All the Brayton Brothers Want Me

Chapter 15: The Truth About the Braytons

Diary Entry:

Date: September 16th

Time: 2:00 AM

Dear Diary,

Alec let his walls down tonight.

He told me about his family, how they lost their parents, and how everything fell on him. It was raw and heartbreaking, and for the first time, I saw him as more than just a perfect, untouchable Brayton.

He’s human, and he’s hurting.

And when he touched my hand, I didn’t want him to let go.

-Ivy

After dinner, Alec led Ivy up to the rooftop terrace.

The city below glowed softly in the distance, the lights stretching for miles. The air was crisp, the wind tugging at her hair, and Ivy hugged her arms around herself, trying to shake the chill.

“You’re cold,” Alec said.

Before she could argue, he slipped off his sweater without hesitation.

He stepped behind her, draping it over her shoulders.

His hands lingered.

A second longer than necessary, his fingers brushing against her arms, and Ivy felt her breath hitch.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, pulling it tighter around herself.

Alec leaned against the railing, his gaze fixed on the skyline. “Do you want to know why I’m doing all this?” he asked, his voice low and quiet.

Ivy didn’t answer. She just waited.

Alec exhaled, his hands curling into fists on the railing. “My parents died when I was fifteen.”

Ivy’s chest tightened.

“It was a car crash,” he continued, his jaw tightening. “I was supposed to be with them, but I stayed home. After that, my grandfather stepped in and turned me into… this.” He gestured vaguely at himself, like the man he’d become wasn’t really him at all.

Ivy swallowed, her throat suddenly tight.

“You mean a control freak?” she said, attempting to lighten the mood.

Alec let out a small breath—a laugh, barely there, but real.

“Something like that.”

He told her about raising Callum and Brandon, about the pressure to live up to Henry Brayton’s impossible expectations. About how he didn’t have a choice.

Ivy reached out without thinking, her hand resting on his arm.

“You’ve done more than enough,” she said softly.

Alec looked down at her hand, then up at her.

His dark eyes softened, and his voice dropped.

“You really believe that?”

Ivy nodded, heart pounding.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I do.”

For a moment, Alec just looked at her.

Like he didn’t quite know what to do with her, with the way she was seeing him differently now.

Then, he leaned in.

Just slightly. Not enough to be obvious, but enough that Ivy felt the shift.

Like he wanted to say something else. Like he wanted something else.

But he stopped himself.

Instead, he whispered, “We should go inside.”