I was the only child in my family.
Living as the sole heir of ASA Food, one of the rising brands in the last ten years, I could say I was a lucky kid who had all my needs fulfilled.
The only weakness I had was me being born as an omega, a male omega at that, which made people instinctively look down on me because of my secondary gender.
But my parents never cared about that. I was still their son no matter what people view me as. That's why I was always close to my parents.
So, the news of their deaths shocked me to my core.
'This is an assassination scheme. Just you wait, I'll kill those bastards who accused us!'
I promised my parents to avenge them. No, honestly, it was more of a promise to myself, a promise to satisfy my anger and loneliness.
My parents wouldn't like their son to be blinded by revenge, that, I knew for sure – they were kind and honest people after all. But unlike them, I had experienced the world from both perspectives of 'good' and 'bad'. My mind couldn't differentiate between what's good or bad anymore.
At some point, I even questioned if what I did was 'right'.
And one of those decisions was in front of me right now.
I needed to judge whether killing Haide was the right' choice to make.
Avenge my parents or succumb to the beautiful memories together engraved in my mind with this man in front of me… That depends entirely on what words would come out of his mouth.
"Explain."
I put my fingers on the gun's trigger.
"So you don't think of me as your lover anymore just because you know what family I came from? I'm hurt Yolan."
He lowered his head, tough he laughed it off and said it in a sarcastic way, the pain in his eyes was evident.
My grip on the gun's handle tightened. His hurt eyes choked my heart more than any wound I had ever suffered.
But I couldn't back down now, at least not in front of a suspect of my parents' murderer.
"How about we talk as we treat your wound? Even though I have Torentto blood running through my veins, I assure you I'm not your enemy."
"And how can you prove that?"
"I swear on Uola's name I was never involved in any of the Torentto family's schemes."
A swear in Uola's name was the highest form of declaration someone could make, one that spouted lies or broke the promise under His name would suffer heavenly tribulation – illness, loss of life and many more.
If he was willing to go that far, I had no choice but to trust him.
But do I want to trust him?
After countless years of being betrayed by my own feelings, which was loving a man who would never love me back, I finally found solace in the arms of this man in front of me.
If the truth coming out of his mouth was the opposite of what I expected it to be, both my heart and mind would surely break.
"Tell me everything about the Torentto family, I'll decide for myself whether you're my enemy or not."
But it seemed like the memories of our moments together swayed my heart more than I thought.
His assuring smile, his gentle touches, his warm breaths.
Even though there were no marks carved on my neck, my heart had already been claimed by Haide.
He's now my alpha, someone I yearned for even though we weren't bound as mate.
'Fuck.'
I cursed myself inside my mind.
'I'm such a hopeless romantic.'
I lowered Cecily as I heaved a sigh, the pain pulsing on my side had been making my vision flicker in and out of focus for a while now.
'Where's my key again?'
Rummaging through my suit, my finger finally touched the metal key hidden in the corner of my pocket.
"Let me help."
Haide offered as he grabbed the key in my hand. Seeing that usual gentle smile on his face made my tense body relax.
'He's such an easy person to please.'
Just because I said I'd hear him out, he was suddenly all smiles again. I guess he liked me that much that he would do everything in his power to keep our relationship intact.
But because of that same reason, I felt safe with him.
"Yolan!"
I let my consciousness slip, and soon darkness engulfed me. Haide's panicked voice was the last thing I heard as I closed my eyes.
.
.
I fluttered my eyes open when I felt a cold touch to my cheek. Turning my head, my gaze immediately locked onto Haide sitting beside me.
Judging from the soft cushion below me and the familiar ceiling above my head, seemed like Haide had brought me inside my house and laid me down on the bed.
Touching my hair, he smiled, "How are you feeling?"
"I've had worse."
I raised my upper body and rubbed my stomach. A clean bandage had now wrapped around my wound, and my clothes had been changed to my pajamas too.
Haide pressed his hand against my head, nodding as he closed his eyes before speaking to me.
"Your fever has gone down a lot. You passed out for two days, I was really worried you know?"
"Two days…"
Time was of the essence in War of Throne, that's why two days of me being knocked out might affect the dynamic inside my faction.
Picking up my phone on the desk, I could see Cassius and my other members trying to reach me. But because I had left a message to Cassius to take care of things before I left, I didn't think there would be any incident that would turn my faction into chaos.
'I still have time.'
It's 9:19 A.M., the perfect time to have a lengthy conversation.
I gave Haide a glance before asking him again, "So? Can we have a talk now?"
Haide froze before he sighed, "Alright, I'll tell you."
Rising from the bed, Haide poured a cup of water and handed it to me. He sat beside me again and opened his mouth.
"I'm an illegitimate child of the Torentto family." He started, picking his words for a while before continuing.
"The last name Ritcher was from my omega mother, he was a lackey working under the order of my father- No, the current head of Torentto."
Haide narrowed his eyes, a slight anger in his voice, "And he was a bastard that would do anything for money."
He fiddled with his finger, "Since I was a child, my mother never let me get involved in any of that man's crime. Soon after he got pregnant, he left the family, and he was turned into a cripple as a price. That's why when I reached my eighth birthday, he passed away because of his weakened body."
"It was only one and a half years ago that I started involving myself with the Torentto. I've never done any of the head's order, I'm just there to use them as my backing."
He then raised his gaze to me, "Does that answer your question about my origin?"
I gripped the sheets as the gears in my head started turning.
'One and a half years… The time doesn't line up.'
The plotting against my parents happened three years ago, if what Haide said was true, that meant he was never involved in my parents' death.
At least I wanted to believe the words coming out were true.
No, I had decided to believe it.
'What a relief.'
Once the worry that had been haunting me became certitude, the turmoil in my heart was alleviated.
'So Haide wasn't my parents' murderer.'
That was great news. Really.
DRIP-!
"Huh…? Yolan, why are you crying?"
The dam containing all my emotions once again broke, staining the white sheets below with water.
Haide wiped the tears on my face as he gently hugged me. Feeling the heat radiating from his body didn't help because it made my tears keep flowing nonstop.
"It's all your fault."
"Huh? Why am I being accused all of a sudden?"
I glared at him as I hugged him back, trying to sniffle my sobs as I buried my face in his shoulder.
His clothes turned wet from my tears, but who cares, my emotional state was the first priority right now.
'It's a relief, really.'
My lips slowly curved upward.
I wasn't betrayed by my partner once again in this life. It was just a cruel turn of things that was orchestrated by wicked people to gain their goal.
This happy-go-lucky guy in front of me – though involved with the people responsible for my parents' death – was actually not involved with the murder itself.
An innocent third party if I would say.
I bet Haide hide a lot more than I could imagine, but knowing that fact was enough. He was a secretive guy, just like I was. There would finally be a time when we could open up to each other and pour out our past, but that time was certainly not now.
So I'd decided.
I would trust Haide and wait patiently.
At least until we were both ready to reveal our hearts' vulnerability.