Ch. 101..110

Zeno woke up when a call came on his phone. He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Sebastian’s face.

He was smiling as he smiled at his face while he put his hand under the pillow to get his phone.

He frowned, and when he didn’t recognize the number, he quickly answered the phone to silence it so it didn’t wake Sebastian up.

"Hello?" He spoke in a low tone.

"Hello, good morning, Zeno, it’s Sakura speaking. Don’t tell me you forgot about our meeting," Sakura spoke softly through the phone.

Zeno’s smile dropped, and his body froze; his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned away from Sebastian.

"Um, Hi, how about I send you a text?" He whispered.

Sakura was quiet for a second before speaking, "Okay, I’ll be waiting."

"Bye," Zeno whispered and ended the call.

"Who was that?" Sebastian’s groggy voice sounded behind him.

Zeno went. Still; he clutched his phone and squeezed his eyes shut, searching for the safest way to reply.

This wasn’t the way he had planned to wake up.

"I’m asking..." Sebastian drew him into himself.

Zeno gulped quietly. "Yeah...it’s, it was Anna, yeah, Anna, the girl you saw yesterday at the club," He replied calmly, hoping Sebastian didn’t find out his lie.

Sebastian hummed behind him, clearly still sleepy, "I’m so tired," He murmured against Zeno’s neck.

Zeno sighed. He wished what he was about to say was purely honest, but he knew it came from a place of ulterior motive.

"Then, you can just stay in the house for the rest of the day; you need to take care of yourself before others; you’re really important to me, a direction I don’t want you getting sick," Zeno sounded very concerned.

He just wanted Sebastian to stay in so he could freely leave the mansion and go see Sakura.

"You’d stay on with me, right?" Sebastian questioned.

Zeno bit his lips, what was he supposed to tell Sebastian that he wanted to do? He suddenly thought of something and cleared his throat.

"You know I’d love to, but I have this thing I promised Ida I’d do with him today; I can’t disappoint him," he lied.

Sebastian made a little throaty noise before he spoke, "Okay, I don’t want to be the controlling boyfriend, even though I really want to be. Go do what you have to do, but return early, yeah?" He asked.

Zeno chuckled, "Yes, Dad,"

Sebastian kissed the back of Zeno’s neck and released him from his arms.

He rolled away from Zeno and hugged a pillow, "I’ll just sleep in as you asked, have a nice day," Sebastian whispered.

Zeno felt bad as he stood from the bed and watched Sebastian’s tired face, "I’m such a bad boyfriend," Zeno muttered.

He didn’t feel good deceiving Sebastian; he felt like he was cheating and lying at the same time.

He sighed and walked over to the bathroom; he had to be fast; his mind wouldn’t stop wondering what Sakura wanted to tell him.

After a quick shower, Zeno noiselessly left the room and house.

He met Ida in front of the house, "Hey, where are you sneaking off to?" Ida questioned Zeno when he saw him walking briskly out of the house.

Zeno paused and greeted Ida, "Good morning, Ida, I need your help with something," He held Ida’s hand and dragged him to the side of the house.

Ida was frowning, "You’re acting suspicious, don’t do something you’d regret later," He advised.

Zeno sighed, "I’ll try. Right now, I need to go see someone Sebastian thinks I’m doing some stuff with; find something and tell him if he asks about me; if he doesn’t ask, do not mention me. And if you’re planning to go see him, don’t, he’s sleeping. Maybe don’t even see him until I’m back; that way, he won’t ask you about me, okay?" Zeno asked desperately.

Ida was quiet for a while, staring at Zeno’s pleading face. "You’ve really Thought about this, haven’t you?" He questioned.

Zeno nodded, "Just say yes," He tugged Ida’s arm.

Ida sighed and nodded, "Alright, be careful Zeno, the boss doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d forgive cheating or-"

"You think I’m cheating?" Zeno asked with a hard frown.

Ida shook his head, "No, not that kind of cheating, Zeno. But in a relationship, cheating isn’t only when youbfuck someone else. It can be in the form of lying, misconceptions, hiding secrets, or doing whatever the other partner would find offensive and unforgivable without giving them a valid reason for doing it...I don’t want you to be in that situation, Zeno. The boss had been hurt in the past if you do it again, he might just, I know, kill you and kill himself?" Ida shrugged.

Zeno chuckled, "Thanks, Ida, let’s hope it doesn’t get to that. I’ve got to go," He tapped Ida’s shoulder and ran out of the gate.

Ida stood there, watching Zeno run off to God-knows-where. He hoped Sebastian slept longer because he honestly didn’t know what to tell him if he ever asked about Zeno.

***

Zeno sat in the back of the taxi and read the message Sakura had sent him. She had sent him the location he was currently heading in.

He recalled what Ida had told him and felt his heart skip a beat. What if it happened that way? What if Sebastian really found out that he was actually trying to get him together with someone else?

What different was he from Johan and his parents? He had just sympathized with him last night, and yet he was here trying to do the same thing.

He hated himself for this, but Mr. Orion had clearly promised him that he would harm his Nana if he didn’t succeed with their arrangements.

So, here he was, thinking about how to save his Nana and save his relationship.

He planned to tell Sebastian at some point, but not just now; Sebastian would definitely confront his father about it, and Mr. Orion would know that he had snitched on him.

No, that’s not something he wanted now.

He would also tell Sakura about his relationship with Sebastian, but that would be after he had monitored her temperament to see what kind of person she really was.

The taxi came to a stop in front of a quiet cafe, and Zsno quickly paid the driver and left the car.

He walked into the quiet cafe and saw just a few people there around the round tables.

He slowly walked forward, searching for Sakura’s figure.

He reached the end of the room but still didn’t find Sakura. He saw a few women funnily looking at him, but he ignored them and kept on looking around the room.

"Zeno," He heard Sakura’s soft voice call him from behind.

He turned around and saw her sitting in a corner, but she wasn’t alone. Zeno recognized her brother who was sitting beside her with his gaze centered on him.

He felt a little uncomfortable by that look Sakura’s brother was giving him but he pushed it aside and walked toward them.

"Hello, Sakura," He greeted politely before he drew out the chair and lowered himself in front of them.

"Good morning, Zeno, meet my elder brother, Kenji; Kenji, this is Zeno, my friend," Sakura introduced.

Zeno caught the wink Sakura gave her brother as she introduced them and he almost sighed in exhaustion.

Not another admirer on his list. What was it with men and falling for him? Was it his face? His dressing? He needed to know so he’d change it. He had already attracted the right and best person; any other person was a disturbance to him.

And from the way Kenji was staring at him, he knew this was going to be another episode of confusion and rejection. Kenji was good-looking, all Japanese men were hot, no doubt. But he didn’t interest him one bit; he had Sebastian, and that was it; he didn’t care how good-looking or rich any other person was; they would never be enough for him.

"Nice to meet you, Zeno," Kenji offered him a handshake over the table.

Out of manners, Ze o just decided to shake him, if not, he didn’t want kinship with him.

"Nice to meet you," Zeno replied curtly and removed his hand from Kenji’s.

Kenji locked his eyes on Zeno and asked, "Your arm, is it healing? My sister told me what happened at the restaurant," He lowered his eye to Zeno’s dressed arm.

Zeno nodded, briefly glancing at Sakura, who was full of smiles. He was suddenly feeling like he was the one being set up for a blind date. Sakura was sabotaging him.

"My arm is alright, Mr. Kenji; it’s healing perfectly," He replied.

Kenji gave him a slow nod with a smile, "Call me Kenji, Zeno, I don’t plan to be business partners with you," He suggested in a flirty tone.

Zeno pretended not to see the signs and simply nodded, "Alright, Kenji it is. Sakura, about my boss-"

"Yes, yes, about Sebastian, that’s why we’re here...um, how do I say it..." She looked to her brother and back at Zeno.

"I like girls," She confessed.

"What?" Zeno asked in shock.

He was shocked for many reasons, but he didn’t know which particular one to hold onto.

 

 

Chapter 102

"Well, it’s more like I’m bisexual, but I lean more toward the same gender," Sakura clarified.

Zeno frowned, "So, does it mean you’re not actually interested in my boss?" He asked, hope rising in his chest.

Sakura bit her lips, "Well, I’m not going to lie; Sebastian is one hot man, and I’d be a fool not to want him. I just told you this because I’ll need your help to really find a connection with him, as it’s always harder for me to form a connection with men. This was initially my family’s idea to pair me up with Sebastian, but since he’s that hot, I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to try," She drummed her fingers on the table.

The hope in Zeno’s chest was slowly withering.

"And what kind of help do you suppose I render you?" He questioned.

"Mr. Orion let me know that you’re his closest bodyguard. So, now that you and I are friends, it wouldn’t hurt to invite me over or invite me out; just make sure he’s there with you; then that creates an opportunity for me and him to get to know each other. I hear his son is fond of you, too, I’d like to get him to like me too,"

Zeno was quiet for just a few seconds; he was happy that Sakura was interested in women; turns out she rode both ways.

He sighed; this wasn’t still the best time to tell her about his relationship, especially now that she had admitted to wanting to work it out with Sebastian and definitely not with her brother beside her.

"I’ll see what I can do, Sakura. But you must know that my boss is a very busy man, and he doesn’t really allow visitors to his home...but since this is an order from Mr. Orion, I’ll find a way to make it work," He replied with a nod, his fist clenching on top of his lap.

"Thanks a lot, Zeno; I would have found it very hard without you; how about today?" Sakura asked.

Zeno straightened up in his chair, "Today? Like, you want to meet him today?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

Sakura might just be asking for too much. She had just informed him about something and she was already expecting him to act on it.

Sakura sighed and chuckled softly, "Don’t worry about what I said. I know Sebastian is a busy man, appearing I’m his house would just be too suspicious so I’ll let you plan that out, but I’d really love to meet with him in three days, at least, he needs to start getting the hint that I like him, my parents and hi are already planning a wedding by the end of the month," she informed.

"What?!" Zeno almost fell off the chair but he forced himself to behave.

He saw the way Kenji was staring at him and didn’t want him to start suspecting him.

Sakura smiled, "Yeah, I know it’s so sudden, but that’s why I want to be as close to him as I can, so it won’t be as awkward between us on our wedding day,"

Zeno had to breathe through his mouth to calm himself down.

Sakura, marry Sebastian? Yeah, she could keep dreaming.

He was never going to let that happen, now he already had a shorter time frame to tell Sebastian what was going on here it was too late for him.

