Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 22

(Cylan's POV)

I sighed in relief, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. "Thanks, Ellen. I just feel like I need help in the dating game, especially... in here."

Ellen chuckled. "You don't need it, Cylan. You're rich, after all. You're Cylan Cooper."

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "That's not going to help me with dating, Ellen."

Damn right I was Cylan Cooper, and that came with its own set of privileges. But when it came to love, I was just as clueless as the next person.

I sighed.

"Besides, I'm not even sure I still have claim to the Cooper name," I said, a hint of bitterness creeping into my voice.

Ellen's eyes brow shot up as she looked at me. "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice soft but probing.

"My parents," I said finally, "are threatening to disown me if I don't denounce being gay. I'm not sure I even have an inheritance anymore."

Ellen's face darkened, her eyes flashing with anger. "What? That's ridiculous," she exclaimed. "They can't do that to you, Cylan. You're their daughter, no matter what."

I shrugged, resigned. "They can, and they will. They're stubborn, Ellen. And they're willing to do whatever it takes to get me to conform to their expectations."

Ellen's face was red with anger. "That's not right, Cylan. You deserve so much better than that."

I smiled wryly. "Thanks, Ellen. But I'll be fine. I've been dealing with this for a while now."

Ellen sighed. "You'll be fine, really. You're their only daughter, after all," she said. "They'll come around eventually."

I smiled, even though I didn't believe a word of that. My father had let me know that I was indispensable right from when I was young. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually did disown me. She had always been there for me, no matter what. "They want me to marry some guy," I said, my voice laced with disgust. "The first son of the Lloyd family. An arranged marriage, Ellen. Can you believe it?"

widened in shock. "What? That's... that's crazy. Why would they do

a lot of influence and power,

And what about your feelings? Don't they care about what you

"Of course not. I'm just a pawn in their

Lloyd family... aren't they into construction or something? I think I've heard of them. They're

deal in the industry, and my parents think that marrying me off to their son will give them a

you have to go through this Cylan. I really hope things go

"Thank you."

at her watch and stood up. "I have to be somewhere, Cylan. But I'll talk

to hug her goodbye. "Thanks, Ellen. Take

someone who accepted me for who I was. I sat back down, my mind racing with thoughts of Emily and my parents and everything in between. But for now, I just focused on the feeling

....

(Unknown POV)

there for a moment, trying to process her emotions. She had

the laughter and

"Hey, I've been thinking... the fact that you felt like you needed to ask me before seeing someone else shows that I'm still really involved in your life. Alex had said it but I didn't realize we were really in too deep." she wrote. "I realize now that I've been holding onto our past

you. I mean, I will always love you but not like that. I know

send, wondering if

sent a rolling eyes emoji, followed by a message. "Are you texting and

and typed

want to be able to tell you stuff without feeling like I'm burdening you. I value our friendship above

know,

responded with a laughing emoji. "You're not that

the screen as she responded to Cylan's message. "Okay, if you say so," she typed, adding

still chuckling to herself when Cylan sent another message, this one a picture of a screenshot with Cylan's

you like to hang out later tonight or pass..." Ellen's eyes widened as she realized

barely above a whisper, even though she was alone in