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Well, you can say it’s my fault, after all I’m the one who confessed to the whole world that I’m the one dating the famous Director Jovan Bellard, so I really have no choice but to go with what our parents wanted.
What they wanted was simple, for both parties to meet.
I was sitting nervously on the passenger seat of Nico’s car. I sighed heavily as I imagined the mess that I brought the both of us into.
“Relax…” Nico said as he patted me on the shoulder. “I’m going to be by your side the whole time, so you don’t have to worry.” He told me.
“Why are they making such a big deal of this?” I sighed again.
“Probably because you announced in front of millions of people that we’re dating,” Nico said and then chuckled. “Which is something I’m really proud and happy about.” He added with a smile.
“I should’ve thought things through before I opened my mouth,” I said. “Dad is reacting exactly the way I thought he would; crazy. I bet he’ll act even crazier during the dinner at your parents’ house. Everyone in the office was staring at me, which is making me really nervous because I don’t know what they are thinking. Perry kept on congratulating me, which is really annoying me. And Brent… my bestfriend wouldn’t even talk to me,” I sighed again.
Brent was pretty mad when he saw me on the news.
“I’m not angry because you’re dating that guy, Kyle. I already had my suspicions. I’m not even mad that you kept it a secret, because trust me, I understand why. What I’m angry about is that you put yourself in such a compromising situation. Did you even think what would happen after this? For heaven’s sake, you even told them to dig into your life! Kyle, are you really that crazy about that guy that your brain stopped working properly?!”
“Brent…” I pleaded.
“You know what, maybe I’m not that important to you that you didn’t even think of confiding to me before making such hasty decisions. It’s good that you made a stance for that guy, but for what cost, Kyle?” Brent said and then went back to his room.
It’s been about two days since Brent last talked to me, and it was starting to really bother me. I’m not used to Brent getting angry at me, not at all. I’m not used to him not paying attention to me. I guess, all these years, Brent spoiled me to the point that I started thinking that everything I do would be fine to him.
“Drew…” Nico snapped me out of my trance. He held my hand and then squeezed it tight. “I’m sure Brent just need some time to cool off. He’ll talk to you soon.” Nico’s smile was really reassuring, and I couldn’t help but believe that everything would be fine.
Nico’s family home was about an hour away, and as soon as Nico drove past the gate of the exclusive village, I knew exactly what kind of home was waiting for me. I shouldn’t be that surprised, considering that I knew all along how filthy rich the Bellards are.
The wealth of the Bellards wasn’t the one that shook me up, though. There was something about the village that so familiar, so nostalgic, that I couldn’t stop squeezing my brain for any memories or recollection about it. I had no idea where I’ve seen or heard about it before, but I had definite feeling that I do know about that village, and that feeling only grew once the gate of the Bellard Mansion opened.
“Is everything alright?” Nico asked me when he saw the look on my face.
“Yeah… everything is fine…” I replied. Everything wasn’t fine as I told Nico, because at the back of my head, I kept on thinking that I’ve been in that place before, and that simple thought was driving me crazy.
Things only got weirder for me.
When we entered the huge home of Nico. One of their maids greeted us. “Where are they?” Nico asked.
“Everyone is waiting at the dining hall, Sir,” the maid said.
I suddenly felt like someone punched me in the stomach when the maid said that. I got so nervous thinking what our parents had in store for the both of us. “Drew, relax.” Nico said and then took my hand. “I’m just right here, nothing bad would happen, I would never allow anything bad to happen to you.” I felt really secured when Nico said those words to me.
“There’s still time, Nico, we can still bail out,” I told him.
“What? This isn’t like you at all, Drew,” Nico said. “Come on, they’re all waiting for us.” Nico said and then led me inside the dining hall, still holding my hand.
When we entered the hall, everyone was already seated in place. Dad saw our hands touching and gave us both a very sharp and frightening look. I could see that Nico was shaken by my Dad’s stare, but he didn’t let go of my hand, instead he squeezed it tighter.
