My Overprotective Brothers

Chapter 59

The house was unusually quiet when I woke up.

For a moment, I stayed curled beneath my blankets, staring at the soft glow of morning light filtering through my curtains. The air was cool, the warmth of sleep still lingering in my body, but something felt off.

Then I remembered.

The Christmas party was today.

A groan slipped past my lips as I buried my face in my pillow.

I hated these parties.

They were long, boring, and filled with people I didn't care about. My parents' employees, their business partners, and their perfect friends would all be there, dressed in their finest, expecting me to do the same.

I could already hear my father's voice in my head "Adrian, behave. Don't embarrass us."

Like I ever did anything worth embarrassing them.

Sighing, I forced myself to sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I grabbed one of my hoodies off the chair and threw it on before making my way downstairs.

The house was still quiet.

Too quiet.

When I stepped into the kitchen, I only found Miles and Alex sitting at the table, both hunched over their phones, eating toast.

I hesitated in the doorway before clearing my throat. "Where is everyone?"

Alex barely glanced up. "Henry's still asleep. Elijah and Easton went out early."

I frowned. "Out? Where?"

Miles shrugged. "Last minute errands, I think." He glanced at me then, taking in my hoodie and messy hair. "You look like you just rolled out of bed."

I made a face. "Because I did."

Alex smirked. "Good luck surviving today."

I groaned again, grabbing a piece of toast off the plate and slumping into a chair.

It wasn't even noon, and I already wanted the day to be over.

The rest of the day crawled by at an agonizingly slow pace.

After breakfast with the twins, I had tried to hide in my room for as long as possible, but that didn't last. Miles and Alex barged in at some point, messing around and talking about which girls were going to be at the party tonight. I ignored most of it, pretending to scroll through my phone, but it was impossible to fully drown them out.

By the afternoon, Elijah was back and made sure everyone had eaten before forcing us to start getting ready.

That was the worst part.

The moment the dreaded suit came out, I knew my suffering was only beginning.

"Do I have to wear this?" I groaned, holding up the stiff, tailored jacket like it was a torture device.

"Yes," Elijah said, not even looking up as he fixed his tie in the mirror.

"It's so uncomfortable," I muttered, shoving my arms into the sleeves anyway.

Miles, already dressed, smirked from across the room. "You think that's bad? Just wait until we get there."

I scowled, but he wasn't wrong.

By the time we were all stuffed into our formal clothes, looking way too polished and proper for our own good, it was time to leave. The car ride to the venue was just as bad, all of us packed together, shifting uncomfortably in our suits, knowing we had a whole evening of fake smiles and stiff conversations ahead.