20 To make things right
Will didn't realize how harsh he had been on the Kian despite knowing what he was going through. "Hey I'll fix you breakfast and then we'll talk. I'm sorry I took it out on you like that last night.", he said, stroking the hair on the back of Kian's head. Kian broke away from the hug and wiped his tears, "That's alright, I don't feel like eating", he replied. "You look like you might faint any moment. And Allis told me that you didn't eat dinner last night either, starving yourself would make things worse, trust me!", Will insisted, "And you're gonna need a lot of energy for fixing the shop. Go take a shower and I'll make you pancakes". Kian smiled, "Okay, I don't really have the energy to refuse you right now", he replied and went for a shower.
Kian felt incredibly relieved that he was able to reconcile with Will. He was the only one besides Uncle Lee, whom Kian cared so much about. And now that he had promised to him that there'll be no secrets between the two of them, it was only fair that he honestly told Will about the deal he made with Elian. "He'll be disappointed in me for choosing this way, but I still have to tell him. I couldn't hide it forever. After all it's not like we have a lot of options", he thought.
After the shower, Kian got dressed up and took a few deep breaths before getting out of the bedroom. "That was quick. You usually spend a lot longer in showers, in a hurry for the pancakes?", Will chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I wasn't in the mood for those today", Kian replied plainly. He sat himself on the small grey couch congested between the wall and wooden cupboard that was packed with books etc, occupying most of the space in their living room. "Well you're mood is gonna be a whole lot better after having these fluffy pancakes", Will said smiling, holding up a plate of golden brown pancakes in front of him, covered with glazing syrup and cream, looking absolutely appetizing. "I would rather talk to you about what happened yesterday first", Kian said in a gloomily serious tone. Will put the plate down and the smile on his face was replaced with a puzzled look. "Why? Is it urgent? Can't we talk later?", he asked. "No we'll have to talk now", Kian replied.
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As if the mad show in the morning wasn't enough, Declan had to come all the way to his dad's place to be admonished by him. It wasn't news to him that his dad was critical of his lifestyle and his friends. In fact it was the very reason he moved out. He understood a long time ago even though he loved his dad, he couldn't agree with him about everything he believed.
Getting off the car and looking around he felt that it had been a long time since he visited this house that he grew up in, it had changed a ton since he moved out. He noticed a couple of unfamiliar cars in the front, indicating that his dad already had someone over. He walked over to the door of the house and was about to knock when the door opened and two gentlemen wearing tuxedos stepped out. Their eyes landed on Declan and they smiled mightily to greet him. "Mr Walsh! You're finally here. We were expecting you an hour ago but we already had the chat with your father. Anyhow, it's very nice meeting you", the taller one of them exclaimed as he forwarded his right hand towards Declan. "Uhh...yeah something urgent came up so I had to....I'm sorry but I don't recognize-", Declan said, shaking the man's hand. "Oh, my apology, We should introduce ourselves first. We work for the Marketing and Advertisements Department of Zeal, the sports brand. You must have heard of it. Your father and we had a great time talking and I think we have a deal. He assured us that you'd be on the same page as him so we're counting on it", the man said, "We'll get going now. Have a nice day!", and quickly made his way out.
Declan's brows drew together and he rushed inside the house. "Dad?", he shouted, "Where are you?", he called again. "I'm in the kitchen, you idiot.", his dad replied shouting back at him. Declan stomped his way to the kitchen, and saw him pouring himself whiskey in a glass. "You're having a drink this early in the morning? Are you trying kill yourself?", he asked, astounded. "Well what other option do I have when I've got a son like you? I'd rather be a dead man I thought", he taunted. "Dad I'm serious. And why did I just meet those marketing agents? What deal did you make on my behalf?", Declan questioned. "I called you at 9, you were supposed to talk to them not me. But apparently that rich brat is more important to you than yourself!", he scolded, "I should be the one asking questions. Why did you have to leave such an important training for that friend of yours?". "Dad...he needed me. He's in trouble and if I won't bother who else will. He doesn't have many friends you know that", Declan explained. His dad sighed, "Look, you know what I think about this. Being a caring friend is a good thing but sometimes it's better to leave people alone. Moreover, I've always advised you to keep your distance from that family, they're just a bunch of loaded upscale scandlers. They're corrupt, shrewd and egotistical. All they care about is how many alphas they can hoard in their clan", his dad ridiculed while he took a sip off the glass.
"And I've always told you that Elian is different. I won't bother debating with you about them. Just tell me why those men came here.", Declan asked. "They've been trying to get an appointment with you but apparently your manager refused. Luckily I was at the under 19 soccer championship where they approached me. They mentioned that they wanted to sign you so I invited them over as soon as I got the news you came back", his dad explained. "Dad, I'm the one who asked my manager to refuse advertisement agents. I don't want to do that kind of stuff", Declan confessed. "Why not? You have to put yourself out there son. How else will you make your space if you keep hiding? Or do you not have enough time after babysitting that brat?", his dad questioned. "I'm not hiding dad. I play football for football not for anything else. I make enough money just doing that. I don't want to be a model", Declan stated and walked out. His father rolled his eyes, "If you can't do what I ask of you, then I won't feed you. Have breakfast at that brat's place", he yelled.
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"What the-? Tell me you are kidding right now? You agreed to have a baby with him? I thought you hated that guy?", Will asked completely shocked. His mind couldn't process whatever was being told to him. "I do hate him. But I don't have any other option right now", Kian tried justifying. "What do you even mean by that? We could ask Uncle Levi for money. He would never refuse", Will argued. "Yeah, he wouldn't refuse. He wouldn't even refuse if I asked him for millions of dollars. But we can't rely on him forever can we? He has his own problems. The orphanage funding is always short. His arrhythmia keeps getting worse but he still avoids getting any procedure, he makes excuses and lies that the medicine works just fine but I know he's trying to save money. He took care of us all our lives, the least we can do now is not make things worse for him", Kian explained.
Will couldn't disagree with him, he was right but even then the idea of getting paid for birthing was too outlandish for him to digest. "Alright then we'll look for some other way. I'll try to get some extra jobs or something. But this isn't good. Pregnancy is a huge deal. What will you do if he betrays you this time? You'll be ruined. There is too much risk", Will kept insisting. Kian huddled closer towards him, "You know, yesterday what you said, I thought about it the whole night. And you were right, it was my fault. Back then I was so passionate about this whole thing that I overlooked our safety. I didn't care about anything else but my dreams. I had become selfish. But then yesterday, looking at the bruises on your face I realized what I had become. I am trying to fix everything for all of us. I'm ready for this risk. And don't worry this time I won't let him take advantage of me. I'm not gonna be a naïve little boy this time", he assured and placed his head on Will's shoulder. Listening to his explanation Will realized that he had unintentionally hurt Kian. And now he was punishing himself in order to make things right.
