Chapter 5

Adrian has been going back and forth to paradise for weeks, but his timing never seems to match up with Agustin’s, and he hasn’t been able to find Emmett either. Different bartenders have been serving him each time. He’s hooked up with other men a few times, but he still hasn’t crossed paths with Agustin.

Adrian slammed the counter in frustration and stood up, but someone suddenly blocked his path.

“Hi!”

Adrian grinned, noticing that the man seemed very high, so he shook his head. “I’m not interested,” he said, about to leave when the man grabbed his arm. Not in the mood, Adrian grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted it.

“I told you, I’m not interested,” Adrian said firmly, releasing the man’s wrist and walking out of the bar as if nothing had happened.

Outside, he heard shouting as if there were a fight. He put on his hood and walked towards the commotion to see what was going on. He raised an eyebrow when he realized his hunch was right — there was indeed a fight, but it was a street race.

Furthermore, he looked around, and his gaze landed on a group where he saw Emmett kissing a girl. Then he noticed a man with long hair and a beard. Adrian recognized the posture, it was Agustin, also kissing a girl while sitting on a motorcycle.

“Damn you, asshole,” Adrian muttered as he approached a man and grabbed him to get information about Agustin’s identity.

“S-sir?”

He smiled at the man. “Do you know that group?” he pointed to Agustin’s group. The man nodded.

“Boss Eli is their leader. They are ruthless and no one wants to challenge them,” the man replied. Adrian nodded and grinned, knowing that the group had grown stronger because of Agustin.

“Boss Eli is also the best racer here. No one can beat him.”

Adrian nodded again and whispered, “Of course. He’s Knight. No one can beat him,” then he turned to his companion and smiled, “I would like to join the racing,”

The man’s eyes widened, seemingly surprised by Adrian’s statement.

“Yeah, but I want that man to be my rival,” Adrian pointed at Emmett with a grin. The man’s eyes widened again, and he looked at Adrian.

“Are you sure? Boss Emmett is the second-best racer in this area.”

Adrian grinned even wider and nodded at the man. “Yes, and I will give you any amount if you can persuade him to be my competitor. Just name your price, sweetheart,” Adrian said with a smirk, and the man was pleased to see that his conversation partner was not joking.

Adrian grinned as he looked at the man and then turned to call his assistant.

(“Yes, young master?”)

“Get me an expensive motorcycle and take it to the paradise bar,” he said.

(“Yes, young master, right away.”)

Adrian grinned again and ended the call, waiting for his assistant to bring the motorcycle that he would use for the race. He had a few motorcycles and cars, but all of them had the Knight logo, so he couldn’t use them, as it might ruin his plan to get Agustin’s attention.

He needed to talk to Agustin and convince him to return to his old life…

“BOSS ELI!”

The man approached Eli’s group, but he was immediately pushed away by Eli’s companions.

“I just need to talk to Boss Eli!”

Eli furrowed his brow and turned to the man, signaling him to come closer. The man approached Eli.

“He wants to challenge someone to a race. He didn’t introduce himself, but he said he’d only race if it’s against Boss Emmett,” the man said.

Emmett stopped kissing his girlfriend and turned to the man. “Me? Why me? Why not Eli?” Emmett asked in surprise, then stood up to approach Eli.

“He didn’t say, but he wants to race against you,” the man replied.

Emmett furrowed his brow and locked eyes with Eli, but Eli grinned and patted Emmett on the shoulder.

“Go.”

Emmett swallowed hard and scratched his head, as he hadn’t raced in a while, but for Eli, he would do it.

“So, where is he?” Eli asked, but they were interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle engine, and Eli knew exactly what kind of motorcycle made that sound. “Damn. One of my favorite expensive motorbikes. BMW HP4,” Eli muttered, then pushed the people blocking his way to see who wanted to challenge Emmett.

He frowned when he saw one of the most expensive motorcycles in the Philippines and squinted to identify who Emmett’s opponent would be, but he couldn’t recognize him.

Emmett swallowed hard and scratched his head, feeling embarrassed to compete, especially since his opponent seemed formidable. Emmett was called, and he took his motorcycle to park it next to his opponent.

“What’s your bet, sir?” the announcer asked Adrian.

Adrian didn’t speak, but he pointed to his motorcycle, causing the crowd to cheer, as Emmett was considered lucky to win the race. Emmett, on the other hand, felt a cold sweat, as he wanted to win and claim the motorcycle. It’s not every day that he gets to use the most expensive motorcycle.

Adrian just grinned and shrugged. He wasn’t really aiming for the championship, as it wasn’t a tournament. His goal was to get Agustin’s attention.

The announcer signaled, and a woman lowered the race flag. They heard the gunshot, and Adrian revved up his motorcycle. He noticed in the side mirror that Emmett was catching up, so he checked his speed and pushed the super speed to make his motorcycle go faster.