“Why don’t you both take a seat?” Nico’s Mom, Rose Bellard said in very inviting tone.
Deciding where to sit was a dilemma. The Bellard’s dining table was a long wooden one, Nico’s family was on one side, while my parents were on the other. In the end, Nico and I separated and sat with our respective sides.
“He looks great, great choice,” Nico’s little sister said and then chuckled.
“Paula, if you make any trouble now, trust me, I will…” Nico trailed off.
“So, it’s Nico after all, the one you’re dating,” Mom said. It was a great thing that she was the one sitting beside me. “You could’ve told us when we had dinner that one time.” She added.
“Yeah…” I replied. “No…” I whispered to myself.
“With everyone here, I think dinner can be serve,” Rose Bellard said and the maids around the table started moving.
I looked around the dining hall, and it wasn’t the lavishness of it all that captured my eyes, it was the undeniable familiarity of the whole place. Usually, it would take time for anyone to get comfortable in being in a new place, but somehow, I felt really comfortable being in the Bellards’ home.
“Let me cut to the chase,” Nico’s Dad, Anthony Bellard spoke. “I suppose we all know why we’re all here tonight.” He continued and then looked at me. “Is it really necessary for the both of you to announce in front of millions of people that you are dating? If it is only to stop the news about you and Emily, then I’m sure it isn’t that hard to think of another way to divert the story.” He added as he turned his head to Nico.
“That wasn’t just for show, Dad,” Nico replied. “Drew and I, we are really dating. He just told the truth.” Nico said, looked at me and then smiled. “Besides, everything worked perfectly. People stopped talking about me and Emily, her fans stopped saying bad things about me, and everything is back to normal.”
“Not for Kyle,” Dad finally said. “I heard reporters are around your flat often.” He said as he turned his head to me. “Brent said, just yesterday, you were ambushed by a reporter in the hallway.”
“I talked to the management, they apologized and they said that they would tighten the security,” I told Dad.
“Is that true, Drew…?” Nico asked worriedly. I didn’t tell him about it, because I didn’t want him to worry at all.
“Sorry…” I mouthed to Nico as I looked guiltily at him.
“So that’s what back to normal means to you,” Nico’s dad said casually. “I’m afraid things like that will continue to happen, from now on,” he added. “Have you thought of those repercussions?” He asked to no one in particular.
“Is this really what you want, Kyle? To walk out of your flat or your office with reporters waiting to ambush you?” Dad asked.
Of course I don’t like that. I hate being the center of attention, but if that’s what I have to pay in order to be with Nico, then I would gladly accept it.
Obviously, that dinner was set in order to grill both Nico and me.
“What made you even do that in front of millions of people?” Dad continued. “Even Joseph called and said that he saw that,” he added.
“What? He saw it…? Isn’t he supposed to be on a medical mission…?” I asked.
Things are really getting out of hand, to think that Joseph saw the news… I’m really in a big trouble now. Having three parents isn’t easy. Not at all.
“He’s in Japan right now, Drew. A university asked him to do some lectures,” Mom said. “He’s really worried.” She added.
I sighed.
“Who’s Joseph?” Nico asked.
That’s right, I haven’t told him about my biological father yet. “Joseph Ashworth,” I said casually. “My other Dad. I’ll tell you later…” I added.
“Wait,” Nico. “Joseph Ashworth? That sounds familiar…” He said.
“He was Timothy’s personal doctor,” Nico’s Mom said.
“Timothy?” I asked curiously.
“Our cousin,” Paula replied. “Wow… this is amazing, so the two of you were already connected even before you met.” She said and then chuckled.
It must be fate that brought me and Nico together. I looked around the room, and saw that both of our parents weren’t as surprised as Nico, Paula, and me.
“You knew…?” Nico asked.
“We had a talk while we were waiting for the two of you,” Nico’s Dad reply. “And I’m as surprised as you are now. What a really small world,” he said.
