Taylor entered the apartment with a face full of terror.
Immediately, Prince and his mother looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
"It's confirmed, Maiston is back."
Prince closed his eyes in fear, but more intense. He had thought that Cassi's illness was Maiston's last move, but then he learned that Maiston had left for a vacation on the very same day. Now he was back and it was clear he must know everything by now.
"I'm going to pack some bags and leave. It's the best thing I can do. I'll go far away with Cassi."
His mother watched him stand up almost running to the room. The baby was playing with blocks on the floor, so Taylor stayed with her while Prince threw everything into a suitcase carelessly.
"Prince."
He didn't even look at his mother because he didn't want to waste time doing everything necessary to prevent Maiston from taking the baby away.
"Prince."
He continued to throw clothes and opened another suitcase for Cassi's clothes.
"Son!" his mother exclaimed, standing in front of him to stop him.
He saw her almost trembling, clearly desperate and frightened.
"My prince, you can't just leave. If Maiston knows, he will find you even at the end of the world. You can't run forever and keep Cassi locked up."
He ignored her words and tried to continue packing.
"Enough, dear and…"
"No, mom, you don't understand! Maiston will want to take her away from me! He'll want to leave me with nothing to prove he's better than me!"
"Enough! You're acting like a criminal. You don't have to run away, that's enough. You must be brave and, if Maiston comes, you face him."
He shook his head and stepped away grabbing more clothes.
"Prince, for God's sake, what's the point? Cassi is still a baby, but she will want to go out to play, have friends and will need to go to school. Do you plan to forbid her from seeing the sun because you're afraid of what Maiston could do?"
Hearing these words, he turned to the woman who was stroking his cheeks.
"Please, don't do anything foolish. She was sick and you didn't want to take her to the doctor until the last minute just because of Maiston. What will happen if she gets sick again?"
"I'll call a private doctor."
The woman let out a sigh and shook her head.
"I know you're desperate and afraid of the worst, but you speak as if you don't know Maiston at all. Maybe he deceived you and did something terrible, but despite that, I don't think he's capable of such a thing. Fear is blinding you and you won't let yourself be at peace."
Prince didn't know what to say and retreated to sit on the bed. He ran his hands over his face and saw all the clothes scattered on the floor. His body was shaking, and his mind couldn't settle down. He only thought of terrible scenarios filled with more pain.
Hearing the doorbell, both looked up.
"No, mom, don't open it!"
He saw her running to see where Cassi was and took her in his arms.
"Don't open it, Taylor. Don't do it."
The doorbell sounded again and the mother and Taylor exchanged a brief glance.
"I'm telling you not to open it!" he exclaimed, watching his friend approach the door to look through the peephole.
"It's Reich."
At hearing that name, Prince's body relaxed. He felt the peace return to his body and breathed calmly. Taylor simply opened the door.
Reich was already aware of the baby; the brunette had told him, and he hadn't made a big deal out of it.
"Hello, is everything okay?"
"I'm sorry," said the mother, "Prince is pretty jittery."
"I can imagine why. You said we'd have Chinese food tonight, but I guess you forgot. I can come another day if you don't feel well now."
"No! I'm just nervous, but I feel better now that you're here."
"Alright, I'll take the baby so you two can talk."
"And I need to go because I have things to do," Taylor spoke.
Prince watched them all leave and let out a sigh. He wanted to tidy up his clothes to look a bit better and not so paranoid or like an actual madman.
He approached Reich, who was still in his work clothes. He received the packages Reich was handing out while listening to some stories, trying to forget everything else. He always tried hard to keep his mind focused on what he was saying because he knew Reich was a good person. After learning about Cassi, he hadn't said anything negative and continued to be there for him.
They hadn't had much time to go out because there was a lot of uproar about their supposed marriage and even that Cassi was his daughter and more.
Sometimes he felt he was going mad because the journalists never left him in peace. And he wanted calm. He wanted peace, but he could never fully feel it. There was always something preventing him, no matter how much he wished for it, and that made him angry because it was unfair.
"Don't worry so much about the baby," Reich suggested with a kind smile.
Prince looked at him for a few seconds and let out a sigh. They had kissed a couple of times but hadn't gone beyond that despite spending several months talking and hanging out before everything happened.
"Sorry."
"And don't apologize. You're not to blame for anything, Prince."
"Does it really not bother you that I have a baby?"
Reich shook his head.
"Of course not. There's no reason for me to have been upset. Besides, she's cute and sweet, who could get angry with her?"
"Thanks, I wish I had told you differently, but being me doesn't help. Sometimes I'm happy with everything I've achieved and, at times like these, I loathe it because I can never have peace," he murmured, releasing a sigh.
The blonde extended his hand to stroke his cheek. Prince felt the kind gesture and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
"Relax, things will get better, and you know you can ask for my help anytime," he said.
He didn't hesitate to place a kiss on his cheek and also took the chance to kiss his lips. He always received a response and realized it was never fully given, but he never demanded more than that. It was the Omega who always pulled away nervously, and he never insisted too much.
"Shall we eat?" Reich asked, having finished taking out the items.
They prepared the table and sat down to eat something while talking.
They didn't have many conversation topics. One, because Reich wasn't very talkative, and two, because Prince wasn't very funny. They limited themselves to asking about each other's day and more. Sometimes they shared opinions about a movie and these were simple themes that entertained them.
"Yes, I know. But she's not even two yet, so I don't want to worry so much about that," the Omega murmured.
"My nephews started at three. Now they're ten, but it's a good school, although quite expensive."
"Yeah, everything is expensive nowadays and, would you marry me?"
Reich began to cough as if he was choking, drank some water, and wasn't sure if he had heard correctly or if he was imagining things. Prince saw him turn slightly red from choking on food.
"Excuse me, what did you say?"
"If you'd marry me," he repeated louder and more assured.
And he was clear that it was total madness, like many of the things he tended to think recently, but he was running out of options and was becoming more desperate.
"I know it's out of the blue, but everyone's talking about our supposed marriage, so why not give them what they want? After all, we like each other and we're comfortable together."
Reich looked at him for a few seconds. He didn't quite know what to say. It was clear they got along and liked each other to some extent.
He drank more water.
"Listen, I think it's something you haven't thought through and…"
"I've thought it through."
"No, Prince, you haven't because if Maiston hadn't returned from his vacation, you wouldn't be saying this. Honestly, I think a marriage, instead of sorting out your problems, would give you more."
He saw Prince look away and didn't want him to feel bad, so he stretched out his hand to take his.
"Look, if what you want is to feel secure, then relax, I'll help you no matter the time or hour."
The brunette felt his large hand touching his and let out a sigh. He wished that touch would give him absolute security, but it never exceeded one third of a hundred percent.
He looked at his face and he didn't seem upset. Reich never looked upset and had never heard him swear or raise his voice.
"And what if we live together? I'm always nervous, mom has her own issues and so does Taylor. I think they've helped me more than I deserve," he murmured, watching his dark eyes.
He waited for an answer anxiously when the apartment doorbell rang.
He didn't think much and stood up to go open the door. He didn't consider who it could be until he opened it and saw him. He had to look up because he was tall. He saw him completely imposing and with a menacing look that made him step back fearing the worst.
"Maiston…"
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Updated 97 Episodes
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments