Ch. 61..70

Chapter 61

Sebastian was incredibly pissed that morning.

He had used the rest of the morning to work out, trying to see if he could tire out his

brain from imagining things he didn’t want to imagine.

He was at the gym when he saw Butler. Nicole walked in with Ken.

Ken was still in his cute pajamas, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands.

Sebastian frowned and dropped the bar he was lifting.

Why was Ken here?

"Good morning, Sir," Butler Nicole bowed his head in respect.

"Morning, Nicole," Sebastian replied, wiping his sweat with his towel.

He was looking at his son but his son refused to look at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Kenneth Orion," Sebastian greeted as he walked over to his son.

Ken was pouting, facing away from his father.

"I’m sorry, Boss. He said he wanted to spend his day with Zeno today. But I couldn’t find Zeno anywhere which resulted in him sulking," Butler. Nicole explained.

Sebastian gritted his teeth in anger.

Zeno was really trouble.

He really dared to live after everything he went through for him last night, the sleepless night, and all those shit.

11

Now, he was out having fun while he left him and his son alone and bored at home.

But why was he bored? Wasn’t this his life before Zeno? And his son never had a problem spending his day with the Butler,

Why was it a big deal now?

"Hey, Ken, how was your night?" Sebastian asked, it’s been long since he gave his son some fatherly attention.

Ken finally looked at him. "Fine. But my day is about to be bad," He huffed and folded his tiny hands on his chest.

Sebastian sighed, "Your day won’t be bad. I’m here with you, and Nicole is here too; we’d do whatever you want with you, just name it," He promised, drawing him closer by his small waist.

Ken shook his head, "I want Zeno." He stated.

Sebastian clenched his fists; this wasn’t good, why was his son that attached to Zeno?

He was one to talk, wasn’t Zeno the reason he was currently trying to tire himself out in the gym?

Zeno had really left an impact on them. How could they navigate their lives without him?

"Come on, son, I’m not that bad. Alright, for the day, I’ll let you eat whatever you want. Had breakfast?" Sebastian questioned.

"No, not hungry," Ken replied.

"We’ll see about that," Sebastian smirked at him and lifted him in his arms.

"No, Dad! You’re sweaty, put me down," Ken protested.

Sebastian clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Not happening, I’m going to make you see that your father is the best companion for you," He said and carried Ken toward the arboretum.

"Nicole," Sebastian called without turning.

"Yes, Sir," Butler Nicole answered.

"Ask Julia to make Ken his favorite meal and bring it down to the arboretum," Sebastian ordered.

"Yes, sir," Butler Nicole replied and turned to leave.

"Nicole," Sebastian called again.

Butler Nicole paused and immediately turned to answer, "Yes, Sir."

"Get Ida and Cody down here," He stated and walked into the arboretum.

"Here you are, young man, a day in a beautiful arboretum, with your father," Sebastian smiled as he placed Ken on a bench beneath a tree with red leaves.

Ken refused to smile, but he looked a little pleased. He looked around the whole place, and Sebastian saw a small smile appearing on his lips.

"What do you want to do?" Sebastian asked his son.

Ken was quiet. He stared around the area, silently deciding what he wanted to do.

"I want to learn how to fight like Zeno," He pointed his small hand to the punching bag that was hung on a tree.

Sebastian frowned.

Had Zeno been teaching his son how to fight secretly?

Who gave him that right?

Sebastian sighed. He knew teaching his son how to fight was a good thing, he was just looking for something to get angry at Zeno for.

"Are you sure that’s what you want to do?" Sebastian asked.

Ken nodded.

Sebastian stood and walked over to the gym’s exit door.

He carried the small punching bag that was resting on the wall and returned to his son.

"This is perfect for your size," He placed it in front of Ken.

Ken stared at it and smiled.

Sebastian was curious as to why Ken was smiling so he asked, but he sure regretted asking.

"Why are you smiling? Is Dad making you happy already?" He questioned with a smirk.

Ken shook his head, "I watched Zeno’s videos of him practicing with these bags, he looked so awesome, Dad. We’ll make a video of me and send it to him, too, right?" Ken asked excitedly.

Ken couldn’t wait for Zeno to see him looking cool while boxing.

Sebastian drew in a long frustrated Breath.

Here he was, trying to accompany his son to forget about Zeno, but it just turns out that his son was completely disregarding his

efforts and talking about how cool Zeno was.

"Right, Dad? We’ll send him a video, right?" Ken asked again.

Sebastian slowly nodded, "Yes, we will."

He didn’t even know who was accompanying who. he had planned

to stay in all day...with Zeno of course.

But now that Zeno wasn’t around, he

had no single idea what to do with himself alone at home.

It turns out Ken was the one who was accompanying him.

Just then, Ida walked in from the gym’s door, followed by Cody.

They walked toward Sebastian and bowed.

"You called us, Boss," Ida spoke quietly.

Sebastian sighed and pointed to the small punching bag beside him, "Tie that up in a tree," He said without looking at his bodyguards.

"Yes, boss," Ida and Cody replied.

Ida went ahead and lifted the punching bag.

He walked to a nearby tree and dropped it beside it.

"What can I do to help?" Cody asked as he walked over to Ida.

Ida hadn’t looked at him since he met him in front of the building, and he still wasn’t looking at him.

Ida pointed up to the lower branch, "Throw it around the branch," He replied.

Cody nodded and bent over to pick up the rope.

He tried to throw it around the branch as Ida instructed, but he was too short to reach.

He tried jumping with the rope but ended up being laughed at by Ken.

"Are you too short to reach it, Cody?" Ken giggled as he questioned.

Cody chuckled, stealing a glance at Ida.

"Seems like it, young boss, want to help?" Cody asked playfully.

Ken shook his head, "I don’t think so, I’m way shorter. How about him?" He pointed at Ida.

"What about him?" Cody asked, looking over at Ida.

Ida was busy fixing and hooking the other end of the rope on the head of the punching bag, pretending not to know that Cody was looking at him.

Ken hopped off from the bench and walked toward the bodyguards.

Sebastian didn’t stop him.

He was absently staring at the space in front of him, his mind tormenting him with nonstop scenarios of what

Zeno might be doing with Nicholas.

"Ida, can you lift Cody to tie the rope?" Cody tapped his tiny hand on Ida’s broad shoulder.

Ida finally looked up from what he was doing.

He nodded at the boy, "Of course, young boss," He smiled at Ken.

Ida slowly stood and faced Cody, staring at his face. "Turn around, Cody," He spoke in a neutral tone.

Cody blinked when he heard Ida’s voice. He’d been lost in staring into his eyes, only to be brought out of his admiration when he heard Ida’s voice.

"Oh," He replied and slowly turned around.

Ida placed his hands gently on Cody’s waist and then moved closer to him.

Both of them were accurately aware of how close they were to each other, but they tried their best to remain as unaffected as possible.

Ida slowly lifted Cody, closing his eyes to reign his control as he felt Cody’s tiny waist in his hands.

Cody immediately tied the rope, but on second thought, he didn’t lower his hand. He kept pretending as if he was still tying the rope just so Ida didn’t put him down.

"Yay! He’s done," Ken jumped in excitement when he looked up and saw that Cody had tied the rope.

Ida looked up and saw that it was true. He slowly lowered Cody to the ground and stepped away from him.

"Thank you, Cody and Ida," Ken smiled and ran back to his father.

"Why did you do that?" Ida asked as he adjusted the hook around the head of the punching bag.

Cody lowered himself on a squat beside Ida. "Because that’s the only way you’d hold me," Cody replied.

Ida paused, sighing slowly.

"Why are you doing this, Cody?" Ida asked quietly.

Cody subtly raised his hand and placed it on Ida’s thigh. "Because I want you." He confessed.

Ida removed Cody’s hand from his thigh.

"Stop, Cody...don’t make me hate you, just, stop," Ida stood and walked over to Sebastian.

"It’s all done, boss," He informed.

Sebastian slowly turned and saw the punching bag hanging from the tree’s branch.

They made it low enough for Ken’s reach. He only wished Zeno was here to teach Ken how to do it properly.

It wasn’t as if he wanted Zeno for himself. It was just because he was a professional boxer, and it would be nice for his son to learn from the best.

"Come on, Son. Let’s go punch that bag," Sebastian stood from the bench.

He wasn’t feeling like himself at all, and he blamed Zeno for it.

Zeno was guilty of making him feel as if he could no longer exist without him by his side.

Nothing seemed to be working out fine

for him. He couldn’t even breathe without thinking about him.

He didn’t want to have a weakness.

Someone in his position shouldn’t have weaknesses. His son was already enough weakness to have, adding another person would be too risky for him and that person.

 

 

Chapter 62

Ken excitedly walked over to the punching bag and was about to throw a punch at the bag.

"Wait," Sebastian held back Ken’s hand but was surprised to see that he had correctly clenched his fist for punching.

"Who taught you?" Sebastian asked.

"Zeno," Ken eagerly provided.

It was at that moment that Ida noticed that his boss wasn’t in a good mood that morning.

He watched as Sebastian went quiet at the mention of Zeno’s name. He was staring into space, his eyes looking lost, a characteristic he’d never seen in him before.

From his observation, he could easily tell that his boss was down bad for his Manny, but it looked like he hadn’t realized it yet. And, from the way things were going, it seemed as if Zeno was already giving his

attention to someone else who would appreciate and reciprocate his affection.

Maybe that was what he should do.

He had already been rejected multiple times by Cody. He was no longer going to sit around and be used like some toy, only valued when needed.

Just like Zeno, he knew someone out there would love him for who he was.

"Dad?" Ken tapped Sebastian’s face.

Sebastian slowly looked at his son. "He taught you how to punch too?" He questioned with a tired voice.

He was emotionally drained. He never knew anyone could get him this tired without physically attacking him.

He felt so insecure at that moment.

"Yes, like this," Ken demonstrated by placing foot forward and positioning his shoulder correctly.