"I know, I know it’s shocking, I was shocked too, but what can I do if this marriage helps to secure whatever business my father wants with Mr. Orion? I guess I have no choice, plus, I really like Sebastian, so it’s a win-win," Sakura elaborated.

Zeno felt like he was listening to Sebastian’s story all over again.

So his father didn’t learn from the previous marriage he forced his son into? Did he really not care about his son’s feelings? And did he really believe that Sebastian would listen to him this time?

He couldn’t let this happen, he was already feeling so awful from being a part of it.

"Enough of you, Sakura, go order something for Zeno," Kenji placed a hand on Sakura’s arm, giving her a meaningful look.

"Oh, right, order. What would want to eat, Zeno?" Sakura turned to Zneo with a kind smile.

Zeno knew what was happening, Kenji was trying to get him alone with him so that he could start showing his flirting skills.

"You don’t have to, I’d just have to hurry back if we’re done here," Zeno declined politely.

Sakura gave Kenji a disappointed look, "He said he needs to leave," She whispered to her brother.

"Are you sure, Zeno? I heard the food here is pretty awesome," Kenji spoke to Zeno in a steady tone.

Zeno nodded, "You know how my job is, if my boss finds out I’ve been out for so long, he’ll definitely get suspicious," he reasoned.

Kenji stared at Zeno for a while before he slowly stood from his chair.

"Then we won’t keep you for long," He said and walked around the table to meet Zeno.

"Do you need help getting up?" Kenji offered Zeno a hand but when he saw Zeno stand up by himself without taking his hand, he awkwardly cleared his throat and stepped back to give me some room to walk out from between the chair and the table.

"Like I said, Kenji, my arm is not that bad; I can do much more for myself," ’Unless it’s Sebastian’s offering, of course,’ He thought to himself.

Kenji smiled, "Yes, I see that now," He nodded.

Sakura was smiling at her brother and Zeno; she liked Zeno and hoped that he would give her brother a chance; it wasn’t every day Kenji made a move at someone.

Zeno gave them a polite nod and started walking out of the restaurant; he needed to get home fast; it was almost an hour or more. Sebastian must have gotten out of his room, and if he’d met with Ida, then he would been full-on worried and suspicious by now.

He sighed when he got outside and realized that he should have booked a ride earlier, now he had to stand in this quiet street and wait for a miracle taxi to drive by.

A white Benz suddenly pulled up in front of him, and he automatically stepped back.

"Let’s give you a ride, Zeno. We don’t want you getting in trouble with your boss because of us," Kenji came up behind Zeno and placed a hand on his lower back, but Zeno immediately stepped away from him.

The fact that he offered to help wasn’t the reason for him to get touchy; he hardly knew him, and he wasn’t interested in Kenji in any way; why would he?

"I mean, if it’s not trouble then-"

"Don’t worry, it’s not trouble, get in already," Sakurs held Zeno’s hand and dragged him toward the back door.

She opened it and pushed him toward it, "I’ll be in front," She informed and ran over to the front.

Zeno sighed and entered the car, and before he closed the door, he saw Kenji walking around behind the car to get to the other side of the car.

Soon, Kenji was sitting beside Zeno at the back of the car as the car moved.

It was quiet, and Zeno didn’t really mind the quietness; his mind was occupied with what Sebastian was going to ask him and what Sebastian was doing at that moment.

"I could go in with you if you’re that worried he’d punish you," Kenji quietly suggested to Zeno.

Zeno slowly turned his face to Kenji and found him staring at him.

"No, it’s alright, Kenji, I can manage," He replied.

Kenji didn’t know how he was worried for a different reason.

Sebastian would never punish him, no, that’s not what he was afraid of. He was afraid of going home to meet an angry and suspecting boyfriend; he didn’t know what he would tell Sebastian if he asked; he was quiet because he was skipping through his mind different options of what to say to Sebastian.

Kenji found himself unable to look away from Zeno; he didn’t love easily, and he knew that Zeno would be a perfect match for anyone who got into a relationship with him.

He believed he had found the one, except he wasn’t so sure if Zeno was willing to give him a chance; maybe he needed to make it more obvious to Zeno.

He already had a plan; he’d make sure to be present on every one of Sakura’s dates with Sebastian and Zeno; that way, he’d have some more time to speak with Zeno.

Zeno was getting anxious as the car pulled up in front of Sebastian’s mansion, he took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Thank you, Sakura, Kenji, goodbye," He nodded at them and stepped one foot out the door.

"Remember to keep me updated, Zeno," Sakura called after him.

Zeno looked at her and forced a smile, "Sure, Sakura," He replied and left the car.

Zeno made sure the car drove off before he sighed and walked toward the gate.

He saw Lucia walking out from the bodyguards’ quarters and waved at her.

Lucia smiled at Zeno as she walked toward him, "Where did you sneak off to, Mr. Zeno? You know it could put you in trouble, right?" She smirked at him.

Zeno sighed, he already knew that.

"Have you seen him today?" He questioned quietly.

"Nah, but I think he went to pick his son up from school for security reasons, Julia told me so," She shrugged.

Zeno panicked, "Um, alright," He replied and quickly turned to enter the house.

"Oops, I forgot to tell you he’s back already," Lucia whispered and continued heading to where she was going.

Zeno hurried inside, hoping Sebastian hadn’t spoken to Ida; It would look bad if he said something differently from what Ida had told him.

As he entered the living room, he quickly dialed Ida’s number to ask him about what he said to Sebastian, that’s if he’d said anything at all.

He stood behind the sofa and dialed Ida’s number, tapping a foot on the floor.

"Calling Kenji?" Zeno almost dropped his phone when he suddenly heard Sebastian’s voice behind him.

How the fuck was he in the house? Wasn’t he supposed to be at Ken’s school?

"I require an answer when I ask a question, Zeno," Sebastian’s dark voice sounded right behind Zeno’s neck, causing him to clutch his phone tightly in his hand.

Zeno knew he’d hit rock bottom; there was no way out of this situation this time.

 

Chapter 103

Zeno’s heart was racing; prickly sweat broke through his forehead, he was cornered.

There could be different reasons as to why Sebastian mentioned Kenji.

How did he find out about Kenji?

Zeno didn’t want to give him an answer that might expose what he didn’t know; he wanted to make sure he was in the same story with Sebastian, and he wouldn’t want to implicate himself further.

He slowly turned to Sebastian and faced him; he sighed when he saw the unveiling look on Sebastian’s face.

"Babe-"

"Stop, Zeno, just tell me what you did with Kenji in the morning," Sebastian replied, his eyes cold.

Zeno felt hurt; it’s been so long since he saw that look on Sebastian’s face, and he was the cause of it; he made him this way.

"I’ll apologize first, I’m sorry for-"

"Apology don’t cut it, Zeno. Do you realize what going on? I feel like my partner is cheating on me. You lied to me, Zeno. You said you had some stuff to do with Ida. I believed you, but instead, I got this sent to me by that proud motherfuker," Sebastian raised his phone to Zeno’s face, showing him the picture.

"Shit," Zeno muttered as he saw the picture of Ke ji holding his waist.

He remembered it was just within that brief second he was about to enter the car, Sakura must have taken the picture.

His question now was, why did Kenji send the dawned picture to Sebastian.

"I’m ready to listen if there’s anything reasonable you have to tell me, Zeno, otherwise, I’d believe that I should have just remained by myself and never should have given love a chance," Sebastian sounded broken.

Zeno’s heart bled, he leaned away from the sofa and hugged Sebastian, even though Sebastian did hug him back, he kept hugging him, burying his face in his neck.

"Don’t say that, Sebastian. Never regret giving me a chance. No, I didn’t cheat on you. I’m not cheating on you, and I’ll never cheat on you," Zeno whispered.

"Then tell me, Zeno, what did you do with Kenji? What business do you have with him? Last I checked, you didn’t even know his name," Sebastian asked; he was looking down at Zeno’s head, his chest tugging painfully.

He loved Zeno too much to break up with him, he was silently praying that whatever Zeno was going to say wouldn’t be something that would cause them to break up.

However, what was the use of being with someone who doesn’t share your love view? Someone who feels it’s okay to be that close to someone else when they had you.

He sighed and slowly wrapped his arms around Zeno’s waist and whispered, "Tell me, Zeno, I won’t hate you, I’m incapable of hating you, I’ll just have to let you go if it’s-"

"No!" Zeno raised his head and glared at Sebastian.

"I’m that easy to let go, huh?" Zeno frowned.

Sebastian was quiet, "I trust you, Zeno, but you’re making me question that trust, that’s why I need you to assure me, Zeno, assure my trust," He looked into Zeno’s eyes, silently pleading with him to put him out if this misery called suspense, it was killing him.

Zeno nodded; he knew he should tell Sebastian something, but was he going to tell him the whole truth? No.

A half-truth is also a truth.

He locked his eyes on Sebastian and spoke, "I did have something to do with Ida in the morning, but I later decided to go out and get some food since Julia hadn’t made anything yet because she was waiting for you to wake up and I couldn’t cook because of my arm," He raised his wounded arm.

Sebastian didn’t say anything; he was quietly staring at Zeno, waiting for him to get to how he met Kenji and how the fuck Kenji got his stupid arms around Zeno’s waist.

Zeno continued when he saw that Sebastian was patiently waiting on him. He felt so guilty looking at Sebastian and lying to him.

"I went to this restaurant...the one you saw in the picture, and that’s where I coincidentally met Sakura and her brother; I had briefly greeted them and was waiting for my ride outside, and that’s when he came and put his arms around me. I didn’t realize that Sakura might have captured the one-second action because I did step away immediately. But Sakura did offer to give me a ride, so I agreed. They brought me home, Seb, and that was it, I promise," Zeno touched Sebastian’s cheeks, blinking up at him.

Sebastian’s face hardened, so after he warned Kenji not to come close to Zeno, he still tried to put his hands on what was his. It’s about time someone either loses an arm or breaks it, and he wasn’t even joking about it.

For Kenji to have the courage to send him this picture meant that he was actively provoking him and showing him that he had gone behind his back to do what he asked him not to do. If it was any of his bodyguards, he wouldn’t give a fuck about what Kenji was doing with them, but this was Zeno they were talking about, someone he loved more than himself, he was possessive that much, and he wouldn’t sit back unwatchable some stupid rich kid play games with his man, he did want Kenji, so he should be prepared for the consequences of his actions.

"Seb," Zeno called, his heart was hammering loudly as he didn’t know if Sebastian bought his half-truth story or not.

He knew he should have just said the truth, but he was scared; seeing Sebastian already on the verge of breaking up with him made him act the way he did. He knew it would trigger Sebastian if he heard that he was repeating what had happened to him in the past by planning to pair him up with someone; even if he wasn’t in support, Sebastian wouldn’t understand it that way.

