Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 204: Call me ’father’

Chapter 204: Call me ’father’

On the following day, the sky loomed with thick, dark clouds, hinting at an impending rainstorm as a cool breeze swept through the autumn air. The vibrant oranges and reds of the trees lining the road were dulled under the gloomy sky, and the distant rustle of leaves filled the quiet.

The chill of fall crept in, blending with the smell of approaching rain. Inside the car, Knox stared out the window, while Azrael sat beside him, the silence between them weighed down by what remained unsaid.

The car ride back to the Horace mansion was unusually quiet.

Knox sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window, his thoughts swirling with confusion and concern. The autumn landscape blurred past, but Knox’s mind was elsewhere. Beside him, Azrael was also deep in thought, seated in the back, hands clasped in his lap.

Roy, ever the reliable bodyguard and driver, remained focused on the road ahead.

It wasn’t until they were halfway through their journey that Azrael finally broke the silence. His voice was calm, and measured, but there was a certain weight to his words. He squeezed Knox’s hands as he gathered the strength to tell him about everything.

"Dear...," he began, his tone softer than usual.

Knox turned slightly in his seat, glancing at Azrael in the rearview mirror. He noticed the serious expression on his husband’s face. Azrael rarely looked this troubled, and that alone made Knox’s heart beat a little faster.

"Are you really...planning to tell me here? Inside the car while..." Knox asked, already sensing where this conversation was heading. He briefly glanced at Roy, before looking back to Azrael.

They could have talked about it in their apartment, but Azrael insisted on talking on the way. He acted like he was running from someone, so Knox asked, and thus, he learned that his father might have been looking for a chance to ambush them because they took the ledger.

Azrael wanted Knox to get to the Horaces as soon as possible, as it was the only place he could trust for Knox’s safety.

Azrael nodded. "Roy knows everything."

He took a deep breath as if preparing himself to reveal something that had been weighing heavily on his chest for a long time. "It’s about my father, too. The one you never met. My omega father."

Knox’s brow furrowed. He already knew bits and pieces about Azrael’s past from Lyssana, but now that she was actually an enemy, he wasn’t sure how much of what she said was true.

Moreover, the subject of Azrael’s omega father had been something they rarely touched on. Azrael had always been guarded about that part of his life.

Knox squeezed Azrael’s hand back, as tightly as he did. He hoped that simple gesture comforted his husband. "Go on...I’m listening."

Azrael continued, his voice steadier now. "My father’s name was Ashler Ford, a dominant omega. I hated him because...all this time I believed that he...cheated on Rage and abandoned me. I was young, and when I saw him in heat, acting...disgustingly with another man...I believe that all omegas were like him, that all omegas are bound to act like that. It was the reason I despised them. Because of him."

His eyes darkened with memory, that soon displayed agony and contrition.

"But now...knowing the truth...I...other than regretting those years I filled myself with hatred towards omegas, toward my father...I was engulfed with self-loathing, remorse, sadness, and...extreme fury. If only...I believed him...if only I supported him when he tried to explain everything to Rage...if I hadn’t just watched him walk away that snowy night...I...uh...h-he...would...he might...have been a-alive...he..."

Knox’s throat tightened. "Azrael...it’s not your fault. Someone is to blame for all of this. But that’s definitely not you." He tried hard for his voice not to break. For once, he wanted to be the pillar of support for Azrael.

Azrael leaned forward slightly; his voice low, dripping with resentment. "It was her. It was Lyssana’s fault. I knew the truth now. She induced my father’s heat and let that man enter the mansion. She planned everything to ruin my family! To make Rage despise my father! And she tried to do that to us too."

Knox’s eyes widened. "Why...did she do that? What wrong did we do to her? Why does she keep ruining you and your father’s life?"

Azrael looked at Knox gravely. He pursed his lips. "She’s delusional. She wanted Rage for herself, but she was a beta that could offer nothing to him, and when Rage met my father, her dreams even crashed and buried completely. I’m not sure why she did the same to us."