Sebastian chuckled, "Go ahead," he nodded at Ken.

Ken took a deep breath and leaned forward as he pushed the punch bag.

"Awesome," Ida commented.

This looked like something Zeno would do, wanting to teach a boy how to protect himself, it was kind of him.

Sebastian watched in surprise as Ken punched the bag, moving

backward each time he landed a punch, and whenever the punching bag returned;

Ken gaged and timed it correctly, delivering a perfect blow to the punch bag.

Once again, Sebastian felt defeated by Zeno in matters concerning his son.

Even though Zeno was absent, his presence and impact were strongly felt.

Cody had moved a little away from them, standing on the next tree.

He’d been thinking about what Ida said to him before walking over to Sebastian.

’Stop, Cody...don’t make me hate you, just, stop,’ He repeated multiple times in his head, and each time, it hurt more than the last time.

Has he really reached that point with Ida? Did his actions now irritate him?

The worst kind of hate is the one that came from a place that once had a love for you. It stung like hell.

What was he supposed to do now? He didn’t want Ida to hate him, he couldn’t live with that knowledge.

There was only one thing to do: Make Ida realize that he loved him more than he thought.

Ida thought he had gotten rid of him? Oh, how wrong he was.

He was going to press harder until Ida couldn’t resist him anymore.

He would set a trap for him, and he was going to fall right into it.

"Daddy, are you taking the video?" Ken asked.

Sebastian nodded, recording the boy with his phone, "Yes, Ken, I am." He made sure he got everything angle that enhanced Ken’s skill.

"Sir, breakfast is served," Butler. Nicole announced as two maids pushed a food tray behind him.

"Good morning, Boss," Julia greeted from behind Butler. Nicole.

"Alright, Ken, it’s time to eat. That’s enough for now," Sebastian said and stood from his squatting position.

"Wait, don’t end the record yet, face it to me, face it to me," Ken tugged his father’s pants.

Sebastian sighed and turned the phone toward Ken’s face.

"Hi, Zeno, I hope you’re having a nice day because I and Daddy are not. Please come home quickly, we miss you, bye!" Ken waved cutely.

Sebastian ended the record and put his phone in his pocket.

The video?

He had already sent it to Zeno.

Maybe when he sees it, it’ll make him remember that he actually left someone at him, well...people at home...

"Come on, time to eat," he led Ken back to the bench under the tree.

Julia pushed the tray toward him, "Good morning, Boss," She greeted again.

Sebastian nodded as he lowered himself beside his son.

"Here, I made some breakfast for you, too," Julia waved the second maid over, and she drew out a mini table from the food tray,

positioning it in front of Sebastian.

"Not hungry, feed him," Sebastian said in an icy voice.

Julia bowed and waved the maid away.

She couldn’t help but notice that something was wrong with the boss. He was usually aloof, but this aloofness came with a sense of deprivation as if he was missing something.

His eyes showed it, and she wondered what it was.

"Hurry and feed me, Julia, we have a lot of fun things to do," Ken spoke, locking his eyes on the delicious food.

Behind a tree, Ida stood, texting Zeno and asking him where he was and when he was planning to come back.

He didn’t mention Sebastian since he knew that Zeno was trying to avoid him. He wouldn’t like it either if someone asked about Cody, who he was trying to forget.

"Hey," Cody suddenly appeared from behind the tree, staring at Ida suspiciously.

Ida quickly put his phone in his pocket and faced Cody.

"Cody, don’t sneak up on me like that. What if I punched you?" Ida asked with a frown.

"You didn’t," Cody leaned his back on the tree next to him.

"Chatting your boyfriend?" Cody asked, staring at the space in front of him.

Ida frowned, "What are you talking about, Cody?" Ida questioned.

He was staring at Cody’s face and repeatedly telling himself in his head that he was just a friend. Nothing more.

Cody scoffed, "Well, you hid your phone the moment I came to you," Cody shrugged.

Ida raised his brows and walked over to stand in front of Cody, "There’s such thing as privacy, Buddy, don’t forget that," Ida stated.

Cody chuckled, "Buddy, huh? But you’ve never hid your phone from me before," Cody reminded.

Ida nodded, "Agreed. that was before. Things had changed now," He whispered.

Cody managed the expression on his face. He almost let his sadness show.

Was Ida really going for the cold treatment? Would he be able to survive it?

"Things can go back to how it was between us, Ida," Cody reached out his hand to Ida, but Ida stepped away from him.

"You still don’t get it, Cody. I don’t want that

anymore, and you don’t have to keep trying, I’ve lost interest in you. Even if

you wanted a real relationship, I wouldn’t interested. So..." He leaned close to Cody and braced his hand beside his head on the tree, "Stop trying, Cody, I know what you’re doing, and you’re not going to succeed,"

He whispered.

Cody frowned.

He moved his face closer, not backing down, "Well, good thing, you know. There’s no need for me to pretend anymore, so

know this. I want you, and I’ll have you, period. Watch your back, Hottie," Cody moved close and grabbed Ida between the legs.

"This, too, will be mine. Trust me," Cody kissed Ida’s cheek before he walked out from behind the tree.

Ida stood there, blinking slowly as he tried to wrap his head around what had just happened.

Did Cody just grab his cock in public?

He thought he was homophobic? Why was he suddenly making open confrontations towards him?

He knew why.

Cody just wanted to get him on the bed with him again, after which he’d discard him.

He wasn’t letting himself get fooled again.

He would show Cody that he knew his game and he wasn’t going to fall for it.

Ken had just finished his food when he saw his father checking his phone for the nth time.

"Did Zeno reply, Dad?" Ken asked, leaning his head into Sebastian’s phone.

Sebastian sighed.

He was sure he would run out of breath

before the day ended with the amount of sighing he was doing, and it was all

because of Zeno.

"No," Sebastian replied.

He didn’t know what other thing to say to his Son.

It was time for Ken to understand that Zeno had abandoned them.

"Ida," Sebastian called, standing from the bench.

Ida walked up to Sebastian, ignoring the heated eyes Cody was sending him from the side.

"Yes, Boss," He bored.

"Walk with Ken, make sure he’s not bored," Sebastian ordered.

Ida nodded, "Yes, Boss."

He turned to Ken, "Come on, young boss,"

Ken slowly stood from the bench and held onto Ida’s hand.

Sebastian watched as Ken followed Ida. He saw the reluctance in his face but he had to accept the reality that Zeno was not coming back anytime soon.

He turned away from them, walking in the opposite direction. He fished out his phone from his pocket and sent a couple more texts to Zeno.

He would just say that it was Ken who sent all the messages; he just wanted Zeno back.

 

 

Chapter 63

Somewhere in the city, Nicholas’ car slowly came to a stop in front of a luxurious art gallery.

It was evening already, and they made their first stop at Nicholas’ restaurant for breakfast and then they had gone to play golf, but it was more of Nicholas teaching Zeno how to play golf.

After golf, they went to a comedy show, and that could be said to be Zeno’s favorite. He laughed genuinely for the first time in a long while.

He was starting to get very comfortable with Nicholas, he could say that he had started to see him as a good friend.

Zeno’s life was simple, anyone who made him feel genuinely comfortable was his friend.

He didn’t like bad energy, he was allergic to it.

So, why would he keep being uptight with Nicholas when he had such a kind soul?

Nicholas was the type of friend his Nana always told him to have by his side, they’d turn up for you during your downtimes.

"We’re here," Nicholas announced in the car, killing the engine.

Zeno nodded, staring out of the window.

"Let’s go, then," Zeno was about to open the door when Nicholas held him back by the arm.

Zeno was surprised but he slowly turned to look at him, "You don’t want to go anymore? It’s okay we can do something else," Zeno smiled at him.

Nicholas smiled back. He couldn’t even make eye contact with Zeno anymore. The more time he spent with Zeno, the more charming he became, and he felt himself fight stuttering the whole day.

"No, it’s not that, I do want to go," Nicholas replied in a calm voice.

"Alright, then, why are you stopping me?" Zeno asked, a little confused.

"Um, I’d like to let you know that the art you’re about to witness is not just the ordinary art you see... this... this is different..." Nicholas paused, searching Zeno’s face with his brown eyes.

Zeno narrowed his eyes at him, he was now curious to know what kind of art Nicholas was talking about, "It’s alright, Nicholas, I’m an adult, I can handle anything," Zeno assured.

Nicholas nodded, chuckling, "You said so, let’s go," He replied.

Zeno nodded and eagerly left the car, heading toward the pure white luxurious art gallery.

"Hello, Mr. Nicholas, welcome to the 10th edition of the art display," The doorman greeted politely as Nicholas and Zeno approached the door.

"Welcome, young man," The doorman bowed to Zeno, too.

"Thank you, Nick," Nicholas replied and held Zeno’s hand as he stepped into the building.

The first thing Zeno noticed was that the large circular room was filled with only the male population.

Nicholas didn’t release his hand, "Come on," He softly said to Zeno.

Zeno followed him silently as they seamlessly made their way across the crowd.

As they went farther, same Zeno started to notice the huge paintings that were displayed on the walls.

At that moment, he took back the adult speech he gave in Nicholas’ car.

He couldn’t believe his fucking eyes!

Those paintings were raw as fuck.

Whoever the artists were were monstrous as hell.

If he didn’t look better, he’d think the paintings were real people.

"You look like you regret what you said in the car..." Nicholas whispered.

Zeno blinked away from the paintings and turned to stare at Nicholas.

Truthfully, he was kind of regretting it.

He was an adult, but he would have loved to be warned about what he was about to see.

Thinking back, Nicholas did warn him, and he had proudly said that he was an adult and could handle anything.

He just didn’t know it was this kind of "anything."

"Well, I’m a bit thrown off..." Zeno chuckled quietly.

He looked around and observed that no one else had the same shocked reaction as him. They all seemed very conversant with the art.

"This is an art that appreciates the gay community, drawn by one of my best friends, and the irony is that he’s not even gay," Nicholas explained.

