Taming My Ruthless Billionaire Brother

Liora was busy at the hospital attending to various patients, a lot of patients, nurses, and doctors admired her so well because of her dedication and hard work as well.

Many also envied her marriage with Leanders Abernathy, a famous painter, she was living the dream of every lady.

She was exhausted so she returned to her office to get a break. She misses her husband so much, and not hearing from him makes her feel incomplete.

She brought out her phone and saw his message that read, "Hi love, what should we have for lunch?"

She was about to reply to his text when a call came in, she answered the call and immediately her countenance changed into sadness. The phone fell off her hands as a result of shock and she passed out.

Still in her unconscious state, she remembered how they first met.

Leander met Liora at the school's art exhibition hall.

She had stood in front of this oil painting, holding a transparent glass bottle in her hand.

"Whoever painted this is the real deal!" She said mentally.

"Don't tell me you are loving this piece of art or the person behind it?" Her classmate inquired from her but she didn't listen, she just nodded to whatever they said.

"No way, that means you are so interested in Leander's painting?" Her blonde classmate inquired.

"It's beautiful!!"

She was so carried away with the masterpiece and didn't know the time Leander stood beside her wearing a subtle smile, with raised eyebrows and gentle eyes.

Leander thought she was also an artist because of her demeanor. However, the next time he saw her, she was wearing a white coat coming out of the laboratory in the drizzling rain without an umbrella, and going to the supermarket to buy bread and milk.

"I'm glad I listened to the weather forecast news today, now my umbrella will serve its purpose in helping a lady in distress!" Leander said to himself as he approached Liora.

He held the umbrella over her head, Liora, with a straw in her mouth and cheeks puffed out, turned to look at him.

She was sleepy, her eyelids drooping with some raindrops on her eyelashes. Perhaps the sudden appearance of a stranger made her somewhat alert. She took a closer look at Leander, and the drizzle fell on his shoulder. He remained motionless, just tilting the umbrella above her head.

New junior students often came into the lab. She thought Leander was also new and thanked him, "Thank you, Junior."

Leander smiled and handed her the umbrella, saying, "I'm Leander Abernathy."

"Oh mine, silly me, I am so sorry, I thought you were a junior here."

"It's okay, I have been called so many names but a junior, that's new." He teases and lets out a smile.

"You are so funny, well my name is Liora, a pharmaceuticals."

"Are you serious right now?"

"Why? Are you doubting me?"

"I guess I also mistook you to be an artist like me, remember the other day at the art exhibition, you were so focused on one of my works!"

"OMG, you are the brain behind it, wow, I have a lot of questions to ask about it!" The conversation grew between them and at that time, no one ever thought they would fall in love and eventually get married.

Liora finally woke up and rushed to the hospital, she saw her mother-in-law who called her earlier in tears, she hoped it was not what she was thinking.

"Mom!!" She called in tears.

"Liora, you are here!!" She hugged her.

"Where is my husband? He is going to be fine right?"

"A moving truck hit him at the spot he was standing, luckily he survived but the pregnant lady beside him died at the spot!".

"Oh no!!"

"But I don't know if Leander will survive this, I am so scared to lose him, I want to take his pain as his mother but I feel so helpless!!" She broke down in tears and her eyes got swollen.

"What did the doctor say, Mom, please tell me!!" She kept asking because she was scared of hearing the news that might end her in sorrow.

"He has a high-level spinal cord injury!!"

"No!! Not my husband!! This can't be!!!" She fell to the ground and burst into tears.

Liora's husband ended up with a high-level spinal cord injury. He could only move his neck and nothing else. When Leander woke up, he couldn't even speak. He spent two full weeks in the intensive care unit. The first thing he said when he spoke was to tell Liora that he wanted a divorce.

Liora disagreed, but she remained silent, tears streaming down her face.

Leander was a spoiled boy. He came from a wealthy family, was handsome and cheerful, and had a talent for painting. No matter how you looked at it, his future was bright. Who would have thought that fate would play such a cruel joke on him?

He might have to spend his whole life lying in that hospital bed, unable to live like a normal person, unable to pick up a paintbrush, or even wipe away the tears from his wife's face.A

*

Liora looked so pale and lean, that she barely ate or slept, she stared at her husband's portrait everytime with tears in her eyes.