He really hoped that he found a good time to tell Sebastian what was really going on, and if, after telling him, Sebastian still chose to break up with him, then he would accept it as his punishment for ever agreeing to such a stupid mission.

"Don’t get close to him, Zeno," Sebastian said and stepped away from Zeno, he left him there and walked into his office.

Zeno was torn.

What did this action mean? Was Sebastian still angry? Was he going to ignore him for long?

Zeno. would have gone after him, but he, too, was feeling guilty and wanted to stay away from Sebastian for a while; he couldn’t stand seeing the hurt look on Sebastian’s face, knowing he was the cause of it.

Sebastian needed his time alone, he would give him that. He wouldn’t want Sebastian making some heartbreaking decisions due to anger.

He looked up when someone walked into the door, it was Ida and Jasper.

He sighed; he wasn’t in the mood to entertain Jasper; he could already see him smiling at him as he got closer.

"Good evening, Zeno, how’s your arm?" Jasper asked, smiling.

Zeno nodded, "Healing," He replied with no expression.

Ida chuckled, "Seems like someone didn’t take my advice," He smirked at Zeno, "Face it, bro...it’s called consequences, or a more relatable name is Karma," He tapped Zeno’s shoulder and walked toward Sebastian’s office.

"Come on, we got something we want to show the boss; you need to see it, too," Jasper held Zeno’s hand and led him behind Ida.

Zeno didn’t want to go, but he knew he needed to see whatever it was they had to show Sebastian.

He subtly removed his hand from Jasper as they reached the door.

They got into the office and found Sebastian sitting on the sofa instead of his chair behind his desk.

They stood in front of him and bowed their heads, except Zeno, who was busy looking at Sebastian, who openly avoided looking back at him.

Zeno felt hurt, but he also knew that Sebastian was more hurt.

"What do have, Ida?" Sebastian asked in a flat tone, his eyes looking very uninterested in the topic.

"I managed to retrieve this from the security footage back in Japan, maybe it could be a clue. I didn’t want to search further about it without your order," Ida brought out his phone from his pocket and turned the screen to Sebastian.

Zeno happened to catch the image on the screen as he showed the phone to Sebastian.

Zeno saw Sebastian’s face turned unimaginably cold. He wondered if Sebastian did know what it meant.

It was a barcode tattoo on the wrist of one of the guys who attacked them in the garden.

"And you haven’t searched further?" Sebastian frowned and Ida.

Ida nodded, "Yes, boss, I wanted to show you first and await your order," He replied.

Sebastian scoffed, "So if it took a year for you to see me, you’d wait a year before you searched about it?" He stood, his eyes boring into Ida and Jasper.

"I’m sorry, boss, it was my idea; he did want to look into it, but I asked him to speak to you first; I’m sorry for the wrong decision," Jasper bowed his head.

Sebastian was quiet, he moved away from them and walked over to the other side of the office.

"The tattoo looks familiar. Did no one see anything like that at the gala?" Sebastian questioned.

"I did, boss," Everyone turns to start at Japser.

Sebastian raised a brow at him, "On Who?" He asked.

"On a mam, a middle-aged man, I do not know him, but he looked like the leader of a gang or something; I saw it on the side of his chest," Jasper informed.

Sebastian nodded, "You have a day to find pit about the origin of that tattoo, use as many resources as you want," He ordered.

"Yes, boss," Ida and Japser replied.

Zeno didn’t respond, he was busy staring at Sebastian and wondering what was going through his mind.

"Go, I need the results by tomorrow," Sebastian dismissed.

Ida looked at Zeno nodded at him, then he turned to Jasper, held his arm amd dragged him out of tbe office.

Sebastian knew that Zeno didn’t leave, he could feel his presence behind him.

Zeno slowly walked up to Sebastian and hugged him from behind.

"I’m sorry," Zeno whispered, placing his head on Sebastian’s broad back.

Sebastian shut his eyes and sighed, he removed Zeno’s hand that was locked around his tummy and turned to face him.

Zeno lowered his head as he saw Sebastian looking at him, he felt so guilty.

Sebastian raised his face with a finger under his chin, he stared into Zeno’s eyes, "It’s okay...injust needed to cool off. A lot of things are going on and fighting over my man with someone isn’t one of things I need right now," His voice was low and gently.

Zeno shook his head, "It won’t happen again, I’ll avoid him lime you asked," zeno whispered.

Sebastian gently hugged him to himself. "I know it won’t happen again, he can’t hold anyone with a broken arm," He gently patted Zeno’s back.

"What?!" Zeno snapped his head up to Sebastian’s face.

The look he saw told him that Sebastian was serious. Just what the fuck had Sebastian done?

"It’s alright, baby, I’ve told you before, I don’t share," Sebastian whispered into Zeno’s ear.

 

Chapter 104

Later that evening, Zeno was eating in the dining with Sebastian and Ken when Nicholas walked in.

"Nicholas!" Ken called excitedly.

Sebastian gripped his fork tightly at the arrival of his friend; he knew it was about time he told him of his relationship with Zeno; he could no longer tolerate his flirting with his boyfriend.

"Hey, Kiddo, how are you doing?" He went behind Ken and ruffled his hair.

"I’m fine, Daddy is not," Ken pointed at his father.

Zeno sighed; kids were so nosy, always talking about other people’s business.

"Hi, handsome," Nicholas went and sat beside Zeno, smiling at him. "How’s the arm?" He questioned, touching his arm.

Zeno nodded, "It’s almost gone, I should be able to do things by myself in less than a week," He shrugged.

"You’re in a hurry to do things for yourself, huh?" Sebastian questioned with narrowed eyes.

Zeno gulped, what was Sebastian trying to do now?

"No, not like that, but I just want my arm to heal completely," He said to Sebastian, questioning him with his eyes.

"That’s fair," Sebastian replied and kept eating his food.

Nicholas sensed a change in their communication, why was he getting the feeling that Sebastian was softer in the way he spoke and looked at Zeno?

Maybe he might be overthinking; it must be because Zeno’s hurt; being mean to a hurt person is just not acceptable.

"Ken said you were sad, what’s going on, missing me?" Nicholas questioned Sebastian, smirking at him.

Sebastian chuckled, "I’d rather miss my father than miss you, asshole," He replied.

Zeno cleared his throat, glaring at Sebastian.

Sebastian sighed and bit his lips; he turned to Ken and said, "Never say the last word I said; it’s not a good word..."

Ken looked confused but still nodded, eating his food.

Sebastian turned to Zeno and shrugged, causing him to shake his head helplessly.

Sebastian needed to work on his speech control beside his son, he didn’t care what he said near the poor kid.

Nicholas chuckled, "I’m not surprised, Sebastian, that’s why you’re still single," He teased.

Sebastian raised a brow at Zeno, "Did you hear that?" He questioned.

Zeno almost choked on his drink, patting his chest.

"Leave the guy alone, Sebastian. Are you okay?" Nicholas asked, patting Zeno’s back.

Zeno stood from the chair, "I’m fine, I’ll just get an extra bottle of water from the fridge," He said and quickly headed to the kitchen.

Nicholas sighed. "Sebastian..." He sighed.

He wanted to tell Sebastian to stop bullying Zeno; little did he know that it wasn’t bullying. Rather, it was flirting.

"Why are you here?" Sebastian asked, raising the glass of water to Ken’s mouth.

Nicholas drummed his finger on top of the table and looked at Ken, silently telling Sebastian that he couldn’t discuss what he wanted in the presence of Ken.

Sebastian nodded, he dropped the glass and wiped Ken’s mouth, untying the napkin behind his neck.

"It’s time for bed, little guy," He said to Ken.

Ken frowned, "You promised, Dad," He refused to leave dining, looking at Sebastian.

Sebastian sighed; he didn’t know why Ken seemed to be getting more opinions these days; he was almost acting like a teenager, refusing his orders, which he would have just obeyed without delay in the past.

Was it the perks of turning six in a few months?

"Alright, an hour max, understood, I’ll unlock it from my phone," Sebastian picked up his phone and unlocked Ken’s tab from an app.

Ken smiled, "Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight Nicholas," He jumped down from the chair and ran to the kitchen.

"Goodnight, Zeno," He hugged Zeno’s thigh and dashed up to his room.

Sebastian forced himself to hold back a smile when he saw Zeno’s flustered look as the boy hugged him.

He loved seeing them interact; it made him feel like he had a complete family...

"What got the young man so excited?" Nicholas questioned.

Sebastian removed his eyes from Zeno, who was slowly drinking his water, so he didn’t get to join them soon.

"Just unlocked his tab to let him play a few games; that’s a reward for doing his homework," He said to Nicholas.

Nicholas smiled, "Is it just me, or are you really starting to genuinely become a real father to Ken?"

Sebastian scoffed, "Fuck you, Nick. Say what you want and leave my house, I thought I told you not to visit after dinner?" He frowned at Nicholas.

Nicholas laughed, "Well, I came during dinner, not after," He smiled.

Sebastian ignored him and stood from the chair; he couldn’t argue that Nicholas did come during dinner, not after.

Nicholas stood, too, but as Sebastian headed to the kitchen, he headed to the living room to sit on the sofa.

Zeno saw Sebastian coming into the kitchen, took one last gulp from the bottle, placed it down on the table, and subtly walked out of the kitchen.

Sebastian smirked, he knew Zeno was sensing that he was about to do something that might give Nicholas a heart attack. He wasn’t in a rush; Nicholas was still around, and he had many opportunities to prove to him that he wasn’t single as he assumed.

"It’s about the orphanage, they reached out through the email we provided," Nicholas stared at Sebastian who slowly walked up to the table Zeno had left his bottle of water and picked it up, he thought Sebastian was going to throw it away but he walked out of the kitchen with it, causing Nicholas to question what Sebastian wanted to do with Zeno’s water.

"And what did they say?" Sebastian asked, walking over to sit beside Nicholas.

"They said..." Nicholas paused and stared at Sebastian in shock as he raised the bottle to his lips, covered his lips around it, and drank every drop from the bottle.

"You were saying?" Sebastian turned and asked casually.

He knew why Nicholas was staring at him; it was the reaction he was fetching, after all.

Zeno, who was sitting in the dining listening to their discussion, felt like disappearing into thin air when he saw Sebastian drink from his bottle in front of Nicholas.

That was an indirect kiss!

Something that should never happen between a boss and his bodyguard. Now, Nicholas would definitely start to suspect something.