Emmett caught up to him, so Adrian just grinned and accelerated even more, almost leaving Emmett behind. When he noticed that they were close to the finish line, he slowed down, allowing Emmett to overtake him and win the race.

Adrian just grinned before following Emmett. He noticed the crowd cheering and congratulating Emmett on his victory, but he also noticed that Emmett wasn't happy with the result as he looked at him. Adrian just sighed.

Adrian was approached by other people to greet and invite him to race again, but with others this time. He parked the motorcycle on the side where Agustin’s group was standing...

“Nous ne nous sommes pas vus depuis longtemps, Agustin,” Adrian said with a smirk in French as he took off his helmet and turned to Agustin, who lost his smile and darkened his face when he saw him. Which made Adrian smirk even more.

Emmett’s eyes widened when he recognized who he was up against. “You did it on purpose,” he said as he approached Adrian, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I lost,” Adrian replied as he got off the motorcycle, took the key, and threw it to Emmett. “It’s all yours,” Adrian winked at Emmett and took off his jacket because he was getting hot. “F*ck!” Adrian muttered and ran his hand through his hair.

Eli forcefully snatched the key from Emmett and grabbed Adrian’s clothes, pulling him away from the crowd.

“Whoa! Whoa! Chill!” Adrian shouted, laughing.

Agustin pushed him hard, almost causing him to stumble, but he managed to regain his balance.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Agustin angrily asked Adrian.

Adrian grinned and looked at Agustin. “I think I should be the one asking that. What the hell are you doing, huh?”

Agustin glared at Adrian and clenched his fist. “Shut up, and leave. Don’t ever come back.”

Adrian’s grin faded, and he looked at Agustin seriously. “Your sister told me everything. Why are you doing this? This is not where you belong. And you’re not Eli Santiago, you are Dominican Agustin Knight—Stone,” he scoffed. “Carrie did her best to secure your position. She did everything to fight for your rights, even when people mocked her for her lack of leadership.”

Agustin was stunned by what he heard and couldn’t speak.

“Our clan needs you. We require you. Your sister requires you. Please — come back home. This is neither your home nor your world, Agustin,” Adrian said seriously. “Among all of us, only you have the right to sit on the throne. Granduncle entrusted the throne to you, but what did you do? Huh? You left us. You chose to live this life… To sell illegal drugs, which is not your job. Are you out of your mind?”

Adrian ran his hand through his hair, feeling the tension between them. He didn’t know what to do to bring Agustin back, especially since he felt that his cousin had no intention of returning to their family.

He placed a hand on his waist and lowered his head, sighing heavily to calm himself. “I hope you remember what your mother did to help our family’s reputation. And I hope you remember how she fought for the entire family and protected you,” Adrian said, looking at Agustin, who remained silent.

“You are aware of our family history. Many people still doubt the fifth generation of our family’s capabilities. They don’t believe in our potential to keep us from falling,” Adrian continued, approaching Agustin and placing a hand on his shoulder. “If you do not return for the throne and someone else takes your place, this may be the end of our family,” he added, swallowing hard. “Many people want to take over the throne, and many others want the Knight to fall, but that did not happen because the fourth generation fought to secure the entire clan, particularly your mother.”

He took a deep breath and smiled. “Damn, man. I’m pretty sure you don’t use your credit card, so we can’t track or find you. Damn you, asshole. Like mother, like son, huh?”

Agustin glanced at Adrian, who was grinning, so he just laughed slightly and shook his head.

“Anyway, I’m not here to force you, I’m here to remind you of who you are,” Adrian grinned and patted Agustin's shoulder. “I’m leaving, and you probably won’t see me for a few days. We have a meeting with our organization. They’re voting on who’s fit for the throne,” he said with a hint of annoyance, knowing that no one is fit for the throne except Agustin.

But he smiled at Agustin and hugged him and whispered, “Think about it, cous. You have my support,” he kissed Agustin on the cheek before turning to leave. But he remembered something and turned back. “Oh, by the way, the BMW HP4 is not yours. It’s for him. I lost, and he won,” Adrian said with a smirk, then finally turned away from Agustin, put his hand in his pants pocket, and waved.

“I’ll miss you, cousin! I’ll get you next time!” Adrian shouted as he crossed the street to head to his car. He glanced back at Agustin and raised his middle finger before getting into his car and speeding away.

Agustin sighed and shook his head, feeling the weight of everything that had just happened. He couldn’t help but feel like his world was getting smaller, with two members of his family now knowing where he was. Despite this, a part of him didn’t want to go back, as he was happy in his new home.

He returned to the paradise club and saw Emmett, tossing Adrian’s motorcycle keys to him. “It’s yours,” he said.

Emmett nodded and scratched his head as he watched as Agustin approached his girlfriend and they kissed. He sighed and went back to his conversation, unable to shake the feeling of wanting to ask Agustin questions, not knowing where to start.