She still remembers their wedding day when Leander vowed never to leave her, regardless of life, old age, sickness, or death. But now, he was about to break that promise and betray her.

"You promised Leander, I know you to be someone that keeps his words, tell me why can't you keep your words now? I miss everything about you!" She broke down the more thinking about him, he wasn't getting better.

She received a call from her parents to come to the house for dinner, she was about to decline but she thought of her mother Calista, and she decided to go.

The driver was ready and she was driven to her parent's home.

They invited her to have lunch with them but she refused, "My little pumpkin you are too young to be going through this stress."

"My husband is not a stress to me Mom!" She corrected her mother.

"Okay fine, since you can't tell her I will." her dad interfered.

"Listen, child, I know you love him so much but right now love is not enough, Leander is in a vegetative state and who knows he might die very soon, you are too young to waste your life on someone who might never get better, divorce him and get a new life."

She got angry at her family, "I will never leave my husband, I will keep my married vow to him, in sickness or health."

"I understand my little pumpkin, but look at things the other way round!"

"Mom, Dad, thanks for your concern this conversation is over, I am going to watch over my husband now so my mother-in-law can get some rest." she walked away with tears flowing down her eyes, she never expected her family to lose hope but she told herself she is not giving up.

"Liora we love you and we are saying this for your good!" Her mom yelled but she gave deaf ears.

She remembered what the doctor said to her, "Your husband's chance of survival is low if you are lucky a miracle could happen but if you are not, you are going to decide if we should give him a painless death or leave him in his vegetable state full of pain!!"

A Few Weeks Later.

Liora wiped off the lipstick from her lips and looked into the mirror.

The woman in the mirror was only twenty-seven years old, but her face was pale and sickly.

She looked at her reflection expressionlessly, picked up a pink lipstick to apply it to her lips, and then didn't glance at the mirror again. She grabbed her bag and went downstairs.

On the second floor leading to the first floor, the back wall was filled with oil paintings, most of which were painted by Leander. There were vibrant flower seas, colorful bird flocks against a bright blue sky, and receding crimson sea reefs.

At the very end, there was a painting inspired by the Hungarian painter Mihaly Von Zichy's work "Romantic Encounter." In the painting, a demon killed the bridegroom on the bride's wedding night and kissed her with lips covered in venom, causing her to die and ascend to heaven.

Liora didn't like the story of this painting, but Leander did. He said love was complicated, and emotions between people were even more complex and wonderful.

Liora's nose tingled, she took a deep breath and walked towards the kitchen.

The housekeeper Sable had already prepared the soup and kept it warm in a thermos on the dining table. Seeing her approach, she called out, "Ma'am, the soup is ready. Please have some food."

"No need," Liora held the soup, "I don't have much of an appetite."

"Ma'am, please eat a little. Hold on, eat something," Sable said, wiping away her tears, "Mr. Leander will be okay. He's still young."

"That's what everyone keeps saying but I am worried, I just want to come home to a bed of roses with him waiting for me with a smile on his face."

"Sir Leander is a fighter, he will overcome this, just trust him."

"I do, I am so scared because he is giving up, I don't want to lose him, he is my everything, my life has become meaningless ever since the incident." She was almost in tears again.

Everyone around her has been saying this these days. Liora almost felt numb. She said nothing, took the soup, and walked out.

She checked the person calling her phone, it was her mom, she refused to answer the call because she didn't need any negative energy that wanted her to leave her husband.

The driver saw her coming out and had already opened the rear car door. As soon as she got in, he closed the door and drove straight to the hospital. However, as soon as they arrived at the hospital entrance, they encountered her parents' car.

"Not again, can't they just let me breathe?" she murmured. She got out of the car and saw her parents. Pretending not to notice them, she lowered her head and walked towards the hospital lobby. Her mother Calista reached out, pulled her into their car, and immediately closed the door, asking her, "What are you thinking? Do you plan to endure with him forever or divorce him?"

"Liora, you must think it through!" Her father Tiberius looked extremely worried, "Leander's situation is not something that can be cured in a few years. His life is pretty much ruined. You are still young; you can divorce and remarry."

