Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 52: Knoa meets grandparents

Chapter 52: Knoa meets grandparents

The servants they passed would bow at them, sporting curious glances they dared not to express in front of Athan, but Knox spotted them. As he was getting dragged out of the mansion, he suddenly had a thought, ’Athan’s fiancée? I’m receiving help from him...who?’

They reached his car parked in the parking lot of the house. Athan almost ripped the door out as he opened it too forcefully. Knox obediently stepped in and sat quietly in the passenger seat, reminding himself to wear the seatbelt quickly.

Once Athan was settled in, he started the engine and drove the car out of the premises, but after they reached the next corner and turned, Athan slowed down until he stopped under a pine tree planted inside the gates and protruding its branches on the deserted street.

Silence reigned over them for quite a while. It was Knox who first opened the conversation, and bravely asked his half-brother what had been bothering him since last night, "I heard you fought with Azrael yesterday, so suddenly. Why did he visit? No, why did you attack him just because he insulted me? Did you...learn something?"

Athan gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He looked up and puffed out an air to calm himself, then he began, "I punched him, hurled him to the wall, and even dared to bash his head with my foot. He was a f*cking bastard that doesn’t deserve to be respected, so why..." Athan swallowed and looked at Knox sideways, "Why did that as*hole’s face remind me of Knoa when I looked at him?!"

Knox flinched. Athan opened the window on his side and exhaled loudly. His voice was full of disbelief, anger, and constraint. Without turning his head to look at Knox, he grimly asked, "Did he force himself to you? That’s before we met you, so if you filed a complaint now, I swear I’ll support you and—

"It was my fault, Athan," Knox interrupted. Athan froze at those words. He slowly turned to Knox, and the latter continued, "It was because of me. I deceived him, put myself in danger, that’s why..."

He took advantage of Athan’s silence and shared everything about him before they met his family. Minute after minute of his story-telling, Athan’s expression went paler and paler, albeit sad and regretful.

At the end of the story, he found himself crying in Athan’s arms. Steve and his father might have already known about his parents’ fate and all the things he suffered after that, but he couldn’t show his vulnerable side to them.

All the misery and pain he kept to himself from his younger days, he poured them all to Athan.

"I’m keeping Knoa’s existence from him. I’m sure he’ll take him away from me if he finds out," Knox mumbled between his sobs after a while. He pushed Athan away and wiped his face, "And I’ll convince him to withdraw his—

"No. Don’t do it," Athan cut him off immediately. "I’ll take care of it, so don’t do anything."

"But Athan, your company—

"I’ll find a way to compromise with him," Athan sighed. He already knew what Azrael’s terms were, but he still would try to convince him. He started the engine again and drove, "Let’s get you home for now."

Knox averted his eyes and leaned back quietly. Even if Athan prevents him from approaching Azrael, there is still a contract between them, so he really couldn’t just walk away. Knox propped his elbow to the window, cupped his chin with his palm, and then blankly stared outside.

His stomach was grumbling, but he wasn’t in the mood to eat. He took his phone, scrolled through his contracts, and paused upon remembering another thing. Knox promptly turned his head to Athan and asked, "You...you have a fiancée? And you didn’t even tell me."

Athan replied simply, "I don’t think it matters."

"He said you and your fiancée had been helping me too much. Shawn is the only one who comes to mind. Is it him?"

The alpha nodded his head. Knox continued, "Did you know why he was kicked out of his home?"

"He refused to marry me and even tried to convince his elders to cancel the engagement. Shawn’s family had always stood behind the Horace family and loyally served them for three generations now. They wanted a union between both families, but since I’m the only one who hasn’t married yet, they were pushing us together," Athan explained.

"But do you like Shawn?" Knox asked curiously.

Athan turned the car to a corner as he answered, "I never really think about that."

His tone was dismissive, so Knox stopped prying. The rest of their travel was in silence. They arrived at his apartment building an hour after lunch. Knox opened the door and was about to step out when Athan held him back, "I have to go the office to finish some things."

Knox informed him as well, "We’ll go back to my unit as well."

Athan, "Knox, it’s better if you just stay with me."

Knox subtly smiled at him, "We should go back. I keep depending on you that I...anyway, we’ll leave today. Thanks, A."

