The Ruiz Brothers - Part 5

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「 ✦ Ongoing ✦ About me ✦ Table of Content✦ 」

Settle in and let the city lights wash over this fragile reunion—some truths are harder to face than others.
Rated M - language, alcohol, mature themes

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Twisted Irony

Lucian arrived at The Solstice a few minutes before 8:30 pm.

San Myshuno was still surprisingly full of life on a Sunday night. Its residents seemed to have little care in the world for the upcoming workweek — something he wished he could indulge. He had a lot on his mind—this meeting for one. After over-analyzing all the practical outcomes of the conversation ahead, the prognosis was negative across every scenario. A part of him knew that facing her was the only course of action that could bring any clarity. As smart as he was, their relationship was an equation he did not have a solution to.  

He took several minutes to ground himself in the soothing atmosphere of the stylish rooftop restaurant. Water jets danced and crashed across the gently illuminated garden below, while a cool breeze carried a refreshing veil of mist and a feeling of uncertainty. 

They would have been at the Solstice under different circumstances. He would have proposed to her in that same garden like he had planned. But it was all irrelevant now. The only certain thing was the approaching pair of heels clicking behind him. 

It seemed like she was a few minutes early as well — the irony.

Kachine quietly sat across the table from him. She was dressed elegantly enough to show she still cared, and appealing enough to remind him of the moment they first met.

"Hey..." she said with a faint smile on her rose-painted lips. 

“You didn’t have to pick somewhere so...nice.”

Seeing her again after so many days unleashed a flood of memories he’d tried to convince himself he no longer cared about. He barely caught his gaze before it could involuntarily linger — she still had a hold on him, no matter how much he wanted to deny it.

"Hey yourself..." he replied, his voice low as he steadied his mind. 

He wasn't sure she would show up after so many days of heavy silence, but it seemed he was not the only one in need of closure. He flipped the menu open on the table, not exactly reading it. He simply wanted to avoid her eyes — to keep from losing himself in the mirrors of what once was, before the wreckage of their relationship.

"Well..." he paused, bitterness coiling in his throat as he reconnected with reality.

"I've had reservations for this place since last month. It was supposed to be a surprise."

Still looking down at the menu, he muttered, "You look good."

“Thank you.” She smiled softly at the unexpected compliment.

“I didn't think you would want to meet, but... I’m glad you texted.”

“Still full of surprises, huh?” she added lightly with a soft grin in the corner of her lips as her hands folded in her lap under the table.

Despite the nostalgia, the facts remained unchanged. Lucian still couldn't face her without also picturing the vivid events that led to their fracture. 

The air turned thick as the weight of his ruin settled between them like a heavy fog. 

In the stillness of that quiet moment, she followed his gaze as he glanced over from the restaurant's balcony at the vibrant city sprawling with life. His mind seemed to be stretching in the distance for an escape. Her own eyes drifted to the skyline before settling back on him.

He wasn’t always forthcoming with his feelings, but she knew him well enough to tell when a storm was brewing.

"I've missed you," she said quietly, like the confession slipped out loud before she could stop it.

“I know I’m probably the last person you wanted to hear that from.”

His gaze finally snapped back onto hers, his eyebrows briefly drawing into a stern frown — blurring the line between relief, anger and outrage. He missed her too — more than she could imagine. The twisted irony. But he couldn't say it back. Instead, he deflected her comment. A little more poised, he flipped the menu shut before sliding it into the corner of the table. He took a short breath.

"I heard they serve excellent beef wellington here; ever had it?

Kachine blinked, the emotional blow landing despite his restraint. She felt foolish for expecting otherwise. She gave a faint nod.

“Once. It was good… not sure I’ll be able to taste much tonight, though.” 

Her eyes searched his face for glints of softness.

“Lucian, you can talk to me. You don’t have to pretend this is just dinner.”

"Fine then," he snarled before waving the waiter over. 

He didn’t care about the food—he wasn’t even hungry. How could he be? Still, any attempt to delay the inevitable felt worth a shot.

"Why did you do it? That's the question I've been asking myself all this time. Just... why?"

Kachine curled inward, her composure crumbling slightly as the waiter approached. 

She’d come prepared for that exact conversation, but she hadn’t expected guilt to be so debilitating. 

"We'll do two beef Wellington and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon"

A short respite. She had a few moments to think of an acceptable answer while Lucian placed their order. But the truth was, no answer could mend fragmented trust. Once the waiter was out of earshot, she leaned in, voice low.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you, Lucian. 

I...I was spiraling. You were pulling away from me and I felt like I couldn’t reach you. 

And Braydon... he didn’t pull away."

Her hands clenched in her lap.

“I know that’s not a good enough answer. But it’s the truth.”

A shift. His voice was unmoved yet a hint of frustration caught in his throat.

"You know what Kachine? You're right. It's my dumb fault for not seeing this coming. 

Do you think you're the first one to fall for my brother's bullshit?"

“Maybe I’m not the first, but I won’t be the last either if things don’t change.”

She meets his gaze squarely.

