Chapter 1

"Sir, can you hear me?" I heard someone call out to me. That's when I realized I had drifted off again. I looked at the nurse; she repeated herself and placed a supportive hand on my shoulder.

"Your uncle didn't make it. His organs failed, and we lost him."

The words hit me with a sharp pain across my chest. I slumped and fell to the ground. People stared, but this time, I wasn't interested in being the center of attention.

My uncle, who had played the role of both father and mother, was gone. I was left alone in this world. Tears welled up as I went into his ward and held his hand.

We shared a special uncle-nephew bond. He was the only one who understood my idiosyncrasies, and now he was gone. I kissed his hand, instructing the nurse to take care of his body as I intended to return for his cremation.

Leaving the hospital, I rushed to the pub. I wanted to drown my sorrows, but I had always been resistant to alcohol. This time, however, I needed something strong to numb the heartache.

My uncle's sudden death was a shock. We had just returned from the company, and he had retired to rest while I had gone for my drink. His helper came running out, having found him unresponsive. Rushing him to the hospital, the doctors struggled to determine the cause. They concluded his death was gradual – his organs had been deteriorating until he couldn't hold on any longer.

Sitting alone in the VIP lounge, I recalled his wishes for his body to be cremated and his ashes spread beneath the full moon in Lakewood. The place intrigued me, surrounded by woods, far from any homes.

The pub's owner sent in some girls to entertain me. It had always been the routine. Yet, tonight was different. My uncle had passed away, and I respected him for the night at least.

Facing the girls, already undressed, I asserted, "You can leave; I'm not interested."

Disappointment flickered across their faces, but they tried to maintain a seductive demeanor. One approached, attempting to arouse me with her movements.

"Leave!" I snapped, and they hurried away. Their behavior irritated me. I held little respect for women and treated them all the same way. Like Sluts!!!

I knew they were going to be questioned for failing to seduce and get money out of me, but I couldn't care less.

I was still drinking in silence when I felt a presence in the room. I quickly reached for the wine bottle and flung it across the room, thinking it was those girls again, but it wasn't them. It was my friend Leo.

Leo was more like a brother to me. He grew up with me in the same house before he moved out to live on his own, while I stayed back with my uncle. He also works in the same company with me. Seeing him here in the pub, he must have heard the news.

"Come on, man, why did you do that?" Leo asked after he successfully dodged almost getting hit by the impact of that bottle.

I was a bit ashamed of what I had just done. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration and didn't give him any response.

He ordered another drink. We both sat down and drank in silence. The only noise that could be heard in the room was the sound of the cleaner attending to the broken bottles.

"So, what's next?" Leo finally broke the silence. "What are we going to do about uncle's body?"

"He wants his body to be cremated, so we have to respect his wish," I replied. "But what I do not know is why he wants his ashes to be disposed of at Lakewood."

"Lakewood? You've got to be kidding me. Why Lakewood?" Leo asked, surprised.

"That's what I do not know, but it's the old man's wish. He'll get it," I said, gulping my drink and standing up.

"I must leave now. I have to prepare for his funeral," I said, making to leave before Leo stopped me.

"He's my uncle as well. We will plan the funeral together," he gulped his drink as well and stood up.

On our way out of the pub, we received stares from different people, regardless of gender. I was aware of why they were looking at us. My skin tone was much different from everyone around here.

For some reason, I had pale skin, making me almost white in complexion. I had piercing blue eyes. I didn't even work out for my perfectly sculptured abs; I just had to maintain it.

On the other hand, Leo had brown eyes and red hair that matched his eye color. He was well built too.

On nights when I was feeling generous, I might have flirted with some girls and probably had two or more of them screaming my name from intense lovemaking. However, because I respected my uncle a lot, I owed him that chastity this night.