Nicholas cleared his throat and glanced over at Zeno, he saw him looking away from them and believed that he must not have seen what Sebastian had done.

He dismissed the thought that was forming in his mind, he must really be getting delusional.

"Um, they’ve agreed to let you adopt the eight-year-old girl, but on one condition," Nicholas got his mind back to what he was saying.

Sebastian nodded, "And what’s their condition?" He asked.

Nicholas took out an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Sebastian, "They require Ida to sign this since he’s the one that went in disguise. But there might be a problem," He informed.

Sebastian frowned, "What?" He carefully opened the envelope and brought out a white form from it.

"See for yourself," Nicholas replied.

Sebastian remained quiet as he read through the form; after a few seconds, he looked up from the form and looked at Nicholas, "I don’t see a problem here, Nicholas," He said and simply folded the paper and slid it back into the envelope.

Nicholas sighed, "They requested to come to inspect the home where the girl will be staying, how is that not a problem? Are you planning to invite them to your house, or my house?" He asked.

Sebas nodded, "Your house sounds fine. Darren wouldn’t mind; he’s a friend, after all," He smirked at Nicholas.

Nicholas scowled at him, "Yeah, not happening," He folded his arms on his chest.

"Chill, young man, they won’t be coming to anyone’s house. Florence and Meyer will be here tomorrow and together, they’ll take us to the place I’ve asked them to prepare," Sebastian informed.

Nicholas sighed in relief, "That’s a better plan,"

Sebastian stood from the chair, the envelope in his hand, "Alright, message received, time for you to leave," He said seriously.

Nicholas rolled his eyes and stood from the sofa, "Won’t you even ask your dear friend to sleep over?" He already knew he was asking for too much but he just wanted to tease Sebastian.

"I’m glad you’re smiling at your own joke; hurry and leave, Nicholas; I need to attend to something very important," Sebastian let his eyes fall on Zeno.

Nicholas walked toward the dining, he was about to say something to Zeno but he suddenly felt Sebastian’s hand on his shoulder.

"How about I see my dear friend out, I’m too kind, right?" Sebastian said as he gently pushed Nicholas towards the door.

Nicholas was confused, he tried to look back at Zeno but Sebastian’s tall frame didn’t let him. He was pushed out of the door, and before he was guy out of the door, Sebastian shut the door on him.

He stood outside, staring at the door in confusion, again, his mind was playing tricks on him again. Had Sebastian really stopped him from speaking to Zeno?

No, something was definitely wrong with him that night; why else would he be imagining things that could never be real?

 

 

Chapter 105

Sebastian walked back into the living room after pushing Nicholas out; Zeno was standing at the foot of the stairs, waiting for him.

"You okay?" Sebastian asked as he walked toward him.

Zeno nodded.

Sebastian met him and put an arm around his waist.

"Do you think he knows now?" Zeno asked.

Sebastian shook his head, "Nicholas is quite slow. But don’t worry, he’ll know soon," He picked Zeno in and sniffed his neck.

Zeno nodded, not responding.

"Or, you don’t want him to know about us?" Sebastian started going up the stairs, holding Zeno’s hand.

"No, it’s not that; I do want him to know; it’ll make everyone less awkward around each other," Zeno responded.

"Good, then you don’t have to feel bad for him, he’ll find someone else, not just you," His hand went to Zeno’s ass and squeezed it.

Sebastian opened his door and let Zeno walk in first before he did.

Zeno went straight to the bed and sat down.

Why wouldn’t he want Nicholas to know? He wanted everyone to know for God’s sake!

He didn’t even have the mind to get angry with whatever Sebastian did, he was feeling way too guilty to feel angry.

He loved Sebastian; undoubtedly, losing him would break him for sure, and he might just never get into any other relationship if this one ever ended.

Sebastian was the first person to make him feel like he was really worth loving; his other relationships were with the opposite gender; he had always been caring and giving, but not with Sebastian. He almost felt like if he ever asked Sebastian to transfer all his wealth to him, he would do it in a twinkle of an eye.

He was never going to ask that, but it was just the extent of love he believed Sebastian had for him. And how does he repay him? With blackmail, he stared at Sebastian as he walked around his room, clearing the clothes they had removed earlier from the floor and taking them into their laundry room.

He swore never to hurt him; before thongs would get out of hand, he would have found a way to tell him. His only o stacked was Mr. Orion; if that old man ever found out about him and his son, he’d be dead before he knew it, and not just him, but his Nana too.

Apart from Mr. Orion, he didn’t give two shits about anyone knowing about his relationship.

Sebastian walked back into the room and saw the way Zeno was looking at him; he raised a brow at him and walked over to him, standing between his legs, "Hey baby girl, why are you staring at me like that?" Je questioned, palming Zeno’s face on his hands.

Zeno shook his head, "I love you," He gave Sebastian a small smile.

Sebastian found himself falling harder for Zeno; how was it possible to keep falling for someone you already loved?

He lowered his face to Zeno’s and kissed him, "I love you, Zeno...try not to be so charming; I might just lose myself falling for you," He pecked his lips and stared at Zeno’s blue eyes.

"Cuddle?" Zeno asked, looking innocently at Sebastian.

Sebastian chuckled, "Why not? You’re my favorite pillow," He kissed Zeno’s forehead and moved away from him.

Zeno raised his legs to the bed as Sebastian got in front of the other side.

"Come here, baby girl," Sebastian tapped the space beside him as he lay on the bed.

Zeno went over to him and lay on his side beside Sebastian.

Sebastian turned to face Zeno, staring at him without saying a word.

Zeno didn’t remove his eyes from Sebastian’s, he stared back at him and slowly raised his hand to sneak into Sebastian’s shirt, caressing his chest.

Sebastian gave him a sexy smirk, his hand found the back of Zeno’s neck and gently raised his face to his. He didn’t remove his eyes from Zeno as he brought his lips closer to Zeno’s, he could feel Zeno’s quickened breath on his jaw, causing him to clench his teeth.

He moved his face and covered Zeno’s lips with his; he didn’t know how else to express what he was feeling inside; he lived Zeno on in a way some people might term unhealthy.

He was obsessed, head-over-heels, possessive, jealous, and in love with Zeno.

He withdrew his lips and pulled Zeno close to him, "I’m not leaving you alone anymore," He whispered and pulled him close to him, resting Zeno’s head on his chest.

Zeno smiled, "Why?"

"It seems like everyone wants what’s mine; I’m keeping you by my side always," Sebastian massaged his head.

Zeno chuckled, "I don’t want you to leave me either," He sighed.

His words were deeper than what Sebastian was talking about, he hoped that when the time came, Sebastian’s love for him would be bigger than the damage he would cause.

He lifted his head and stared at Sebastian, "Goodnight, Seb...I love you, never doubt that," he whispered.

Sebastian smiled, "Someone’s being clingy tonight, everything alright, baby?" He questioned, still smiling; he loved this side of Zeno; it made him feel wanted.

Zeno nodded and hugged Sebastian, "It’s just love, babe," He said.

Sebastian chuckled, "Goodnight, my love," He kissed the top of Zeno’s head and lay his head back on the pillow, shutting his eyes.

***

Zeno was standing in front of the bodyguards’ quarter the next morning; Sebastian had asked him to help him inform Andre that he’d be driving them out in half an hour.

He was waiting for Andre to come down and meet him.

"Hey," Andre tapped his shoulder from behind.

Zeno was surprised because Andre had said he was inside the building; how did he end up behind him?

"How’d you get here?" Zeno asked.

Andre smiled, "A secret way, Zeno, or should I call you boss now?" He raised a teasing brow at Zeno.

Zeno glared at him, "Here, get the car ready in half an hour," He pushed a car key into Andre’s hand.

"Yes, boss," Andre smirked.

"You’re insane," Zeno rolled his eyes and walked past Andre.

"You’re one lucky guy, Zeno!" Andre shouted after him.

Zeno turned his head and gave Andre a questioning look; he shook his head at him and walked on, smiling as he turned his face away from him.

He did know what Andre was talking about, but he wasn’t about to stand and talk about his relationship with Andre; Andre was out to make him feel embarrassed with his teasing.

He was about to enter the house when the gate opened, and an unrecognized car drove into the compound.

He stopped and stood in front of the door to see who would come out of the cat.

The car parked right in front of the house and the front door opened, and that’s when he saw the least person he expected to see.

Rico came out of the driver’s side, followed by Ezra from the passenger’s side.

He narrowed his eyes at them, waiting for them to wall up to him.

"Good morning, Rico, what brings you here? Hi, Doc," He greeted as they met him.

"Hey, young man, it’s good to see you without a bleeding arm," Rixo patted Zeno’s shoulder.

Zeno smiled and nodded at the man.

Ezra went close to Zeno, "He wants to meet Sebastian for a few discussions regarding the club," He held Zeno’s arm, "How’s your arm?"

"It’s fine, thank you for asking," Sebastian replied as he opened the door and drew Zeno to himself.

Ezra sighed, "Chill, Sebastian, I’m asking as a doctor, nothing else," He said.

Sebastian simply held Zeno’s hand and led him inside the house.

"Suck it up, Son, you’ll find someone soon," Rico patted Ezra’s shoulder, walked past him and entered the house.

Ezra shook his head and followed them in; maybe it was time he really found someone; he couldn’t stand watching Sebastian rubbing it on his face every single opportunity he got.

Inside the house, Sebastian didn’t feel like going into his office so he made them sit around the dining.

"What’s the problem, Rico? I thought you made me believe you had everything under control?" Sebastian questioned.

He was sitting beside Zeno and the discussion suddenly made Zeno realize that he hadn’t asked Sebastian why he didn’t tell him that he owned the boxing arena even after finding out that’s where he used to work.

Rico cleared his throat, "I did, but recently, I’ve had two of my boys leave the club, saying they got a better offer with this club," Rico slid a picture over to Sebastian on the table.

Sebastian picked up the picture and couldn’t recognize the building on it. It was a picture of a boxing club that was taken late in the evening, it had no name on it, and he hadn’t seen it before

"When did this happen?" He questioned, sliding the picture over to Zeno.

"The boys left three days ago, and I got this picture from one of them last night when I asked him to show me where he works now," Rico explained.

"I believe you’ve not seen it too?" Sebastian frowned.

He already had enough on his plate; fighting a rival wasn’t what he wanted to do now; three of his guys were a lot. If he remained quiet, he’d lose more, and he didn’t want that.

"No, I don’t," Rico replied.

"It’s fine; we’ll get in touch with the three guys and send someone over to check the place out; we need to know who runs it," Sebastian informed.

