165 Away for a Month

* * *

"I feel bad for Minmin," Daniel suddenly said, remembering his son's tearful droopy eyes earlier when they left him in order to successfully go on their date. Daniel wondered why they shouldn't just talk about his painting matter in their room but Laotian said he also had something else to say and partly because the Alpha wanted to monopolize him tonight which quickly made him blush.

"He'll be okay," Laotian assured him since they dropped off the little guy at Hanlu's place, Luangmin should be fine. Hanlu has been slacking from his work so he should do babysitting in the least to compensate for his absence.

"Hmmm," Daniel nodded, still not sure. Although he knows that Hanlu and Ian will take good care of Luangmin, he still can't help but remember his crying earlier. Shaking off his thoughts, Daniel continued to walk with Laotian to their destination. They've just arrived at the Empire Hotel and they're now heading towards the restaurant for their dinner.

��So, what do you want to talk to me about for you to arrange this dinner date?" Daniel asked, trying to distract himself from thinking about his eldest son.

"That'll be for later after we talk about Joshua Bronson," Laotian replied, they finally arrived at their floor which had little to no people around. This restaurant was the grandest dining area among four restaurants in the hotel and it's more expensive than the others. This very hotel caters to the wealthiest of the wealthy but this specific restaurant will be even more exclusive to the elites that could afford it.

Laotian purposely made it so because demands from this specific class had been reoccurring. They wanted a place for themselves that only they can attain. It's a way to divide themselves from the crowd and so this place didn't have that many people in it but still profits more than the other restaurants in the Empire Hotel. Which was perfect for Daniel and Laotian now they needed privacy and are hiding the fact that Daniel was pregnant. Less crowds mean there is less issue, and they could still enjoy their date at its finest.

"Oh then, are you against it?" Daniel asked, cutely looking at the Alpha while fluttering his eyelashes. One attendant quickly assessed them at their table and even though the attendant expected that she was going to serve the Mo couple tonight, she was taken aback when she saw Daniel Mo with a bulging stomach and along with all the customers who the couple came across in the dining parlor. The two were constant visitors of the hotel and so many people who also repeated their patronage of this hotel and even employees were shocked at the revelation of Daniel Mo's second pregnancy.

Of course, amidst the current news broadcasts of Veronica Chime and Mo Hanlu's scandal, rumors about Daniel Mo getting pregnant again were a constant occurrence among social media discussions as well. The rumor talks about both Mo Laotian and Daniel Mo attending an invite-only art gallery and during the event reporters surrounded the two. Topic about an accident was also mentioned in these articles.

Regarding the specifics, no one could tell but one thing the rumor mentioned is, Daniel Mo was reported to be pregnant. But since none of the major Publishing and Entertainment Companies ever confirmed the news, not so many people believed or gave it too much attention.

However now, clearly, that rumor was true because they're all seeing Daniel Mo with a massive stomach.

"What do you think?" Laotian asks back as they finally sat next to each other, making Daniel pout cutely in reply. Laotian raised his hand dismissing the attendant first since he was still talking to Daniel and they weren't ready to order yet. The attendant nodded and left with a nod.

"Well, since you love me so much and people say you're my doting husband, then you should be letting me do what I want." Daniel pretended he was thinking at first and said all this without shame like a very spoiled wife. Laotian who listened only chuckled. Daniel was right, even if he didn't want Daniel to have contact with that man as he was dangerous in his eyes, Laotian would never stop Daniel from doing what he wants. All that Laotian could do is to protect his precious wife from the dark. Make sure everything is safe for him.

"Am I wrong?" Daniel asked adorably again fluttering his lashes towards the Alpha. Laotian chuckled again and pulled Daniel into a hug and kissed him on his temples.

"Of course, I won't ever forbid you to do anything that you want but do know, I won't like it when you meet that man alone," Laotian said honestly, making Daniel smile brightly as he pulled away from the Alpha like an excited child and jumped on his husband.

"YESS! I knew you can't resist me. I love you Laotian, you're really the best!" Daniel exclaimed and gave Laotian a smack on his lips. Laotian blinked his eyes at the sudden kiss, he was frozen for a second before his lips shifted into a soft smile before warning Daniel to behave or else he'll be forced to delay their dinner and head to their room first.

"Okay...So...now that we've talked about me, what about you? You were gonna allow me in the first place so why go to this place for dinner when it's only a weekday." Daniel said, quickly changing the topic. Usually, when they decided to go on a simple dinner date, they usually go on Saturday because Laotian didn't have to go to work on Sunday, but today is Wednesday.

"Hmmm, I think we should order first," Laotian dodged the question. Daniel narrowed his eyes at the Alpha but he let it slide this time because he likes the food at this restaurant and he's excited to eat it again. No matter how many times he ate at this restaurant, he would still become so excited whenever they came here to eat.

