Disclaimer: All characters depicted are 18 or above. This story contains themes of incest and reluctance/dubious consent.
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Chapter 1: In Buddy's Eyes
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It was a warm summer evening when Hugh and Emmett Rosenthal first kissed.
That afternoon, Hugh had received news from a friend that his ex-wife, Jacqueline, whom he used to call Jackie, got engaged. Her fiancé was someone named William, apparently a tenured professor at Northwestern, who met Jacqueline not long after she moved to Illinois following the divorce. Hugh and Jacqueline had met in college and got married as soon as they graduated due to an accidental pregnancy. Six months after a hastily organized wedding, the couple had their first child, a daughter whom they named Hannah. Hugh decided to turn the plot of land his parents had left him, which used to be a supermarket right at the center of town, into a hotel. Three years later, Emmett was born while Hugh was planning his second location. And fifteen years after that, after Rosenthal Hotel had cemented its place among the most popular mid-range hotel chains in Michigan, Hugh and Jacqueline filed their divorce papers.
The reason for the divorce was quite simple, at least to Hugh. Jacqueline had been cheating on him. For years. With multiple men. The night he found out, Hugh shouted at a composed Jacqueline, who looked like she had been expecting this day to come. When Hugh asked her why, she answered that she was bored, that she could not stand the fact that she would spend all her life married to Hugh - her first ever love, that she would have left him as soon as Emmett went off to college anyways. Her explanations did little to assuage Hugh's anger. If anything, it infuriated him even more. He made sure he got the most out of the divorce, which was easy since on paper, the blame was on Jacqueline. Hugh managed to keep everything - the house, the car, all of the business assets, and custody of Emmett. He would have fought to get custody of Hannah too, had she not already turned 18 and gone to college a few months earlier. Jacqueline left Michigan with two suitcases and a head raised high.
After the divorce, Hugh focused his time on one thing: raising Emmett. Hannah was doing well thousands of miles away studying Bioengineering at UC San Diego. His hotels had become successful enough for him to lead a comfortable, relaxed lifestyle. He didn't really take interest in dating, especially when people seemed more interested in his wealth and the Rosenthal name than himself. His sexual needs were well-satisfied with his regular hook-ups, sometimes with women, sometimes with men. Thus, Emmett became Hugh's number one priority. Hugh kept a close eye on Emmett's studies and social life, making sure he wasn't hanging out with the wrong crowd, which wasn't particularly hard since the boy was a level-headed, reserved kid. For the sake of fitness, he encouraged Emmett to take up baseball, just as he did when he was in high school. But after it became clear that Emmett wasn't fond of it, he let him give up the sport. Still, Hugh made sure Emmett worked out in the gym regularly.
Emmett followed Hugh's wishes dutifully. Growing up, he had virtually worshipped his father, simultaneously wanting to be him and please him. While Hannah had always been closer to Jacqueline, Emmett loved his father more than anything. To him, Hugh was a hero. The hero. His father taught him to fight back when he was being bullied at school, held him when he had nightmares so bad he woke up covered in sweat, and cheered him up whenever he did poorly on a test. When Emmett learned that his mom's adultery caused the divorce, he was so resentful that he told her not to bother visiting him ever again. All his life, Emmett had always felt a strong sense of responsibility to reciprocate his father's love and sacrifice. It was what motivated him in everything he did.
That was why Emmett gave in to Hugh's desires that evening.
Hugh had been drinking. The news of Jacqueline's engagement troubled him for reasons he couldn't quite understand himself. But he knew it troubled him, so he broke open the finest whiskey he had in the house and started drinking. He'd expected that the alcohol would put his mind at ease, but the more he drank, the more he thought about Jacqueline. He had loved her. He had worked tirelessly for her. He had done nothing wrong. And now she was simply moving on, as if she didn't have a care in the world. As if she didn't hurt him when she said she was bored of the life he had created for her. An ungrateful bitch, he thought.
Hugh stepped out of his office and into the living room, the glass of whiskey still in his hand. He marveled at how beautiful the space was, with the sleek leather sofa set, the luxurious faux fur rug, the glittering crystal chandelier, all of the things that he bought himself. But he also realized how empty and lonely it was. Once, Jacqueline, Hannah, Emmett, and him, were together in this room. He remembered how Jacqueline used to read bedtime stories for Hannah here, because she refused to even set foot on the stairs without first hearing a story. He remembered how Emmett would rush to hug him whenever his sister teased him, and he would make Emmett chuckle with one of his puns. Once, the four of them were a family, until Jacqueline had ruined everything. Now, he had no one left, except for one person.
He found Emmett in his room, headphones on, typing at his computer. The warmth of the evening had made his son take off his shirt.
"Hey, Dad!" Emmett said, taking off his headphones as he noticed Hugh standing in the doorway.
"Hey, buddy, what are you up to?" Hugh asked, walking towards his son and placing the now empty glass of whiskey onto his table.
"Just talking to some future classmates," Emmett nodded at his computer screen. "They created a group chat for incoming freshmen." He was attending University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall, studying Business like Hugh did. The plan was that Emmett would work alongside Hugh after graduation, and eventually take over the hotels once Hugh retired.
Hugh's face grew somber. "Damn, what am I gonna do when you go to college? I'm gonna be all alone in this big house."
"I know, Dad. I hate that for you," Emmett said, "but I'm gonna be home as much as possible. You know, during breaks."
"I know you will, buddy," Hugh sighed. "I just wish you got admitted to Michigan Ross. Then I'd be able to visit you every weekend. Hell, I can move to Ann Arbor, even."
"Yeah, it sucks, but you're not gonna lose me, Dad. I promise," Emmett smiled sadly. Hugh noticed how much his son took after Jacqueline. He had her hazel doe eyes and long lashes. Her straight nose. Her full lips.
"Mom is remarrying," Hugh said.
"What?"
"Yeah, Charlie just told me earlier."
"Oh, Dad," Emmett stood up from his desk and wrapped his arms around Hugh. "Are you OK?"
"I'm fine, buddy. No need to worry about me," Hugh said, putting his own arms around his son's back. "Looks like your new stepfather is some dude named William."
"Dad, stop it. You know I'm not gonna care about him," Emmett moved his head back to look into Hugh's blue eyes. "You're my Dad. I love you more than anyone in the world."
And that was when it happened.