"Um, I think this picture might be a clue, Seb," Zeno, who had been staring at the picture, suddenly spoke up, placing his hand on Sebastian’s thigh.

"What did you find out?" Sebastian asked, placing a hand over Zeno’s on his thigh.

Ezra saw their hands and sighed; he rolled his eyes at them; he wasn’t sure if they were here to find a solution or to watch the couple flirt with each other; he forced his eyes away from them and concentrated on the picture.

"Yeah, here, look," Zeno pointed at a small sign beside the entrance door of the building.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed, "How did I miss that?" Je asked quietly.

"It’s the barcode sign; I don’t think this is a coincidence; it could be the same people, and the three guys might just lead us to the main guy," Zeno explained.

Sebastian nodded, looking at Zeno, he felt proud to have him beside him. "Want to go for an adventure?" He asked.

Zeno smiled and nodded, "Eager," Zeno replied.

 

Chapter 106

They were standing in front of Sebastian’s house, waiting for Andre to bring the car over.

Ezra had been thinking deeply since Sebastian asked Zeno to follow him for an adventure. He didn’t think it was safe.

"Dad, you go, I’ll go with them," Ezra said to Rico.

Rico frowned, he looked at Ezra with a confused stare, "You’re going with them? For what? You don’t know the first thing about self-defense. Are you planning to get killed today?" He asked.

Ezra sighed. "You underestimate me, Dad, just go, I think I’ll be of help to them today," He said.

Rico told him for some time, "My humble opinion?"

"No, Dad, just-"

"He can come with us, it’s not as if we’re going to fight, right?" Zeno asked Sebastian.

Sebastian shrugged, "He’ll find out,"

The gate suddenly opened, and Nicholas’car drove into the compound, drawing their attention; they watched as the car parked beside Rico’s car.

Nicholas came down and opened the door for someone.

Zeno was surprised to see Florence come out of the car and Meyer too, he had already forgotten that Sebastian mentioned they’d be coming today.

"Hey, cousin! Long time no see!" Florence excitedly ran up the stairs, hugging Sebastian who didn’t look ready to hug her back.

"The weather’s quite hit, Florence, step away from me," Sebastian said in a bored tone.

Florence pouted and moved away from him.

"Hi, Ezra, Mr. Rico, you’re looking handsome as always, got a date yet?" She asked the old man with a wink.

Rico chuckled, shaking his head, "Not yet, Florence; I can’t get in a relationship before my son; it would be impolite, right, son?" He asked Ezra.

Ezra ignored his father’s indirect insult and went over to Meyer. "Hello, Meyer, been a long time," He shook the tall man.

Meyer nodded, "It has," He walked past Ezra and met Sebastian, "Boss," He bowed his head.

Sebastian simply nodded at him, not saying a word.

Zeno has been quiet. He was surprised by the way Florence and Meyer were happily interacting with Sebastian.

Were they not the same people who begged him to ac elt their money and kill Sebastian just because of some family feud? She even planted a chip in his clothes, which hasn’t even been settled between him and Sebastian.

He was confused; he’d find time to speak to Sebastian about how two-faced Florence was; now that they were dating, he couldn’t hide something like that from him.

The sound of Andre driving the car over was heard. He parked the car near the gate, waiting for Sebastian and Zeno to enter the car.

"It’s time to leave," Sebastian announced.

Florence suddenly came and stood in front of Sebastian, blocking his path.

"What’s going on?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You..." She paused and looked over at Zeno.

Zeno removed his eyes from her. He didn’t want to communicate with her.

Sebastian frowned, "What is it, Florence?" He asked.

Florence went and stood in front of Zeno.

"You said you hated him. You always called me and told me how you hated your bodyguard and how you can’t wait to get rid of him -"

"Florence," Sebastian called in a warning tone. He knew what she was about to say, and she knew that Zeno wouldn’t like it even though it was in the past.

However, Florence continued, not listening to him.

"You even asked me to set him up. Remember that time you brought him to your hotel and asked us to bribe him and see if he was genuine or not?" She turned to Sebastian and smiled.

"You never really said anything after I told you he was genuine," She chuckled.

Zeno frowned, slowly turning his head to Sebastian.

Sebastian saw Zeno’s disappointed look and sighed. How can one kill a family member without going to jail?

"He asked you to paint the chip, too?" Zeno slowly questioned.

Florence looked guilty, she looked from Sebastian to Zeno, scratching the side of her neck, "Umm, no, he didn’t, in just did that to see if you would really spy on him and get back to me later, but hey, you didn’t, and you two look quite close now, am I right, cousin?" She smiled at Sebastian.

Sebastian ignored her and looked over at Zeno. As expected, he wasn’t looking happy.

He moved back up the stairs and went to say something to him, but Zeno moved swiftly and went over to Nicholas, who had been quietly observing the whole scene.

Florence’s words made Nicholas realize he wasn’t alone in his thoughts. He wasn’t the only one who thought that Sebastian was being too soft toward his bodyguard.

"Can I ride with you?" Zeno asked Nicholas.

Nicholas cleared his throat and looked at Zeno, "Sure, Florence can ride with his cousin," Nicholas said and opened the door front door for Zeno to enter.

Sebastian helplessly stared at his sulking boyfriend as he entered someone else’s car.

"You can take the back seat, Meyer," Nicholas said to The tall guy.

Meyer simply nodded and went back into the car.

Rico suddenly thought of something and went over to Ezra who was standing in front of Nicholas’ car.

"Nick, you’re single, right?" He asked out of the blue causing Ezra to snap his head to his father.

Nicholas frowned, he blinked in confusion and answered anyway, "Yes, Mr. Rico," He was curious to know what the man wanted to say to him.

"Ah, awesome, then you can date my son, he’s been single for so long," Rico suggested with a smirk.

"No way!" Ezra and Rico replied at the same time.

They both had a disgusted look on their faces.

Rico didn’t look phased, he simply tapped Ezra’s and Nicholas’ shoulders, "We’ll see about that," he said before walking away and entering his car.

Nicholas and Ezra, who hadn’t said a word to each other, spared each other a shirt glance before looking away again.

They were both Sebastian’s friends, but that didn’t mean they also had to be friends.

"Ezra, you can join my car," Sebastian called from beside his car, his eyes looking at Zeno’s window.

Ezra sighed, he glanced at Nicholas one last time before walking over to Sebastian.

It was no secret to everyone present, except Zeno and Andre of course, that Ezra and Nicholas had a fallout in college.

Ezra may or may not have gone ahead to date the person Nicholas liked, even after he had confessed to him that he liked that person. After that, they had a huge fight and that was the end of their friendship.

Even after many years, Nicholas still held resentment over Ezra for that single act.

Zeno wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening, all his thoughts were on what Florence had just said to him.

So Sebastian was accusing him of being a spy whereby he was the one who set him up all this while.

He felt so stupid; he spent his days trying to prove to Sebastian that he wasn’t a spy while Sebastian tried his best to make him look like one.

As the cars drove out of the compound, Zeno took out his phone and texted Sebastian.

"I’m not happy,"

He sent it and turned off his screen, facing the road.

His phone started to vibrate with a call, but he didn’t answer it; it stopped, and a series of messages followed, yet he still didn’t check his phone.

He wanted Sebastian to understand that he wasn’t happy.

"Are you not going to answer your phone?" Nicholas asked as he turned a corner and kept driving.

Zeno shook his head, "It’s just spam," He replied.

Nicholas bit his lips and nodded, not saying anything. Something told him that Zeno didn’t want to talk about it. He knew it wasn’t spam, but he won’t push it.

Nicholas recurved a calm from Sebastian, he answered it and put it on speaker.

Zeno was quiet as he heard Sebastian’s voice telling Nicholas the distance to park his car from the house they were going to.

"I got you, bye," Nicholas replied and ended the call.

"Ida and Jasper are already there; we just need to park somewhere safe and observe; Sebastian will head in when it’s necessary," Nicholas informed.

Zeno hummed, his mind going back to his thoughts.

In Sebastian’s car, Ezra sat with Sebastian at the back while Florence and Andre sat in front.

Ezra looked at Sebastian and raised a brow at him, "You know, his silence is given; you were such a monster back then; I mean, who would have thought you’d fall for him?" He smirked.

Florence suddenly twisted her upper body to look behind the car, "I’m sorry, what?!" She shouted.

Andre winced from how loud Florence’s voice was. He knew she was shocked; her reaction was even softer than how he screamed in his head when he found out about his boss and Zeno.

"Yeah, I know, it’s shocking, but you’re stoic cousin over here is deeply and irrevocably in love with his bodyguard whom he hated before," Ezra explained to Florence.

"Sebastian Orion, tell me it’s a lie! Do you know what your father would do?!" She asked, looking mortified, she was happy for him but she felt sorry for him at the same time.

She knew Sebastian’s relationship was going to be hard; he was going to try his best to protect his poor bodyguard; there was no way in hell Mr. Orion was going to let his son date a man. He’d kill Zeno the moment he found out about them.

"That’s the main reason why you’re going to keep your mouth shut about it, Florence," Sebastian said as the car parked beside a shady-looking building.

He gave Florence a dead glare before he pushed the door and walked out of the car

"Of course, no spilling the tea," She muttered and sighed, looking petrified.

Ezra shouldn’t have told her; everyone in the family knew she had a big mouth, so how was she supposed to keep such a juicy gist to herself? She hoped she wouldn’t end up getting killed by Sebastian.

 

 

Chapter 107

Zeno watched as the car came to a stop behind Sebastian’s car, he knew they had gotten to their destination.

"We just gave to stay here and observe," Nicholas said to Zeno.

Zeno simply nodded, quietly looking out of the window.

Meyer opened the car and left; he walked over to Sebastian, and Zeno kept watching from the window.

Sebastian’s eyes caught him from the side mirror, and he removed his eyes from him.

Sebastian stood in front of him and pointed his hand in the opposite direction.

"The house is over there; Darren will come from the other side so he won’t see us; a few official agents are already hiding away inside the house; they would wait to capture all the evidence before they arrest him. I don’t have almost the time to water here, so, Andre, ask Ida to give Darren a call and tell him that he’s ready to meet him. Florence, Meyer, you both go stand with Ida; you’re his; what’s it called?" He raised a brow at Meyer.

"His associates?" Meyer provided.

"Whatever, just go," Sebastian ordered.

"Yes, boss," Meyer replied and walked away with Florence.

"Darren is not worth my time, I’ll leave him to the boys," Sebastian leaned against his car, checking his phone.

"Hey, I wanted to ask..." Ezra leaned beside Sebastian.

