Chase could understand her point, he did. Pictures and every item that evoked memories of his mother had been stashed away, under the orders of… who else?

“Yes. My father took away every picture, portrait, and memory of my mother that existed after she died. From clothes, to Jewelry, to fragnances, he took everything away. I couldn’t blame him. He was going bat shit crazy, slowly losing his mind with every passing day.” As much as he hated to admit, talking to Mackenzie about the worst part of his life yet, seemed easy.

It almost felt like he had nothing to hide, like he could be his true self around her, and she would stare at him with the concerned doe eyes she held up at that moment. They were so beautiful, as sparkling as pearls underneath bright lights. She was beautiful, so beautiful.

Mackenzie had never seen him like that before. There was a new aura of vulnerability she had never seen. Chase Axford was like a gift hidden behind so many layers of gift wrappers. As he stood beside her, she could feel a strong pull towards him, like he had taken one layer of the wrap away, all by himself.

“Was she an eye doctor?”

“Yes.” Chase replied curtly, slowly returning to his old self.

“She was short-sighted, and missed her way quite easily. My father always teased her for her funny sense of direction.” As he spoke, a smile crept up to his cheeks, and brightened his dark blue eyes.

Mackenzie was shocked to see him smile. It was not something he did often, nor was it a sight she was accustomed to seeing. But she was certain she could never get used to how charming he was when he smiled.

Chase’s smile also surprised him. The memory was not a pleasant one, but with Mackenzie, he could see the light in the dark tunnel he had fought hard to escape for most of his life.

“You know, I found a girl today, in this hospital. She reminded me so much of my mother. Just like her, she didn’t seem to have good eyesight, or a good sense of direction either.” His mind wandered back to the little girl his father had showed to him.

The striking resemblance between his mother and her was something he could not forget very easily, or at all.

Mackenzie hummed and turned away from him. She fixed her eyes on the poster once more.

The woman’s golden-blonde hair was so much like Calista’s. The sparkling blue eyes that couldn’t see from a far distance, the sense of direction, it was clear as crystal that Calista was Camilia’s grandchild. Mackenzie wondered what had happened to her.

“What happened?” Mackenzie dared to ask. However, when he stood straight and frowned, she wished she had not.

“I must return to the office now.” He pushed the question aside, and Mackenzie lowered her gaze to the ground.

“I’m sorry.” She looked up at him again.

“I really shouldn’t have…”

“Oh, don’t give me that look, Sunshine. I just need to return to the office.” He stopped speaking, then squinted his brows as he looked at her.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

She had expected the question soon, but it did not make her prepared for it.

Mackenzie parted her lips to speak, even as her heart began thrumming in her chest.

“I… uhmm, I…”

The door in front of them opened, and a nurse stepped out, clutching a note pad as she smiled at Mackenzie.

“Ma’am, we are done now. You can join your daughter inside.”