"Come on," Nicholas still held his hand and led him to the front.

Zeno couldn’t believe he was staring at such raw images in the presence of numerous people.

The painting he was currently staring at was a picture of two naked athletic men. One stood in his naked glory while the other knelt before him, his tongue perfectly lapped on the cap of the standing man’s cock, their eyes locked on each other’s.

That painting would have been entirely erotic. However, realizing the look in their eyes made it all... sweet.

Zeno surprisingly felt his heart warm at the sight.

In the painting, the men were staring at each other with pure and evident love in their eyes. Zeno came to realize that there was a soft, subtle smile playing on the lips of the man standing, their body language oozed deep-rooted affection.

Zeno was starting to understand what the artist was trying to show.

Everyone saw gay people as sex maniacs, as loveless and unfeeling people who just get together and fuck.

They believe gay people are incapable of feelings because of the stereotype of how the world views them: had hot.

They forget that apart from being just "hot," gay people are also humans who have affection, compassion, love, sweetness, pride, and care in them, just like every other human does.

The artist wants to let people that within the hot and sexy exteriors of gay couples, there’s a human seeking validation from his partner, just like every other person would from his or her partner.

He wanted people to know that "gay" is just a wrong label. They should be termed "Couples," just like every type of relationship out there.

The art was also a means to boost their ego, showcasing the beauty of each man’s well-crafted body.

It was a masterpiece.

He wanted this.

He wanted that kind of relationship. He’d sworn he’d never get into a serious relationship until his Nana was out of the hospital, but he was suddenly craving to be loved.

Maybe because he was literally alone in the world, had no family, and the people he could call friends were just related to him by work.

He had no one to call his own.

He wanted it, someone who would stare at him with heart in his eyes...his?

Zeno didn’t care anymore, he didn’t care about the gender.

Love was love.

All he needed was love. He didn’t care if he found it in a woman or a man.

Life was too short to be so mean to oneself; while you live, try to live too; it makes living more lively.

"I don’t think I need to explain the paintings to you anymore," Nicholas said beside Zeno.

He had been watching Zeno watch the paintings and the look of realization and understanding he saw in Zeno’s face said it all.

He finally grasped the essence and concept of the arts.

Zeno slowly nodded, "I think I understand, Nick," he said in a small voice, staring at the painting.

Nicholas realized that the painting turned out to be Zeno’s favorite.

"You like it?" Nicholas questioned.

Zeno nodded.

"Alright, let’s see other paintings," Nicholas held Zeno’s hand again and walked him around the hall, admiring numerous paintings and chatting amicably.

***

"I feel really bad," Nicholas sighed as he parked his car in front of Sebastian’s gate.

It was dark already, and everyone must have had dinner by then. Thankfully, Nicholas made sure they ate at his restaurant before driving him back.

Zeno was starting to get acquainted with the taste of Nicholas’ restaurant kitchen.

Zeno smiled at Nicholas, "It’s alright, we can always hang out on Saturdays, I’m free," He replied, turning to look at Nicholas.

Nicholas snapped his head toward Zeno, "What did you say?" He asked, excitement evident in his voice.

Zeno couldn’t help releasing a little laugh. Nicholas was really a cool guy. "We’re friends, Nick. We can hang out every Saturday," Zeno shrugged.

Nicholas’ face fell for a second when he heard Zeno call him just a friend, but he let that slide immediately.

He smiled at Zeno and nodded. "I’ll hold you to your word," He narrowed his eyes at him.

Zeno nodded, "I’m not going back on it," He replied.

"Awesome. Let me walk you in,?" Nicholas asked expectantly.

Zeno slowly nodded; for the whole day, he’d tried his best to forget Sebastian and any thoughts relating to him.

And now, he was back, back to his mansion, avoiding him and thoughts about him was going to be impossible.

He wouldn’t have wanted Sebastian to see Nicholas, but they were friends. He couldn’t stop a friend from entering a friend’s house.

They got out of the car and walked into the gate.

The first thing Zeno did when he entered the compound was to search his eyes around the whole place.

Luckily, no Sebastian was in sight.

Nicholas held Zeno’s hand as they walked up the stairs.

Zeno reached the door and paused, slowly turning to look at Nicholas.

He knew what this was, but he wanted to take things slow. He was still in the middle of a messy situationship with Sebastian. He wouldn’t want to draw someone into his web of confusion, conflict, and lust.

"Good night, Nick," Zeno smiled at Nicholas, a genuine smile.

Nicholas sighed and walked closer to Zeno.

Zeno didn’t move away. He knew when someone wanted to kiss him, and right then, Nicholas wasn’t about to.

Nicholas paused very close to Zeno’s face. He locked his eyes with him before he spoke. "I’m hoping the art gallery made you understand me better, Zeno. I’m a part of that community, and I’m really hoping you’re not part of the community who judges us; I want you to see me for who I really am, Zeno," He paused, searching his face.

Zeno shook his head, "I already know that, Nicholas. And, I’m not part of that community that judges. Even if I were, the paintings in the art gallery were enough to convince me. I’m not judging you, Nicholas, I don’t really care what you’re sexuality is. Just be a good human, and we can be frie-"

"About that..." Nicholas gently interrupted Zeno.

"I don’t want to be just a friend to you, Zeno. I’m not pushing you, I’ll wait till whenever you’re ready, but I’m not promising that I won’t be pestering you. I just said I’m not pushing you..." Nicholas chuckled.

Zeno found him endearing, but just endearing as a friend, he knew he’d feel more for Nicholas if he really decided to open up his heart to him.

He just needed a little time to put his life in order.

"I want to be more, Zeno..." Nicholas said in a soft voice.

Before Zeno could reply, Nicholas leaned on and kissed him very gently on his cheek, beside his lips.

"Good night, Zeno," Nicholas smiled at Zeno’s shocked face and stepped back, slowly turning and walking away.

Zeno stood there, watching Nicholas walk out of the gate.

But Nicholas didn’t leave without turning to wave one last time at him.

Zeno sighed when Nicholas was finally out.

He wasn’t going to lie. His heart did thud for Nicholas, but it was very negligible. It wasn’t thudding madly, just like how it thudded for...

"Sebastian..." Zeno called in shock as a tall dark figure emerged from beside the stairs.

"Welcome home, Zeno," Sebastian calmly greeted as he slowly ascended the stairs.

 

 

Chapter 64

Zeno stood frozen until Sebastian walked up to him.

"You’re standing in the door, we need to get in," Sebastian quietly notified Zeno.

Zeno was too stumped to speak. Since when was Sebastian standing beside the stairs? He must have seen and heard everything between him and Nicholas.

Zeno felt very strange; he was feeling very uncomfortable as if he’d been caught cheating by a partner, but Sebastian wasn’t his partner, so why was he feeling that way?

He watched as Sebastian leaned closer to him and he could hear his heart automatically start to beat faster.

His body had an automatic response to Sebastian; it didn’t need to be around him for a long time before it responded; it was as if Sebastian had an invisible remote to control his reaction each time he was beside him.

Sebastian placed his hand behind Zeno and pushed the door open, "Get in," He said and stepped away from Zeno.

Zeno blinked back to realization and cleared his throat.

He stared at Sebastian’s unreadable face for a second before he slowly turned and moved into the house.

Zeno walked slowly toward the stairs, he could feel Sebastian quietly following him behind.

He didn’t know why, but this silent reception wasn’t what he was expecting from Sebastian.

He had expected a more aggressive approach, maybe even a confrontation, not just this silent and welcoming approach; he wasn’t used to this calm and collected Sebastian.

Sebastian was watching Zeno from behind, he couldn’t pin down how he felt, but one thing he acknowledged for the first time was that he was jealous.

He’d been sitting in the same position as Ida that morning when he saw Zeno walk in with Nicholas. He knew they didn’t see him because of the trimmed shrubs that were blocking him, so he remained there, listening in on everything they said to each other.

He was angry, still was, but he’d suddenly observed that Zeno always responded well to people who spoke kindly to him; maybe, when he treated him gently like other people, Zeno would respond normally to him for the first time.

He was trying to discard every harshness from his face and tone; that way, he’d be able to have a civilized conversation with Zeno for once.

He’d also realized that he didn’t want Zeno with anyone else; seeing Nicholas kiss him evoked a feral possession within him; he couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if Zeno actually gave Nicholas a chance.

Even if it was hard to be calm, if that’s the only way for him to keep Zeno beside him, then he’d do it.

Zeno reached the middle of the stairs and turned; he felt awkward with the way Sebastian was following him.

"Boss..." Zeno called, turning to face Sebastian who was a step behind him.

Sebastian covered the remaining distance between them by standing right in front of him, how he’d missed being this close to Zeno.

He had spent the whole day craving this familiar closeness and now that he had it, he was fighting the urge to slam his lips against Zeno and order him never to leave his side ever again.

But he was choosing to remain calm tonight, instead of following his raging emotions, he simply answered. "Yes, Zeno?" His eyes were staring into Zeno’s soul as he spoke.

Zeno’s lips suddenly felt dry and he licked it to moisten it, pausing when he saw Sebastian’s eyes trace after his tongue on his lips.

"Um..." Zeno cleared his throat.

"Yes..." Sebastian replied in a lazy tone.

"I have something to discuss with Ida; I need to ask him about Ash, I... I’m not sleeping in the mansion tonight," Zeno announced, bouncing his eyes around the walls to avoid looking at Sebastian.

Sebastian’s face hardened for a second.

How dare Zeno?

He had starved him of his presence the whole day, and now that he finally got him back to his side, he was trying to leave him again.

Yeah? Not happening.

But this wasn’t enough to make him lose his tamper tonight, he simply took a deep breath and shook his head at Zeno.

"Ida and the rest are long asleep. About Ash, no one had questioned her; it’ll be done tomorrow, so relax, you’ve not missed anything," Sebastian calmly informed.

Zeno knew there was nothing else he had to use as an excuse. He took a step back and nodded at Sebastian, "Alright." He turned and continued to climb up to their floor.