Sebastian gave him a short look and looked back at his phone, "What?"

Ezra sighed. "I don’t mean to intrude, but, the club you plan on heading to after here, I don’t think it’s safe for you and Zeno to walk in there and directly ask for their boss, I mean, they’ve openly targeted you, shot Zeno and are obviously out to drag down your business. I know you’re strong, you’ve got back up and all, but I don’t recommend delivering yourself or your boyfriend to whoever those people are," He advised.

Sebastian was quietly reasoning what Ezra had said, it made a lot of sense, but he was still trying to figure out the face behind the barcode sigh, whoever they were, they had proved to be dangerous, and walking himself to them would be very stupid, still, he was still going to check out the club, mot juts him or Zeno.

He needed someone who wasn’t known to be affiliated with the underworld dealings, someone like Ezra.

He turned to Ezra and stared at him, thinking of how to ask him.

Ezra saw Sebastian staring at him and smiled, "I know that look, but you don’t have to worry, that’s why I came...my Job was been quite tiring and boring lately; I need some spice," He winked at Sebastian.

Sebastian chuckled; he knew Ezra still had his wild side to him; it was for the sake of his profession that Ezra put on the needy good boy clothing. Ezra had been in the streets, and he knew his onions.

"You sure you can do that?" Sebastian asked to be sure he wasn’t forcing his friend to enter an enemy’s den.

"I’m sure, what’s there? You just need me to question the three guys, right?" Ezra asked.

Sebastian nodded, "Yeah, and any other person who’s willing to speak to you," He added.

Ezra nodded, "Easy easy," He smiled.

Sebastian nodded and leaned away from the car, heading toward Nicholas’ car.

Ezra sighed and followed him, he knew Sebastian wasn’t going to be able to keep his distance from Zeno.

From the car, Nicholas saw Sebastian walking toward them and said to Zeno, "Maybe we should step out; they’re heading this way?" He said and unlocked the car.

Zeno looked and saw Sebastian truly heading his way, he didn’t want to speak to him yet, so he quickly got out of the car and walked to the other side so that Sebastian couldn’t speak to him.

"Hey, everything going smoothly in there?" Nicholas asked Sebastian.

Sebastian nodded, "Ida just sent a text; Darren had just arrived; it’ll be over soon," He replied, looking over at the other side of the car at Zeno, who was leaning against the passenger’s door.

"Awesome, I want to leave trust place already; it’s quiet and lonely; I wonder how it’ll be at night," Nicholas frowned.

"You can stick around to find out," Sebastian tapped his shoulder and walked away when a call came into his phone.

Nicholas scoffed, "No, thanks," He muttered.

He suddenly noticed Ezra coming towards him and quickly wore an icy expression on his face, he didn’t want Ezra to speak to him.

Ezra simply stood beside Nicholas, not saying a word. He stared at the building Darren had entered and wondered what was really going on in there.

Zeno watched Sebastian speak to someone over the phone; he watched him from the moment he answered the call to the moment he hung up. He quickly looked away as Sebastian turned to him.

He remained in his position as Sebastian walked up to him, it would be too petty of him to walk away.

Ezra saw Sebastian walking over to Zeno and decided to speak to Nicholas.

"Hey," Ezra turned his head to Nicholas.

Nicholas frowned and slowly looked at Ezra, "What?" He questioned.

Ezra moved closer and asked in a low voice, "You like Zeno, too?" He smirked at him.

Nicholas didn’t understand why Ezra was suddenly asking him such a random question but he replied anyway. "Yes, why?"

Ezra nodded his head to the other side of the car where Zeno was standing. "Then maybe it’s time you see this," He said.

"I don’t know why I have to be the one to tell everyone," Ezra muttered.

Nicholas didn’t like Ezra’s tone, but he still turned his head to look at Zeno; he was curious to know what Ezra was talking about.

He saw Sebastian walking toward Zeno and fully turned his body so he could stare at them.

Ezra knew that Nicholas was about to face heartbreak. He could already see the look of sad look on his face, but he just shrugged and minded his business; he’d faced his alone, and Nicholas would be fine.

Sebastian reached Zeno’s side and stood beside him. He leaned beside, his hand moved over to Zeno’s side and held his hand.

Zeno refused, looking around him; he kept looking ahead, finding a tree that was standing at a distance to be quite interesting at the moment.

"Hey," Sebastian spoke gently.

Zeno sighed, he glanced at Sebastian and removed gus eyes again. "You framed me, made me look like a bad person. You even made me suffer for things I didn’t do," His voice was quiet.

He tried to remove his hand from Sebastian’s but Sebastian held it tightly.

"Don’t go... Zeno, I know I was wrong; all my past actions towards you are unforgivable, and I understand if you can never forgive me even though I really want you to, but that’s okay; you can be mad at me for however long you want. Just..don’t keep your distance from me, you know that’s my biggest weakness. Please?" He moved closer to Zeno, the hand that was holding Zeno’s hand now came up to his waist.

Zeno bit his lips, slowly nodding; he didn’t want to keep the distance either; he knew Sebastian was facing a lot at the moment, and it would be insensitive of him to be one of them.

Sebastian saw Zeno nod and smiled, "Does this mean you forgive me?" He whispered beside Zeno’s ear.

Zeno leaned his face away and nodded, "Yes, but don’t get too comfortable just yet bro," He said.

Zeno blinked as he saw Sebastian standing in front of him in the blink of an eye, his hands beside his head on the car.

Sebastian’s face was serious as he stared down at Zeno, his eyes narrowing. "Just to be clear, Baby girl, what did you call me?" His voice was low and dangerous.

Zeno refused to speak, he shook his head and paced a hand on Sebastian’s chest.

Sebastian put a finger under Zeno’s chin and raised his face, "I’m in no way your brother, baby girl..." He paused and put his mouth on Zeno’s ear, "Brothers don’t put each other’s cock in their mouth,"

"Sebastian!" Zeno whisper-yelled, but Sebastian wasn’t phased.

Sebastian brought his lips close to Zeno’s and continued, "Brothers, don’t fuck, Zeno...and they don’t do this either," He covered his lips over Zeno’s, kissing him openly.

He didn’t care who was watching, in fact, he wanted Nicholas to see it so he knew there was no more room for his unnecessary flirting with Zeno.

The moment Sebastian kissed Zeno, Nicholas turned away from them, balled his fists, and clenched his jaws.

He had already guessed what was going on from the moment Sebastian met Zeno, but he had wanted to confirm if his instincts were real; alas, they were.

He was heartbroken, and that wasn’t even the worst part; he felt stupid and used; why did Zeno ever lead him on if he already had someone he liked, and that someone happened to be Sebastian? Out of all the men in the world, it had to be Sebastian.

"Suck it up, Nick, Life happens," Ezra suddenly said beside him and walked away, heading back to Sebastian’s car.

 

 

Chapter 108

Nicholas was devastated, he didn’t bother looking back at Zeno or Sebastian. He remained there, looking ahead and waiting for when they would leave.

"Sebastian!" Ezra’s suddenly called from where Sebastian parked his car.

Sebastian looked at him with a frown.

"What’s that?" Ezra asked, pointing up at the house they were watching.

"Fuck!" Sebastian was swift to open the car and push Zeno in, closing it immediately.

"Get in the car, Ezra, that’s a fucking sniper!" He shouted.

Ezra’s eyes widened, his heart accelerating as his blood pumped from fear and excitement.

Ezra almost obeyed but he suddenly saw Nicholas walking aimlessly toward him as if he was deaf and didn’t hear what Sebastian had said.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake!" He ran towards Nicholas and grabbed his hand.

"Get your fucking hands off me!" Nicholas pushed Ezra away.

Ezra stumbled back and almost fell, but he stood his ground; he saw Sebastian running toward the building, his gun out and ready to shoot, which left him and Nicholas as targets to whoever the sniper was.

"Stop being a donkey and fucking follow me!" Ezra went and dragged Nicholas forcefully.

Nicholas was about to retort when a shot was fired right beside his leg, missing it with less than an inch.

"Shit!" Nicholas cursed.

"Yeah, shit, now, fucking move!" Ezra dragged him and ran toward Sebastian’s car.

They entered the back and lay low.

The good feature about their cars was that they were bulletproof, so they were quite safe inside the car.

"Fucking get off me," Nicholas pushed Ezra away from his side, crawling over to the front seat to sit alone.

Ezra sighed, "You’re welcome, Nick," He scoffed.

This wasn’t what he was expecting when he decided to follow Sebastian for some adventure; he had thought he’d just stand aside and watch the culprit get arrested; he never thought he’d become a target himself.

He looked at Nicholas in front and sighed, the guy looked like his cat died.

Nicholas frowned when he heard Ezra’s light chuckle, he snapped his head behind him and glared at him, "If you can at least be quiet, everyone’s not in a high spirit as you are," He spoke angrily.

Ezra did not respond; he simply turned away from Nicholas and looked out of the window. "You’ll get over it, it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve had someone you like taken away from you - hey!" He suddenly pointed at Nicholas who swiftly twisted his upper body and was almost reaching for Ezra.

Ezra held Nicholas’ hand, pointing at his face, "Wait, just hold on, we’re not kids anymore, fighting isn’t something men of our age and status should be seen doing. So, gently, back off, and sit down like a civilized man," He tapped Nicholas’ shoulders, nodding and encouragingly me at him.

Nicholas scowled at him, "Then you should speak and act like one," He slapped Ezra’s hand away and went back to his seat.

Ezra sighed, "Was just saying," He muttered.

"This isn’t something a refined doctor like myself should be doing, it’s below me," He kept muttering, adjusting his shirt.

Nicholas just ignored him, looking out the window to see what was happening in the building.

Two paramedic vehicles were now parked in front of the building, and police vehicles were pulling up beside it, too.

Sebastian walked out of the building, Andre limping beside him as the paramedics hurried to help Andre get inside their vehicle.

A few of Sebastian’s men walked out of the building, dragging an unconscious and bleeding man out with them.

"That’s Darren," Ezra provided from behind.

Nicholas ignored him, looking ahead.

In front of the building, Florence and Meyer stood with a seven-year-old girl, holding her hands protectively.

"This is the address to his orphanage; you’ll find a lot more children there," Sebastian gave a card to a policeman.

"Thank you, Mr. Orion, you’ve been of great help in fighting crime in the country," The policeman appreciated.

"It just goes to show that you guys aren’t doing your jobs well," Sebastian tapped the policeman’s shoulder and walked over to the paramedics.

"You okay?" He asked Andre who was getting his thigh treated.

