Episode 18

Zayn was bored at home this afternoon, especially since Shea was still at the office. Meanwhile, Kai, their child, was taking an afternoon nap because it was his nap time. Maybe, Zayn would accept Shea's offer to go back to college. Because he felt very bored at home doing nothing. If he went to college, he could also get a better job, right?

"What should I do, I'm bored," he muttered.

Zayn got up from his bed and walked to the kitchen. Suddenly, he felt thirsty. At least, in the kitchen, he could find cold water to quench his thirst. However, upon arriving there, Zayn was surprised to find Azriel standing in front of the kitchen counter with his head down.

"Eh, Azriel? Not taking a nap?" Zayn asked softly.

Azriel was silent, the child was clutching the sides of his pants tightly. His face looked scared. Seeing Azriel's attitude at the moment, of course Zayn was surprised. Even though he only asked in a soft voice, why was Azriel so scared?

"Hey, what's wrong hm?" Zayn tried to touch Azriel's shoulder, but the boy pulled away in fear.

Zayn sighed softly, remembering Shea's words a few days ago. If Azriel was really afraid of him, Zayn wouldn't force the child. He chose to take a glass from the cupboard. However, his gaze fell on the trash can where there were broken plates.

Zayn turned around, he immediately held Azriel's shoulder and directed the child's gaze at him. He lowered his body slightly so he could see Azriel's face clearly. Don't ask what Azriel's response was at the moment, the boy was certainly scared when Zayn looked at him like that.

"Tell me honestly, what happened?" Azriel lowered his head, playing with his fingers nervously.

Zayn sighed slightly, he lifted Azriel's face so that the child would focus on him. "Uncle knows, Uncle is only your stepfather. But now, consider us friends. Uncle won't hurt you, and neither will you. If you are honest, Uncle will help you," he said.

"A-Azriel broke a plate, please don't be mad. Azriel already cleaned it up, please don't hit Azriel sob...." Azriel cried with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Zayn straightened up, the man sighed heavily. Just because of a broken plate, why was Azriel so scared? Was the trauma he experienced so deep? Did Shea also understand about her child's trauma at this time? Azriel's fear of a trivial matter was excessive and this could not be ignored.

Zayn walked quickly to the cupboard, he took five plates from there and brought them closer to Azriel. "Come with Uncle!" Azriel was scared when Zayn pulled his hand. The child just kept quiet, even though his tears didn't stop flowing.

Azriel was scared when Zayn took him to the back of the house. Until, Zayn's steps stopped when he was at the corner of the house near the warehouse door. There, Zayn released Azriel's hand, then placed the five plates he was carrying on the floor.

"Mommy sob...mommy...." Azriel cried softly, his body trembling violently at the moment.

Zayn seemed to deafen his hearing, ignoring Azriel's cries. The man then took one plate and gave it to the boy. "Throw it!" he ordered with a serious look.

Azriel stopped crying, the child immediately shut his mouth tightly. His chest could be seen heaving, he thought Zayn was angry because he was crying. Getting no response from Azriel, Zayn immediately threw the plate against the wall.

CRASH!!

Of course, Azriel was very shocked. His face looked pale, his eyes staring at the shards of plates scattered on the floor. Their position was indeed far from the wall, especially since Zayn threw it very carefully so that Azriel would not be hit by the shards of the plate.

"Want to try throwing it?" asked Zayn, smiling gently at the child.

Azriel shook his head stiffly, still shocked by what was happening in front of him. Not stopping there, Zayn threw the plate against the wall again. Azriel really watched it, his gaze immediately shifted to Zayn's face which looked very cheerful.

Zayn took another plate and handed it to Azriel. "Come on, do it. It's a lot of fun," he asked.

Hesitantly, Azriel took the plate. Then, he threw it against the wall. Unexpectedly, Azriel's lips curved into a small smile. Apparently, he began to understand what Zayn meant. Seeing the child's expression at the moment, made Zayn smile too. He took another plate for Azriel, and the child threw it again.

After the fifth plate broke, Azriel took a deep breath. The child turned to look at Zayn who was looking at him with a gentle smile. Then, he closed his eyes briefly as his stepfather rubbed his head.

"Come on, let's clean it up," Zayn said.

Azriel nodded, he helped Zayn clean up the broken pieces. Of course, Zayn didn't let Azriel take the shards. He only asked Azriel to take the plastic and the broom. The two of them looked much closer than before.

"Excuse me, sir, there's a package from the courier." A bodyguard came carrying a medium-sized cardboard box in his hand.

"Oh yeah, thank you."

Zayn invited Azriel back to the kitchen, then the man opened the cardboard he was carrying right in front of the handsome boy. With a confused look, Azriel watched what Zayn was doing.

"Uncle has ordered the exact same plates as the ones we broke earlier," explained Zayn.

The handsome man brought the six plates he had bought and put them in the cupboard. Then, he turned to Azriel. Without his permission, Zayn immediately carried the adorable child and brought him closer to the cupboard.

"Now, try to count. Are there any plates missing?" asked Zayn.

Azriel tried to count the plates, initially he broke one plus the five plates that the two of them broke. After finding the answer, Azriel turned to look at Zayn who was smiling at him. As if the man knew the little boy's answer.

"Listen...." Zayn sat Azriel down at the kitchen table and stared at the boy intently.

"Never be afraid! You are a man, when you grow up you will be a leader. A real man will never run away from responsibility. What you did earlier was right, fixing your mistakes. There's nothing wrong with admitting your mistakes, Mommy will definitely know if you didn't mean to." Azriel only listened to Zayn's words carefully.