There was too much tension in the air between them; it made Zeno wonder what Sebastian must have in mind to say to him; surely there must be something; this was just like the calm before the storm.

Zeno hurried his steps and was soon walking toward his room. He unlocked his door and walked in, but he didn’t hurry to shut his door.

Unlike before, when he would pretend not to know that Sebastian wanted to enter his room and try to close the door against him, but tonight he knew that Sebastian was trolling behind him to talk with him.

He was taking his shirt off when Sebastian walked into his room and locked the door.

Zeno didn’t look at him; he proceeded to take off his pants and that’s when he realized that his phone had been inside his pocket the whole day.

It was always on DND and he hadn’t checked it once since he left.

He wasn’t bothered, though, no one really called him.

He threw his phone on the bed and walked toward the bathroom with only his boxers on.

He could feel Sebastian’s eyes on his body but he refused to look at him.

He was trying to lower the rate of his attraction to Sebastian so he could make room for someone else...like Nicholas.

He knew he and Sebastian would never be like those paintings at the art gallery, they were far from being like that.

Sebastian had never looked at him that way...right?

He’d only seen Sebastian look at him with hatred, lust, and aloofness unless the few times he’d caught him staring at him with those unreadable grey eyes. He never made out the meaning of the stares because they were normally short-lived.

However, no matter how hard he tried to stop himself from thinking about Sebastian, his brain still ended up pasting Sebastian’s image in his head.

Somewhere at the back of his head, he wished Sebastian was his, he’d want nothing but to run into his arms after being away from him for so long, he’d missed being close to him, but he couldn’t do anything about it, he could only keep imagining how things would have been between them if they were a real couple.

His life was messed up, and that’s why, as he entered the bathroom, he purposely left the door slightly open, it was a bold invitation from him.

Sebastian saw the door and had an automatic response to go in there and join him but he resisted.

He wasn’t going to be the available one. After Zeno had had fun with someone else, then he’d be the available one for just a fuck. He was getting tired of it, he was starting to realize that what he had with Zeno wasn’t enough, he wanted more, but to what extent he could go with him he wasn’t sure yet, but he knew he needed to do something fast if not, someone else was going to do it.

He stared at the door and contemplated on joining him or not.

Suddenly, Zeno’s phone on the bed beeped, drawing Sebastian’s attention.

Sebastian looked toward it, intending to just glance and look away, but the name he saw on the screen made him pick the phone up immediately.

Here he was, trying to wrap his head around Nicholas kissing Zeno, but Nicholas just went ahead and sent him a message with images attached to it.

Without thinking twice, he swiped up and opened the message.

"Hava a good night, Zeno," Sebastian read out the message and scoffed.

"You’re doing too much, Nicholas," He muttered and proceeded to load the images.

There were three images in total; the first one was at Nicholas’ restaurant; it looked like an unaware that Nicholas took of Zeno when he was looking through the menu, and how cute he was in it, he was jealous he wasn’t the one who captured that moment.

The second one was at a golf club; Nicholas had his fucking arms around Zeno’s waist!

Sebastian gritted his teeth and stared at the door of the bathroom; the shower had started to run, and it seemed as if he was going in after all.

He clicked the third image, and it was a picture of both of them standing in front of what looked like an art gallery, it must be the one Nicholas was talking about earlier.

That did it.

Sebastian placed the phone down on the bed and walked toward the bathroom, undressing himself as he did.

Inside the bathroom, Zeno was slowly scrubbing his body when he heard someone enter the bathroom. He knew it was Sebastian.

He was almost making up his mind that Sebastian wasn’t going to join him, but looks like he was wrong.

Sebastian slowly walked toward Zeno and wrapped his arms around his waist, in response, Zeno raised his hand and placed it over Sebastian’s, leaning back against his chest as the warm water showered down on them in soft droplets.

Neither of them said anything, they were both basking in the warmth of the other, absorbing the feeling they’d missed all day.

No words were said; none was needed, even though they each had a ton to say. The silence reigned between for a very long time, the gentle, soothing sound of the running shower was the only sound they heard.

"You were that confident I’d come to you?" Sebastian asked in a low voice.

Zeno slowly shook his head. "Not really..."

Silence reigned again, a comfortable silence.

Funny enough, they each thought the other wanted sex at that moment, but as they stood under the shower, they realized that none of them was making a lusty move on the other.

They just needed that comfort.

Sebastian sighed and tightened his hand a little bit around Zeno’s waist.

No matter how angry he felt the whole day, it all seemed to melt away the moment he lay his eyes on Zeno; even now after seeing Nicholas’ messages, he thought he’d fully lose his calm, but yet he didn’t.

He just wanted to talk.

He placed a soft kiss on Zeno’s neck and whispered, "We need to talk."

 

 

Chapter 65

Zeno sighed softly, he’d been expecting that "talk" from the moment he saw Sebastian that night.

"Alright," He replied.

After their shower, they left the bathroom and dressed up.

Sebastian casually wore one of Zeno’s sweatpants and leaned against his wardrobe, watching him button up his pajama shirt beside the wardrobe.

As he stared at Zeno, he found him to be cuter than he was yesterday, he felt himself yearning to touch him again, to just be close to him.

What would that kind of feeling be called?

He pushed himself off the wardrobe and walked to Zeno.

"Come here," Sebastian gently placed his hand on Zeno’s side and drew him closer.

Zeno was surprised to see Sebastian removing his hand and stopping him from buttoning his shirt.

He looked down and saw that he had missed a button which Sebastian was now helping him fix, "Oh, thank you..." Zeno felt his cheek getting hot; he wasn’t used to this type of Sebastian, he was giving him nonstop butterflies in his stomach that night.

"Done," Sebastian said but didn’t step away from Zeno.

They stared into each other’s eyes, their chemistry and sexual tension shooting off their eyes and charging the air around them.

They didn’t know who moved first but their faces were drawing closer and closer to each other’s until their noses touched.

Sebastian was still contemplating whether to cover the remaining distance between their lips or not when Zeno leaned in and kissed his lips.

Before Sebastian could react, Zeno was long gone, sitting on the side of the bed.

Sebastian blinked, his heart hammering inside his chest; the last thing he needed right now was a teasing from Zeno, his mood wasn’t right for teasing; his mood was set for dominating. He wanted to dominate Zeno, but he couldn’t help it anymore, and Zeno kissing him like that fueled his flames.

"You..." Sebastian paused, feeling speechless for the first time.

’Fuck this,’ He cursed in his head.

Zeno gently patted the bed beside him, "You said we needed to talk,"

Sebastian fixed a hand in his pocket and sighed, "Mm." He replied.

He walked over to the bed and sat beside Zeno; he turned his head to the side and stared at him, keenly observing him.

"How are you feeling? Health wise," Sebastian asked softly.

He had already touched his body and felt his normal temperature, but he just needed to know if Zeno felt any discomfort within.

Zeno was confused for a second; he didn’t understand why Sebastian was suddenly asking about his health. Had he secretly planted something in his body that’d slowly kill him so he’s asking to know if his poison was effective.

Sebastian saw the look in Zeno’s eyes and scoffed lightly, "I’m asking a genuine question, Zeno. You’re feeling alright, right?" He asked again.

Zeno realized that Sebastian was serious so he nodded, "Yes, boss, I’m fine..." He was wondering why Sebastian was genuinely asking about his health, it was a first.

Sebastian nodded, he looked behind him and saw Zeno’s phone lying on the bed.

"The video I sent to you in the morning, why did you not reply to it?" Sebastian questioned in his calm voice.

"What video?" Zeno asked, immediately turning his head to look for his phone.

Sebastian frowned at him. Was this him pretending not to have seen his messages all day?

He should have known better that he couldn’t be fooled easily. But he remained quiet, waiting for Zeno to finish his act.

Zeno opened his phone and went to Sebastian’s inbox; truly, there were tons of messages and voice notes.

He clicked and the first thing he saw was a video of Ken punching a small punch bag in the arboretum.

Sebastian was starting to believe that Zeno really didn’t see the messages as he said; the look on his face was that of surprise as he read through the series of texts sent by Ken... well, him asking him when he would return home.

But why had he ignored his phone all day? Was he really enjoying his time with Nicholas that much?

Zeno’s smile fell as he played voice note after voice note sent by Ken.

He felt horrible.

Why didn’t he check his phone for once? He knew why; he’d wanted to avoid checking on Sebastian but he never expected to miss Ken’s important messages like this.

He replayed the first voice note and looked up at Sebastian.

"I... I’m sorry, Ken must have been sad all day..." Zeno apologized.

"Just Ken?" Sebastian questioned, locking his eyes with Zeno’s.

Zeno froze; he read the meaning of the look on Sebastian’s face and couldn’t believe it.

Did Sebastian miss him?

"What do you mean?" Zeno asked quietly.

He wanted to hear from Sebastian so that he’d know he was not assuming things.

Sebastian sighed and shook his head, "Never mind the messages, Ken’s just a kid..." He paused, sighing quietly.

"How was your date?" Sebastian asked with a neutral face.

Zeno opened his mouth to deny that it wasn’t a date, but he recalled that Sebastian had seen Nicholas kiss him in front of the mansion, there was no sense denying it now.

"It was...okay, I guess," He shrugged.

Sebastian clenched his jaw, Zeno’s reply meant that he really enjoyed himself with Nicholas.

"So, you were too excited to ignore my messages, and you couldn’t even say a thank you for what I did for you last night?" Sebastian leaned closer to Zeno, raising his hand to his neck.

Zeno drew back, staring at Sebastian’s face. "Last night? What happened last night?" He asked, recalling that he had woken up in Sebastian’s room last night and had been wondering all day about it.

Sebastian frowned, "Are you saying you don’t remember telling me how much you loved me?" Sebastian whispered in Zeno’s ear.

Zeno’s chest vibrated from the quickened heartbeat. He did what?!

