CHAPTER 6

It was already 11:25 in the evening when Chase decided to leave their office and go home. But before he went home, he went to see his grandmother at the hospital. He wanted to visit her the next morning, but he couldn't bear to go on all day without seeing and checking on his sick grandmother. He was concerned about his grandmother and wanted to make sure she was fine so he could sleep through the night.

"Thanks, man," Chase said to the cab driver before he got off when he arrived outside his apartment. 

"No problem," the cab driver responded, and he drove away when Chase closed the door.

He walked to the entrance door and headed straight to the elevator as soon as he entered the building. He pushed the up button, and he went inside the lift as soon as the door opened.

To think he'd actually made out with a complete stranger was unfathomable. He couldn't believe he had surrendered his virginity to a total stranger. But even so, he didn't mind because he was confident that he would never see that man again. He also didn't regret it. He wanted to do that for a long time, but no one dared to fuck him. And what the man did to him was so incredible to him. In just one night, the man made him feel that he was valid.

His thoughts were ruined when the lift sounded when he got to the right floor. He exited the lift when the door opened, and he walked straight to his room. From a distance, he saw his cheating boyfriend in front of his room. He was leaning on the wall; his arms were crossed across his chest, and it seemed he was waiting for him.

When he saw him, he stopped walking. Anger filled his heart, and what he saw that night sank into his mind.

His feelings were hurt. He didn't think that Gerald would cheat on him. He didn't think Gerald could do that to him. He trusted him, really. But Gerald is no different from his ex-boyfriends.

He took a breath before he began to walk again, approaching the direction of his room. When he was near his room, Gerald noticed him, causing him to look in Chase's direction. He moved away from leaning on the wall when he saw Chase.

"Baby," he uttered, taking a step toward Chase.

"Baby? How dare you call me that when you are fucking cheating on me?" Chase couldn't hold back his rage and yelled at him.

Gerald was shocked at what he heard. He didn't expect Chase to know about his cheating.

"B... Baby, what are you talking about? What do you mean by that?" He was trying to gather some words, trying to deny his wrongdoings, but he failed.

"Oh, come on, Gerald. Stop fucking fooling me. I saw you with a fucking girl! I saw it with both my eyes!"

"Baby, let me explain." Gerald was about to hold his hand, but he avoided it and hit him with a hard slap on his right cheek.

"I don't fucking need your explanation. I'm breaking up with you, Gerald. Don't ever show your face to me. I fucking hate you."

He went back to his thoughts when Gerald held his hand and asked, "Baby, are you all right?"

It was all his imagination. As much as he wanted to do that for real, he couldn't. He was not ready to break up with Gerald. It was not that easy.

"Yeah." He lazily replied. "Just tired. What brings you here?" He added a question.

"What do you mean? I came here to see you. You have not texted me back the whole day. I can't even contact you. I was worried." Even though he appeared to be concerned, Chase was not fooled by this act on his part.

He secretly smiles sarcastically. "Worried? Really? Fuck you, Gerald. Do you think I don't know what you're doing behind my back?" He only thought.

"Sorry. My battery died. Anyway, thank you for the visit. Good night." He lied because he intended to turn off his phone because he didn't want to talk to him.

He was about to enter the passcode for his room when Gerald stopped him. He held his right hand. "Hey, did you just tell me to leave?" Chase turned to face him as he asked.

"Yeah. It's late."

He was confused about what Chase said. He was expecting Chase to be supposed to be happy to see him and that Chase would invite him inside and ask him to sleep over and stay with him tonight. Plus, they hadn't seen each other those days, so he was thinking that Chase missed him. But Chase was being distant and he couldn't figure out why. He just came up with the conclusion that Chase was tired.

"Yeah. Right. Okay. I'll go. Get a rest, baby. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Chase replied, nodding his head, then he went inside his apartment.

Gerald was supposed to break up with Chase, but he didn't know how. He doesn't want to hurt him. After all, Chase was a good boyfriend to him. He cares about him all the time. He genuinely loves him.

But he needs to break up with Chase as soon as possible because he doesn't want to hurt him more. He doesn't want to lie to him anymore about his feelings.

Chase, on the other hand, leaned his back against the door and stayed there for a while. He took a deep breath to lessen the weight he was feeling inside his heart but he failed to hold back his tears.

He thought he was strong enough to accept what his boyfriend did, but he was wrong. He was hurt. He couldn't just imagine that Gerald betrayed him.

He kept asking himself where he had gone wrong and if there was something missing and wrong with him. He did his best to love him right, but why does he still lose in the end? What's worse is that he couldn't hate him that much. He may say he hates him, but deep inside he still loves him.

He is not yet strong enough to break up with him. He hates himself for being soft.

Wiping his tears, he walked straight to his room. He threw himself on his bed, buried his face in the pillow, and closed his eyes until he fell asleep.

—

The next morning, Chase left his apartment early to go to the hospital to visit his grandmother and pay the medical bills. When he arrived at the hospital, he headed to the billing area to pay for his grandmother's medical fees. For two weeks, he paid 1540 dollars. It was a lot of money, but he didn't mind. For his grandmother, he would do anything.

After he paid the fees, he headed to his grandmother's room. When he arrived, he peered through the tiny window into the room and was somewhat taken aback to see Gerald inside.

"What is he doing here?" He asked himself in a whisper.

Having not yet entered, he was still on the outside, peering in. Gerald was happily feeding his grandmother, and his grandmother was also happy. However, he is not happy to see this scenario.

Chase used to feel overjoyed whenever his boyfriend had a good relationship with his grandmother, but now he doesn't. Instead, she feels sad and annoyed because it seems like Gerald is also cheating on her grandmother. And he does not understand why he is still doing this, knowing that he is secretly cheating on him.

