Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 69: The truth unfolds [6]

Chapter 69: The truth unfolds [6]

Days before the show, Diva received an invitation from HZ Clothing Brand. She was having a drink with her other friend at the bar Rian owned and managed himself when she brought up that topic.

Rian, who was wiping off the counter, said amusedly, "You’re giving that away? Where did the runway show freak slash famous model Ms. Diva go?"

Kayden rose from his seat and touched the female alpha’s forehead, "She’s not sick, Ri. Call a shaman, she might be possessed."

Whack!

"Argh. Do you have to smack me that hard?" Kayden complained as he waved his hand to ease the stinging pain. He sipped on his glass, gulping down half of its content.

Diva rolled her eyes at the two, "I don’t like watching the main model. I feel like puking just looking at that two-faced bitch."

Rian sighed and dramatically responded, "Ah, times do pass quickly. Just a few years ago, you were so in love with that woman that you’d barge into Azrael’s home and fought with him. Now that I think about it, aren’t you stupid? Why would you love someone who’s willing to offer their body to your fiancé?"

Kayden agreed undoubtedly, "She is stupid."

He quickly dodged another slap on his way and grinned proudly after getting away from Diva’s palm.

Diva shouted, "Don’t remind me! I erased those memories in my head already. Right now, that bitch was just an opportunist, materialistic, two-faced slut to me!"

She drank from her glass and asked for another shot. Rian shook his head and commented, "Wow. The line between love and hatred is truly terrifying. You’re so brave to cross it, my dear friend."

"Shut up."

Rian scowled at the indifferent reply of his female friend. He looked at the other one drowning himself in bottles of alcohol as if he weren’t a doctor who studied the harm of drinking too much.

He snatched the bottle of wine Kayden would put in his mouth. "Pour it on the glass, fool, not on your face. What’s with you? Where did the strict doctor who always chewed out Azrael for drinking too much? Maybe you’re the possessed one here. Tsk, tsk."

Diva scooched closer to Kayden, "Kay, what’s your problem? Share it!"

Kayden sighed. He stared at the shot glass he was holding for a while, before answering Diva, "I found that omega I was chasing before."

Diva, "Oh? Congra—

"He was engaged to someone already. He was planning to marry that person, and even pretending like he didn’t remember me. Damn him. I feel so pathetic. In these times, I want to be Azrael, you know? So, I can just do what I want without considering his feelings. Maybe kidnap him and lock him up somewhere?"

Rian, "Sounds like Azrael indeed."

"What about me?"

Rian and Diva turned their heads at the entrance of the bar.

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall come!" Kayden raised his glass as if cheering with an invincible drinking buddy.

Azrael just raised his brows and sat next to Diva. He ignored Kayden’s drunk rambling and spoke, "If you’re not going to attend the HZCB runway show, give me your invitation."

"What, why?" Diva furrowed her brows. Her eyes widened after realizing something. "Are you going to watch that woman—

Azrael, "I’m going to watch a man. A man, Diva." He emphasized the word ’man’ to stop her from thinking otherwise. Why would he watch Elise, anyway? She could go and perform a naked show and see if he’d even look her way.

Kayden giggled quite childishly. Azrael grimaced, "What the hell are you giggling like a tickled madwoman there?"

Rian and Diva laughed. Kayden just shook his head and replied, inebriated, "I know who it is. I know many things. Hehe. Azrael is a fool. He’s stupid. Hahahahahaha. Gosh, you’re so stupid, Azi. Very. Hahahahaha."

The chair creaked. Diva threw herself to Azrael, and yelled, "Calm down, Azi. He’s drunk. He’s your cousin, too. Don’t beat him up. He’s loved by your father, unlike you," Diva averted her eyes when the man glared down at her. She cleared her throat and continued, "Alright. I remember now. I’ll give you the invitation. In exchange, take Kayden home. Safely. Unscathed. I swear if you beat him up, I’ll tell the press you stole my invitation instead."

Azrael agreed, giving Diva a look that a psychiatrist gives to their hopeless patients in a mental hospital. He pushed her away gently and dragged Kayden away after waving goodbye to his childhood friends.