When did he say that to Sebastian? Why? Was he already in love to be confessing it unconsciously?

"I did?" He questioned, his voice slightly shaky.

Sebastian drew back a little and started into his eyes, "You should ask yourself; can you love me?" Sebastian questioned quietly, feeling his heart drumming in anxiety for what Zeno might reply.

For a second, Zeno saw that familiar look he’d seen in the eyes of those paintings in Sebastian’s eyes.

He almost believed that there might be something between them but it was gone before he even looked twice.

It was all in his head, maybe because he wanted to find love, his brain was deceiving him by showing him signs of love in the eyes of a man who was incapable of loving.

Zeno was lost...he didn’t know how to reply to such a direct question from Sebastian. He knew Sebastian was taunting him, he could never love him.

"I-"

"Never mind," Sebastian suddenly stood and moved away from him.

He saw the panic in Zeno’s eyes, the indecision and disinterest.

"You don’t have to look panicked, Zeno, I’m just teasing you. We both know that love can never happen between us, after all, it’ll ruin my reputation to be in a relationship with a man... You already have Nicholas; loving me is not an option, you can be with whoever you want to be with," Sebastian quietly spoke as he went over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water, gulping it down to know if it’ll help cool his heating body.

Zeno chuckled sadly.

Sebastian was among those who judged, he hadn’t realized the beauty of unbiased love.

He stood from the bed and walked up to Sebastian, standing behind him.

"I know we can’t be anything to each other, boss, but I want you to open your heart to others; it doesn’t matter the gender; love is something everyone deserves, even you," he placed a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder.

"I know there is a man, a human, behind your tough exterior, just in case you find someone who warms your heart, please, do not let society dictate your life. It’s your life at the end of the day," Zeno said in a soft tone.

Sebastian clenched his hand around the water bottle but didn’t crumble it.

He turned his head to the side and asked, "Have you?"

Zeno stared at the side of Sebastian’s face, "Have I what?"

Sebastian turned to fully face him.

"Have you found the one who warms your heart?" He looked right into Zeno’s soul, his face serious as he waited for Zene to respond.

Zeno bit his lips and looked away from him.

"Is it Nicholas, perhaps?" Sebastian moved closer to him.

Zeno sighed, "And, if it were him, would you terminate our contract and let me go?" He asked in a whisper.

In the blink of an eye, Sebastian covered the distance between them and kissed Zeno’s lips.

Zeno was made breathless in a second, the kiss was hot and punishing, as if he had said something he wasn’t supposed to say.

Sebastian placed a hand behind Zeno’s neck and waist, pulling him closer to himself and tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss.

Zeno was losing his breath, he placed a hand on Sebastian’s chest and gently pushed him away, breathing harshly.

Sebastian held Zeno’s jaw up with his fingers and asked, "Did that answer your question?"

 

 

Chapter 66

Zeno’s head was still too muddy to concentrate on what Sebastian was saying, but he did hear him.

Sebastian saw that Zeno wasn’t responding and thought that Zeno was ignoring him.

"Hate my kiss now? Does it disgust you now?" He questioned.

Zeno blinked, "I’m tired, Sebastian." He replied and walked back to the bed.

He was tired of all the emotional roller coasters with Sebastian. Sebastian had made him understand that there would be nothing between them, and it made him realize that he had let himself get swayed for a long time.

It’s time he got his head back in the game.

He was here to get Sebastian married so he could get his freedom back; once he was free, he would be ready to open up his heart to people; he was never going to drag anyone into this mess; no one deserved it.

Sebastian scoffed, "So that’s how it is? My touch infuriates you now, interesting," He had walked over to the bed and was standing in front of Zeno now.

He wanted to hold Zeno’s face but Zeno leaned away, causing Sebastian to frown.

"I was fucking right," He muttered.

Zeno sighed and looked up at him, "If I found the one who warmed my heart, I wouldn’t bring them into my mess, I’d wait until I was free from your clutches before I got together with them. Love is supposed to be honest, not hurting and false," Zeno slowly informed.

A sharp pain crossed Sebastian’s heart.

So Zeno had been waiting for when their contract ended to get away from him?

Was he not comfortable with him?

Was he the worst person to be with?

"You’re not the first to leave me, Zeno, Ken’s mother did, too," Sebastian shrugged.

Zeno remained silent, this was the first time Sebastian had ever mentioned his past to him.

He didn’t mean to make him feel bad, he just wanted to state his mind.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-"

"So, you’re going to give Nicholas a chance? I’ve seen the pictures he sent you; you both look cute together; it’ll be such a beautiful couple," Sebas chuckled.

"A beautiful gay couple," he added with a taunting smile.

Zeno’s had it.

"Yes, I’d give him a chance, at least, he’s everything you’re not, Sebastian; he respects people and isn’t judgemental nor prejudiced," Zeno replied a bit loudly.

This wasn’t what he wanted that night; he had thought he’d have a quiet and peaceful night with Sebastian, but it turns out that things just never seem to work out between them.

Sebastian grew furious, "He was everything I’m not?" He asked, his tone dark and foreboding.

Zeno didn’t reply, he simply raised his legs onto the bed and pulled the covers up, readying himself to sleep.

Sebastian was so furious as he saw that Zeno was ignoring him.

It was just one date with Nicholas, and Zeno was already giving him attitude; he wondered what it’d be like if he went on a second, third, fourth, fifth...no.

He wouldn’t let that happen.

He went over to the bed placed his knee beside Zeno, and leaned down to Zeno’s face that was facing away from him.

"It’s good you’ve decided not to get in any relationship while still contracted with me; I told you I don’t share, Zeno, and if I found out that you’re lying to me, I’d kill whoever the fuck it is that warms your heart, it’s a fucking promise. Don’t forget, I can do it, I’m not called the "king" for nothing. I’m not done using you; I’ll let you go whenever I please, don’t fucking forget that, Mr. Evander," He stared at Zeno’s side profile for a long while before he straightened up and walked out of the room in anger.

When he was sure Sebastian had left his room, he sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"What a night," He whispered.

He stared at the door and then stared at the other empty side of his bed, where Sebastian should have been lying.

"Fuck this, Zeno, stop being delusional, that man’s a monster," He said to himself.

It was better they went back to how they were in the beginning than whatever it was they were turning into without their knowledge.

He picked his phone up and checked out the message Sebastian was talking about.

Truly, there was a message from Nicholas and images too.

As Sebastian had said, they looked cute together and probably would look that way to others. But to him, he felt nothing but a friendly ambiance from the picture.

He knew Nicholas was a great guy, and he would surely develop feelings for him if he gave him a chance, but right now, he wasn’t going to.

He still had up to nine months to stay with Sebastian, it was a long time to keep someone waiting.

Maybe he should just let Nicholas know about his condition, keeping Sebastian anonymous, of course.

He knew Nicholas was open-minded and wouldn’t judge; he’d understand. It’ll be left to him to choose if he’ll wait or not.

After a lot of thinking and talking to himself, Zeno decided to force himself to sleep, he felt as if tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

That night, Zeno was deep in sleep when he suddenly felt the other side of his bed deep in as if someone was quietly getting on his bed.

Zeno sleepily opened his eyes and turned around on the bed to look at the person.

His calm heart started beating rapidly when he saw Sebastian staring intently at him as he sat on the bed, shirtless and sexy.

No, he shouldn’t be thinking about that; they weren’t on good terms yet.

They were still at war.

Sebastian saw Zeno stare at him for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and pretended to have gone back to sleep.

He ran his hand through his head and sighed.

He had tried.

He had tried different things to get him to fall asleep in his room, in his office, in the living room, even in the dining, but nothing worked.

The only thing on his mind was going back to Zeno’s room and lying beside him, and here he was, after long hours of fighting that feeling.

He looked toward Zeno and contemplated if he should just drag him into his arms and call it a night, but he knew Zeno would resist him, they hadn’t quite parted in good spirits.

"Zeno..." He called in a low groggy voice.

Zeno refused to answer, he pretended to be asleep, hugging the pillow tightly.

"Can I.... can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked very gently.

Zeno detected something strange in Sebastian’s voice and slowly opened his eyes to look at him.

Sadness and loneliness were the two prominent emotions he heard from him.

"You can," Zeno replied in a quiet voice, staring at Sebastian’s tired face.

He wished he could comfort him and tell him that everything would be alright, but they were nothing, they didn’t have that kind of leverage over each other.

Sebastian slowly nodded; he blinked and quietly raised his legs to the bed, raised the covers, and lay himself straight beside Zeno.

There was a huge pillow-sized space between them, and Sebastian wished he could just roll over and hug Zeno to himself, but he was still scared of getting kicked out.

It was already a miracle that Zeno let him lay beside him.

"Goodnight," Zeno whispered and turned away from Sebastian but he knew that sleep was far away from him now.

He couldn’t get himself to calm down; his heart was still very aware of the man beside him, and it wasn’t giving him a break; it was yearning for Sebastian’s touch; it wanted it to soothe the hurt it had caused before leaving his room.

But Zeno refused to give in; he wasn’t going to let his heart rule him; he had a brain.

Sebastian was staring at Zeno’s back, every cell in his body begging him to hold Zeno. The silence was so loud that Sebastian had to clear his throat.

He stared at the space between them one last time and suddenly rolled over, stopping right behind Zeno.

Zeno felt Sebastian behind him and tensed.

He wasn’t tensed out of fear or anger, he was tense because his urge to be in Sebastian’s arms had just sky-rocketed the moment Sebastian rolled over to him.

He could feel Sebastian’s warm and soft breath on the side of his neck, but there was something else he noticed: a faint smell of wine...Sebastian had been drinking.

"C-can I hold you, Zeno?" Sebastian questioned in a gruff voice.

Zeno bit his lip and clutched the side of the pillow; he was hesitant.

"I know you’re awake," Sebastian whispered.

Zeno slowly nodded, not wanting to pretend anymore, "Yes."

