Chapter 79: Pride and a CrownKai’s P.O.VWith the help of the volunteers and the student council members’ leadership, the set was ready right on time, just as the sun began to set. I quickly went to change into the outfit I was supposed to wear for the photoshoot.Zach was still worried about Ruby’s absence, but I didn’t even fret. I knew already that she was doing this to torture the people around her by making them think she was going to be late or wouldn’t show up, but that was just her throwing a temper tantrum.I knew her well enough to be assured that she would never, ever let go of her crown over something petty. Sure, she’d have her fun, but in the end, she’ll show up at the very last minute.And true enough, my predictions were proven right because just as I was about to head to my place on the set, the witch strolled into the room like she owned it, all glamed up and ready to have her photos taken.“What did I tell you?” I muttered to Zach, and he only looked at me with an
Chapter 80: Drunk Words are Sober ThoughtsKai’s P.O.VI don’t know what my face looked like when I stared at her like she was mad, but I’m guessing I conveyed my disbelief properly, because her smile dropped like she was offended with the way I was looking at her.The entitlement in her words made me think that she was indeed some spoilt rich brat, who had gone out and gotten dead drunk and even her own friends had deserted her at the side of the road…if she had friends in the first place.But seeing as she still stood in my way with no signs of moving along, I guess I had to spell it out for her, so she could understand what was going on.“Ma’am…it’s nighttime; the university is closed,” I told her firmly with a tone that clearly said ‘now leave me alone’. “And if you want a tour, come back next time when it’s more appropriate and you’re already enrolled. Someone from your department will show you around the campus.”Hopefully that was enough to repel her. Surely, it was. Or else, I
Chapter 81: Threats and MistakesKai’s P.O.VWhat if Night had already misunderstood the situation? I realized that the look of shock on Night’s face was slowly turning into anger as he started at the woman. Suddenly, that sense of dread in the pit of my stomach intensified until I was left grasping at straws for a few moments, not knowing what I could do to make this situation better.My blood ran a little bit colder when I realized the implication of Night thinking I was getting on with this girl, so I struggled to voice out my excuse, forcing my voice past the lump forming in my throat. “Night! Thank god you’re here; you gotta help me get this drunk lady off my back. She thinks I’m her ex. She keeps trying to cling to me. I swear…this isn't what it looks like.”For a second, I thought Night would laugh before helping me with the ridiculous situation I was in. Instead he seemed… angry.He had his eyebrows furrowed, his jaw clenched so tightly that I was worried he would hurt his tee
Chapter 82: The Old, Fancy LifeNight’s P.O.VI couldn’t get away from Rosalie’s clutches fast enough. She had stalled, keeping me from going after Kai, and no matter how much I tried to blame her for all this mess; I knew she wasn’t the actual problem.I shouldn’t have kept this from Kai to begin with…and now that he had learned the truth from an outside source, I was worried that he would be getting the wrong idea.However, that conversation with Rosalie seemed to have taken a really long time, because when I finally got back to the hall where the shooting had taken place, I found that the entire Student Council was gone and the volunteers were already starting to wrap up the equipments and decor.The set was slowly being put away—chairs and tables folded and neatly tucked into boxes, clothes and props stored properly according to function, backdrops rolled and loaded into storage.Something about this whole setting felt symbolic…as if it wasn’t just the set being torn down, but min
Chapter 83: No Matter WhatNight’s P.O.VI watched with raised eyebrows as Kai heaved, his breath coming in pants as he got everything out of his system.“Are you done?” I asked coldly when he fell silent, and he fixed me with his sharp gaze, his jaw clenched and hands fisted at his sides. There was intense anger in his eyes, but the pain in them was unmistakable.The sight of his hurt somehow pulled me a bit out of my own angered daze and I took a deep breath, closing my eyes momentarily to regain my composure.Nothing good would ever come out of fighting fire with fire. I was standing here before him to try and fix things between us, not make it worse. So punching our way out may seem like the easy way to get frustration out, but it definitely wasn’t rational.I tried to soften my expression. “If you must know, I never planned on going back to my “old, fancy life” or marrying Rosalie the way my parents wanted me to,” I said, trying my best to keep my voice even so as to avoid furthe
Chapter 84: Leave You HalfwayNight’s P.O.VIt was a long, silent ride back to the apartment. I think we were too tired to start a conversation. That, or we were simply reserving our energy for the long talk we were sure to have when we got back to our place.Whatever our reasons were for staying silent, the atmosphere in the car was heavy with unspoken tension, and even though the radio was playing some hip-pop songs I would have jammed to in a regular situation, it did nothing to ease the chill that hung over us like an oncoming storm.I glanced at Kai from the corner of his eyes, but I couldn’t really judge his expression. He seemed impassive, but his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel told a different story.Once we finally parked at the driveway, we both wordlessly climbed out the car and went up to our unit. And when I say that no words were exchanged between us as we both washed up and got ready for the possibly long night ahead, I mean there literally had been no verba
