Billionaire Mafia's Manny
Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Chapter 77

Sebastian walked over to the bed and tapped the top of the box. "It looks fancy..." He murmured.

Zeno stood still, watching him.

He slid out the envelope and felt the weight in his hands.

His eyes scanned it, and then he looked up at Zeno. "You’re not going to open it?" He asked again, his voice low and even.

Zeno felt a sense of unease. He didn’t want Sebastian to open the box or the envelope, but at the same time, he couldn’t stop him.

He saw Sebastian’s unreadable expression as he stared at the envelope, and as his gaze met Sebastian’s, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

"You were right, Zeno..." Sebastian gently lowered himself on the bed and patted the space beside him, beckoning Zeno to sit beside him.

Zeno sighed, slowly walked over, and sat beside Sebastian; seems like it was Sebastian who’d be doing the unboxing.

Sebastian shifted toward Zeno and covered the space between them, their thighs touching.

"You were right..." Sebastian repeated.

Zeno turned to him, his eyes going down to Sebastian’s hand that was busy opening the envelope.

"Right about what?" Zeno questioned.

"I’m jealous," Sebastian confessed, focusing on the envelope in his hand.

His nerves were all over the place; the vulnerability he felt with what he just said was second to none.

Zeno paused, his heart hammering in his chest.

Was this going in the direction he thought it was?

He softly cleared his throat and asked, "Jealous? About what?"

Sebastian shook his head, "I’m reading this," He waved the envelope in the air.

"You don’t have to, I’ll-"

Sebastian moved his hand away and held, Zeno’s hand that he had wanted to use and snatched the envelope from him.

He moved his face closer to him and whispered, "I’ll read it, Zeno..."

He released his hand and proceeded to open the envelope.

Zeno sat still, eyeing the envelope as if he could make it disappear with his look.

Sebastian took out the white card inside the envelope and held it up to his face.

Zeno didn’t bother peeking into it; Sebastian was going to read it out, after all.

He only wished his heart would stop beating as if he’d been caught at the point of theft. He saw Sebastian frown before he started.

"Hi, Zeno. I’m going to keep it simple. I like you, no...I love you..." Sebastian paused and turned to Zeno.

Zeno’s pulse went wild; why did Sebastian look at him when he read that part? He knew Sebastian was just reading what was written on the card, yet he couldn’t stop his brain from imagining how it’d feel to hear those words from him.

He cleared his throat and looked at Sebastian, "Is that all?" His voice was very low and shaky.

Sebastian shook his head, he had moved his head on instinct as he said those words, and for some reason, it felt wrong reading to Zeno from a card that was sent by someone else.

He sighed and continued reading. "I know I said I’d give us some time but I’m sorry I didn’t keep to my promise. I can’t hold my feelings for you anymore, and I want nothing more than to proudly call you mine. I promise to treat you right and show you the right kind of love you deserve. I hope the gift in the box reminds you of what we can have between us. I love you. Nicholas."

Sebastian finished reading and went quiet.

Zeno too, was quiet.

He wasn’t expecting silence from Sebastian, he’d thought he’d be angry, maybe even tear up the card and remind him how he was in a contract with him and should not be accepting gifts from other people. But none of that.

Sebastian quietly folded the card and put it back into black into the envelope.

He didn’t know what to say or how to act. No, he did know what to say, just that he didn’t know how to voice it.

He placed the card beside the bed and stood. "It’s a nice letter," His voice was quiet.

Zeno stood too, he went to hold Sebastian’s hand but he dodged him and put his hand on top of the gift box.

"Let’s see what’s inside," Sebastian slowly lifted the lid away and looked inside.

Zeno stepped forward and looked inside too, and when he saw the large frame that was turned backward, he immediately knew what it was.

He shut his eyes as Sebastian carried out the large frame from the gift box, stepping back a little from him.

He watched Sebastian slowly turn the frame around and stare at the painting.

It was the painting he had seen in the gallery with Nicholas; why did Nicholas buy it, he knew it cost a fortune.

He couldn’t accept such a gift; he’d feel obligated to reciprocate Nicholas’ feelings even if he didn’t want to; what else could he possibly do after someone had spent so much for him just to prove that they loved him?

Guilt.

Guilt was what he felt because he knew there was no way he would reciprocate Nicholas’ feelings, he already knew where his feelings lay.

Sebastian was very shocked by what he saw, he stared at the painting hard and long...he was trying hard to understand it, but all he could understand was that Zeno and Nicholas already had something going on between them, if not, why would Nicholas send Zeno such an erotic painting.

Pain.

He felt the sharp pain piercing his chest, he’d never felt like that before, but he knew it was the thought of Zeno being together with Nicholas that caused it.