Liora looked exhausted, but her eyes were unusually determined: "I won't leave, give up already, I love my husband and he needs me the most.."

"You foolish child!" Tiberius her father pointed to the sixth floor of the hospital, his eyebrows furrowed deeply, "Do you plan to take care of him for the rest of your life? You are still so young, why should you live as a widow?"

"Liora, your father means well. He is just worried and feels sorry for you," Calista's eyes were also swollen, and her face was smeared with makeup. Since Leander's accident, she had been inquiring everywhere, and all she could do was accept fate. She couldn't change Leander's destiny, so she had to force her daughter to let go. "I know you can't accept it now, but listen to your mother. You have to think about yourself. You are still young. You can't end up childless when you are old, right?"

"Mom, let me ask you this, if dad was the one in this situation, would you leave him?"

"Liora!!! I!! I..." Calista was out of words.

"I knew it, the reason you won't be able to leave Dad is the same reason I won't be able to my husband, I have never disobeyed you both but now I am sorry."

Liora didn't want to hear these words. She opened the car door and got out, "I'll go up first, the soup will get cold."

Tiberius wanted to persuade her again, but Calista raised her hand to stop him, "Let her go. She chose her path, she knows what she's doing."

"What does she know? Can love fill one's stomach? She will regret it later!"

"Yes love is not enough but she kind of makes a point, let's go."

"You need to talk sense into her."

Liora didn't stop walking. She knew what she was doing; she couldn't leave Leander.

As soon as the elevator arrived, she saw her mother-in-law, Fiammetta, standing in the corridor talking on the phone, "He still wants to die... He asked me to let him die peacefully..."

The Abernathy family was extensive, and their business was even more intricate. To avoid affecting the group's interests, they completely suppressed the news of Leander's car accident. Leander's elder brother, Dashiell Abernathy, had only visited once. When he heard about Leander's high-level spinal cord injury, he didn't say a word and just left. Dashiell is the opposite of his brother Leander.

Liora knew that, to Leander's family, he was now useless, and the subsequent medical expenses were exorbitant. Fiammetta had no real power in the group. If she agreed to let Leander die peacefully, Dashiell would remove all life-support equipment.

Fiammetta had been sleepless for a week. She could only rest a few hours each day with sleeping pills. When she woke up, her face was still full of exhaustion. Rubbing her sore eyes, she said into the phone, "He's at least your brother. Can't you come and persuade him?"

No one could persuade Leander, who was determined to die.

Yes, such a proud child of heaven, facing such a huge change at the peak of his life, would spend his whole life paralyzed in a hospital bed. He would never walk again, run, or even eat and drink like an ordinary person.

The biggest difference between him and a vegetable was that he was conscious. He would suffer from all of this for the rest of his life.

Liora put down the soup. Fiammetta hung up the phone and saw her. Without saying anything, she sat back on the bench, staring blankly at the shadows cast on the ground outside the window for a long time before saying, "Liora, can you help me persuade him? Persuade him to live well. If he promises to live well, I will cure him. I really can't accept... my son gives up on himself..."

As Fiammetta spoke, she covered her face.

Although her two sons were very successful, the one she loved the most was her youngest son, Leander. Perhaps it was because she didn't raise the eldest, Dashiell, when he was young, which made him cold and indifferent. Therefore, after giving birth to her youngest son, she always kept him by her side and taught him herself.

With Leander's accident, although Fiammetta didn't shed a tear, she looked like she had lost her soul, often standing outside the intensive care unit all day.

"Mom, stop worrying, my husband is going to live, leave everything to me, I am going to talk to him."

"I am so lucky to have a daughter-in-law like you, I am so certain if it were to be some ladies, they would run away but you choose to stay beside him, it shows you love him."

"I love your son more than my life, that's why I am ready to do whatever it takes to make sure he lives, have some soup before it gets cold."

Fiammetta hugged her and thanked her.

Liora looked at Leander through the protective observation window. He was rarely awake, and when he was, he refused to open his eyes.

He didn't want to see anyone.

Suddenly, the door of the operating room at the end of the corridor opened. Liora looked up and saw doctors and nurses pushing a bed out. The person on the bed was covered with a white cloth. The family members waiting outside the operating room rushed over, crying and hugging the body.