Chapter 85: One Bad News after AnotherKai’s P.O.VI woke up early the next day, nudged awake by my own brain, who thought it would be funny to replay the moment Rosalie approached me at the gates of the university.Reliving the nightmare all over again wasn’t my ideal way to get up, but now that it was stuck to my mind, I was guessing this was going to be one of the many nights that I was going to witness this scene.Night was fast asleep beside me. He had shifted away at some point in the night, his back against me as he curled in on himself. Carefully detangling myself from the blankets, I stood up from the bed, before covering him up and tucking him in. He needed to rest after everything that happened.I went to the kitchen to make breakfast for us, my mind going from my encounter with Rosalie to Night’s confession last night. I opened the cupboard and took out a box of Kraft Mac and cheese, because I was feeling like having some Mac and cheese today and I couldn’t be bothered wit
Chapter 86: TrustKai’s P.O.VFor a moment, we both just stood there, the silence between us almost suffocating. But then the sound of boiling water reached my ears, snapping me out of my thoughts.“Fuck!” I yelped, then sprinted out of the room to get back to the kitchen just as Night snorted and placed the phone on the table. I grabbed the carton and dumped the elbow macaroni noodles in the pot and watched as Night casually stalked over to the bathroom, where he began brushing his teeth.His casual demeanor surprised me. Was he trying to ignore his emotions and internalize his pain? If he continued to do this, it would only hurt him more in the end. I couldn’t help but worry about him as I watched him go about pretending as if his modeling career didn’t just come to an end.I continued to prepare the Mac and cheese as I waited for Night to finish cleaning up and come out of the bathroom. By the time he did, I had already finished assembling our breakfast and it was all neatly laid o
Chapter 115: A Glimpse into the FutureKai’s P.O.V“You went to play gold with Mr. Williams?” Night folded his arms across his chest, his frown deepening with every passing second. “The School principal?”“Come on, babe, it was just a stupid game!” I sighed, rubbing at my temples. “I didn’t even score and stood off to the side listening to him talk about charity and stuff!”“You know what he’s like, Kai! How could you?” He snapped, his temper flaring.And to add insult to injury, Kelly rounded the corner at that moment, her backpack slung over her shoulders as she picked up an apple from the fruit basket on the table. “Also…word has it that he targets hot DILF’s, especially married ones.” She added with a smug smile.“Kelly! What the hell!” I snapped at my seventeen year old daughter, who simply shrugged and stood to the side, munching on her apple. “You’re just making this worse!”“I’m just saying what the mom’s are saying.” She shrugged again.“And how, pray tell, do you know what a
Chapter 114: AlwaysKai’s P.O.VSix years later…The beach stretched out before us in endless waves of sapphire and teal, the soft rush of the tide a soothing soundtrack to the most important day of our lives.We had chosen Night’s father’s beach house in Florida as the venue—an idyllic spot with sprawling, sun-kissed sand and a gentle breeze that carried the salt of the sea.A pathway of white rose petals led from the entrance of the beach house to the altar, which was an artful arch made of intertwined driftwood, adorned with clusters of white lilies and ivy.Delicate strings of fairy lights were wrapped around nearby palm trees, and lanterns hung at varying heights, swaying gently with the breeze as they caught the late afternoon sunlight, creating a warm golden glow.A canopy of sheer white fabric fluttered above rows of white wooden chairs, draped with ribbons of blue and green that mirrored the colors of the ocean.Guests filled the seats, familiar faces and old friends from col
Chapter 113: A Post-Engagement Treat Kai’s P.O.VThe last of our friends were starting to head out, their faces lit up with tired but content smiles, like they’d just had a blast. It had been a good celebration, and I could tell they were happy for us.First, Cole stepped up, his tall frame looming in the doorway as he flashed us his usual wide grin. "You two really knocked it out of the park with this place," he said, throwing an arm around Night’s shoulder and giving him a playful nudge. "I’m glad you guys are starting fresh. Don’t mess it up, alright?"Night rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face said he wasn’t actually annoyed. "We’ll try not to, Cole.""Good. Well, I’ll leave you to it. Don’t go getting into too much trouble now." He gave us a mock salute before stepping out the door, waving as he disappeared into the hallway. Landon, with his usual goofy grin, was holding Devon’s hand like he couldn’t quite bring himself to let go. "This night was awesome, guys," he said,
