Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 149: A discussion between father and son [2]

Chapter 149: A discussion between father and son [2]

"He said he certainly does, Father," Azrael answered.

He blinked, feeling weird about something. Why does the place seem familiar, and that scene as well? He glanced around and noticed Knox standing next to him. He’s in a white tuxedo, with a boutonniere made of lavender and baby breath on his left chest, and looking ahead to the man wearing a liturgical vestment.

His light brown hair looked magnificent under sunlight. It made him look ethereal. His kind and beautiful façade, accompanied by the falling leaves that share the same shade of his hair, was like that of a fairy watching the season with dreamy and warm eyes.

Azrael stared at that exquisite beauty. A small smile tugged on his lips. He knew it was a dream. The dream he had before he met Knox again.

Before, Knox was tied and his mouth was taped. Azrael chuckled after remembering that old dream.

’By this time,’ Azrael thought, and slightly looked back, ’A child throwing the alarm clock will appear, who happened to be my son, actually.’

He waited. However, Knoa did not appear.

Azrael furrowed his brows and looked back to Knox. He was astonished to see him looking straight at him, with tears in his eyes. His lips moved, muttering something incomprehensible. Azrael’s heartbeat raced.

The dream changed. He should have known from the start.

He leaned closer and tried to understand what Knox was saying, then he was slapped with the words, ’You cheated!’

Azrael’s eyes widened. The wind blew strongly and all the fallen leaves flew to him, hindering his vision. He opened his mouth to speak, but he only ate leaves falling like confetti.

He reached for Knox, but the omega slapped his hand and walked away. He tried to follow, yet his foot was shackled from the ground. As he looked down, his eyes gleamed with riches laid on his feet, snaking his feet and dragging him back to his spot.

Azrael panicked.

He gazed at Knox again, but the omega was no longer in his sight.

"No. Knox, don’t leave. Knox!" He called out but the trees that once showered their leaves over them in that joyful ceremony became covered in snow, then, in a blink of an eye, new leaves sprouted and fell again.

Yet Knox Arden never returned.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Azrael sprung on his butt when after hearing that call. His eyes were glossy, yet that small voice kept shouting in the background.

’Ah, right. I was playing with Knoa. Looks like I fell asleep,’ he muttered inwardly as he scratched his head. He yawned and stood behind the couch where he had been hiding.

"Ah! Found you, Daddy! Now, you’re it!" Knoa shouted and ran to him. He slapped his alpha father on the knees and ran away again. "Daddy, count to ten, okay!"

Azrael ironed his crumpled shirt with his hands and answered merrily, "Alright, alright. I’m going to count now, so hurry and hide!" he turned his back to the kid and shouted, "One!"

"Ahhhhh, wait, I’m hiding now! I’m hiding now!" Knoa yelled, his voice gradually becoming distant as his footsteps faded, and soon the room became silent again.

Azrael yawned once more. He was lacking in sleep because of the shenanigans he had been doing with Rian. Thankfully, his name is already making it in the media, and more and more people are viewing him favorably now.

He stretched his arm and cracked his neck. Then, he started to walk in the direction his son went into after shouting the last number, "Ten!"

As soon as he did, a small yelp was heard in the far corner of his unit’s kitchen. Azrael suppressed his giggles and pretended like he was having a hard time finding the three-year-old boy.

He opened the cupboards and even pulled the cabinets under the kitchen counter, as he playfully wondered, "Knoa, baby, where are you? Oh, are you perhaps here?" He opened the refrigerator and closed it again, "I guess not. Come out, little guy, wherever you are, I’ll find you."

Tiny laughter echoed in the corner of the kitchen, behind the breakfast nook attached to the wall, and under the stool, the little guy was squeezing his small body on the small narrow space. Azrael ducked over the granite countertop and peeked under it.

"Found you, little guy!" He exclaimed, surprising Knoa who was peeking on the side and not expecting to be found out from above.

Knoa shrieked in defeat. Azrael quickly moved the stool away, in fear that the child might bump on it if he emerged suddenly.

"Daddy, how did you find me?!" Knoa asked with a pout. Whenever he would play with his Papa, his Papa couldn’t find him in that spot.