Sebastian didn’t waste any second, the moment Zeno nodded, he put an arm around his waist and drew him plush against himself, hugging him from behind.

Simultaneously, both of them released a long soft sigh.

This was what they wanted, what they’ve craved all day.

"Ken missed you all day..." Sebastian quietly informed Zeno.

Zeno put his hand below the cover and held Sebastian’s hand that was possessively holding his waist. "Just Ken? You didn’t miss me too?" He asked, biting his lips immediately for asking such a dumb question.

"No..." Sebastian paused.

Zeno’s heart sank, he got what he deserved for asking stupid questions.

"I meant, no, I did... I missed you," Sebastian confessed almost inaudibly, but Zeno heard him clearly.

In the blink of an eye, Zeno turned in Sebastian’s arm, facing him.

He raised his hand and placed it on the side of Sebastian’s face, "You missed me?" He asked in surprise.

Sebastian felt a small smile creep on the side of his lips; his hands had a mind of their own as they sneaked into Zeno’s shirt, sprawling over his side and lower back.

"That’s what I said, Zeno," He replied in a sexy voice.

He realized that it wasn’t really that bad to say how he felt, maybe he should try being honest more often.

Zeno let his intrusive thoughts win as he traced his fingers across Sebastian’s lips, smiling. "Interesting, a mafia boss missing his bodyguard. Don’t you think it’ll make a good scandal?" Zeno teased.

Sebastian pushed Zeno’s waist closer, joining the front of their hips together, "Did you miss me?" He asked, totally dismissing the "scandal" talk Zeno mentioned.

He didn’t want them to fight again tonight, he just wanted to hold him.

Zeno nodded, "All day..." He said, looking into Sebastian’s eyes.

They stared at each other in silence, their hearts trying to reach out to each other as they sought acknowledgment from the other.

"I’m going to kiss you," Sebastian spoke, but it was more like permission.

"Do it," Zeno encouraged by placing his hand behind Sebastian’s neck.

Sebastian obeyed; he moved his head closer and closer until his lips were perfectly aligned with Zeno.

He kissed him.

A soft, sweet kiss.

He buried his fingers in Zeno’s hair as he kissed him, he sweetly slid his tongue into Zeno’s mouth, smirking when he heard Zeno’s soft moan.

But that was as far as he was going that night. He remembered Dr. Ezra’s advice about taking it easy with Zeno, especially on this aspect, he didn’t want him to fall sick again because of him.

He had been very rough with him the last time and he regretted it.

Zeno had a small frown as he felt Sebastian withdraw from the kiss.

"Let’s sleep," He kissed Zeno’s forehead and positioned Zeno’s head on his chest.

"You drank," Zeno accused as he lay his head on Sebastian’s chest.

Sebastian sighed, "Couldn’t sleep...I can now." He moved his hand and placed down one of Zeno’s ass cheeks.

"Why couldn’t-"

"Shh...it’s late," Sebastian whispered, squeezing Zeno’s left cheek.

Zeno smiled and went quiet.

They didn’t have to wait for long before because they soon succumbed to the warmth of each other’s bodies, a calm and comfortable sleep invaded them as they were wrapped up in the bubble of what seemed to be an unrecognized love.

 

 

 

Chapter 68

The door suddenly slid open with Siri’s voice detecting a strange person in the building.

’Sebastian, there’s an unidentified lady in the house; please check her out; she might be a threat,’ Siri announced.

Sebastian sat straight on his plush sofa, slowly tapping his fingers on his thigh, "Ignore, Siri." He quietly commanded, pinning his eyes on the approaching Ash.

’Alright, stranger successfully ignored,’ Siri replied.

Ida walked in with Ash beside him; Jasper trailed behind, slowly maintaining a distance from the two.

"Boss," Ida and Jasper bowed as they reached in front of Sebastian.

Ash timidly bowed her head too, looking very small beside the guys.

"You said you have something to say, Ash," Sebastian stared at Ash.

Ash nodded, "Yes, Mr. Orion," She replied.

Sebastian looked toward the dining and frowned.

Zeno was sitting beside Ken as he fed the boy while Nicholas decided to rest his arms on Zeno’s sides, caging him as he placed his hands on the table.

His fists automatically clenched beside him, he thought he’d be able to endure the tortuous sight until the moment when Zeno turned his face to speak to Nicholas and almost jammed his lips with his.

"Boss?" Ida dared to move a little closer as he called to Sebastian.

Sebastian slowly blinked away from the annoying view and faced Ida.

"Get Julia," He moved his icy glare to Jasper as he ordered.

"Yes, boss," Jasper immediately turned and walked out of the house.

"Take her into my office, Ida," Sebastian stood and walked past Ash, heading right toward the dining.

"Yes, Boss. Come on," Ida placed a gentle hand on Ash’s lower back and directed her towards the office.

Sebastian reached the table and paused beside Zeno.

"You need to work," He placed his hand on the table, just beside the plate Zeno was scooping from.

Zeno and Nicholas turned to look at Sebastian at the same time.

He had suddenly appeared and spoke beside them, talking to them without them hearing him approach.

Nicholas gently leaned away from Zeno and walked over to Sebastian.

Zeno turned to Sebastian, briefly looking at his eyes and quickly turning to Ken.

"I’ll-"

"He’s not going, Dad, he’s feeding me," Ken pointed his finger to his chest, frowning at his father.

Zeno saw that Sebastian was about to say something mean to the boy so he gently stood up and faced Sebastian.

"I’ll just hurry up and-"

"Are you refusing my order?" Sebastian narrowed his eyes and gritted his jaws.

Zeno sighed, why was he feeling like there was just so much tension in the air? Especially with Sebastian standing so close to him.

"No, Boss, I’m not," Zeno lowered his head.

"Sir, you asked for me," Julia’s voice diffused the thick air around them as everyone turned to look at her.

"Finish up with Ken," Sebastian informed.

"Yes, sir," Julia replied and smiled at Ken.

She knew that they were now on a mission to terminate the evil and cunning Darren, and she would be the happiest person if they succeeded. She knew the evil that man had done with Mr. Glen and they deserved to be punished.

Julia stepped forward and held Zeno’s arm, "I’ll take it from here," She smiled at him.

Zeno nodded and stepped away from the chair.

Ken had an unhappy look on his face but Sebastian wasn’t in the mood to entertain his tantrum.

Zeno patted Ken’s shoulder, "I’ll see you later, buddy," he gave the kid a fist bump and stepped away from the dining.

Sebastian automatically turned and followed Zeno as he walked toward his office.

He was about to enter his door when he felt Nicholas’ hand on his shoulder.

"What?" Sebastian turned his face behind him and stared at his friend.

Nicholas sighed and shook his head.

"You have to take it easy on Zeno; the guy’s done nothing to you; he’s not your father, who you should be angry at," Nicholas spoke quietly so Zeno wouldn’t hear them from inside the room.

"And you’re speaking as what? His boyfriend?" Sebastian raised his brow at Nicholas.

"I love that you’re wishing me well, dear friend, but I’m not his boyfriend yet, hopefully, soon. But I’m speaking as a friend," Nicholas replied.

"And since when do you lecture me on how I treat my workers?" Sebastian turned to squarely face Nicholas.

Nicholas stepped back, raising his hands beside his head, "You’re the boss, Sebastian," He said with a smile.

"It’s good you know, Nicholas," He replied and turned away from him.

Inside the office, Zeno was standing beside Ida and they were both standing behind the sofa that Ash was sitting on.

"Check your phone, Zeno. You caused a lot of chaos yesterday...where the fuck did you run off to?" Ida asked in a whisper.

Zeno frowned and fished out his phone from his pocket.

He quickly read the message Ida had just sent him, shock marking his face.

He turned his head to Ida in surprise.

"He took care of me? Called a doctor?" Zeno whispered.

"And refused to eat all day," Ida added.

"So it’s true...damn," He felt guilty.

He suddenly remembered feeling lightheaded when he stepped out of the car that night. He recalled feeling like he was having a heavy fever, and he remembered hearing voices in his head; he couldn’t recall everything, but he knew that he felt better the next morning.

Guilt was eating him up. He acted so ungratefully by leaving Sebastian’s side the moment he woke up and going on about his day with Nicholas.

The door was pushed open and Ash startled, shrinking back on the sofa.

"Relax, Ash, no one’s going to hurt you," Zeno placed a gentle hand on Ash’s shoulder.

At that moment, Sebastian walked through the door and saw Zeno’s hand on Ash’s shoulder. He felt like he wasn’t going to be able to survive that day.

Every damn little thing Zeno did evoked indescribable jealousy within him. He felt like he wanted to chase everyone away and just lock Zeno and himself up in a room.

He removed his eyes from there and walked around his table, sitting on his chair.

Nicholas walked in after him and sat in his usual spot in front of the table.

"Hello, Ash, I’m Nicholas. Heard they got you from Darren?" Nicholas questioned.

"I ran away," Ash replied, removing her face from him.

"You have the ground, Ash, what do you have to say?" Sebastian was speaking to Ash but his eyes were locked on Zeno.

Zeno transferred his weight from one foot to another and slowly removed his hand from Ash’s shoulder.

Ash released a sigh and placed her hands on her thighs, she was really scared of Sebastian.

She’d heard a lot about him from Darren’s discussion with his men. Even Darren feared him, so who was she not to fear Sebastian Orion?

She kept her eyes lowered to her hands before she spoke. "Darren...he trades underage girls and-"

"We already know that Ash; if that’s all you have to say, you can leave; I’m busy," Sebastian frowned at her.

Ash gulped and shook her head, "No...I mean, he really trades underage girls-"

"Lead her out, Ida," Sebastian ordered.

"Just hear her out!" Zeno blurted out, a bit more commanding than he should sound.

Everyone paused, Ash was breathing like a dying lizard. She knew Sebastian couldn’t stand the disrespect. And Zeno had disrespected him in front of people just because he wanted to defend her.

Ida snapped his head to Zeno, giving him the ’Are you for real?’ Look.