“No… it must be fate,” Nico said. To think that he’s thinking the same way as I am, it made me really happy. “Fate must really want the two of us to meet.” He added. “See, Dad, fate is on our side, so please, just let us be…” He pleaded.
“That has nothing to do with this, Nico,” Anthony Bellard said. “This is about what would happen to the two of you from now on. How serious are the two of you about this? About your relationship? I think you already both know that our society is not that accepting yet. Many still don’t approve of such relationship. Are you ready for something like that? Can you handle that?”
“Are you one of them, Dad?” Nico asked seriously.
The tension built up in the room. It was a bit unbearable.
“Stop that, the two of you,” Rose Bellard spoke. “Honey, we didn’t call Nico here for the two of you to fight,” he said. “Nico, you know all too well that your Dad is only looking out for you. We don’t want you to get hurt.”
“We can handle it. I don’t care about what others will say, and you don’t have to worry about it either, Drew,” Nico said with very firm resolute. “I’ll handle everything.”
“Kyle,” Dad spoke. It made me really nervous. “You’re my only son, and all I want is for your happiness.” He said. “If being with another man is what would make you happy, then I won’t stop you, but I hope it’s someone who can fully protect you and take responsibility,” he said in a meaningful tone. “Like Brent. I always liked that boy.” He added and then shot Nico a meaningful look.
“Dad…” I said as I saw Nico’s eyes twitch. I was pretty sure that the mention of Brent’s name struck something in him.
“Let’s face it, Kyle; if that press conference didn’t happen, then you wouldn’t be in this situation right now,” Dad added.
“It was my choice to reveal our relationship. I’m the one who revealed it. Nico was even trying to stop me, but I didn’t listen. I lost my temper when that despicable reporter was relentlessly attacking him,” I reasoned out to my father.
“Alright, you’re right, but what about after that? What happened after that? You were still ambushed by reporters. If it was Brent, then I’m sure things would be different,” Dad continued.
What’s this, is he trying to force me to Brent?
The mention of Brent’s name seemingly sparked something in Nico’s eyes. “I can take full responsibility. I can protect Drew. More than anyone else, more than that Brent, I can fully take care of Drew,” Nico suddenly said.
“Hey…” I muttered to Nico as I looked at him intently. You idiot, you just fell into my Dad’s trap.
“Ohhh… And how do you plan on doing that? Because as of the moment, you’re not doing a very good job. I am not sure if I can entrust my son to you,” Dad provoked Nico even further.
“Mr. Stevenson, I…” Nico said. With the tone of his voice, I knew that Nico was in a state of panic. He might say something that we might both regret in the end.
“I’m a grown up man,” I interrupted. “I can take care of myself. It’s not like Nico forced me into this relationship, so why are you pressuring him. If it’s not clear, then let me say it; we’re together because we like each other. I did what I did on that press conference, because I like Nico, because I hate seeing him being cornered like that. I can take responsibility for my own actions, I can take care of myself, if it comes to it, I can even take care of Nico. Really…” I sighed. “Stop treating the both of us like little children. We’re grown up men, we entered into this relationship together, so we’ll take care of each other, we’ll take responsibility for each other, and we’ll protect each other. We really appreciate your concerns, but we’re the ones who entered into this relationship, so we’ll fix things on our own. So, for the love of everything that is good, can we just enjoy this dinner?” I said as I let go of my temper.
“Drew…” Nico said, he looked surprised at first, but in the end, he gave me a very proud smile.
“Are you happy?” Mom suddenly asked. “I know I already asked you this, but, Drew, are you happy?” She asked.
“Now that everyone knows about Nico and me, I’m even happier,” I said with a smile. I looked at Nico and noticed his cheeks turning red.
“What about you, Nico, are you happy?” Mom asked.
“I never thought that being with someone could be this easy, this fulfilling. I wake up every morning thinking of what I can do to see Drew’s smile, and I fall asleep hoping that even in my dreams, I could be with him.” Every single word that Nico uttered made my heart go wild. “There’s no hard times, no difficult moments, and even if there is, I don’t think I can notice it, because my heart is overflowing with utter joy just knowing that I have someone like Drew.”
“I see,” Mom said. “Then, it’s all good. I think we already got the answers we were all looking for, so why don’t we do as Drew said, and just enjoy this dinner together,” Mom said and then gave her beautiful and warm smile.
Dad melted instantly and didn’t hesitate to do as Mom said.
Finally, that long interrogation was over.
I was really surprised to see how our parents got along really well after that. It seems that Nico’s Mom is really fond of flowers, and that for quite some years, she had been a loyal customer of Mom’s flower shop. The whole night, those two talked about flowers.
Dad and Mr. Bellard got along as well, in a different, business kind of way. They kept on talking about business and the stock market, and it was really boring to me, so I stopped paying attention altogether.
Seeing how our parents got along so well made me think: was the tension a while ago all just a set-up?
“Hey…” Nico said as he walked behind me and whispered in my ear. “Want to go somewhere else? I have something I want to show you.” Nico said and smiled at me as I turned my head around.
I looked at our parents and saw that they were busy talking to each other. “Sure, why not,” I said and then stood up. “It looks like our parents are getting along pretty well.” I said as I followed Nico.
Nico chuckled. “It looks like we won’t have any problems with them anymore.”
“I sure do hope so…” I added. As I followed Nico, I looked around. One thing I noticed was that everything in the house was striking a cord of familiarity throughout my body. “We’re going to your room, aren’t we?” I said.
“Ehhh? How did you know?” Nico sounded really surprised.
“Just a feeling…” I said. I felt somewhat really uneasy. How did I know that? It is really easy to get lost in a huge mansion like that, especially when it’s the first your first time in there, but it didn’t feel like that to me. I felt like Nico can leave me alone, and I can still find my way around their house easily.
The whole house felt so familiar and nostalgic that it was starting to really trouble me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted to know why Nico’s house felt so familiar to me, I wanted to know the reason behind that nostalgic feeling that kept on coming to me.
“Are you alright?” It was only when I heard Nico’s voice that I realized that I was spacing out.
“Yeah… I’m alright…” I replied. “But, what are you going to show me? Does it really have to be in your room?” I asked meaningfully with a hint of suspicion.
“What a dirty mind…” Nico teased. “Don’t worry, I won’t try anything to you,” he said as he held my hand and then pulled me closer. “Well, not tonight…” He whispered into my ears. His whisper, and yet again, sent electricity throughout my entire body.
When Nico opened the door, I was utterly amazed by how spacious his room was. It could pass as a whole apartment. And if the mere space wasn’t enough, everything inside his room looked really expensive.
I realized what Nico wanted to show me as soon as I walked inside. One side of his room had a bookshelf installed on the entire wall, and it was filled with countless hardcover books.
“Wow…” I said as I traced my fingers on the books. “You really like reading this much… huh…”
“Actually, this is what I wanted to show you.” Nico lifted a small frame hanged on the wall adjacent to the wall of books, and a secret door was revealed as the book shelves moved. “I had this recently installed,” Nico said and then pulled me inside.
What I saw inside was utterly amazing. There was huge space, enough to fit a blue convertible in the middle of it. A somewhat very familiar car. “A car…?”
“Not just any car, it’s my very first one. I got it when I entered highschool,” he proudly said. “I couldn’t just part ways with it, so I had it restored and decided to display it here.”
To get a car as soon as you enter high school, and a convertible at that… his family is just beyond my comprehension.
“Where no one else would see,” I said sarcastically.
“No. For only the special people in my life to see,” he corrected with a huge smile.
His comment made me blush and smile.
“Come here. Look,” Nico said as he proudly showed me a smaller glass-covered bookshelf. I leaned closer and saw that everything inside were books by Steven A.K. All were hardcover, limited edition, and well taken care of. “And here,” Nico said and then showed me the glass case beside the shelf. Displayed inside was the book I gave him, the one signed by Steven A.K.