Knox’s hands tightened into fists, his thoughts racing. Lyssana wasn’t stable, that’s for sure. Having that kind of person loose might bring harm to their family. "Where is she now? What if she’s planning something again? And your father, Rage? If he knew this, maybe—

"He was out of the country for a business trip. He left on the day he visited the safe house to secure the ledger. It’s a three-day trip so he will be back tomorrow," Azrael interrupted him. "And about Lyssana...I...had someone follow her no matter where she went so...you don’t have to worry about her. But after I drop you at the chairman’s house, I will have to meet with them."

"I’ll go with you," Knox declared.

Azrael shook his head. "You will stay with the kids, Knox."

"But Azrael! If you are worried about what I will discover, I promised you already I won’t leave you no matter what!" Knox insisted. He just wanted to be by his husband’s side, especially when he looked vulnerable when it came to dealing with his father’s past.

Azrael’s gaze softened. "I know that now. I believe you now. I do, my dear husband. But I hope you understand me too. I want you to stay safe with our kids. If something happens to you again, I really don’t know what to do anymore. So, I beg you, Knox, stay with the kids. They probably miss us both. Tell them...I’m going to come home soon."

Knox turned fully to face Azrael, their eyes locking. "I...will. Come home soon."

Azrael smiled faintly, his hand reaching out to touch Knox’s arm. "I will. Let’s go on a very long vacation after all this. Just the four of us."

Knox’s heart swelled at those words. He closed his eyes and nodded; the image of them four watching the first snowfall of the year, decorating the big tree with lights, and waiting for the new year countdown to finish.

He hoped that everything would go well and that Azrael would come back to him soon.

Nathaniel stood by the entrance of the mansion. After Athan took Knox to have him checked by their family doctor, Azrael immediately asked the chairman’s permission to leave.

"I heard from your subordinates that you’ve read the contents of the ledger," Nathaniel began.

Azrael nodded. The chairman spoke again, "What do you want me to do with that?"

Azrael couldn’t tell if the old alpha was testing him or not, but he had already decided what to do and steeled himself for what was to come. He answered with conviction, "Do what you must, Chairman Nathaniel."

He excused himself after that. He opened the door to the passenger seat and was about to step in when he heard the older alpha speak again.

"I heard from my daughter that you and my son had officially registered your marriage."

Azrael halted. He turned to the chairman with a careful look, anxious about what might happen to Knox now that his father knew. However, his anxiousness vanished and was replaced with astonishment after the chairman continued his words.

"A marriage is a marriage. A ceremony can wait either. But the next time you come," Chairman Nathaniel turned his back to Azrael as he muttered, "...call me ’father’."

The door shut before Azrael, who stood beside his car, dazed and in disbelief.

Roy drove away from the Horace mansion after Azrael finally got in.

Knox had been left safely behind, unaware of what Azrael was about to do next. The drive was quiet, save for the hum of the engine, and the thoughts racing through Azrael’s mind. He was heading to Lyssana and Diego, intent on seeing the plan he had set into motion unfold.

When he arrived at the hidden location, his expression remained blank, though his heart drummed heavily against his chest.

He slipped into the building silently, knowing exactly where to go. His footsteps barely echoed in the dimly lit halls as he approached the room. He paused outside the door, listening. There was a low, malicious grunt, followed by a faint whimper. The sounds were all too familiar.

Before he pushed the door open, Kayden appeared followed by Sando.

"Azrael...what beyond this door...might trigger something traumatic to you. Best not to open it," Kayden remarked worriedly.

Azrael snickered. "Traumatic, you say. If I care about that...I wouldn’t have turned that worm into the monster that he was."

He pushed the door open, and Azrael stood at the threshold, witnessing what he had expected. Diego, the man who lost his senses and his sanity, and all he muttered were the same lyrics drilled into his distorted mind, cornered Lyssana.

Just like what he had done to Azrael’s omega father two decades ago.

"Lyssana made me feel all this pain. Lyssana burned me. Lyssana did it. Defile her. Torture her. Make her live in hell."

Azrael listened to that wretched song as he watched with no mercy.