139 Bad Habit

"So, mind telling me how you traveled back in time exactly?" Jake asked with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "No offense, but it's a little hard to swallow."

"You can talk!" Stephan snickered. "Who has the memories of his past lives again?"

A snort was his answer.

"You little…."

While the two threw jabs at each other, Gabriel stayed silent, his mind too busy pondering over Jake's question and what he could and could not say. Thus, whatever they bickered about went in one ear and out the other. It wasn't anything important, anyway.

All in all, just telling Jake that he and Misha somehow traveled back in time wouldn't do. His brother wasn't an airhead, and many questions flooded his mind after hearing this kind of fairytale-like story. Which, of course, wasn't anything surprising—but it was still a little troublesome.

So, how should Gabriel answer? What should he say? He hadn't had the time to plan this far ahead. He knew he should tell his brother the truth, but deep down, he couldn't help feeling distrustful. How he viewed Jake couldn't change in a mere few days, his hatred for his brother deeply rooted. It would take time before he could believe in anything Jake said, let alone confide in him.

In the end, though, Gabriel chose not to hide anything. If he wanted to establish a good relationship with Jake, he had to be honest. Besides, considering that he had dug out most of his brother's secrets, it was only fair to share some of his.

However, narrating his meeting with Santa Claus and explaining how the golden wristwatch worked made Gabriel's face grow somber. Santa had taken them for fools, just as he had feared, and the price to pay was hefty. Being reminded of this… Well, it put him in a foul mood, to say the least.

"…Santa Claus?" Jake repeated, a dumb look on his face. Now that Gabriel and Stephan were aware of his little charade, he didn't bother hiding his emotions. He had dropped the facade of the arrogant young master and wore his true face instead. "But seriously. Santa Claus?"

"I'm pretty sure 'Santa Claus' is just a convenient alias he uses to mess up with people's lives," Gabriel smiled coldly. "I still have no idea why he decided to send us back in time, but I guess it wasn't for anything good. At any rate, it wasn't for Misha to have his happy end."

In the second timeline, Misha was left alone to deal with the aftermath of his choices. His mother was dead, his sister was disabled, his father was overworking himself to the bones, and Gabriel died after accepting to travel in time in his stead. It was a far cry from a happy end.

What kind of face did the boy make as he held onto the cold, lifeless body of the man he loved? Gabriel couldn't even start to fathom it.

The only thing he could find comfort in was that Jake anonymously sent the contract Gabriel and Angela had agreed on to Misha, ensuring Angela couldn't break off the deal on her own. Masha thus never lacked money for her medical expenses, but that was just a mere consolation. It wouldn't bring back the dead, and Misha had forever lost his loved ones in that life. Even if Stephan, Dereck, and Vanessa did their best to help, Gabriel's death left a hole in his heart that could never be filled.

"So, what should we do now?" Stephan broke the tense atmosphere. "If we tell the others about Jake's memories of his past lives, it'll stir up a lot of unwanted questions."

"I know."

Misha could be dense at times and often jumped to conclusions, but he wasn't brainless. At one point, he'd realize that if Jake had memories of the previous timelines, it meant they went on. The timelines weren't reset to zero.

Really, Misha had to never know.

Gabriel frowned, but as he thought of how to keep the truth hidden from Misha, something crossed his mind. It wasn't something he could ignore, so he glanced at Jake with a conflicted look in his eyes. Now that his brother had lost the Bad Guy title, handling the matters related to him the same way he had until today was a no-go. Hence, he had to change some of his plans.

"By the way," Gabriel started, "I'm aware that you're playing the bad guy, but knowing you blackmailed Masha to get her in your bed doesn't settle well with me. Mind explaining why you did that?"

Jake's mouth twitched.

"You can't honestly be thinking that I'm the only one monitoring Masha, can't you? Angela is too. She has always wanted me to seduce Masha and pry her away from you. It would have seemed odd if I hadn't seized such a perfect opportunity to blackmail her. After all, you know how paranoid Angela can get. And I didn't want to deal with one of her tantrums."

A grimace twisted Jake's face, memories he'd tried to forget resurfacing in his mind. Well, he didn't need to elaborate about what the tantrums referred to as Gabriel and Stephan had read the diaries. Though he felt ashamed that they knew what he went through, it spared him the trouble of voicing it aloud.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure you'd have found a way to stop me, right?"

"So you knew," Gabriel scoffed. "Speaking of, your deal with that CEO's daughter is off. I already sent her the recording, and from what I heard, she almost fainted out of anger."