Nicholas sat quietly, ready to calm Sebastian down in case he wanted to react overboard.

However, Sebastian surprised everyone by remaining calm and unfazed.

He just stared at Zeno for a while, surprisingly finding out that he wasn’t even bothered that he raised his voice at him, he kind of found it endearing.

For the first time, Zeno was openly speaking freely to him amid people, he felt like he’d won a point over Nicholas.

Now Nicholas wasn’t the only one who Zeno spoke freely with outside, he was starting to be himself around him.

Zeno felt Sebastian’s gaze on him and realized his mistake, what had he been thinking?

He needed to apologize immediately.

’I’m-"

"Let’s hear you, Ash," Sebastian interrupted Zeno.

He knew Zeno was about to apologize, and he didn’t want that; he never apologized to Nicholas, so why should he apologize for speaking freely with him?

Ash was surprised by Sebastian’s reply, as were Zeno, Ida, and Nicholas.

They’d never seen Sebastian so calm in their life.

Ida partly knew the reason for that, but Nicholas was lost for what to think, he thought his friend was acting strange.

Zeno just stared at Sebastian, feeling like there was something Sebastian wasn’t saying out loud, and for some reason, he wasn’t feeling threatened by it; he was rather feeling as if Sebastian was silently encouraging his attitude, which was the first time.

"Darren has an orphanage where he claims to do charity for the homeless and unwanted kids..." Ash started.

"He poses as an angel who adopts children out of barren couples. However, the reality of it all is that both his clients and him are just devils in an angel’s clothing," Ash spoke quietly, but the look on her face was so full of detest.

"I’m sixteen, and I was raised there, too; I don’t know how I got there, but all I knew was that I grew up thinking that place was home. They tend to train kids who are two to three years like normal kids, but once you click four, you’re made to understand that you’re just an object made to serve whoever paid highest for you," She paused, clenching her fists.

"He only has rich barren couples, never average or middle-class couples; it’s always millionaires from both the country and outside the country; those are his partners who he sells the children to. Once a child is at the ripe age of eight, he’s ready to trade with his partners; that child faces the worst experience anyone or any child could face, sexually, socially, domestically..." Ash trailed off, tears falling from her eyes.

Sebastian smirked coldly; just when he thought he had enough to get Darren locked up forever, he just kept getting more and more exciting information.

"You know where this orphanage is, right?" Sebastian asked darkly.

Seems like he no longer needed to do much, things had just fallen into place.

"Yes, Mr. Orion, I do," Ash replied, looking forward to watching Darren crumble down.

 

Chapter 69

After confirming that Ash knew exactly where Darren’s orphanage was, he dismissed everyone from his office.

"Zeno..." Sebastian called Zeno who was about to leave his office.

Nicholas was walking behind Zeno, and when Sebastian called him, he knew it was because of what he’d done earlier, he knew it was too good to be true that Sebastian would just let a disrespect slide like that.

Zeno heard Sebastian call his name and felt his heart skip a beat. He turned and saw Nicholas standing in his way.

Nicholas stared at Zeno and smiled. "I don’t want to meddle, but if you don’t want to speak with him, I can talk to him," Nicholas said with a smile.

Zeno looked over Nicholas’ shoulder and found Sebastian’s mysterious grey eyes staring deeply at him.

"No need, Nick, he’s my boss, I have to listen to him," Zeno replied.

"Come here," Sebastian’s deep voice rang out from behind his table.

Nicholas felt a cold, unfeeling vibe from Sebastian’s order, while Zeno felt a hot and sexy domineering vibe from it.

Nicholas nodded, "I’ll wait out, then. I have a present for you," He held Zeno’s arm for a second before he sidestepped him and walked out the door.

"Lock the door, Zeno," Sebastian commanded from his chair.

Zeno couldn’t help the tingly feeling that washed over his body by that single order from Sebastian.

He didn’t turn away from Sebastian; he simply stepped backward and put his hand behind him, effortlessly finding the lock and locking it, his eyes still glued to Sebastian’s.

After locking the door he stood there, unsure of what to do. He was also looking for an opportunity to thank Sebastian for taking care of him that night, but now that he was alone with him, he was lost for words.

Sebastian stood from his chair and started walking toward Zeno in slow but steady strides.

Each step made Zeno’s heart skip uncontrollably, Sebastian’s height towered over him as he neared him.

Sebastian reached Zeno’s front, the front of their shoes touching, he placed one hand into his pocket and stared hard at Zeno.

"You’re getting bolder..." Sebastian said in a quiet voice.

Zeno bit his lips and shook his head. "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-"

"I liked it," Sebastian interrupted.

Zeno raised his brows, "You did?" He questioned.

Sebastian shrugged, "Never apologize for speaking your mind with me, Zeno," He stepped one of his legs between Zeno’s feet, his face very close to Zeno’s now, his shoulder touching his chest.

"I can’t do that," Zeno replied.

Sebastian frowned, "Why?"

"You’re my boss, it was wrong of me to speak out of place," He replied.

"So, you’re free with Nicholas because he’s not your boss?" Sebastian asked.

"He’s a friend...what I have with him is different from what I have with you," Zeno said, moving back and pressing his back against the door.

"Explain," Sebastian demanded and still moved toward him; he wasn’t feeling like giving Zeno any physical space; his jealousy was making him want to glue Zeno to his side for the rest of the day.

He knew Nicholas was out in the living room waiting for Zeno to walk out so that he’d continue his annoying PDA with him.

Zeno shrugged, "Well, you know how it is between us...it’s different with Nicholas. We’re not bound by any contract or duty, our friendship is real, no hatred between us." He looked up at Sebastian’s face as he explained.

Sebastian clenched his fists beside him, "So that’s it?" He raised a brow.

Zeno looked confused.

"That’s what?" He questioned.

"That’s what is between us? Just a contract? Duty? And hatred?" Sebastian’s voice was low as he asked.

Zeno saw pain flash through Sebastian’s eyes but he might have been wrong because it was gone the next second.

He sighed and shook his head, "Contract? Yes. Duty? Yes. Hatred?" He slowly raised his hand to Sebastian’s face and palmed the side of his face.

"I don’t hate you, Sebastian..." Zeno whispered.

Sebastian felt his heart thud heavily inside his chest.

He was lost for words for a few seconds; everything Zeno said faded away in his ears except the last words he’d said.

His eyes darkened as placed his hand over Zeno’s own on the side of his face. "You don’t hate me?" Sebastian placed his other hand on the door beside Zeno’s head, leaning his face down to Zeno’s.

"I did..." Zeno paused, seeing how Sebastian’s face fell with his reply, but he wasn’t done.

"But I came to realize that that’s how you treat everyone around you. It’s not my business, but I know you’ve been hurt before; we’ve all been hurt by something or someone in the past, but it’s how we deal with the pain that matters. Yours made you cold and bitter to everyone and it’s something I can’t control...it’s not even in my place to control. Even though you hate me and I hated you, I don’t see a reason why I should keep hating you; as long as I do my part of the contract and you do yours; I don’t see reasons for me to hate you..." Zeno explained quietly.

Sebastian leaned his forehead gently against Zeno’s; his hand on the door was lowered and placed around Zeno’s waist, drawing him plush against himself.

"You think I hate you?" Sebastian whispered against Zeno’s lips.

Zeno was feeling tingles all over his body; Sebastian was doing it again, making him want to believe things that weren’t real and could never be real; his heart was beating rapidly as he faced Sebastian’s deep eyes, staring right into his soul to search for the truth.

"I don’t think you hate me... I know you ha-mmph..." Sebastian’s lips covered Zeno’s, interrupting him from finishing his words.

He kissed Zeno slowly, tightening his arm around his waist.

He didn’t want to hear it from Zeno because he didn’t want to reply if he’d let him say what he wanted to say.

He was still at war with himself; he was trying to really understand what was going on within him; he needed to be in control of his emotions before he spoke to Zeno about what he’d been feeling.

For now, he was just going to follow his instinct, which was telling him to claim Zeno, to make him his, to tell everyone to back off from him, and to show him off to the whole world.

He kissed Zeno, tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss. His mind was replaying how Nicholas had kissed Zeno’s cheeks again, and he suddenly moved away from Zeno, holding his jaw and making him look up to look into his eyes.

Zeno licked his lips as he stared right back at Sebastian.

He was no kid, and he could identify emotions even without the other person speaking. Even though in most cases it might be wrong, but not always.

And what he was feeling from Sebastian made his extremes turn cold.

It was a hard possibility but becoming a reality would make everything different between them.

"You love me," Zeno said in the quietest voice he’s ever spoken with.

Sebastian was taken aback for a few seconds before he scoffed softly.

His mind stopped processing for a while as he tried to find an accurate reply for Zeno.

He’s been cornered.

"Don’t get ahead of yourself, Zeno," Sebastian blinked, removing his eyes from Zeno but not letting his waist go.

Zeno smiled self-deprecatingly, "Of course, I’m sorry, that was dumb; you hate me after all," He tried to remove Sebastian’s hand from his waist, but it tightened around him.

"Is there something else?" Zeno asked, staring up at him.

Sebastian nodded, "Nicholas."

Zeno frowned, "What about him?" He questioned.

"Don’t let him kiss you anymore, I don’t like it," Sebastian stated in a serious tone.

Zeno shook his head at him, he chuckled dryly before he replied, "It’s none of your business who I kiss, Boss," His tone was cold.

He hoped Sebastian was hurting as he was.

He wondered why he always allowed himself to get fooled by Sebastian’s emotional games; it was about time he woke up from his unrealistic dreams.

"You have no right to ask that of me," Zeno added.

Sebastian sighed, he leaned down his face again and whispered.

"Is me not liking it not enough reason for you?" He traced his thumb across Zeno’s lips.

Zeno removed Sebastian’s hand from his lips, "What you think about it is none of my business, the fact remains that your opinion doesn’t matter in my personal life."

