Episode 92

"You!"

The man stood surprised by the door. He was a man of normal height so compared to him, Akio and Kei looked like giants. He had delicate features but a giant scar over his face that completely ruined those beautiful features. Silky black hair that were slightly long and dark eyes. He looked really young, somewhat like a teenager but he probably was the same age as Akio.

Akio was holding Sia and Kei was holding Leah.

He stepped aside and let the two in since it was cold outside during the night and they were carrying children.

He walked ahead expecting the two to follow, leading them into a heated living room. The house was quite big and well decorated from inside.

"You've grown... alot..." The guy murmured turning back and looking Akio from head to toe, he probably recognized him just by one glimpse.

"He's...not home is he...?" Akio asked a bit hesitantly.

"I wouldn't have brought you inside if he was" The guy simply replied and Akio lowered his head.

"Sit down"

He pointed to the two and took a seat himself first.

"I'm-" Akio probably tried to apologize but the guy didn't seem to be in mood for it.

"I don't need it" He said abruptly and Akio could do nothing but sit rather quietly " It's been years Akio, you really never turned back..."

"How could I?" Akio replied, Kei couldn't understand anything so he just kept looking back and forth between them.

The two had a moment of silence. Then the guy took a deep sigh.

"That kid.. did he survive?" The guy asked, putting his ego aside, he looked quite concerned.

" Natsuro... I named him.. Natsuro" Akio told him and he looked rather surprised then lowered his head with an emotional expression.

"Natsuro.. let me see him one day" He replied with a satisfied expression.

Then looked at Kei and the girls.

Akio noticed it, he'd almost forgotten to introduce them.

"Ah, this is Keitarou kun.... my partner"

"Is that so?" The guy was surprised yet again "then..these children..?"

"... they're our daughters" Akio told him.

"Three kids huh... you've built a family.." He had a gentle expression.

" Four... probably..." Akio corrected him and he realized.

"Ah, congratulations!" He immediately corrected himself.

There was an awkward silence yet again.

"Where's...the toilet...?" Kei asked.

"Upstairs turn right, the end room is the washroom" The guy told him " Here, give me..." He took Leah from Kei.

" What are their names?" He asked Akio who told him the names and how to differentiate between the two.

Kei left for upstairs, he thought they would probably start talking more without his presence, so he just went upstairs with the excuse of using the washroom.

He opened the door of the room casually only to realize it was not a bathroom. He pretty much fell back in horror.

From thick black horse whips to thin crop whips mounted on the holders over the main wall, there were bracing chairs with leather braces, a collection of a variety of adult toys, bondage ropes of different colors, colorful candles, wall mounted chains, cage bed..... a room full of everything that a pervert could imagine.

He quickly closed the door and found the right one to the bathroom, getting in there and locking himself for a breather.

Meanwhile down there, Akio was wondering what was taking Kei so long.

"He stutters while talking" The guy brought up.

Akio lowered his head, kinda looking unwilling to talk about it.

"Papa.." A little boy almost two to three came out dragging a toy bunny from the ear and rubbing his eyes. He handed Leah over to Akio and got up.

"Ah... Did I wake you up?" He picked the child gently coddling him in his arms so he fell back asleep.

"Is that your child?" Akio asked looking rather surprised.

" You know I can't have children" The guy replied.

" Then... " Akio could somehow tell, the boy looked nothing like him anyway.

"One of his affairs..." He replied gently.

Akio didn't dare ask more than that, nor did he look like he was willing to tell any further than this.

Besides, Akio already had a general idea of things.

"I'm.. sorry..." Akio ended up apologizing anyways "For all these years... I can't imagine what a person like him...."

"It's okay... I was the one who made you promise to never return.. even though you're breaking it right now" He spoke with a content look on his face.

He extended his hand cupping Akio's cheek.

"I'm fine...so keep moving ahead..." He whispered to Akio whose lips trembled as he tried to control himself hard.

"If you dare cry on me, I'll definitely kill you" He lowkey threatened so Akio straightened up.

"Man you haven't changed at all.. you're still a big cry baby..."

Akio relaxed himself since he also heard Kei's footsteps, so he maintained his composure.

"So is it time now?" The guy asked and Akio looked at him.

" Eh?" Akio was somewhat confused.

" You're back..means you want it right?"

He said and Akio's expression changed yet again.

" Do you still have that bracelet?"

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"He's.. suffering..."

Zhuang lowered his head clenching his fists. He wasn't able to catch sleep for the whole night considering Alex didn't sleep at all.

"We'll have to find him...Joshua Hughes" Zhuang told Aoi.

Aoi had some stress of her own, she'd been with Lian the whole time, being unable to go to Natsuro.

"We can't find him" Aoi replied to him to which Zhuang seemed dumbfounded.

"Don't you have his contact number?" Zhuang asked "Didn't you just say he was your wedding planner?"

"What I meant is, his cover's blown, he'll only show up when he's ready to do so... otherwise it'll mess up his plans" Aoi told Zhuang.