Liora's fingers unconsciously tightened. Just imagining Leander lying there one day made her feel suffocated and unable to breathe.

She rushed to the restroom and got consumed in sorrow, "Please lord, I won't be able to breathe if he dies."

A few moments later, she tried to get herself together and looked in the mirror, "I never wanted it to get to this extent but right now my husband needs a reason to live, I guess I have to do it, I am out of options, this is the only way." She took a deep breath and remembered the memories he had together before the incident.

As long as he is alive, there is hope,

she will rekindle his hope of living.

"Liora,are you okay?" Saskia,her friend who also works as a nurse in the hospital also came in to use the restroom when she noticed her friend looking at a particular spot.

"Saskia,how long have you been standing here?"

"Not quite long,I know you are worried about him but trust me,he is going to get better."

"I am trying but he is giving up,how do you expect me to be fine? He wants death,I have tried a lot of means to encourage him not to give up but none is working."

"Then try again,Liora I know you as someone that never gives up,not now,your husband truly needs you and I understand he is so worried about you that's why he thinks dying as the best option to set you free."

"He made a vow to me Saskia,how can he just forget so quickly and choose to leave me alone?"

"Then persuade him to choose life,give him a reason to live." She said to Liora.

Liora couldn't sleep throughout the night,she remained awake thinking about the only solution she has now to keep her husband alive,she needs to deceive him,she has no choice.

They have been married for two years and have been trying to conceive for six months, but there has been no news of pregnancy. Liora knows that Leander has been looking forward to her being pregnant, and he even picked out names for a boy and a girl.

Unfortunately, she has not been able to conceive.

She sits in the bathroom, looking at the pregnancy test in her hand. Fifteen minutes have passed, but the test still shows a single red line.

It seems like God hasn't heard her prayers.

She stares blankly at the pregnancy test. It has been seventeen days since her husband's accident. She hasn't slept well, haunted by nightmares every night. Either she dreams of him crying and pleading for death or she dreams of doctors declaring him dead.

Her heart has become numb.

But there is a string in her mind pulling her, not allowing her to give up any chance.

"I guess I am doing this if I want my husband to live."

She takes a deep breath and picks up her phone to call her friend at the hospital, Saskia, "Saskia, I need a favor."

"Okay,I am all ears."

Saskia agreed to help her and she got dressed and headed to the hospital.

Visiting hours for Leander are only from 4:00 to 4:30 in the afternoon. Only one family member can visit, and Fiammetta is resting on a bench, giving today's visiting opportunity to Liora.

Liora puts on a sterile suit, mask, and cap. She puts the fake ultrasound slip provided by Saskia into a sterile bag.

"Thank you so much Saskia,I'm in your debt."

"What are friends for? Stop thanking me but are you sure about this? Won't you regret it?"

"It's the only way."

"You are so young and it hurts me seeing you going through all this pain,soon all these will be over."

"I hope so too,I miss him so much." She held herself from crying.

She was led by a nurse, enters the ICU. Leander is lying on the bed, still unconscious. A small hole has been made at the back of his neck, and a plastic tube has been inserted, with the other end connected to a ventilator. He has seven stitches on his head, and the wound is healing well. After the nurse checks the equipment and changes his medicine, she leaves, giving Liora the space.

Liora stands outside the ICU observation window, watching Leander helplessly and despairingly with tears streaming down his face. The nurse hands him a tissue to wipe his tears, but he doesn't even have the strength to move away.

She holds his hand, still warm and dry, though he has lost a lot of weight, and his skin has become dry. She leans in and gently rubs her face against his.

Leander doesn't respond, still deeply asleep.

Liora whispers, "Leander, I'm pregnant."

"Haven't you always wanted our child?" She strokes his hand slowly, "Do you think it will be a boy or a girl? Don't you want to see our child born? Promise me, stay with me and watch our child be born, okay?"

The golden recovery period for high-level paraplegia is six months.

She needs to fight for those six months. If she can, there is hope for Leander's treatment, even if the chances of success are low. She will try her best.

There is hope as long as he is alive.

"Will you?" She kisses his hand, tears silently falling into her mask. She's about to wipe them away when she hears Leander's hoarse voice say, "Okay."

