บท 30: Brotherhood

Upon reaching the main hall, Tristan fled immediately away from his clingy mother. He mingled with his two cousins to whom he was very closed. The two men were Jake and Blake, they were twins. The three of them were of the same age.

"Hey Bro, did you come alone? Where's Matt?" Jake asked Tristan after doing a fist bump with him.

Blake also did the same. They were always doing this every time they would see each other. It was their way of greeting each other as Buddies… a sign of their brotherhood. Matthew also belonged to their circle of friends.

For every family dinner, Matthew was always with him. Only tonight, he was not able to come because Tristan asked him to accompany and watch over Zhen-Zhen.

"Is Matt sick? This is the first time he missed our family dinner." Blake also commented.

Tristan smiled at them sheepishly and said, "Auntie and Uncle went on a trip. Hehe, Matt needs to stay at home and babysits his younger sister."

Tristan wanted to laugh at his own lie because what he said to them was partly true. Matthew needed to stay at his Condo Unit to babysit Zhen-Zhen, not his younger sister.

"Younger sister? How old is his younger sister already? Sorry, I forgot." Jake asked again.

"Hmm, at around 15 or 16 years old, I guess. If I remember it correctly." It was Blake who answered his twin brother's question.

"Huh? She's already teen. Why does Matt still need to babysit her?" Jake said in disbelief.

"Well… you know. Teenagers nowadays are quite rebellious and wild who likes to experiment. He needs to ensure that she won't try to do something behind their parents' back." Tristan tried hard to be more convincing.

Jake and Blake erupted into waves of laughter after hearing his remarks.

"Hey, why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?" Tristan squinted his eyes at them.

Jake patted his shoulder. "Such a big word coming from you, our dear cousin! Not all teenagers are like you. Hahaha… wild and rebellious!"

"Hahaha… yeah, I am still wondering if Tristan stopped growing and remained as a teenager. He is wild and rebellious until now!" Blake joined his brother in teasing Tristan.

Tristan shot the twin brothers a cold stare.

"Go on! Laugh at me. Let's see if you will get the latest edition of the Men's watch of Heavenly Star's Merchandise this year." Tristan threatened them.

The twins automatically stopped laughing after they heard that. Just a few weeks ago, they requested Tristan to reserve the Heavenly Star's latest edition of men's watch for them.

"Hey! You are playing dirty! We are just kidding. Why are you so worked up? Hmmm." Jake said as a protest.

But Blake nudged the shoulder of his twin brother, giving him a signal to stop complaining or else Tristan would really take his threat against them seriously.

"My dear cousin! Forgive us, your brothers. We made a mistake by teasing the mighty CEO of the Heavenly Star Enterprise. Can you give us another chance?" Blake tried to woe Tristan.

This time Tristan was the one who laughed out loud.

"Jake… you should follow Blake's strategy. No wonder, between the two of you, you are the one who does not have a girlfriend. Tsk tsk tsk. Learn how to court some girls! Beg me and I will teach you how. Hahaha"

Jake rolled his eyes at him. Tristan really knew how to do a counterattack and make a comeback immediately.

"No thanks! I won't ask you to teach me. You will just train me to be a playboy. Having one womanizer in this family is enough. Don't be a bad influence on others!" Jake spat back at him.

Blake just laughed at them. Jake and Tristan continued teasing each other when the two persons whom they were waiting, entered the main hall. They're Hannah and Andrew.

Everyone's attention was diverted to the two newcomers. Tristan and Jake even stopped their arguments as they heard Andrew and Hannah's arrival.

Hannah was holding Andrew's arm while he was leading her inside the hall. They immediately greeted grandpa Lu as well as the other elders present in that hall. Then they approached Hannah's parents who were also talking with Lucas and Isabelle.

The couple looked like a match made by heaven. They were both smiling while greeting everyone. Andrew was looking so gorgeous with his white suit.

He was like a prince charming in those fairytale stories and Hannah was the lovely and beautiful princess. She was wearing a white satin dress that matched Andrew's white suit.

Nothing changed. Tristan's heart would always skip a beat whenever he saw the woman of his dream… his first love. She was still the woman he longed for all these years.

Her beautiful face, her lovely smile, her cute dimples, her hazel eyes, her kissable red lips, her gentle voice, and her soft laughter… Tristan couldn't take all of these out of his mind, out of his system, and out of his heart.

Hannah was still the woman who could make his heart run wild and his stomach flutter. The woman who could make him feel true happiness as well as hurt and pain. He wanted her. She's the first woman he wanted to spend his life with.

Too bad, she didn't feel the same way. She just considered him as her childhood best friend and as her brother. That's what Tristan thought.

His heart was still aching and in pain whenever he saw them together. Blake and Jake looked at Tristan worriedly. They knew Tristan's secret. They were aware of Tristan's true feelings towards Hannah.

Jake wanted to lighten Tristan's mood so he tried to tease him once again.

"Hey, brother! You should have done what Andrew did tonight, greeting the elders first and impressing them with your good boy image. Why did you run to us instead? You lost another point tonight! Hehehe."

Oops! Wrong move! Instead of lightening the mood, Tristan's expression worsened after hearing that.

"Aw!" Jake grunted as he received a hard kick coming from Blake.

Blake shot him a sharp glare.

"You know what brother? I think you won't have the latest edition of Heavenly Star Men's watch this year. You are not helping. You are making things worse. Can you just shut your mouth? " Blake scolded his brother in a low but firm voice.

"Tristan is right! You should learn from me. I think I have to teach you," Blake added, with a deep sigh.