Steven A.K.’s message was proudly shown as well.
“This is my most precious book. One, because it’s the one and only book signed by Steven A.K. Most importantly, someone really special gave it to me,” he said with another lovely smile.
There was nothing else I could do but smile and feel really proud at that moment. I squeezed Nico’s hand without saying any words at all.
I was really happy at that moment, but something was bugging me, and it was keeping me from fully enjoying myself. I couldn’t help but be bothered by the blue convertible in the middle of the secret room. Something about it was really making me anxious. Something about it was making me really nervous.
I looked back at it. “Can I take a closer look?” I asked Nico.
“Sure, go ahead,” he said proudly and smiled at me. “I had it restored to look exactly as it did when I first got it,” he added. I walked around the car, inspecting every inch of it. “I don’t usually hold onto material things, but there was something about this car that made me want to hold onto it. I just can’t seem to let it go.”
“I see… Somehow, I get what you mean…” I said, my voice was a bit shaky.
“Do you want to ride it?” Nico asked.
“I don’t know about that…” I was really hesitant about it. Something inside of me was screaming not to get inside it. I just had this feeling that something terrible might happen once I get in.
“It’s alright. It would be fun,” Nico said and then opened the passenger seat.
I entered the car hesitantly, and Nico walked around and entered on the driver’s side. He pressed a button and the roof of the car opened. It was then that my heart suddenly sank. It was then that my heart started to feel really heavy.
The more time I spent inside the car, the more my heart became heavy and stiff.
“This is so nostalgic,” Nico said, turned his head and then smiled brightly at me.
My heart almost stopped at that moment.
Visions, yet again, started flowing into my head.
I saw myself walking down the street at night, my shirt was dry but my jeans was soaking wet. I looked up in the starry sky and a blue convertible slowly passed me by. It was a familiar convertible. It was the same one as Nico’s. The same one I was riding in.
Then the vision shifted. It showed me inside one of Mom’s flower shop. The same blue convertible stopped in front, and I looked surprised and excited at the same time.
And then I saw something that almost stopped my heart.
Nico walked out of the car and entered the shop. The vision fast-forwarded and it ended with Nico leaving the store and calling me Drew.
The vision then changed. I was under the water, relaxing and clearing my head. Then all of a sudden Nico showed up above me and then pulled me up by the waist. He looked so worried and I ended up leaning my head on his chest, crying.
The vision shifted again, it showed me inside of an empty elevator. The door was about to close when a hand stopped it from closing. Nico entered the elevator, and then it fast-forwarded again. Nico ended up kissing me passionately inside that elevator.
The last vision broke my heart. It shattered my heart into tiny pieces, beyond any repair. It showed me and Nico sitting on the very same car. Nico was driving and we wore costumes. Nico was a prince and I was a cop. We were enjoying, smiling, laughing, and then a speeding car hit the side of the car. The passenger side.
Both Nico and I were in a horrible state. We were bruised, cut, and bloodied. In the end, Nico and I both lost our consciousness. What happened beyond that, I do not know.
I couldn’t believe that the boy in my vision was the younger version of Nico all along. I couldn’t understand why I had those visions. Why do I keep seeing my younger self with the younger Nico? Why does it feel so real?
There’s no way that those visions were memories, because I have never met Nico when I was younger.
I could clearly remember my high school days, and Nico wasn’t in those memories at all. So why…? Why do I keep seeing those visions? Just what the hell are they trying to say? What is happening to me? Why does it feel so real…? Why…?
I didn’t know what was happening to me at all. All I knew was that inside of the very same car that I was sitting, Nico and I met a terrible accident. And even though I knew that there’s no way that it could’ve happened, my heart couldn’t stop aching, it couldn’t stop breaking into tiny pieces.
My heart felt so painful, so heavy, that tears just started falling from my eyes.
A few tears fell for a while, and then I finally broke down crying.
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