Masuk"No," Zane shrugged. "I just kind of anticipated it. Somehow, I knew it was going to happen, since you no longer see me as your son – just another man's child. Probably an enemy of yours." Zane said without any care."And what do you mean by that?" Aldwin sat up, turning to face Zane fully now."You still haven't finished what you were going to say," Zane said, ignoring his question.His meeting with Ralph was still a secret, and he was not going to give any hint about Ralph. Aldwin had no idea Zane had come face to face with the man meant to be his real father – and that he was somewhere in the city while Aldwin still had his search team out there looking to catch a trace of him. Zane found that amusing. Ralph was something else – a real threat, as he called himself."Don't ignore my question, Zane. What do you mean by what you just said? What do you mean when you said the unknown father was my enemy?""Unknown?" Zane asked, feeling disgusted. "I know nothing," he said flatly.Aldwin
Aldwin left the Ellison family mansion more convinced than he had been when he arrived. He was going to talk to Zane about the new plan. It was better Zane heard it from him than found out by surprise."Hey, kiddo," Aldwin said casually as he approached Zane in the sitting room.He sat beside him and wrapped his arm around Zane's shoulder, pulling him closer.Zane was amazed to see Aldwin like this. He had been avoiding him for months since he found out Zane was another man's child, and no matter how Zane tried to get close to him or what he said, Aldwin always seemed uninterested. But here he was, calling him fondly, pulling him close.Zane loved this. He had craved Aldwin's attention for months, but it hadn't worked, as Aldwin was determined to keep him at a distance."Hi, Father," Zane said with a wide grin. "You seem to be in a good mood. Did something good happen at work today?""No…" Aldwin drew out the word, still thinking of how to tell Zane the plan. "I'm just happy, that's a
"And Zane?" Aldwin asked, still deep in thought."Zane will have a good career. He'll be taken care of, if he chooses to remain an Ellison and if he doesn't rebel or go looking for his biological father. He could still bear the Ellison name, but that doesn't mean anything," Mrs Ellison said with a shrug, like it didn't matter. "We can't use all our bullets at once," she said, staring into space."And what do you mean by that?" Aldwin asked, furrowing his brows. He knew there was more to those words. His mother was much more dangerous when she acted nonchalant about important things. There was always more than she voiced out.She was very good at scheming, and her tactics rarely failed."He won't bear the Ellison name for so long," she added.Aldwin craned his neck, still narrowing his eyes, urging her to go on.Mrs Ellison's eyes glistened, seeing she had caught Aldwin's attention. "While we have a good plan to keep him close without giving too much, we can't strip him of the name as
Aldwin's attitude towards Zane didn't change, despite his conscience pricking at him over the way he ignored Zane and his unwillingness to lose him to Ralph.After many unsuccessful attempts to find Ralph's whereabouts, Aldwin concluded that Ralph was either lost somewhere and never coming back, or was dead. The latter was better, because Aldwin had instructed his search team to kill Ralph the moment he was found. He no longer had any reserve for him. Aldwin silently regretted why he had helped Ralph flee from the Black Triad in the first place. He could have killed him when he had the chance – now he was untraceable, whether dead or alive. Ralph was not close, but he had successfully ruined Aldwin's luck with the boys by stealing his chance of being the father to a wonderful son like Zane. He rolled his eyes at the satisfying imagination of leaving several bullets in Ralph.He dismissed the possibility of Ralph ever showing up; besides, it had been eighteen years after all.Aldwin de
"Because of his money? What do you think of me?" I asked angrily, unable to contain my calm with Zane's choice of words."Honestly, Mother, I don't know what to think anymore," he shrugged absentmindedly, unbothered if what he said got me angry."There's more to this story if you would listen," I said warningly.Zane nodded, indicating he was listening."I read the pre-contract, and it never contained the clause that would tie me to Aldwin for as long as he wanted. So it was assumed I had read and agreed to the conditions when I signed the main contract, which contained the clause." I paused, observing Zane to see if he was understanding. "I only found out about the clause when I wanted to file for divorce. It made it impossible, so I stayed." My face fell."How do you mean impossible?" Zane asked, confused."No lawyer was ready to take my case. Your father made sure of that," I said with a nod.Zane scoffed. He wasn't surprised. That move obviously sounded like Aldwin – he was always
Zane's interest in Ralph grew instantly. He was beginning to like him of his own accord."What happened to your leg?" Ralph asked, changing the topic."A car accident," Zane said. "I was following my brother. He ran off after a fight with my father. I lost control of the car and went off a cliff."Ralph's face stiffened. "Are you okay?""I will be. The doctors say I'll be able to walk without a limp. It'll just take time.""And your brother? Is he okay?"Zane's expression darkened. "He's fine. He wasn't in the car. He was off somewhere else."Ralph nodded slowly, not pushing further.They talked for another hour. Zane asked about Kyrgyzstan – about the mountains and the people, and what it was like to live somewhere so far from everything he had ever known. Ralph answered each question patiently, not hiding the hard parts but not dwelling on them either. He told Zane about the software company, about the projects he had worked on, and about the satisfaction of building something from
I stepped out the moment I saw him.Wow. This wasn't the Ralph I remembered. He looked even more handsome than the last time I had seen him. His beard was well-groomed and he’d filled out—muscular, the athletic kind of build. Who is this and what have you done to my friend? I was left wordless. He
My discomfort affected my sleep, too. My first night in this mansion was much easier falling asleep than tonight, after three years of making it my home. I had nightmares of myself drowning in a well while everyone watched. My mom. Lisa too. Aldwin didn’t even blink. No one gave a fuck or even att
It's been three years. Three years of this glided embarrassment. I was hoping it would be different this time, at least there was a good reason for not showing up in the past two years even though it was intentional.I put all my effort into planning the anniversary party, hoping it would be differ
“Now be obedient and do as I say.” He sat back on the chair. I hesitated, but the words found their way somehow. “Have you ever thought about how I feel? For once?” “How you feel? It doesn't matter. We do it my way. Your feelings don't matter here,” he said with a dark smirk. “Then I'm not up f







