Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 242 - 28: A tragic end

Chapter 242: Chapter 28: A tragic end

Nathaniel sat at his desk, just staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts. It had been a month since he last saw Killian. Three weeks after their break-up, he resigned and disappeared just like that.

He kept thinking; why did he need to? Nathaniel will leave the company anyway, he eventually goes back to England after the company is steady once more, so he doesn’t have to leave when Killian was one of the most hardworking employees he’d ever met.

Part of him was convincing himself it was for the better. Since, if he knew where Killian was, his feet might just move on their own and bring him to where he was. Another part was feeling regretful for losing a good employee, but he was just really worried.

"Chairman, everything’s ready," Steve came and informed him.

With one last look at the cityscape, he stood from his chair and put on his coat. It was the day he would finally leave the country. The employees greeted him and said their goodbyes and well wishes. Nathaniel indifferently made his way out, while Steve followed behind silently.

On their way out of the building, Nathaniel couldn’t help but notice a young woman peeking at the glass windows. Steve might have noticed him wondering, so he asked, "Should I chase her away?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "Just ask her what she’s looking for." The young woman seemed to be in high school, getting shy and nervous about entering the building and inquiring at the receptionist.

He watched Steve approach the girl. After a few minutes, the girl went away with a saddened look and Steve returned. "She was looking for...Mr. Arden, sir. I told her he’s not working here anymore."

"...did she tell you why she was looking for him?" Nathaniel asked hesitantly.

Steve nodded. "She said that Mr. Arden hadn’t been coming to the orphanage for a month now. It was unusual of him since he always dropped by once a week, but it seemed that after he resigned, he hadn’t visited. The girl was worried but she didn’t know where Mr. Arden lived and only knew this place, so she came here to ask."

Nathaniel went silent. He knew that Killian was an orphan and grew up in an orphanage, so, if he suddenly did not visit for a month, something must have happened. Nathaniel’s heart skipped a beat. Before he entered the car, he turned to Steve and ordered, "Help her find him."

Steve was taken aback, and he seemed like he wanted to say something, but chose not to speak. He simply nodded. "Yes, sir."

Nathaniel thought that after he left the country, he’d never come back again, as it holds painful memories for him. However, only a month after he went back home, Steve informed him that the private investigators he hired did not yield results.

They didn’t find Killian Arden.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, Geraldine had been paying attention to their movement involving Killian, so she put someone on their tails, and when she heard of Nathaniel’s orders, she bribed the private investigators to give false reports.

But her efforts backfired because Nathaniel went back. He visited the orphanage Killian grew up in.

"Ah, you’re Ian’s friend, is that right?" An old lady came and received Nathaniel. He nodded but did not say anymore. The old lady smiled kindly and motioned for them to walk around the place. "Ian’s a good boy, he always had been. Even when he left the orphanage, he still didn’t forget the children here and supported us. In his younger years, there was only one friend he introduced to us, and that was Emily. I’m glad to meet another friend of his. Though I’m a bit saddened that he just suddenly disappeared without saying anything, I’m sure that wherever he is, he’s living a good life, because he’s such a good kid."

Nathaniel looked up at the trees. The sunlight seeping through the branches and leaves blinded him a bit, but he stared at it, despite his eyes hurting and tears forming due to the heat. "...right. He’s a good man..."

Before he left, he donated money to the orphanage and requested them to inform him if ever Killian returned. But years passed and he never received any. He went on and founded his own charity foundation. People saw it as his way to gain more supporters and political connections, but to Nathaniel, it was like carrying on Killian’s legacy.

His way of remembering him, longing for him, and asking forgiveness.

Twenty years passed just like that, and he had already forgotten the reason. His longing turned to sorrow until it became an unreasonable anger towards someone whose face he no longer remembered. It felt like part of him was lost after Killian left him, and as he grew older, he began blaming him.

Until that orphanage reached out to him after two decades. The old lady who he met before was already hunched and partly blind due to age. "You...made me promise to contact you if ever Killian returned... unfortunately, someone came other than him, saying that Killian already passed many years ago. It was so saddening. I’m the old one here, yet he went up before me...life must have been so cruel for him... poor Killian..."

The old lady cried, and Nathaniel stayed still for a moment. He felt incredibly sad, disappointed, and aggrieved, but he remained silent. After the lady stopped crying, he asked her, "That person who...came here... did you know him?"

The old lady wiped her tears slowly and looked up at Nathaniel with a smile. "Oh, he’s a very beautiful man, just like his father, Killian."

Nathaniel froze.

"He got his father’s hair and features, except his eyes. When I looked at that child, I felt like I was watching these leaves under the sunlight, they are bright green. My vision isn’t the same anymore, but I could still them clearly because they shine like these verdant leaves."

Nathaniel was rendered speechless, even after he went back to his mansion, he just went past Geraldine and Athan who greeted him by the door. He walked to his office, uncertain of what to do.

All he could remember that day was the old lady’s words, ringing over and over in his ears. He had a hunch, but it scared him to confirm it. However, in the end, his curiosity pushed him to do so. He asked Steve to investigate it and find out what happened to Killian.

Two weeks later, the report came in, and he was in denial. He couldn’t believe how cruel life to him was.

"I... was the one to be blamed... Did I blame him too much...did my resentment carried by the wind and made him suffer...?" Twenty years later, Nathaniel broke into tears again. He wanted to see his son, but he was too caught up in his own self-loathing. He was scared to meet him, at the same time, he wanted to.

"Chairman, it seems like Sir Knox was being chased by loan sharks. And his living conditions aren’t great. He has so many part-time jobs and he only eats once a day. Shawn said that he rarely shows up to school and only comes when on examination week due to his work..." Steve reported one day.

Nathaniel paused. He made a decision. That night, he gathered his whole family and told them about Knox Arden, claiming him as his son, and planning to bring him to the family. They had a fight, but Nathaniel was too old to care about them.

He chose to keep their marriage and the family’s dignity his entire life, isn’t it time for him to do what he wanted? He told Steve to bring his son to England because he wanted to do what was right.

However, at the sight of him, he was reminded of Killian, of his painful memories, of the years of longing, and self-blaming, and he exploded. Those emotions he kept in the corner of his heart were directed to his innocent son, and it resulted in a bad end.

He was the worst father. Nathaniel beat himself with it. To his legitimate children, and to his beloved’s child.

Instead of closing the gap between them, his pride and his emotions kept them apart. He had so many shortcomings, and he no longer believed that he would be forgiven.

"...father..."

Nathaniel wiped his tears after he turned away. For the first time, he heard Knox call him father. things became better between them, and despite his disapproval of a few of Knox’s choices, he ended up supporting him either way.

He finally was able to smile and think of Killian without any more pain. "Killian... I...if it’s possible... I want to... meet you again, in our next life, perhaps..." he said as he gazed at the white gravestone.

He was in his formal suit, standing a bit hunch already due to his old age, and his hair had streaks of gray already. He checked the time on his wristwatch and said, "I should get going. Today...is the day Knox will be promoted as a director of the Horizon Foundation. Until next time, Killian..."

Nathaniel walked away, his figure getting smaller and smaller from Killian’s grave. What was left on the stone was a lavender wreath, surrounded by the wildflowers wrapped at the edges. It was a symbol of the alpha’s love for the unscented omega.

A wreath that could never be worn. A tragic end.

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End of Side Story: Nathaniel Horace and Killian Arden