Which brother should I choose

Alice's POV

"Greetings, brother. What a lovely companion you have."

I didn't have to turn back to find out who was standing behind me. I would know this honey-dipped tone of his even if my eyes were closed.

Anton's face hardened when he looked behind me, at the owner of the voice.

"Hello brother." he replied curtly between gritted teeth. I turned back slowly to meet the owner as well. Matt, as I was expecting....

What I was not expecting, the companion he brought with him.

"Helloo Anton," she said lazily, dragging the syllables in a seductive tone. She was wearing a gold sequined dress, which was gorgeously hugging her all the right places and the low neck of the dress was showing her generous breasts and leaving very little to the imagination. I felt a huge urge to hide my tiny set with my arms as I was looking at her display.

"Keep your heads high girls," I murmured to my breasts under my breath. Matt smiled curiously and I hoped he didn't hear it.

Ronda Meyers was standing tall with all of her glory next to Matt, hand resting on his arm, and throwing judging looks at me while scanning me head to toe. Somehow, she made me feel worse than Jasmine did. But, I cleared my throat leisurely and greeted her.

"Hello Ms. Meyers"

Silence followed my words.

I reminded myself that I was at the very bottom of tonight's food pyramid, and it would be wise for me to take no offense to any dismissal and keep my stand as much as I could. So, I forced myself not to offend when Ronda looked in my direction, rolled her eyes a little bit, then turned her head like she didn't hear me. I was in a better condition even at my first social encounter with Jasmine, when she basically threw my hand as she found out that I was no one. At least she held it in the first place.

I drew a big breath in and prepared myself to let it go, even the pricking in my eyes. But apparently, the Alonzo brothers weren't ready to let it go yet.

"Haven't you heard of her?" asked Anton Alonzo, coolly. A murderous cool, much more intense than I was used to hearing in his tone. I felt like the temperature of the room had dropped dramatically in an instant. I looked at Matt's face, which was distorted with fury now, looking at Ronda, with the biggest grimace that I had ever seen on his face. Ronda looked at Anton first, unbelieving what he said. Then she looked at Matt's face and her jaw dropped with a wordless objection. She looked at Anton one last time, which was looking like a second away from shredding her into ribbons. She pulled her hand from Matt's arm, shut her mouth and squeezed it tight before giving a fast nod in my direction as she looked disgusted as if, she smelled a bad odor.

Even though it didn't ease the tension on Anton's face even a little bit, Matt was willing to dismiss this funeral air, and he nudged the topic in other directions.

"So! Brother... How did you come up with this brilliant idea of taking this beautiful companion as your plus one tonight?"

Anton looked directly in the eye of Matt with his signature grimace again, like he was not happy with this topic as well. But I assumed Matt had been immune to it since childhood. Instead of being threatened, his lips curved into a smug smile with pleasure.

"I was expecting that you would bring Ronda tonight. After you two come out of the closet in Hawaii? When I heard she was available, I couldn't miss this opportunity to ask her to come with me tonight."

Ronda's attention was drawn to this topic as well. She stopped hugging herself with a sour face and turned her head to Anton, one brow high.

Anton gritted his teeth. This time I could swear that I heard the sound of it.

"First of all, brother, it was a forced plus one and, as you know very well, I am fond of my privacy, unlike you, so I chose to bring my assistant to prevent any interference with my privacy. Which brings us to the second of all: we didn't come out of any closet in Hawaii with Ronda. Because we are not in a relationship, right Ronda?"

He turned his deadpan gaze to Ronda, and despite I wasn't the one who was targeted with that gaze, I even shuddered at the coldness of it.

Ronda's big blue eyes slightly filled with a ghost of wetness, but she kept herself together and silently nodded again. But Matt wasn't willing to leave this so easily.

"How come? Don't you know better than that playing hooky at Daryl's hotel means shouting to the world that you and her are having a relationship?

Even though I knew that they were seeing each other and I had seen Ronda in Hawaii, knowing exactly why she came, I felt like I got a hit to my stomach. Why, though? Ronda raised her chin defiantly, waiting for the response from Anton.

"I don't give a shit what Daryl knows or thinks he knows. And I don't think I owe you an explanation. Ronda is a grown up and if this thing does bother her, she can talk. Besides, you are claiming that being with her in Hawaii could mean I am with her. If so, what are you doing with her tonight?"

I wasn't a juvenile to think something happened between me and Anton Alonzo just because he acted civil for a moment, or he brought me here as "plus one". But I couldn't prevent the annoyance I felt when he scolded his brother for bringing Ronda. Was he jealous of her? Of course, he was. Look at her, she was gorgeous. Everything about her was screaming elegance and old money. And on the other hand, I was a placeholder with a borrowed dress for Anton Alonzo to beat Jasmine in her own game. I was a pawn. And I didn't feel it this much until that very moment. When I have been displayed in front of paparazzi like a bag in hand or when I have been treated like I am infectious by Jasmine. Nothing made it clearer for me that I did not belong here than seeing Ronda and how she carried herself. Of course, Anton was thinking the same. Of course, he was upset that his brother had taken her here tonight, but not him. Just because he wasn't ready to reveal his relationship with Ronda didn't mean he liked it when he saw her with someone else. And the most interesting part of all that is that I wasn't sad for Matt at all. I wasn't feeling bothered about seeing him with Ronda tonight. But I was feeling out of place to my bones.

I hugged myself to keep myself on my legs. A shudder ran through my spine and for a second I felt like I was losing my footing.

Matt's deep green eyes instantly snatched at me. And Anton followed his gaze like he was realizing I was there for the first time. His piercing gaze shattered for the first time after the arrival of Matt and Ronda. His brow creased with something close to worry? I don't think so. Anton Alonzo was the last man who would worry about the effect of his words. Not on me, not on anyone.

Matt appeared next to me almost instantly and grabbed my arm with a firm hold and fixed my balance again.

"Are you alright?" he asked in the most tender tone.

"Yeah, I am okay. I think it is champagne. I will be okay in no time."

Anton paid a quick glance at my untouched champagne glass. I was an idiot maybe, but not that much that I can dare to drink tonight while I was this bad with alcohol.

"Would you like me to take you out to have some fresh air?" asked Matt. Anton didn't say a word.

"No, thank you. I think it would be better if I could visit the bathroom and wash my face a little." "Okay, let me take you there..."

"Please don't. I can go myself. I would feel bad if I stole you from your lovely companion and the party."

"O-okay. If you say so" said Matt uncertainly.

I finally pulled my arm out of his grasp and went in the direction of the bathroom. When I managed to go into a partition and closed the door behind me, I felt relieved. What a stupid idea it was to come here tonight. How stupid I was to think that I could pull this off. I have been humiliated in every way possible tonight. Yet, to my thick head, nothing hit as hard as seeing Anton jealous of Ronda. It was clear as day that they were meant for each other.

I tried to stabilize my breath. Just an hour more. And that will be it. I would be in my bed in no time and all of this would be history. I meant nothing to no one here. I was an inconvenience that everybody who met with me tonight would forget before I left the door.

I took a deep breath in three, and released in four. Then I took a breath in four and released it in five. Again and again until I felt my heart beating normally. Finally, I brushed my skirts with my palms to straighten a crease that most likely was not even there and left my partition.

I Instantly regretted seeing the person waiting outside.