Azrael laughed. "How? Of course, I know every corner of this house. It’s mine!"

Knoa scrunched his face, "No fair!"

Azrael lifted the child and teased, "Nah, you’re just bad at hiding baby."

"No, you cheated, Daddy! Cheating is not good!" Knoa admonished. He pinched his father’s cheeks and wiggled his hands, stretching those facial muscles out.

Azrael felt a bit of pain, however, he couldn’t stop his son as his body froze on the spot. The word ’you cheated’ replayed in his head many times. It felt like he had forgotten something important.

He felt stuffy and uneasy.

Knoa’s scolding and Azrael’s dazed state were broken when the latter’s phone rang. He picked it up and saw his secretary’s name on the screen. He glanced at Knoa meaningfully, and then the little guy wriggled his feet, indicating that he wanted to be put down.

Azrael did. Knoa ran to the living room and opened the television.

Before answering the phone, he briefly glanced at the digital clock displayed in the kitchen.

It was past seven in the evening already.

Knox called before, informing them not to wait for him for dinner because of an overtime meeting at his company. He asked Shawn to pick up Knoa from the café and dropped him at home.

However, it has been two hours since he called and said that the meeting will only last an hour and that he’ll go back home immediately. Azrael began to worry.

He answered the phone, wondering why his secretary was calling at that time of the night. He made sure to remind him not to disturb him during his family time.

"What is it?" He asked, annoyed.

Luis quickly answered, "Sir! Where are you? Are watching the news? If not, open the television and watch the news already!"

Azrael furrowed his brows. "What the hell are you saying? Why are you in panic?"

"Just watch it already, you’ll know!" Luis insisted.

Azrael was compelled to walk to the living room where his son was seated on the carpet, right next to the big screen. He hastened his steps and snatched the little kid, mumbling strictly, "Hey, hey, little kid. What did I tell you about watching TV? Sit far away from it. Otherwise, you’ll hurt your eyes."

Knoa blinked and tugged on his father’s arm without sparing him a glance. "But, Daddy...that’s Knoa! Why am I on the screen? Oh! That’s Papa and Daddy!"

Azrael’s body stiffened. His head spun immediately to the screen. His grey eyes shook after witnessing the three of them together. It was a capture of them on the beach, excluding Aresh.

Knox and Azrael were wearing sunglasses, but either way, their faces could easily be recognized. On top of that, Knoa, carried by Azrael on his arms, was showing his face completely.

"Did you see it, sir? The ones left at the company complained that the phones were buzzing, and even my phone as well! Also, reporters are camping at your mansion right now, so don’t go back there in the meantime!" Luis’s panicked and exhausted voice cleared Azrael’s head.

The alpha quickly turned the television off and carried Knoa to the bedroom.

The little kid peeked at his father’s serious face and asked, "Daddy, are we famous? Why are we on the news?"

Azrael gulped and faked a smile, "It’s because we’re a happy family. It seems that the news was featuring a happy family, so we were chosen." He put Knoa to bed and tucked him on the covers. "Can you wait for Daddy here? I have to talk to someone over the phone. It won’t take too long, promise."

Knoa yawned. He hadn’t washed himself yet after playing with his father, but it seemed that his father was too busy to wash him, so he just nodded and rubbed his eyes.

Azrael patted the kid’s forehead and soon left the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, he fired a question to Luis, voicing his anger and frustration over that surprising matter. "Don’t f*cking answer the phone or any questions regarding this matter. Chase away any pests that will visit the company tomorrow and tighten the security as well. Also, make sure to shut the employees’ mouths. I don’t want this reaching more audience."

Luis gaped at the phone and brazenly exclaimed, "Mr. Del Valle, how could I do that when it was already broadcasted on the television?! Even if you take the whole station down, it’s all over the online news outlets and SNS! The three of you are trending and your family situations are the top one in the most searched on the internet! How the hell am I going to stop that shit?!"

Azrael cursed angrily. He ended the call and before he could check what Luis said, his phone rang again. This time, the name equivalent to what he was feeling at the moment appeared on the screen.

Rage.

It then struck him. The discussion he had with his father three days ago. His blood boiled as he was already certain who was behind it all.