"Then..." Sebastian wrapped his second hand around Zeno and squarely hugged him plush against himself.

"What do I do to make my opinion matter to your personal life?" Sebastian’s voice was husky beisde Zeno’s ear.

Zeno felt his ribcage vibrate violently from his increased heart rate.

Did Sebastian know what he was asking? Zeno wasn’t going to get ahead of himself this time.

He was going to go slow.

Zeno sighed, "Do you realize what you’re asking for, Sebastian? I don’t want to get ahead of myself..." He asked in Sebastian’s arms.

"What if I do know what I’m asking for?" Sebastian replied.

Zeno shook his head, he didn’t want to feel disappointment for the second time in a row, "No, you don’t." He gently pushed Sebastian away from him.

"You don’t, Sebastian. Don’t make me get ahead of myself...let’s go out before they start suspecting something..." Zeno turned away from Sebastian and pulled the door open, walking out and leaving Sebastian alone in the office.

Sebastian felt as if he’d just been rejected even though nothing was really asked, it hurt.

Why was it so hard to make Zeno understand his unspoken feelings?

 

 

Chapter 70

Sebastian walked out of his office and saw Nicholas talking to Ken while Zeno was in the kitchen speaking with Julia.

Before he even paid attention to what Zeno was doing with Julia, he shut his eyes and stood in front of his office door for a few seconds.

If he wanted to appear normal in front of everyone, he had to get his jealousy in check; if not he’d just end up snapping at everyone.

He couldn’t believe he was getting angry at Julia for simply speaking to Zeno

Something was wrong with him, and he knew it.

Zeno was making him feel things he’d never felt before insecure, scared...scared of losing something, someone...Zeno.

He was no longer comfortable with having to fight those feelings; he wanted to find a way to either let them out or suppress them. It was getting out of hand.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes but he clenched his fist in the next second.

Why was Julia holding Zeno’s hand?

He marched forward immediately, if anyone was holding Zeno’s hand, it should be him.

He walked past Ken and Nicholas, walking right into the kitchen, and stood right next to Zeno.

Julia instinctively moved back from Zeno, causing Zeno to look beside him and see Sebastian’s cold face staring at Julia.

"So, I’ll just get you the flour powder and send you the recipe in your dm," Zeno continued, speaking to Julia as if he hadn’t seen Sebastian.

Julia nodded, not feeling like continuing their conversation anymore.

"Yay! Dad, I’m going out with Nicholas!" Ken announced.

Zeno turned to Ken in confusion.

’What’s Nicholas up to?’ He muttered in his head.

Sebastian didn’t even bother to turn to Ken. "No, you’re not," He replied.

Nicholas chuckled and lowered himself on the chair beside Ken.

"Come on, Sebastian, let the boy live a little. It’s just a park; he’d get to meet and play with other kids; if you want to make sure he’s safe, you can send your bodyguard with him; he’d be safe with Zeno," Nicholas convinced.

Julia felt the atmosphere shift in the kitchen; she was feeling something between Sebastian and Zeno, but she couldn’t say what it was.

Sebastian looked at Zeno for a second and shrugged, "If he’s going, then I’m going..." Sebastian replied, he gave Zeno a knowing look before he walked a little away from him.

"I knew you couldn’t stay back if Ken was going," Nicholas chuckled.

But, only Zeno knew that Sebastian wasn’t talking about Ken.

Zeno knew Sebastian was talking about him; he didn’t want to let Zeno go out with Nicholas again.

Nicholas had just used Ken as an excuse to get Zeno out with him again; he never knew that Sebastian would agree so easily.

"So, when are we going to this park?" Sebastian questioned.

"Now!" Ken replied excitedly.

"Yeah...now," Nicholas nodded.

Nicholas wished Sebastian had refused; at least he would have gotten another special day with Zeno.

Sebastian nodded. He turned to walk past the kitchen from the side where Zeno was standing, and somehow, Julia had her eyes glued in their direction. As Sebastian walked past Zeno, the sound of glass breaking was heard all over the living room.

Julia had just witnessed Sebastian playfully touch Zeno’s ass as he walked past him and Zeno had seen her looking and knew that it was the reason she let the glass fall from her hand out of shock.

He, too was shocked. He never expected Sebastian to act that way with people around him. Didn’t he think anyone would see him?

Everyone stared at Julia, especially Sebastian.

He was no fool, he knew why Julia dropped the glass.

He fixed a hard gaze on her, silently daring her to say a word.

"I’m, I’m so sorry, my hand was wet; I’m really sorry," Julia immediately bent over to pick up the glass shreds.

Zeno was about to move toward and lend his help when he felt Sebastian’s hand on his arm, dragging him back, "You should get Ken ready to go out," He ordered with a secret smirk.

Zeno suddenly narrowed his eyes at Sebastian; he shockingly realized that Sebastian had touched his behind on purpose; he wanted Julia to see it.

He stepped away from Sebastian and walked out of the kitchen without a word.

"Come on, Ken, it’s time to dress up," He held the boy’s hand and helped him down from the chair, leading him up the stairs without speaking to anyone.

He was pissed.

Why does Sebastian feel that it is okay for him to make their relationship known to whoever he sees fit without his permission and then go around and expect him to keep it hidden on his part like he was some skeleton in a wardrobe?

He recalled him doing the same thing in front of Ida that night at Darren’s club; no doubt he wanted Ida to know too; did Sebastian, for once, wonder if he wanted anyone to know at all?

As Zeno disappeared up the stairs, Sebastian moved closer to Julia, who was washing her hands under the running water in the sink; he paused beside her and asked in a very low and dangerous.

"Everything alright, Julia?" He placed a hand behind her on the sink.

"Y-yes, sir...boss. Everything’s fine," She replied in a quiet voice.

Sebastian nodded, "Just checking on you, be safe," He patted her shoulder before walking out of the kitchen.

Julia nodded, her heart skipping fast in fear.

She knew that she had just been warned, and that hand pat on her shoulder was a gentle reminder to be quiet or face wrath.

"So, you’re really coming with us?" Nicholas questioned Sebastian as he neared him.

"Yes," Sebastian patted Nicholas’ arm and walked past him, heading straight for the stairs.

"Right..." Nicholas muttered, sitting on the chair.

Inside Ken’s room, Zeno was standing beside his wardrobe, watching the boy select what he wanted to wear by himself.

"How about this?" Ken asked as he held up a pair of blue shorts for Zeno to see.

Zeno shook his head, "It’s kind of cold outside; how about full pants," He suggested.

"Fine...just a second," Ken turned to his wardrobe again and picked a pair of black pants and a black shirt, "These?" He stared at Zeno in expectation.

Zeno nodded, even though he would have loved to comment on why Zeno’s outfit was almost all black, just like his father’s but it was none of his business, so he just said, "Go put them on," He opened a door beside his wardrobe and made way for him to enter his walk-in closet.

"Don’t peek," Ken pointed at Zeno before he shut his door.

Zeno chuckled and stepped back from the door, wondering how Sebastian produced such a humorous and kind child while he was the complete opposite.

He was lost in thought when he suddenly felt those strong and familiar arms around his waist.

"What’s up, baby girl?" Sebastian moved in behind Zeno and whispered in his ear.

Zeno felt ticklish and wanted to move away from him but Sebastian held him closer to his front and tighter.

"I asked, what’s up, baby girl?" Sebastian whispered again.

Zeno wanted to move away from him because he had just discovered that Sebastian’s touch had a way of melting away his anger, and he wasn’t done being angry at him, Sebastian should understand what mutual respect was all about.

In as much as he’s the boss, the boss’ also respects their employee; it’s not a written rule; it’s one of the universal human rules, and it is only right to treat others how you want them to treat you.

"Let go of me..." Zeno said in a low voice, placing his hands on Sebastian’s around his waist and trying to remove it from him.

"Shh...stop squirming...it’s turning me on," Sebastian bit Zeno’s earlobe, sucking it into his mouth.

"Ahh...Sebastian...there’s - ahh... a boy in the - stop...room..." Zeno fought the urge to fall back against Sebastian and let him carry on his sweet torture on him.

"Chill, baby, he’s got problems fixing his pants...we got time," Sebastian kissed the side of Zeno’s neck and moved his hands up his chest, pinching his nipples through his shirt.

"God... you’re so perfect," Sebastian whispered huskily.

Zeno had his mouth opened like a fish as he breathed heavily; he managed to hold one of Sebastian’s hands and removed it from his chest, and then he removed the other one, too.

He slowly turned to Sebastian, locking his eyes with his the moment he faced him.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Zeno questioned with a slight frown, trying to control his breathing, Sebastian had a way of tuning his heart to whatever frequency he wanted it to be.

Sebastian smirked, slowly walking closer to Zeno. "Tell me you didn’t like it and I’ll leave," He whispered, drawing Zeno close by the waist.

Zeno bit his lips and looked away.

That would be a lie because he did like it, in fact, he wanted more, but he would never say that.

Sebastian placed his hand on the side of Zeno’s face and brought it back to face him, he used his thumb to draw out Zeno’s bottom lips from between his teeth then proceeded to place his lips very close to Zeno’s, "They’re mine for me to bite, baby girl," He whispered and sucked Zeno’s bottom lip into his mouth, gently biting it between his teeth and slowly releasing it.

"You liked that?" He asked Zeno, whose eyes had turned lusty and misty.

Zeno was speechless; he shut his eyes and forced himself to focus; he was getting that spontaneous feeling again, the feeling that wanted him to believe that he meant more to Sebastian, a feeling that made him think that Sebastian did stare at him like in those paintings.

He was getting ahead of himself like he always did.

"Just stay away from me, Sebastian, unless it’s time to do what’s on the contract, I don’t want all these little moments between us anymore, please," Zeno was about to step back but Sebastian caught his hand and was about to reply him when Ken’s walk-in-closet door opened and the little guy walked out to see his father holding Zeno around the waist.

"Dad, are you hugging Zeno?" Ken blinked as he stared at them.