5: Jealous Brother

"What's wrong?" Shane asked Arabella looking shaken when she returned at their table.

"Huh? Nothing. Uhm... can you drive us home after eating?" she asked to their surprise, but they didn't press any more questions.

They agreed that Owen will drive them home after finishing their lunch.

"Can I play with your son for a while? I have nothing to do at the resort," Owen asked while getting Saraknib from his stroller. She seemed preoccupied as she just stared at him blankly as he spoke.

"Hey!" he said loudly while snapping his fingers to wake Arabella from comtemplating.

"Huh? What?" she quivered.

"I think you need to take a rest. You seem troubled," Owen suggested.

"No... no. I am fine. What are you talking about?" Arabella said in a jovial tone that made Owen raised an eyebrow, so she knew he wasn't buying it. She sighed.

"Okay, but I have to breastfeed him first before you play," she agreed.

After feeding her son and letting him burp, Arabella gave him to Owen before going to her room. She decided to take a warm bath to relax. She poured some bath salts and rose oil into the tub of warm water before dipping herself in. She wasn't sure about how long she had been in the tub, all she knew was she's shivering when she woke up from her slumber. She put her robe on and walked to her closet.

"Goodness me!" she said aloud after realizing that she's been in the tub for almost an hour. Then, she remembered his son with Owen.

"Shit! This is utterly shameful. He might think that I'm abusing his kindness," she thought as she quickly fixed herself up and went downstairs to find Owen sleeping on the couch in the living room.

He was lying on his side preventing his son from falling. Rattles and soft toys were scattered on the floor. The sight was heartwarming for her as a mother knowing that his position must be uncomfortable even for a sporty person like him. She went upstairs to get a blanket and put it on them. They both moaned when the blanket touched their bodies.

She looked at her wristwatch--- it's half-past four. Luke would be home any minute soon.

"Oh! I have to cook," she blurted.

She was in the middle of cooking when she heard Luke's car parking in their garage.

"Arabella, I'm~"

"Shhhhhhhhh! Lower your voice," Arabella whispered running from the kitchen to the main door.

"Why?" he whispered back with curiosity on his face.

"They're sleeping," she explained. He nodded and walked past her. Then, returned.

"They?!" he asked aloud. "They who?!"

"Owen and Saraknib! Keep your voice low," she scolded with her eyes wide open.

"What? Owen?! Why? Where ~" he said surprised.

"Just go and change. The dinner will be ready soon," Arabella cut him off and pushed his back to go upstairs. She returned to the beefsteak sauce she's making afterward.

Upstairs, Luke was stomping his feet and slamming every door he opened as he looked for some clothes to wear.

"They only spent a day together and they already seem so close," Luke ranted in front of a mirror.

'Are you jealous?!' his mind teased.

"No--- no--- no! Me? Jealous? Hah! That's ridiculous!" he raved while shaking his head.

"Luke! Are you okay?" Arabella shouted outside his door knocking.

"I am fine!" he answered harshly before opening the door. "What?!"

"Dinner's ready," she said ignoring his irritation.

"Go ahead. I'll follow," he said in a dismissive tone. Arabella reluctantly nodded. Then, she went down first.

"What's with him?" she thought as she went down to the dining area.

Luke was walking down the stairs to the dining area with heavy steps and became more and more curious about the closeness Owen and Arabella had, especially now that they're giggling together.

"Hi, Luke. Come join us," Owen invited.

"Oh! Thank you for inviting me to eat in my OWN house," Luke replied without masking his sarcasm, making Owen and Arabella exchange a confused look.

"Anyway, how's your day?" she asked lightening the mood.

"Fine. How about you?" he replied nonchalantly.

"Oh! We had so much fun!" she said joyously. "Thank you so much for the treat!"

Luke suddenly felt happy seeing her smile. Then, he stopped eating and just stared at her making her blush.

"Something is different. Did you cut your hair?" Luke asked while looking at her intently.

"Yes. We brought her to 'PrimRose' Salon this morning. Ain't she more beautiful in a shorter hair?" Owen said emphasizing the word MORE that made Luke glare at him. Owen grinned. He was well aware that Luke was feeling jealous the whole time for whatever reason, and he's having fun watching him threw tantrums.

"I prefer you with your longer hair," Luke muttered without looking at Arabella's confused expression and Owen's amused reaction.

Then, her son cried, maybe feeling bothered by the awkwardness filling the room. Luke watched silently how Owen and Arabella immediately attended to Saraknib's need.

"Hey, buddy, what's wrong?" Owen reached to him stroking his cheeks attempting to make him stop crying as Arabella checked his nappy.

"Oh! I have to change his diaper. Excuse us," she said as she cradled her son and walked to their room. Owen cleared his throat when Luke remained quiet and pretended to focus on his food.

"You okay?" he asked Luke.

"Yeah," Luke answered uninterestedly.

"You're definitely not okay," Owen said as he chuckled.

"Fuck off!" Luke replied.

Owen laughed out loud.

"Luke Suzuki Adams! I've known you for years, so please stop acting weird. I don't have any intentions of snatching Arabella from you. We're brothers and brothers don't do that," Owen said in a serious tone. Luke felt a little relieved, but still hated how they acted like a couple in front of him.

"Besides, you have a bigger concern. This afternoon, Arabella came to our table from the restroom looking troubled, so we asked her why. She said nothing and pretended to be okay. However, Shane called me a while ago saying that he saw Regina coming out of the restroom first before Arabella, so he tried to connect the two incidents. Maybe, they had an argument inside the restroom," Owen added. Luke clenched his fist while looking at Owen.

"Are you certain?" he asked gritting his teeth in anger.

"I am sure about Regina being there, but about the argument--- not really," he replied.

Luke sighed in both worry and frustration.