Chapter 112: This Is HomeKai’s P.O.VA few days later, we drove to the condo unit that Jonathan had previously bought for Night to live in, so he could live off-campus and stop sharing a room with me. The same condo that I had visited several months ago, when I had still been fighting with myself over where my heart truly belonged.But now… now we were here together with his parents’ blessing, and we were here not because of Night’s obligation to this family and their business, but because we were free to use this as we wished.And we wanted to.The condo that my sister had helped me get previously may have been cheap, but it was tiny and not enough room to have sleepovers and host our friends. But this one was definitely bigger and brighter. Perfect for me and Night.Tonight the condo was filled with the kind of warmth and noise that made the walls feel more alive than mere brick and plaster. Laughter bounced from one corner to another as our friends, our found family, filled the sp
Chapter 111: Just Me and HimKai’s P.O.VHow foolish had I been? The whole time, I was thinking that the only lives that would be affected by the revelation would be mine and Night’s.I didn't stop to think about the consequences it would have on their family. I had been so… selfish.I didn't even consider that Night might end up feeling horrible because of the things that I had brought to light.What if things turned out badly? What if Night ended up hating me? I couldn't help the wave of relief that washed over me as I watched their family embrace each other. Thank God it didn't turn out that way.I may have acted rashly and opened wounds that I shouldn't have opened, but at least, in the end, it all worked out to be in their favor.I guess it was mostly thanks to Jonathan finally having his senses return. If he had been too stubborn to see his faults, we probably would be having a very different scenario now.Still, I felt horrible for my own actions. I felt like a child who could
Chapter 110: Once A House, Now A HomeNight’s P.O.VWhen I turned to look at my mother, I had this undeniable feeling that our family was going to crumble. There was no other way to go about it—what was the right way of proceeding with your life when you suddenly find out that the man of your family turned out to have never loved you at all? That instead he had someone else occupying his heart, whether he admitted it or not?Thinking about it that way made me realize something else as well, the other side as to why my father had kept the truth. Just like Rosalie had said during her earlier fit, why would any woman want to waste her life being married to a gay man who could never love her the way she wants to be loved and never need her physically in the way that she wants to be needed?My father hadn't held back on the truth not only because of his troubled past, but because he was holding this family together…because he didn’t want me to grow up with only one parent, facing prejudice
Chapter 109: A New PerspectiveNight’s P.O.VI stared at him, letting myself absorb what he had just said. Part of me felt sorry for him; the incident with Matthias must have changed him so much that he turned his worldview around in a complete 180.But the other half was angry at myself for feeling pity for him. Angry at him, because I had deserved better than how he had treated me.“You of all people should know better than anyone that being gay isn’t some kind of disease,” I spat, “or a hobby that you can expect me to give up and move on when it’s no longer of any interest to me. You got angry at Kai when he told you that you never truly loved anyone in your life. How would you feel if I said the same thing and told you that what you and Matthias had wasn’t real? That it wasn’t valid because he wasn’t a woman?”He didn’t say anything, but from the way he looked at me I knew he was listening intently to what I was saying. Finally—when was the last time he did so? I couldn’t recall.
Chapter 108: Stray from the PathNight’s P.O.VI felt my eyes go wide, the room spinning out of focus around me as my father’s words echoed in the back of my mind.My breath caught in his throat, rendering me mute. I didn’t know what to think, what to say. To be honest, I felt quite numb, as though the floor has fallen out from beneath me and I was in a free fall, not knowing when I was going to land or if I was even going to land at all.The sharp thud of my mother dropping to the floor beside my father jolted me back to the room; her face was pale, eyes wide and vacant, mirroring the confusion I felt.The name—Matthias—was stuck on repeat in my head like a broken tape recorder. ‘Matthias, Matthias. Your father is just like you…’Just like me.The man who had always stood tall and indomitable now sat crumpled, broken by memories that seem more powerful than anything I could have imagined. I just couldn’t fathom, couldn’t grasp the fact that what he had just said was actually the trut
Chapter 107: Just Like YouKai’s P.O.VTaking advantage of the stunned expression on his face, I pushed him back as I released his hand, watching him stumble backwards.“And for the record,” I continued when I realized that Jonathan was too stunned to speak, “I’ll have you know that I haven’t ruined anything. This was bound to happen eventually, because you are a hypocrite for not only forgetting Matthias but also for turning against your own heart.”The words just gushed out of my mouth, faster than I could think things through. I didn’t stop to wonder whether I was saying the right things. Maybe I wasn’t. But it didn’t matter to me, because right now, all that I wanted to do was hurt him, just as badly as he had hurt Night.“Maybe you moved on so quickly because you are a selfish bastard who has never truly loved anyone in your life,” I spat, my temper getting the best of me.“That’s enough,” Night’s mother started to say, but I drowned her out, my words spilling out in an angry rus