"He should atleast meet his son!" Zhuang got mad.

"You should atleast go meet your own son instead"

Aoi replied to which Zhuang got confused again.

"Ivan Strauss came here yesterday... I have no idea what happened but by the time I arrived, Natsuro was out of control"

" Is he okay???!!" Zhuang got panicked.

" His blood pressure shot,  almost had a miscarriage, he's in VIP ward now.. room 306, they'll keep him admitted for observation-" Aoi was still talking when Zhuang left the room, rushing out to see Natsuro.

"Did I wake you?" Aoi asked as little Lian opened his eyes and shook his head.

She reached her hand to his forehead and checked it against hers.

"The fever's down"

Though little Lian was still on an IV, the doctor had recommended it because his body was so weak that it couldn't have withstood without it.

"I'll get you something to eat" Aoi got up but little Lian grabbed her clothes in his little grip.

He seemed reluctant to let her go, so Aoi sat back down.

The two of them stayed silent.

"Brother Ian..." The child spoke up again after a long time.

"Ah, he's not here right now but-" Aoi thought he was calling for his brother, though the child shook his head.

He didn't say it but it was obvious on his face that he wanted Aoi to do something and bring him back. He understood that Ian was into something dangerous and would probably end up getting killed for it...

"How can I when I don't know what he's planning to do"

Aoi sighed but the kid looked at Aoi with hopeful eyes.

" Uh okay okay... But get well first.. if I'm driving you back and forth from the hospital everyday... I can't do it can I? "

Aoi told him and he nodded, showing some resolution to work towards improving his own self... If it was for Ian, he had to buckle himself up even though he himself was hurting so much inside that he didn't even feel like waking up in the morning... But for now... For Ian... He had to..

"I'll drop you off to your Brother Alex, he's..." Aoi couldn't really explain it to a child " Please take care of him for me will you?"

Aoi gently ruffled up his hair and the kid blushed lowering his head shyly to which Aoi was a bit dumbfounded at first and then realized something.

"Eh, did I just flip a wrong switch on?"

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"Akio san..."

"Hm...?"

Kei didn't say anything after it, well it was obvious that Kei wanted an explanation of all of it.

They'd been on road all night and neither of them had a bit of sleep, so the moment  they'd entered the house, Akio put the girls in their bed and just laid on his own bed looking really tired.

"Come here" Akio extended his hand and Kei took it only to get pulled onto the bed and get spooned by Akio.

Akio had his eyes closed so naturally Kei thought he might have fallen asleep but he ended up talking with closed eyes.

"Remember...the guy I told you about, the one who Zhuang hurt and he ended up falling in debt and going to someone he didn't like?"

" Is Albert san..?" Kei asked in surprise.

" Albert saved me, even though he was a child working in the red light district himself...he hid me into the shabby little place he had for himself..he supported me through everything...he really loved children so he's the one who chose Natsuro's name" Akio told him.

" Then .. why? " Kei was full of questions.

"Working at a strip club means you're bound to get a stalker or two... It was the same for Albert, the spoiled son Caleb, of an alpha who sponsored the club was after him.. that man had...weird tastes.. " Akio told him, Kei realized what he had seen.

" Akio san...there was a...room... A torture...room..." Kei told Akio, who didn't look much surprised hearing that.

"That's not a tortu-" Akio knew what it was but explaining it to Kei would be complicated since he appeared too innocent for this "nevermind-"

"Eh...?" Kei was dumbfounded.

" Albert had rejected Caleb for a long time, actually he'd told Caleb he'd only be with him over his dead body" Akio continued " it's just that day when Zhuang and him got into that fight...."

" Zhuang....san..." Kei mumbled.

" Zhuang misunderstood that he was my new partner and so the two got into a fight, Albert was strong so don't think Zhuang was the only one who injured him... it's just..." Akio quietened up.

" Zhuang san used ....pheromones didn't he..."  Kei figured out, Akio didn't reply.

" Albert was already in debt and so the injuries caused him to go further in debt...his face had been scarred, he had irreversible injuries" Akio told him " Caleb bought it all... including him..."

Kei turned his face to Akio, Akio still kept his eyes closed.

He probably couldn't have talked about it without reliving it all.

It was painful...

"On top of it...Albert signed a contract with him on condition to find me a place in a different city where I could live on my own and start a life...and that Zhuang would never be able to get to me again..." Akio told him.

" The coffee.. shop... "  Kei whispered and Akio somewhat nodded.

" I was so mad! He made me promise.. after all the shame he had taken upon himself, he said if I were to turn it all to waste... he'd probably kill himself..." Akio clenched his fists.

" He's a man of his words and full of so much pride...so I knew he meant it... besides... what could I have done anyways??"

Kei tightly hugged Akio who hid his face in Kei's chest.

"My bracelet, I entrusted him, as a part of an excuse...that one day I'll use that excuse to find him again...I never thought I'd move over so shamelessly and actually never look back until I needed to..."