In the course of the short attack, Darren had managed to shoot Andre’s thigh, causing Sebastian to pay him back with interest.

"I’m good, boss, it’s just a graze," He nodded.

"Alright," Sebastian nodded and turned away from him.

He was surprised to see Zeno walking toward them. He moved quickly and met Zeno, "Why did you leave the car?" He asked.

Zeno was looking behind him, his eyes focused on Darren’s unconscious body lying on the floor, unattended even though there were enough paramedics to treat him.

"I saw you guys coming out and I knew everything must have settled, so...I’m just curious and want to see. What happened to him?" Zeno pointed at Darren.

Sebastian shrugged and held Zeno’s hand, leading toward the building.

"Nothing serious, I just happened to shoot his knees," Sebastian replied as if he was talking about the weather.

Zeno raised a brow at him. "So he’s not going to jail anymore?"

"Who said so? One can also be bedridden in jail; it’s not bad as raping a kid, is it?" Sebastian questioned, frowning down at Darren’s body.

Zeno knew Darren deserved what he got, but still, this was another example of who Sebastian really was, merciless and above the law.

Who gets away with shooting someone in front of the police? Only Sebastian Orion.

"Sebastian," Florence called, walking over with the kid.

"Hmm?" Sebastian answered, putting his hand around Zeno’s waist.

"Um, this kid, can I keep her?" Florence asked, blinking up at Sebastian.

Sebastian frowned at her, "What?" He looked at her as if she wasn’t okay.

"Well, I know it’s a lot of paperwork, but I’ll do it; just look at her; she’s so adorable, please. Come on, brother-in-law, speak to your husband, he’ll listen better," Florence tugged Zeno’s hand.

Zeno’s face turned red instantly; he looked mortified as he stared at Florence and his unfiltered mouth.

"Just do what you want, Florence, I’m not going to help you out. Come on," Sebastian turned Zeno away and walked toward Idaband Jasper, who was speaking to the policemen.

"Are you alright?" He asked Zeno as they walked.

Zeno nodded, "Um, yeah,"

Sebastian nodded; he knew Florence’s words left Zeno flustered, and he didn’t want to bring it up again even though he, too, was flustered; he wasn’t actually repulsed by that idea, but baby steps first.

"Mr. Orion, we were just speaking to your men about how we want to close down the orphanage," One of the policemen said to Sebastian.

Sebastian looked at Ida and Jasper, "And when were you both planning to tell me?" He asked his men.

"I had already asked him to come to you, boss," Hapser replied.

Sebastian nodded, "The orphanage will run, officer, but as a proper orphanage this time, the children do need homes, no need to shut it down," He informed.

The officer sighed, "Understood, Mr. Sebastian, we shall supervise the development," The policeman nodded at Sebastian and walked away.

The paramedics finally lifted Darren into their car and drove off.

"Good job, guys," Sebastian said to his men who were standing in front of the building.

They bowed to him as he walked past them, holding Zeno’s hand.

"We’re heading somewhere, Ida, follow," Sebastian instructed.

Since Andre was hurt, he needed Ida to drive the car.

"I’m leaving," Nicholas said and pushed the door open when he saw Sebastian walking back to his car.

"Hey, wait, are you sure it’s safe yet?" Ezra grabbed Nicholas’ arm and pulled him back into the car.

"Fuck off," Nicholas punched Ezra beside the lips, making his hold on him weaken.

"Damn!" Ezra cupped his lips, watching Nicholas walk away from him.

"Should have just listened to Dad; I would be treating a dying patient now; they wouldn’t have the time to punch me because they’d be too busy fighting for their lives," He angrily mumbled as he left the car.

Humans were so ungrateful, he got punched just for trying to make sure someone was safe.

"Hey, are you alright, where’s Ezra?" Sebastian asked Nicholas, who met them in front of his car.

"I’m perfect, Sebastian," He shoved him out of the way and got into his car.

Zeno, who was standing beside Sebastian, felt awful; he knew he was the reason why Nicholas was acting that way. He had hurt him, and he wished he had told him about his relationship in a more subtle way, but he still believed that it wouldn’t matter; he would still get hurt in the end.

"Don’t worry, he’ll come around, come on, we have one more place to visit. Ida," Sebastian threw his car key at Ida, who caught it immediately.

They walked over to Sebastian’s car, meeting Ezra halfway. "Done?" He asked Sebastian.

"Yeah, you’re riding with Nicholas; try not to get on his nerves; he’s quite touchy," Sebastian informed.

"Tell me about it," Ezra scoffed.

Sebastian knew that Ezra and Nicholas’ relationship was very strained; it’s safe to say that both of them hated each other to the extent of wishing to run the other over with a car each time they saw each other.

"Good luck, man," Sebastian gave E,ra a thumbs-up as he reluctantly walked over to Nicholas’ car.

 

 

Chapter 109

"Boss, do I park in front of the club or this distance is fine?" Ida asked as they reached the rival’s boxing club.

Sebastian looked ahead and saw a few security men walking outside the club.

"Here is fine, we don’t want to get acquainted yet," He reasoned.

Zeno frowned.

"I thought we were going in?" Zeno questioned, staring at Sebastian beside him.

Sebastian nodded, "Yeah, but you don’t have to; it’s dangerous since we don’t know who we’re up against yet," He told Zeno, gently tapping his thigh.

Ida kept his face straight, wishing Cody was here with him, too. He hadn’t had time to reply to any of his numerous texts, and Cody was possessive like that, always texting or calling any minute he was out of sight. But he loved him that way, he wasn’t complaining.

"So, what’s next? Are we just going to sit here and hope their leaders appear?" Zeno raised his brows sarcastically at Sebastian.

"Don’t be sarcastic with me," Sebastian pinched Zeno’s inner thigh, causing him to gasp.

"Ouch?" Zeno glared at Sebastian, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Sebastian started to massage the place he pinched to ease off the pain, "Sorry," He smiled, "Ezra’s going in," he informed.

Zeno paused; he looked at Sebastian for a long time before speaking, "You mean you’re sending your Doctor, needy friend, into a criminal’s boxing club for free?" He asked slowly, moving his face close to Sebastian’s to actually check if he was being serious.

Sebastian nodded, "Yes, baby, that’s what I mean, sending him in to get his ass beaten...you think I don’t know of his feelings for you?" He smirked at Zeno.

Zeno parted his lips in disbelief; firstly, he didn’t know how Sebastian got to know him. He wasn’t there at the club the day Rico forced Ezra to talk about his feelings, and Ezra never showed that he had feelings for him, so how did Sebastian know.

"Close your mouth, flies might go in," Sebastian was smiling as he pushed Zeno’s lower jaw up, shutting his parted lips.

"You’re that petty? How did you find out?" Zeno asked.

"He told me, stupid of him, now he’s going to pay with his life," Sebastian gave Zeno a sinister look.

Zeno was conflicted, he didn’t want Ezra to get hurt for being honest.

"Come on, Seb, don’t be like this, Ezra’s your friend and-"

"Chill, baby girl, I’m kidding. What do you take me for, a monster?" Sebastian smiled at Zeno.

Zeno slowly shook his head, making Sebastian smile as he thought that Zeno must see him as an angel.

"Worse...you’re worse than a monster," Zeno replied, smirking as the smile fell from Sebastian’s face.

However, Sebastian suddenly moved close to Zeno, drawing him by his waist, "Then you’re trapped with a monster, what do you say? Your entire life?" He whispered close to Zeno’s face.

"I can handle you, Seb," Zeno replied in a whispery tone.

The car suddenly honked, followed by Ida’s apology.

"I’m sorry, boss, my hand slipped," He lied.

Ida had been watching them through the front mirror and when he saw their face getting too close and their words getting too personal, he quickly wanted to raise his hand and move the mirror away from them when his hand hit the steering and hooked loudly.

Sebastian ignored him; he knew he was lying, and the look on Zeno’s face told him he also thought the same.

"Enough," Zeno mouthed and moved away to the other side of the car.

"For now," Sebastian replied.

Sebastian took out his phone to call Ezra; Nicholas was taking a little time to arrive; he wanted to know if they’d ended up killing each other or getting into an accident when fighting inside the car; anything was possible with those two.

Zeno was eagerly listening for when the call would be answered when his own phone vibrated with a message.

He raised his phone to see who was texting him and frowned, a deep angry frown.

It was Sakura.

"Mr. Orion will be visiting his grandson tomorrow; he expects me to be there, find a way to make Sebastian allow me to visit you...as a ’Friend.’ Good luck!"

Zeno sighed; he was reminded of his betrayal of Sebastian. He slowly looked over at Sebastian, he was unaware of what was happening. Sebastian trusted Zeno yet Zeno wasn’t man enough to stand up for him behind him.

"Fuck this," Zeno muttered.

"Everything alright, Zeno?" Sebastian immediately asked the moment he heard Zeno’s quiet curse.

Zeno smiled at him, "Yeah, sorry," He replied and deleted Sakura’s message from his phone.

He wouldn’t want Sebastian to find such an unexplainable context in his phone.

Zeno suddenly decided that he wasn’t going to keep doing this anymore, he would find a way to talk to Sebastian about everything tomorrow, he couldn’t keep lying to the person he loved, he knew how hurt he would be if the tables were turned, he didn’t want something like that to be done to him so he shouldn’t be doing it to someone else.

He sighed and rested his head on the window, thinking about how he was going to tell Sebastian everything without losing his relationship, the only relationship he’d ever felt loved.

***

Ezra was watching Nicholas driving slowly toward the direction Sebastian had given them.

He saw how tight he held the steering wheel; his face was set hard, and his jaws clenched. He was probably thinking of Zeno, and Ezra had had enough of his sulking.

"Pull over," Ezra suddenly ordered beside Nicholas.

Nicholas frowned, "What the fuck are you talking about?" Nicholas asked, not stopping the car.

Ezra sighed; he tapped his feet impatiently, contemplating if he should just lean over and tune the damn car or let the stubborn adult have his way.

He took a deep breath, recalling what he had said earlier about them being adults now and should act as one. He wanted to set the example of how adults should act, hoping Nicholas’ dull brain would follow up quickly.

"Listen, Nick, I need you to either move this car faster or pull it over. Sebastian must be waiting for me right now, and I don’t want to keep him waiting for long. You and I know that that pace isn’t safe for them. So, suck your shit up and get us moving; you can go home later and have a nice quiet discussion with your pillow; it’s probably the only thing that’ll listen to your story," He said quietly and slowly, making sure he didn’t mumble any of his words.

Nicholas scoffed softly, "Are you done?" He questioned, the car was still moving at the same pace.