"Good to hear," Jake sneered. "Girls like her need a reality check once in a while."

The brothers shared a knowing smile, making a shiver crawl down Stephan's spine. When these two were in sync, they were so damn scary—he'd almost feel bad for their foes. Almost.

"Ahem. Having discarded the deal is good and all, but what do we do with the blackmail now? I mean, we can't tell Masha that Jake suddenly had a change of heart. It's not his style. So, what about—"

"There's no need to rack your brain over the matter," Masha's voice traveled inside the room as she slammed the door open, "I just have to sleep over in a hotel room with Jake, and he can say whatever to Angela afterward. That should do the trick, right?"

Upon hearing Masha's familiar voice, Gabriel's body stiffened. Slowly, he turned his head toward the door, and his eyes then met with three stern gazes.

In the doorframe stood Yuki, Masha, and Misha, who was holding onto his sister's arm to stand, his legs still a little too weak. The corner of his eyes was red, and bite marks dug into his lower lip. The hurt look on his face spoke volumes.

"How long have you been eavesdropping…?"

"Well, Misha woke up almost right after you left. He panicked a bit, not seeing you anywhere near, so we decided to come find you."

"I wasn't panicking," Misha refuted halfheartedly, his voice hoarse. "Anyway, why we're here is not the point. I thought you said you would tell me everything, Gaby. Yet, there you are, planning to lie through your teeth again."

"Misha…"

"No, you shut up and listen for once! I'm not a goddamn kid, and… Hell, you freaking promised to straighten this bad habit of yours!" Misha paused to take a breath, then went on, "Seriously, when will you stop keeping everything to yourself? Shouldering all the pain on your own won't solve anything! That's what idiots do! And you're supposed to be smart!"

Gabriel lowered his eyes, rubbing his neck. He wanted to spare Misha the pain, but—

"Alright, how about having your lover's spat in private?" Stephan interrupted, clapping his hands. "I think we all need a bit of rest, especially Jake. So, let's save the serious conversation for another day, ok?"

"Yeah, that sounds good to me."

Gabriel had hurried over to his brother's room because he wanted to discuss with Jake while Misha was asleep, ensuring that the teenager would stay in the dark concerning this matter. Jake's past lives were also something he wanted to discuss right away to be on the same wavelength and not cause unnecessary trouble. But now that Misha knew, it was meaningless to hide. So, he might as well let his brother rest, then come back later to talk over the matter with everyone, considering said discussion promised to be a long one.

"Let's go," Gabriel sighed, walking toward the door. He stretched an arm, meaning that he wanted Misha to lean on him, and the teenager sullenly accepted to, nestling against his chest. "Rest well, Jake. We'll see each other later."

"See you," Stephan waved to Gabriel, apparently having no intention to follow. "I'm going to stay a while longer."

"…?"

"If Angela comes by, I'm pretty sure she's gonna turn on her heel the moment she sees me."

The group was silent for a second before laughing faintly. Right. Stephan was an excellent repellent against Jake's parents. Gabriel and Stephan were both aware that if Angela were to visit Jake at the moment, it wouldn't be for anything good. So, taking a few precautions to keep her away wouldn't hurt. They wanted Jake to rest, not go through hell alone.

Once only Stephan and Jake were left in the room, silence fell. Stephan sat more comfortably in the bed, a smile stretching his lips as he stared at Jake. His heterochromatic eyes were locked on his face, seemingly trying to drill a hole into it.

"What are you thinking about now?" Jake deadpanned after a moment. "That kind of heated gaze coming from you is putting me ill at ease. It's going to give me nightmares if you don't stop soon."

"Hm? I was just thinking that an eye patch would look good on you. Like, I think it'd give you a sexy, mysterious air, ya' know?"

To this, Jake sighed. Whether he was himself or wore a facade, Stephan was still the same: a real pain in the neck. If anything, he was even more brazen with his ogling. Quite frankly, Jake wouldn't be surprised if that dumbass suddenly started to drool while gawking at him. It was Stephan, after all.

"Seriously, can you stop staring? And sit on the chair while you're at it? I'd like to rest, but I fear you're going to attack me in my sleep. It makes it a little hard to fall asleep."

"Oh my, you know me well."

That little prick… No, don't fall for his provocations. Stay silent.

With a loud tsk, Jake thus dove under the blankets and covered his head with a pillow, knowing retorting would only bring disaster upon him. If he pretended the man didn't exist, maybe he'd disappear by the time he woke up—hope springs eternal, as they say.

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Edited by Clozed!

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