“I’m tired of being the ‘other woman’ in this whole mess. 

Tired of pretending I don’t feel anything for you... or for Braydon.”

Lucian’s voice rose ever so slightly in disbelief, an ember of jealousy burning in his eyes

"And what is that supposed to mean?! 

Are you guys a thing now? Have you been talking? 

This isn't an ‘intervention’ to fix my damn brother!"

The air settled briefly as the waiter returned to the table with their drinks.

They held each other’s gaze as deep red wine flowed into Lucian’s glass — elegant, like the fresh open wound that was now their irrefutable truth. Quickly raising her hand, Kachine stopped the waiter from pouring any in hers.

“Water is fine for me,” she said, her voice steady but tinged with nerves.

She met Lucian’s eyes again, holding them for a moment until the waiter left.

"Look, I’m not here to pretend things are okay."

"Then be honest with me. Tell me why you fucked my brother!" His jaw tightened. 

He barely held his temper back, the sting of that night rushing through his mind. 

"What did he offer you that was worth risking everything we had?!" he asked, voice lower, hurt. 

"Everything we could have had..."

She swallowed hard, her voice almost pleading.

“I didn’t plan for any of this, Lucian. It wasn’t about what he offered…

It was more like I was chasing something I couldn’t name — something I was terrified to admit even to myself.”

She exhaled sharply, her voice breaking.

“I never meant to hurt you...”

Lucian paused for a split second, as if registering what was said — and left unsaid. Although anger boiled beneath his cold restraint, he felt himself slipping.

"Yeah? Well, you did." 

He reached for his glass, chugging the beverage down without caring to taste it. 

"That's not good enough, Kachine," he muttered, pushing his chair back. 

He flung his napkin on the table and stiffly flipped open his wallet, his frustration etched into every movement. 

"You know, I thought I was ready to face you. But this was a mistake." 

He started shuffling irritably through his wallet for some cash. 

"All I can see when I look at you, are the two of you going at it in that bathroom, and how it made no fucking sense why you would both choose to do that to me!"

Kachine flinched at the bluntness of his words. She looked down vulnerable and defeated.

"I’m sorry, Lucian. I hate that it’s all you see. That night was a mistake, but it’s not all that's left of us. I wish you could see past it... but I don’t expect you to. Not yet...”

Her voice softened, almost a whisper.

“I don’t know how to fix this, but I’m here, trying.”

He set the cash on the table with a firm, decisive tap.

"I don't think there is a fix for this" 

A flicker of hesitation sparked in his eyes before he rose from his chair.

"I don't think I can do this." 

He gave her one last look, as if quietly saying goodbye, then shifted towards the door.

Heart pounding and voice breaking, Kachine leaned off her seat and barely caught his arm before he could leave.

“Lucian, please… don’t walk away! Not like this...”

Her voice trembling and desperate, her eyes finally blinked back the tears she had been holding. 

“I’m... I’m pregnant!”

He froze in place.

Thoughts raced through his mind as time seemed to stop around them.

He didn't turn back — not yet. He was still gauging the magnitude of her words, calculating variables of the possibilities.

Terrified by the silence and uncertainty of his reaction, Kachine clung onto his jacket.

“I found out last week…” she paused, tears finally falling free. 

“I wanted to be sure before I said anything. I’m not even asking for anything, Lucian.

You deserve to know. That’s all.”

Her voice cracked as she said softly, “I think it’s yours… but I don’t know for sure.”

Lucian's breath snagged as realization hit. 

Part of him wanted to keep walking away — what if it was Braydon's? — but he couldn't. 

Instead he turned around, because it was the right thing to do. 

His eyes briefly flicked to the glass of water on the dining table — he would have never guessed — before scanning her flushed face as if looking for any signs of deception.

He eventually stuttered, uncertain. 

"Are you... serious?"

She nodded slowly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Three tests. All positive. I had a blood test confirm it too… It's real, Lucian.”

There was no handbook or formula on what to do in this situation.

He hesitantly reached for her shoulders before gently pulling her into his chest. His mind still processing the jaw-dropping announcement, he realized the only thing he could offer, for the time being, was his very presence.

Caught off guard by his kind gesture, she melted down into his arms.

“I didn’t come here to trap you. I just… I couldn’t carry this alone anymore.”

She whispered against his chest, sobbing.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Lucian..."

He wrapped his arms around her, still stunned yet committed to being the pillar she needed in that very moment. It didn't change his resentment — if anything it added more confusion to it. His mind flooded with even more questions, even more reasons to despise his brother. 

But now wasn't the time for equations. 

Even if she had no intentions of trapping him, he was bound to circumstances he couldn't escape, whether the child was his or Braydon's. And so, he pulled her in closer, his voice low and reassuring, 

"We'll figure this out." 

Those were the words she needed to hear from him, but the silent truth was, he was as terrified as she was.

She held onto him tightly, as if afraid he would disappear from her life again. 

The path ahead may have been riddled with uncertainty, but for the first time in weeks, wrapped in that fragile embrace, they didn’t feel completely alone.

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