Akio whispered, though he never made a sound, Kei could feel his shirt wetting up a little.

"If he's...a man of pride...then...he probably... didn't want you to.. either..." Kei consoled him.

" On the way.. a part of me wished that I wouldn't be able to find him... That he'd probably ran away from that jerk long ago... But getting to know that only I was able to escape my past while everyone else I ever knew wasn't able to make it through... Makes me feel so selfish and ungrateful... I feel so guilty!"

Akio probably referred to not only Albert but also Raina Strauss and Joshua Hughes as well.

Akio was so close to breaking down.

"Why am I the only one who was able to get out?!!"

Seeing Akio like that, Kei was quite weak hearted, rather than consoling, he'd started to cry himself too to Akio's surprise.

"Eh, Why are you crying?" Akio asked forgetting that he was the one supposed to be sobbing.

"Because you're sad.. I can't stop it... the tears ..come out ...." Kei started sobbing nastily, even getting hiccups.

In the end Akio ended up consoling Kei instead rather the other way around.

Kei didn't stop crying until he fell asleep.

Akio kept playing with his hair while he was asleep on his arm.

He kissed Kei's forehead and whispered.

"Even so.... I'm grateful that I was able to escape and.. fall in love with you...."

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"Wakey Wakey"

Nicolas cringed trying to touch a spot on the back of his neck that was throbbing only to realize his hands were constrained.

He looked around quickly taking note of where he was, even though moving abruptly made his vision a bit shaky.

Especially since one of his lens had moved a bit from it's position, he rapidly blinked getting it in place.

" I never knew your eyes were grey...they make you look even more cat like, haha has anybody ever told you that you have catlike features? "

Ivan Strauss was sitting on a chair infront of him with crossed legs, while Nicolas was all tied up and on the ground. He didn't answer, just glared.

"Ah I've been so stupid...you know since you saved my life the very first day we met, I came to blindly trust you"

Ivan Strauss shrugged.

" Nicolas Strahovski was it? Is that your real name?"

Nicolas was still accessing the situation.

" It's my real name but Strahovski is the surname of my mother's family" Nicolas ended up replying after concluding that he was in the Strauss mansion's store room.

"Oh? Then what's the surname of your father's side?" Ivan Strauss raised a brow.

"Hughes" Nicolas replied with an intense gaze that surprised Ivan too.

" Haha! What a surprise!" He moved forth and pulled Nicolas up by his collar

"Are you by chance related to Clara Hughes?"

"I'm his younger brother" Nicolas replied glaring at him, to which Ivan let go of his collars

" I see, it's like that ..I get it now" Ivan could see the obvious resemblance now that he'd paid attention.

"Are you going to kill me?" Nicolas asked having no shred of remorse or fear on his face.

Ivan Strauss looked down at him for a while then grinned.

"A man of your caliber... it'd be such a waste to do that"

"Huh?" Nicolas raised a brow.

" Besides, if all you want is revenge...then you're aiming at the wrong person you see" Ivan Strauss relaxed back with a triumph look.

"What do you mean by that?" Nicolas asked frowning a bit.

" The guy who saw you, told me you had an accomplice... the description seemed awfully familiar...so tell me..." Ivan Strauss leaned forward with a wide grin

" Is Joshua Hughes alive? "

Nicolas didn't answer that, so Ivan Strauss automatically assumed his answer.

"Did you know originally Joshua Hughes was supposed to be given to me as a part of the deal?" Ivan asked rhetorically.

"He had the highest fertility rate out of all six of the orphans, but Raina seduced me out of her own accord" Ivan Strauss hummed while saying so.

" That's got nothing to do with me" Nicolas replied with a blank expression.

" Oh it sure does.." Ivan Strauss was completely enjoying this "You see...if it wasn't for Joshua Hughes, Raina wouldn't have been brought into any of this"

Nicolas couldn't understand how any of this was related to him.

Ivan Strauss shrugged "that woman... No matter what I did to her... She never broke, she never gave in... Well, that's what I loved about her too, Do you know why I chose her? "

Ivan didn't even have to complete it for Nicolas to understand what came ahead but he did anyways.

"Breaking Joshua Hughes would have been very easy, but Raina, her sacrifice made me touched you see, to give up your lover and freedom to save someone else, where can you find such an outstanding woman!?"

Ivan Strauss spoke rather frantically, his obsession for Raina Strauss reflected in his expression.

Nicolas's eyes widened and he almost choked on his own breath coming to a realization.

" Haha, what got your sister killed was not me but Joshua Hughes...if Raina hadn't given up to save Joshua then she and Clara would have been living an ideal life with each other, it all happened because of Joshua Hughes haha!"

Ivan Strauss couldn't stop laughing and Nicolas was in utter shock.

" You don't mean- "

"It's exactly what you think haha"

"You're.. lying...!"

"Clara Hughes and Raina were lovers"