He proceeded to leave and closed the car’s door back. He recalled what the chairman told him so he decided not to rely on Athan too much. He watched the car disappear on the highway before turning around.

"Papa! You’re back!"

"Did my baby miss me?"

"Knoa did!" the kid giggled as he was welcomed with ticklish kisses all over his face. He came running to the door after hearing the sound of the door opening, and Knox swept him up as soon as they met.

From behind him followed Shawn whose shirt was stained with watercolors, saying, "I just washed him and we’re off to nap before you came."

Knox gratefully glanced at him and responded, "Go ahead and clean yourself. I’ll watch him."

"Okay."

With that, Shawn left. Knox thought, ’Maybe they don’t see the need to inform me of their relationship since they both look uninterested in it."

"Papa, something wrong?" Knoa touched his chin and playfully pinched it.

Knox’s lips curved into a smile. He walked inside and sat in the living room before replying to his son, "Knoa, do you want to meet your grandma and grandpa?"

Knoa’s eyes widened excitedly. He stood from his father’s lap and jumped a little, "I have them? Knoa’s friend...school... picked by grampa once!"

’Ah, he might have heard of the word then, that’s why he asked,’ Knox thought to himself. "Of course. But, uhm...they can’t be here anymore, though you can still meet them."

"I want to!" Knoa answered gleefully, his emerald eyes disappearing as his cheekbones raised from a wide and open smile.

Knox rubbed his soft, and slightly curly black hair, "Alrighty! Let’s go meet them then!"

After Shawn finished bathing, he asked for help to pack their things and he happily obliged, even humming a song while folding Knoa’s clothes in the bed. It seemed like he didn’t feel comfortable in Athan’s unit.

"Can you go ahead first? I’d like to take Knoa to visit my parents," Knox asked Shawn as they started to walk to the elevator. He was carrying Knoa while the younger omega was carrying their bags.

Shawn hesitated to agree. He felt anxious leaving the two alone by themselves so he suggested, "Sir Athan has a spare car in the parking lot. Should we use it? Let me drive you."

Knox contemplated. It was much easier for Knoa than to hail a cab back and forth, but his parents’ graves were in another city which would take a three-hour drive from there, and he decided to spend the night in a hotel in that place.

He told Shawn all of that and he was even more determined to tag along, "The more reason I should come! Let’s stop in your unit first to drop these things."

Knox ended up agreeing. He thanked Shawn for his effort as they continued walking. They did what they planned. After dropping everything, they stopped by the café to inform Franz of their little outing and visitation and even got some free takeaway cookies for them to eat along the way.

The drive was smooth and harmonious, completely different from what Knox experienced in the morning. He sat on the back seat with Knoa, while Shawn insisted on driving. They talked about random things along the way, while Knoa went between napping and waking.

Three hours later, the vehicle stopped at a public cemetery at the end of a small town. Shawn parked it under a huge acacia tree, and Knox carried the sleeping Knoa out of the car. He reached for the basket of flowers he brought and slung it on his arm.

"I’ll stay here. Oh! Here," Shawn reached out for his cap and gave it to Knox, "It’s almost dusk, wear it on Knoa."

Knox accepted the cap and wore it on Knoa’s head, "Right. Thanks, Shawn. We won’t take too long. I wanted to come back here tomorrow on our way back, but I just want to visit them on this exact date."

"I know," Shawn answered with an understanding smile.

Knox waved and passed the gate. He was greeted with a very vast field of green grass with white rectangular tombstones plastered on the ground one meter apart from each other. Knox traversed the narrow path for visitors in the perimeter of the field, and when he spotted the knee-length vertical cylindrical concrete with the combination of one number and one letter curved at the top, just like the guides on a parking lot, he halted and looked at the endless aisle on his side.

The surroundings were starting to get dark, so he quickly trod upon the narrow aisle and looked for his parents’ names. At last, he spotted the name Arden, and he sighed in relief yet a forlorn smile broke in his lips.

He knelt on the ground, placing the flower basket in the middle of their gravestones. Knoa stirred from his sleep and rubbed his eyes. Knox then quietly mumbled, "Mom, Dad, this adorable ball of sunshine I brought before you, is your grandson. His name is Knoa," he brushed away Knoa’s hair that hindered his forehead and smiled softly, "Baby, say hi to your grandma and grandpa."