What was the use of what he’d wanted to say to Zeno?

There was no need.

It seemed like he had already taken a side.

And it was about time he stopped acting like an ass toward Zeno. If he wanted to date someone, he should let him go, what’s the use of keeping him beside him?

Zeno saw that Sebastian hadn’t said anything, he was just busy staring at the painting.

He sighed softly and moved toward Sebastian, placing his hand on his back.

"The painting-"

"I see it, Zeno. It’s beautiful..." He gently placed it down on the bed and turned to Zeno.

"I see that Nicholas is really into you, and I think I understand why," He smiled at Zeno.

Zeno’s heart skipped a beat, "You understand? What do you understand?" He asked cautiously.

Sebastian looked back at the painting, "Never mind, you should keep that safe...can I ask you something?" He questioned.

Zeno nodded, "Yes,"

"Is that what you want?" Sebastian pointed at the painting behind him.

Zeno went quiet, he felt like that was a tricky question coming from Sebastian.

However, he couldn’t deny that that was what he wanted.

"I know that in as much as you and I have this contract between us, you don’t support the relationship between two guys, however, this painting isn’t just about gay couples...it’s about the connection the people in the painting share...that’s what I want Sebastian...I don’t care what gender I find it in, all I want is someone who looks upon me the way they do to each other. So, yes, that’s what I want," Zeno replied, masking his anxiety.

He was scared that Sebastian wouldn’t like his reply and ended up deciding to terminate their contract so that he could be free to go look for someone to give him the love he wanted.

Maybe a month ago or even a week ago, Zeno would have been eager to hear about the termination of the contract. But, now, you can call him stupid because he didn’t want the damn contract to end, he wasn’t ready to leave Sebastian’s side yet, and it was killing him that he didn’t know how to say it.

Sebastian nodded, "Mm." Was his only reply before he started walking toward the door.

"Sebastian," Zeno called.

He paused at the foot of the bed, not turning.

Zeno walked over to him and stood in front of him.

"Nicholas...I feel nothing for"

"It’s none of my business, Zeno. It’s not," He muttered the last part.

"I know, I just wanted to let you know, still," Zeno replied, stepping closer to him.

He stood directly in front of Sebastian, leaving hardly any space between them, "You...you said had something to tell me?" Zeno whispered.

Sebastian shook his head, "No, I just wanted to know who the hooded woman was, is it something I should know?" He shifted the conversation away from them.

Zeno suddenly remembered meeting with Georgia, stepping back as the pain and jealousy overtook him again.

He’d just been reminded that the man he was trying to seduce was a married man.

He recalled the letter Georgia had given him and panicked. Deeping his hands inside his pockets, he hoped he hadn’t lost it in the car when he and Sebastian were doing their business back there.

He sighed in relief when he felt the folded paper still in his pocket.

"I met someone...your wife..." He said in a small voice as he drew the paper out from his pocket.

Sebastian’s features instantly hardened. He wore a deep frown on his face as he stared at Zeno as if he was saying jargon.

He narrowed his eyes at Zeno and at the paper he’d just brought out from his pocket.

"What are you talking about, Zeno?" Sebastian questioned.

Zeno frowned, why was Sebastian trying to deny her?

"It was Georgia, Ken’s mother-"

"What the fuck! Did she do anything to you? Why did you ever think of standing with her?" Sebastian burst out.

Zeno frowned harder.

"Did she plant anything on you again?" He went to hold Zeno but Zeno moved back.

"No, she didn’t...she left you a message and a letter, though," Zeno didn’t mean for his voice to come out as upset, but it did.

Sebastian noticed it, "Hey, we can forget about whatever that bitch said and rather talk about what’s going on with you, are you okay?" He asked, seeing the controlled anger on Zeno’s face.

Zeno shook his head, "She said I should help her persuade you to take her back. She apologized for what she did in the past and said she was ready to start anew with you and Ken. She professed how much she loved her husband...and, she left you this letter," He stretched his hand toward Sebastian.

Sebastian had his fists balled; that was the last thing he needed at that moment. He was facing emotional roller coasters, and Georgia was the last person he would worry himself over.

He stared at Zeno and saw that he no longer held his gaze, he seemed as if he wanted to be away from him.

"Read it," Sebastian ordered.

Zeno frowned, "Huh?"

"Read the letter, Zeno, it’s only fair since I read yours," He reminded.

Zeno bit his lips, stared hard at the letter, and started to unfold it.

He only hoped he’d still have a heart after he was done reading whatever was written on that letter; he knew he was just about to hurt himself with the rate at which his heart was beating; jealousy had him in a chokehold.