Ezra inhaled another breath; this time, it was longer and deeper. He was a very meticulous person, and if things weren’t going as he wanted them to, it messed up with his mind. He didn’t like being disoriented, and that’s what Nicholas was doing, he was disorienting him.

"Take as much breathe as you need, Doc, because this car isn’t about to move faster than this, neither is it going to pull over. Suck it up, life happens, Doc," Nicholas smirked as he used Ezra’s words back at him.

Ezra went quiet; this right here was the reason why he hated being close to Nicholas; the guy was stubborn as a donkey, petty like a three-year-old toddler, and annoying as a monkey.

If anyone ever wanted to spoil his mood or day, just keep him with Nicholas and the mission would be a hundred percent completed.

Ezra remained quiet until they finally reached their destination.

"Thanks for the ride, Nick; you can leave right away; I’d rather walk back than ride with you again," Ezra said bitterly as he pushed the car open and left with a big frown.

Nicholas chuckled, "I Reay hope you don’t make it out, Doc," He replied.

Ezra mumbled a curse and walked over to Sebastian’s car.

He reached it and knocked on the glass, alerting them of his presence. The glass winds down to reveal Zeno’s face.

"Hi, Zeno," Ezra greeted with a smile.

"You’re quite early," Sebastian’s sarcastic comment made Zeno chuckle quietly.

He knew Sebastian was pissed, he’s been calling Ezra for thirty minutes.

"I know, man, the driver was quite speedy, I almost thought we were flying," Ezra retorted.

Sebastian scoffed, "Just go already, and be careful. Ask of...Ida, what’s their names?" He turned to Ida in front.

"Jean, Bryan, and Pole," Ida provided.

"Got it. You remain here till I’m out, okay? No bailing," Ezra pointed at Sebastian.

"No promises," Sebastian replied.

Ezra nodded, "That sounds good," He rolled his eyes and started walking toward the building

Nicholas watched from his car, he saw Ezra walking confidently toward a lion’s den and shook his head, "Stupid," He muttered.

He was about to remove his eyes when he saw a familiar face speaking to Ezra but before he could make out who it was, the person was gone.

He hoped he had been mistaken because if he hadn’t, it meant that something was very wrong if that person was Sebastian’s rival.

 

 

Chapter 110

Ezra walked toward the club and was met by an average man. He looked quite harmless, but Ezra knew he should be careful.

"Good evening, young man, here for the show or something else?" The man asked.

Ezra quickly did a quick check in his head to choose the right answer to give the man.

"Hi, I’m Doctor Ezra, I’m here to see if the club is hiring a doctor," He replied calmly.

The man subtly checked around him to see if anyone was with him; when he saw nobody and no cars, he slowly nodded at Ezra.

"Hi, I’m Baron, the manager, come on in. We’re actually in need of a doctor," offered Ezra a handshake.

Ezra reluctantly shook hands with Baron and followed him into the club.

"It’s a new club, everything is slowly coming together, and I was just about sourcing for a doctor; this way, please," Baron led Ezra through a quiet hall.

The hall was brightly lit and at the center of it was a very large square boxing ring. The sitting arena was far from the ring, but not far for people not to see the match.

They walked past the hall and were now inside a long, small passage; the width was just enough to fit two people going in opposite directions if they slanted their bodies.

Ezra was slowly walking behind, hoping he made the right decision by coming in here in place of Sebastian; he would hate for Nicholas to be right.

He followed Baron into an office, till now, he hadn’t seen anything that would prove that this person wasn’t just a normal businessman. Everything looked normal, too normal.

Ezra knew better; the likes of men who run this place tend to cloud their real underworld business using normal businesses to make people believe they were legit.

He thought he was going to see the main boss as he entered the office, but he was disappointed when he found an empty office.

"Sit down, Doc," Baron pointed Ezra to a chair and walked around the table to sit down.

Ezra nodded and sat down; his eyes slowly went round the room, looking for anything that might be a clue for Sebastian, but he found nothing, just the usual office setting.

"I’m sorry, the boss is not in today, you have to fill out this form and I’ll send it to him afterward, we’ll get back to you through an email to let you know if the qualifications you provided in the form met our standards," Baron shifted a white sheet to Ezra, dropping a pen beside it.

Ezra smiled, "I understand," He replied and picked up the pen.

He quickly filled in the form and returned it to Baron.

"Please, sign here," Baron pointed out the small line at the lower left corner Ezra had missed.

"Oh, missed that," Ezra smiled apologetically.

He hadn’t ’missed’ it. He had purposely left the space unsigned; he didn’t want to leave his signature with criminals, as they could easily trace him with it.

However, he couldn’t leave it empty with Baron’s staring at him. He decided to use a fake signature.

Ezra scribbled whatever came to his mind and handed the paper back with a smile, "Here it is."

"Thank you, Doctor, we’ll keep in touch," Baron stood and offered a handshake.

Ezra stood, shaking him.

"I’ll just put this form in the inner office and I’ll be out to show you around, just a second," Baron took the form from the table and entered a door behind him.

Ezra had missed the door because it was just as grey as the wall.

The moment Baron went in, Ezra quickly looked around the room, but he couldn’t really find anything; he quickly returned to the side of the table where he was standing, and that’s when he saw something on the table.

He would have missed it because it was a small brown paper that almost seemed empty if you didn’t look closer. Ezra lowered his head and saw a QR code in the middle of the paper, and the barcode signs beside it.

He snapped his head to the door Baron had disappeared into and quickly brought out his phone.

He leaned down to the table and quickly clicked a few pictures of the code and sign. He heard the door slowly opening and immediately straightened up, pocketing his phone.

"Sorry, I was arranging some files in there, we can go now," Baron apologized.

Ezra blinked and shook his head, "That’s not a problem, you were quite fast," He smiled.

Baron nodded and led the way out of the office.

Ezra sighed in relief as he followed him out, he would have been in deep shit if Baron caught him taking a picture of the code and sign.

"I’ll take you to meet some of our men in the practice area; they’ll be having a match later tonight; you’re welcome to stay," Baron spoke as they walked back out of the passage.

"Oh, thank you, but I have worked at the hospital tonight; maybe some other time," Ezra politely declined.

There was no way he was staying here any longer than necessary. He was still walking with Baron because he believed that wherever the practice was, he’d find the guys he’d initially come to find.

Ezra walked through a sliding glass door and saw another boxing ring but this one had a people boxing inside it.

"Over there are our new recruits," Baron pointed at the guys boxing inside the ring.

Ezra immediately knew that those were his guys; there were supposed to be three, but maybe one wasn’t present at the moment.

"Good evening, Baron," A guy walked up to Baron and greeted him.

Baron turned to the guy and nodded, "Pole, this is Ezra; he might be joining us as a doctor. Ezra, this is Pole, our third recruit," He introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Doc," Pole offered Ezra a handshake.

Ezra gave him a firm shake and withdrew his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Pole," He nodded at the guy.

"Stay with him for a moment, I need to speak to Frank," Baron said and tapped Pole’s shoulder.

"Yes, Baron," Pole replied.

The moment Baron walked away from them, Pole turned to Ezra and fixed his green eyes on him.

"I know you, Doc," Pole said.

Ezra frowned. "Keep your voice down," He muttered and dragged Pole to a corner.

"Sorry, I didn’t know you were undercover," Pole smiled.

He was a charming guy, his facial features were striking, and his eyes were beautiful; maybe if Ezra wasn’t currently not looking for a relationship, he would have pursued something with Pole. But no, the mission of looking for a boyfriend was closed for now, so he turned down his boyfriend’s radar and focused on what he came here for.

He cleared his throat and said, "Don’t just act like you know me, Pole," he advised.

Seeing Pole now, he now raised that he’d seen the guy a few times in Sebastian’s club, just never spoken to him.

"Oh, I get it," Pole nodded.

"So, those are Jean and Bryan?" Ezra pointed to the boxing ring.

Pole slowly nodded, "Yes, we’re practicing for tonight. It’s just like we do at the old club; we fight every night to win money, and they bet here, too. Stying to watch?" He asked.

Ezra shook his head, "Look, I’m not here for any of those things. Your former boss is pissed, you guys betrayed him, and for what?" He raised a brow at Pole.

Pole frowned. "The pay, Doc. For some reason, the boss here promised to pay us ten times what we get at the old club, I mean, who would refuse such an offer?" He reasoned.

Ezra sighed, "And you don’t think it’s suspicious? It’s not as if you guys were the best at the old club, maybe you three were just the most gullible," He frowned.

Pole fixed his hand into his pockets, he stared at Ezra with an unreadable expression, "Gullible? Maybe we were, but not everyone was born with a silver spoon like you, Doc, so excuse us for trying to make our lives better," He said and turned to leave.

"What the fuck?" Ezra muttered and grabbed Pole’s arm.

"Wait, come back here, I’m not done," Ezra sighed tiredly.

Pole scoffed, "What? Do you want to judge more?" He questioned.

Ezra shook his head, "No, I’m sorry if I came across as rude. But I’m actually sent here by your boss, and I need your help; just answer a few of my questions, okay?" He asked cautiously.

Pole rolled his eyes and removed his hand from Ezra’s, "I know what you want to ask. No, I’ve not seen the boss of this club. No, I didn’t disclose any information about Mr. Sebastian when I was asked. No, there has been no suspicious activity going on here, just boxing and money," He shrugged.

Ezra slowly nodded; Pole had typically answered all his intended questions; there was nothing more to ask.

"So, is there more you want to know?" Pole questioned

Ezra was quiet until he suddenly thought of something. "Not really; just give me your number, and we’ll keep in touch," He said.

Pole eyed him and reluctantly took his phone. "So you empty me to be your snitch, right?" He asked, and he returned the phone back to Ezra.

"Technically, that’s how it is, but it’s not. You just need to communicate with me anytime you notice something odd. I don’t know the whole details but I can tell you that you’re not safe here for you either. Maybe you can come back and work for Sebastian," Ezra suggested.

Pole smiled, "Coming back? Will you pay me to do that?" He smirked, "And, don’t worry, I’m not as stupid as you think. I might have stopped working for Mr. Orion, but it doesn’t mean I’m now an enemy. I’ll look out for him and don’t worry, I’ll let you know once I find out who the boss is; they tend to keep that information a secret," He placed a hand on Ezra’s shoulder for a brief moment before he removed it.

"You don’t need to see the other; I’ll just let Bron know you’re good to go. Call me," Pole winked at Ezra before he walked away from him.

Ezra stood there, lost for a few seconds. Why did he feel like Pole was low-key flirting with him?