Deciding not to stay longer, Chase opened the door and went inside. Gerald and his grandmother immediately focused their attention on him.

"Chase, son! You're here! I've been waiting for you!" His grandmother beamed.

Even though Gerald beamed with delight at his sight, Chase paid him no attention.

As he approached her, a grin spread across his face. "Good morning, Grandma." He kissed her on the cheeks after he placed the paper bag he was holding on the table.

"Good morning, son. Look. Your boyfriend brought me delicious food."

Chase looked at the food on the bedside table. He was not happy, but he was forced to let out a smile.

"Good morning, baby." Gerald greeted him while smiling.

He looked at him and replied, "Morning," with a quick smile. "Thanks for bringing Grandma's food." He added.

"It was nothing. It's been a while since I visited Grandma. How about you? Have you eaten yet?"

"Yeah." He shortly replied and shifted his gaze to his grandmother. "I'm sorry, Grandma, I wanted to stay for a while, but I need to go to work. I still have a conference to attend this morning."

"No, don't be sorry. It's completely fine. I understand that. Didn't I tell you to not visit me all the time and just focus on your work?"

"Thank you, Grandma. But I'll still visit you every day." He smiled and hugged her shortly. "I'll get going. I'll see you later. Take care of yourself. I brought you fruit, by the way. They are already peeled."

"Thank you, and don't mind me, son. I'll be fine here. You take care of yourself."

"I will, Grandma." He kissed his grandmother on the side of her head before he moved his body away from hugging her. He then looked at Gerald and gave him a quick smile before he walked out of the room.

The old woman noticed that Chase was treating his boyfriend differently, so he immediately asked Gerald. "What's the matter, son? Did you two fight?"

"No, grandma. We're cool." Gerald answered with an assuring smile. But he was also wondering why Chase was acting weird toward him. He couldn't think of any reason why.

He is also sure that Chase didn't know about his cheating.

"But I guess I'll have to go chase him."

"Yeah, son. Go ahead."

"Thanks, Grandma. I'll be right back." He gave the old woman a quick kiss on the cheek, then walked out of the room. He followed Chase outside.

As soon as Chase got out of the building, he found a cab. But before he could let himself inside, Gerald was calling him from behind. Reluctantly, he turned around to face his cheating boyfriend.

"I'll drive you," Gerald said.

"No thanks. I already have a cab." He was trying not to sound cold, but he couldn't help himself. He is angry with him.

"I'll get going." After saying that, he started to get into the cab, but Gerald intervened and prevented him from doing so.

"Wait. What's the problem, Chase? Are you mad at me?"

Chase chuckled. "No. Of course not. Why would you say that?" He lied.

"It's like you're not paying attention to me. I thought you were mad at me. But are you sure you're not mad at me?"

"No. I'm not. I just have a lot of things to do at work. I'll get going."

"Okay. See you later?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head, then he got inside the cab.

He took a deep breath when the cab drove away. The weight he was feeling in his heart couldn't just get away.

—

@LCC GROUP BUILDING

"It's 9 o'clock already. How many more hours do we have to wait?" Asked Vince. They are currently in the conference hall along with their co-workers from the other departments. The reporters are present also.

They are waiting for their new boss to arrive, and they have been waiting for over three hours.

"What took Mr. Liam so long? I can't wait to see him. I've been wondering what he looks like in person," said Cara.

"Probably he looks human." Vince joked.

"Oh, yeah? A handsome human! Look!" Cara showed Liam's photo to them, but Chase didn't bother to look at it. His mind was so occupied that he didn't even join in their conversations.

"Is this Mr. Liam? Our new boss?" Klaire asked.

"Uhuh! I looked him up on the internet last night and, my goodness! I wasn't prepared for his beauty. He's so handsome, right?"

"Gosh, yeah. He's so perfect." Klaire agreed, zooming out Liam's photo. She was stunned for a few seconds. "How did he get to be so handsome?"

"Right? I think I'm in love with him!" She giggled. She was completely blushing.

Vince laughed a little, commenting, "Women,"

"Jeez! You'll never be his cup of tea. A handsome man like him is only for a gorgeous woman." said Ian.

Cara tilted her head to look at Ian, raising her eyebrows. "Are you saying that I'm ugly?"

"I didn't say anything. But it looks like it." Ian smiled teasingly.

"You're annoying!" Cara rolled her eyes at him. "I'll still like him."

Workers in the front rows started babbling incoherently in the middle of their conversations, and reporters and the camera crew were just getting set up. Liam Chevalier has arrived.

"I think our new boss is here!" Cara exclaimed with glee. They turned their eyes to the entrance door, waiting for Liam to enter the hall.

Deep in thought, with his focus wandering, Chase looked toward the front door. There, a tall white man wearing an all-white suit entered. And the moment he saw the man, his eyes widened in shock.

He immediately bent his head down to hide his face when Liam looked in the direction where he and his coworkers were sitting.

"Shit." He discreetly mumbled. Incredulous, he realized he was looking at the man with whom he had an intimate encounter.

It was truly a small world. That the man who robbed him of his virginity would turn out to be his new boss is a twist of fate no one could have predicted.

"Damn! This can't be happening!" He only whispered. His anxiousness caused his heart to beat at an alarming rate.

He tried to lift his head and look at Liam again. The man was up there on stage, addressing the audience. Chase was so distracted that he could only stare at him instead of listening to what he had to say.

"He's still incredibly good-looking." He thought to himself, and he couldn't stop staring at him.

Like the first time he laid eyes on Liam, the man's stunning features left him speechless. But he was hoping that he was only dreaming.

—