"Okay, you're lucky I like the food here," Daniel said with a puff in his cheeks.

*laughs* "If you didn't like the food I would have fired all of them." Laotian said while brushing his fingers against his beloved's silky raven hair. True to his words, Laotian would have definitely fired the chefs if Daniel didn't like the food they serve here. If Daniel didn't like the food they serve, how could they even call themselves the best chefs in the country?

"Thankfully you don't need to do that because I like it here. After all, this is your building. You built this on your own and you chose the people who will work for you so they'll definitely be good at their jobs." Daniel cooed with a smile already calling the attendant earlier back. When she arrived with a professional smile, they both ordered what they liked and continued to chat until 20 minutes later their order arrived.

"Ahh, I miss this so much. Thankfully I was not restricted from eating the food that I liked." Daniel mentioned with a sigh and almost drooling at the gourmet food in front of him and later for the desserts.

"Okay, let's eat first…" Laotian urged which Daniel agreed on quickly. It was not until Daniel was digging into his desserts when Laotian finally decided to talk to him about going to Africa.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Daniel's waist at first and gently rubbed it in a loving manner. It had been more than two years since he and Daniel had gotten married and ever since they haven't separated for more than five days. Even when he had to go to another state or country, he always found a way to come back home early. Of course, on this trip, he will also try his best to come back early but if he couldn't, he wanted Daniel to know.

He doesn't know how the Omega would react, mated Omegas are meant to stay close to their Alphas, or else they'll experience withdrawal syndrome like how cutting a bond feels. If Daniel wasn't pregnant, he would have had no problem bringing Daniel with him but he is and with twins. He had no choice but to let him stay with his family. But also thanks to the fact that Daniel is pregnant, he could leave him and Daniel will not be suffering from his Omega heat. Daniel is mated to him, and with Laotian away from him while on heat is truly a bad thing.

"What is it?" Daniel asked gobbling up his dessert, he slightly forgot that the Alpha still had something to say to him.

"How would you feel if I went away for a long time?" Laotian asked ambiguously.

"How would I feel? Of course, I'd be sad, we're having twins, and you're going away. In a few days, I'm having my second prenatal check-up, I can't have you going somewhere far." Daniel said with a frown. His pregnancy is entering 4 months, he's halfway to his second trimester, and his stomach is going to get bigger and bigger. He definitely won't like it if the Alpha went somewhere for a long time.

"Then would you get upset with me? I need to go to Botswana next week for a month. I need to work on something that Hanlu failed to do." Laotian said, slightly indicating that this was Hanlu's fault.

"What? W-Where is that? How long do you think you'll be away?" His spoon halted, Daniel glanced up at the Alpha dejectedly. His eyes were quick to start tearing up. He didn't like the Alpha going away, he understands his line of work but he won't pretend that he liked it.

"It's in Africa, Honey. I'll be away for a month but I'll do the best that I can to come back earlier." Laotian cooed, hugging Daniel. He hates seeing Daniel being so sad like this but he had to do this or else the entire work he and his employees had worked on for two years will go to waste.

"But…B-but… what do Minmin and I will do without you?" Daniel sniffled, his tears finally fell. He knew he was being emotional and he also understood but he just can't help it.

"You can do this collaboration with that Joshua Bronson, and when I come back, maybe you'll be known in the art industry. This could be your debut piece to enter your dream profession; you could take this opportunity and build your name as well and you'll be making me even prouder of you." Laotian said looking at the bright side.

"And before you know it, I'll be back again," Laotian added, combing his fingers on the Omega's hair. Daniel stayed silent processing all the Alpha had said, he continued to hug Laotian but this time he wasn't crying again. When the Alpha said he could take advantage of this collaboration into making a name for himself in the art industry, he was already sold. He had been dreaming about becoming an artist since he was a teenager and he still does even now that he's going to be a mom of three kids soon.

"Won't I be able to change your mind?" Daniel asked, still hiding in his husband's embrace.

"If it was just me, I could delay it or I could be a tyrant and force Hanlu to finish his job. But you see, this is a project me and a lot of my employees worked on for years. If we delay this, we will have to start all over again. All our past effort will go into waste," Laotian explained and Daniel went silent again. Laotian was right. Daniel knew how hard working the Alpha was and he can't just make him do some unnecessary sacrifices just because of his selfish wish.

"Okay… but you better call me every day. I won't sleep unless you call me at least once a day, even just for a quick 5 minutes call I'll be happy enough." Daniel insisted, still dejected. He knew Laotian would be busy at his work so even if it's five minutes he'll be happy.

"Of course, I'll never fail to call you and if I do I'll tell you in advance. Okay?"

"Okay." Daniel nodded. Although he was still sad, he had no choice but to accept. He needs to work hard as well.