Liora turns her head to look. Leander has awakened at some point and is staring at her with red eyes.

"It...will...be...hard." His speech is slow and weak, and Liora needs to get close to hear him clearly.

After saying these four words, he can't say anything more. He tries to speak but doesn't have the strength, just looking at her with increasing redness in his eyes. Liora understands what he means. Without this child, she could find another man after a divorce, to start a new relationship and find a new love, but she doesn't want to.

She leans down to kiss his cheek, her voice soft and heavy, "I love you, Leander."

This is her answer to all the voices from the outside world.

She took out the ultrasound report to show him, told him the expected due date, advised him to rest well, and was about to say something more when a nurse came in to inform her that her time was up. Liora squeezed his hand once more before getting up to leave.

As she walked out the door, she looked back and saw Leander crying, tears streaming down his face.

Fiammetta was almost in tears upon learning of Liora's pregnancy.

"Is it true? You are carrying Leander child?"

"Yes mom."

"Thank you heavenly father,I feel so happy hearing this news,so finally I will become a grandma!!" She opened her arms for Liora to dive in.

This child came just in time.

She clasped her hands in gratitude to the heavens, then thanked Liora and sent a driver to take her home. She also called the housekeeper to hire a family nutritionist to specially prepared Liora's meals.

Once back home, Liora locked herself in the bathroom. For the first time, she told a massive lie, feeling extremely uneasy, fearing that her mother-in-law might find out, worried that Leander might discover, and even more fearful of the unknown. But she had no way out now.

If Leander doesn't recover, he would never get a chance to be a father.

She had to get pregnant now to fulfill Leander's wish to become a father.

The success rate of artificial insemination is only between thirty to fifty percent. Time-wise, Liora couldn't afford to wait. There's screening to be done, and the embryo needs to develop before implantation. If the child has any chromosomal abnormalities, the baby could be born deformed.

She couldn't take any risks.

The only option left, which she was reluctant but had to accept, was to find a man to have sex with and let him ejaculate inside her.

If she's lucky, it might happen in one go.

She stepped out from the bathroom and rested on the bed with her husband's picture,"I am so sorry I went that far but trust me,I did this for you,I want you to live so please forgive me."

Liora needs to get pregnant by all means to back up her lies,she didn't want to just meet any male and have sex but ever since this idea came to her mind, she had someone in mind – and that person was none other than Leander's older brother, Dashiell.

The two of them share some resemblance in appearance, especially their eyes. Dashiell's eyes are colder, while Leander's always appear gentle and warm.

If it's Dashiell, the child would surely bear some resemblance to Leander.

She was so restless and walked back to the bathroom, immediately she finished washing her face, she stared at herself in the mirror for a while. After taking a deep breath, she took out her phone and messaged Dashiell: [Brother, do you have some time? I need your help with something.] "I can't believe I will be doing this,there is no going back now."

The Abernathy family started their business with jewelry in Spain and later moved to Italy, establishing a chain of jewelry stores. When Dashiell took over, the first thing he did was to create a unique brand 'marry me'. They even got a popular actor to endorse it, making it instantly recognizable nationwide.

Currently, 'marry me' has over two hundred stores in major cities. Every time Liora passes through the city center, she sees the advertisement on the scrolling screen: [Love one person, be loyal to one person.]

Would the person who created such a loyal brand agree to such an absurd request?

Liora was uncertain.

She had almost no bargaining chips.

She could only gamble – gamble on Dashiell's brotherly love for Leander and hope he wouldn't turn a blind eye.

Just before six in the evening, Dashiell finally called. His voice was indifferent, "What's the matter?"

"I... want to talk to you in person,it's really important." Hearing his voice, Liora immediately thought of his usual cold demeanor at home, with eyes that often looked indifferent. If you accidentally made eye contact, you'd feel an unprecedented sense of oppression.

"I'll wait for you in your office. After you're done with your work, it won't take too much of your time."

Dashiell responded with a simple "okay" and hung up. Liora was dazed for a while before snapping back to reality.

"I hope he doesn't decline,if he loves his brother,he will agree to have sex with me to get me pregnant,gosh what kind of a woman am I becoming?"

TBC