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 87: Emotional DistressKai’s P.O.VI thought the worst was over; I thought that even if the war had not yet been won, at least the battle had been triumphed. I thought I had been silly for worrying about how this whole thing was going to affect Night as well as my relationship with him.I had been entirely convinced that Night was actually unbothered by this whole thing, but it seemed that he wasn’t. And it was around the afternoon of the same day when things suddenly went downhill.He had gone to the washroom to shower, while I was studying for a test that came right after the Campus Hotshot contest. I had been trying to fit this into my schedule for a while now, and was only able to work on this today.And so, I took out my notebooks and sat on the table to work on my test while Night showered, but all of a sudden, there was this crash in the bathroom that shook the floor slightly.Startled, I looked up from my notes and scrambled to my feet, knowing that something might hav
Chapter 88: Slivers of ConfidenceKai’s P.O.VI sat next to the bed as Kia set up the IV drip on the other side. I watched as she fiddled with the bag and the drip stand and looked away when she set up the channel in Night’s arm. But I knew my sister was a quick worker and in no time, she was finishing up already.“He needs to rest and be taken care of properly,” she said as part of her final reminders. “I really think that the hospital can treat him better, but I guess this will suffice too. I’ll stay for a bit to see if the medication is working.”But I was only half-listening to what she was saying. I couldn’t help but think of how this happened; from the way Rosalie suddenly appeared to upend our otherwise relatively peaceful lives, to his father taking control of his life from behind the scenes, pushing his son away from personal happiness.How could I possibly help him out? When it comes down to it, I was starting to realize how powerless I really was.His father was too big an
Chapter 89: A Clash of WillsKai’s P.O.VThe living room was decorated to perfection, almost as if the whole place came straight out of a high-end lifestyle magazine. Comfy, oversized sofas with soft, embroidered pillows were centered around a sleek marble coffee table, catching the light from a stunning crystal chandelier overhead.The walls featured eye-catching modern art, adding pops of color against the room's more neutral-toned velvet curtains. Huge windows let in tons of natural light, showing off the manicured garden just outside. From the cozy fireplace to the shiny hardwood floors, every part of the room felt stylish yet super welcoming.But all that grandeur was not the thing that left me stunned. It was the sight of the three people before me, as if they were waiting for me this whole time.There sitting on one of the sofas, was Jonathan, and beside him was his wife, as well as none other than Rosalie.Now that I saw her again, this time in a proper light and all dolled up
Chapter 90: What Keeps the World GoingKai’s P.O.VThere was a tense moment of silence after I said what I said, and it went on long enough for me to start being uncomfortable under their smug scrutiny. Then all of a sudden, Jonathan did the worst thing next to staying quiet.He burst out laughing at my statement.I watched with a grimace as he threw back his head, laughing as if I had make a terrible joke that even a naïve little boy wouldn’t make. As I sat there, in front of them, being a subject to their mockery, I felt vulnerable and naked, like he had stripped me bare and made the whole world watch.Was what I said so wrong? I could indeed give Night my love, something that Jonathan had failed to give his own child. But apparently, it wasn’t the kind of answer that Jonathan had wanted, and now, my words felt empty, hollow, as if they meant nothing to him.Especially when I had said it with utmost sincerity.“Love?” Jonathan repeated, still laughing. “What can you do with your so-
Chapter 91: To Look BackKai’s P.O.VMy feet moved before I could think. I was the first to rush outside to see what was going on, my heart pounding in my chest as I hoped to all the saints that it wasn’t who I thought it was.Vaguely, I heard the others follow suit behind me.To my horror, it was indeed who I thought it was. And I could only watch, frozen in shock, as Kia and Night stepped out of the car then, just as the guards surrounded them. Night could hardly walk, and my heart ached to see Kia having to support his weight as they both walked past the guards and headed towards the stairs to the mansion.Without thinking, I surged forward, helping him stand properly and taking some of his weight off of Kia. “What’s going on?” I hissed at her. But I wasn’t angry, just confused. “Why in the world did you bring him to this place?”But as Kia looked down, biting down on her lips as she looked far too nervous to speak, it was Night who answered my question.“Kai.” Night placed a weak
Chapter 92: An Unexpected RevelationNight’s P.O.VThe world spun around me as I forced one foot in front of the other until we were finally inside the house, the door closing shut behind us.I immediately pushed my father away, not wanting anything to do with him, and I lost my balance just like that, almost falling to the floor.Thankfully, my mother caught me just in time, and I guess I still had some love left for her, because I did not immediately recoil from the skinship. Unlike my father, whose touch made my skin crawl.Rosalie came running to help prop me up as well, but I lifted my hand to stop her in her tracks and regained my balance with only my mother’s help. I threw a glance at Rosalie and watched in sick satisfaction as she deflated and took a step back. I didn’t need to say anything, my distaste was clear in my eyes.Meanwhile, my father seemed to be the only one feeling elated after everything that had just transpired. “You made the right choice, son,” he said, a prou
Chapter 93: Seize the Day Kai’s P.O.VTime flies pretty quickly when you wished it wouldn’t. I had dreaded the day that the Campus Hotshots contest would come; to be honest; I didn’t want to see Night, or see anything at all that reminded me of him, which was pretty impossible, since virtually everything reminded me of him.But the Campus Hotshots contest was something that Night had been interested in, so I wasn’t even sure if he was going to attend or not. And when I thought about all the trouble we had gone through in preparation for it, as the Student Council Vice-President, it would be stupid not to attend. The only thing I could hope for was that this year would be my last and I could finally pass the crown to someone else.My heart thudded with anticipation in my chest as I got ready to return to the campus. For the past two days, I had been staying with my parents’ at their house. They didn’t hesitate to open the doors for me, much to my gratitude. Going back to the tiny apar
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