The morning after that day, he received the invitation. He was still irked after he didn’t receive one even though he was one of the influential people in that country. Goes to say that Athan Horace specifically canceled him out.

He couldn’t get ahold of Knox for the past few days. He was so busy that he couldn’t even answer his phone, and not hearing his voice for a few days infuriated Azrael.

Now, as he sat on a VIP seat at the very front of the ramp in that Hypostyle Pavilion, his brows almost met each other after not spotting Knox anywhere. He scanned the entire room, but the show ended and he failed to even catch a glimpse of him.

He glared at Athan Horace sitting at the very first seat, thinking, ’Did that bastard hide him?’

Athan met his glowering eyes and glared back with much intensity. However, the older man seated behind him tapped his thigh, stealing Athan’s attention and breaking their contact. Azrael was surprised to see that person since he rarely attended any gatherings, and would always ask his sons to attend meetings at his place instead.

The show ended without fail. Or so everyone thought. After some of the guests were guided by the staff back to the dinner reception, a commotion broke in the backstage. Garnering the attention of the few people left in the pavilion.

"What did you just do?!" A smaller woman who had a bob haircut pushed Knox away from the famous actress/model. He stumbled a bit from the force, luckily, he grabbed the rack behind him and steadied his feet.

The person behind him, instead of asking him if he was okay, anxiously walked away as she didn’t want to be involved with the famous model.

Knox apologized, taking out his handkerchief to try and wipe the stain on the woman’s clothes. The coffee smeared on the lower part of the dress. Its brown color stained the silky white flowing dress of the model. "I’m sorry. I didn’t see the cup. I will compensate—

However, the petite woman, who was the manager of Elise Chen, swatted his hand away. The handkerchief flew away. The manager furiously shouted, "Compensate?! Do you even know how much this dress cost?! It’s not one of your collections! This dress is owned by Ms. Elise costing hundred thousands of dollars! You won’t be able to pay it with your meager salary!"

Knox shut his eyes tightly. The words of the woman barely registered in his head. Everything was spinning around him, so he breathed in and out deeply to calm himself.

"How are you going to compensate for this?! What are you going to do?!" the manager yapped. She turned to Elise and worriedly stated, "Goodness, Ms. Elise, are you alright? The coffee isn’t hot? Is it? Did you get burned?"

Elise smiled subtly and answered, "A bit, I think."

The manager, "What?!" She quickly knelt and wiped Elise’s clothes with the hem of her cardigan. She glared at Knox and yelled, "You! If Ms. Elise got hurt, I will sue you!"

Knox’s brows knitted, and defensively responded, "The coffee was cold. It won’t—

"How do you know it’s cold? Were you holding it? Or did you deliberately splash it to Ms. Elise?! Who are you? Are you a staff here? Hey, is he an employee here? Or are you an anti-fan? Can someone please call the security?!"

Another voice drowned the murmurs, "My goodness. I think he’s a spy indeed. He’s so intent on ruining the image of our brand. Call the president, quick!"

"I knew he was trouble. The president should have fired him on the spot back then!"

Knox gritted his teeth. He clenched his fists and angrily commented, "You can check the coffee if it’s hot or not, why are you twisting my words? I’m not an anti-fan. I’m not a fan at all. It was an accident—

"Ngh," Elise grunted painfully.

The manager frantically stepped back, "Ah! I’m sorry, Miss. Did it hurt here?!" she hastily turned toward Knox and slapped him.

Pak!

Knox was too stunned to dodge. He was certain the coffee was cold since he’d been observing the backstage since everything began and he saw that coffee from the start. If it’s sitting in that place for more than hours, then it must have turned cold. Was it replaced? He began to ponder and doubt his judgment.

The stinging pain on his cheek only made his head ache more.

"And you said it wasn’t hot! How dare you! Where is the security?! I’ll make sure this will get to your boss and will be released in the press! Someone as careless as you shouldn’t be working in this industry!"

The manager would have shouted more derogatory remarks at Knox if only a loud, angry voice hadn’t drowned the noises inside.

"What is happening here?! Why the commotion?!"

All heads turned in the direction of the voice and saw Athan with his mad, hardened face, throwing death glares at the petite woman whose index finger was pointing at his brother condescendingly.