Chapter 14

"Since we were short on time, we could not find a venue and opted to host the press conference in the exterior foyer. It is set to start at 2pm, your parents will speak first, then the two of you and then finally your brothers. We haven't revealed a great deal to the media within our invitation, so madam Reyes have left it to the two of you to decide whether you two make the reveal on your relationship. The format will be in the style of panel interview followed by questions from the media. Due to the short notice, we will not be able to moderate the questions so please keep things appropriate and not lash out unnecessarily. Do either of you have any questions?"

Joshua and Henry just shook their head, half the information flying right over them. They had gotten the gist of it, enough to be confident with how the conference would proceed. However, with every word that came out of Haerin's mouth, the more real the entire thing felt.

Nerves were starting to set in.

The PA lead the two dazed men to the room the presidents of each company were waiting, Samuel and Archer were still running around making sure everything was set for the livestream – they had finally found the mole amidst preparation and ended up side-tracked handing him over to the authorities. As soon as they entered the room, Hanna quickly started whizzing around the young men, letting out strings of orders to make them presentable.

Henry was forced to wear his blazer and a tie, having to ditch his employee ID that was usually hung around his neck. Hair wax had also been brought out from somewhere, him being made to sweep his hair aside, out of him face. He was then attacked with powder by Hanna Lore; everything was so last minute they did not have anyone to make them look presentable, the job falling onto the people themselves. Of course, not much was needed, however the over high stress of the situation had given everyone a sheen.

The older man was also forced to take care of his appearance, however due to the nature of his position in the company, it was more a matter of straightening out his image rather than increasing the formality of his attire. Of course, he too was attacked by his mother and her powder.

The two men were now stood side by side, somewhat vacant at the sheer speed of everything. "I am sure Haerin explained to you two," Caroline started as Hanna moved onto their husbands' faces, "so would you like us to reveal of do you two want to do that?" She was surprised to be met with initial silence. Eventually, realising the silence was helping nobody, Joshua took initiative to answer. "It would be preferable if you did so."

Henry wanted to disagree, however he also knew that he also wanted to stop this incomprehensible plan in its tracks, which was of course not an option. In the end he just nodded in agreement with Joshua, believing he must have thought about it before answering.

Meanwhile, Joshua found himself freaking out because he has no idea why he had said that, nor whether it was the better option. The entire situation was crushing his usually impeccable judgement.

All four parents could tell their respective son was completely out of wits, all of them putting it down to nerves in regards to coming out to the world in a matter of days after having been discovered by them.

In a sense they were not wrong, however, they also could not be farther from the truth, in reality, within the short time it had taken them to be escorted from the office to their parents, they had completely lost grip on the situation around them.

That was until Ramy entered.

"I have the rings."

That announcement was more than enough to snap the two of them out of their daze. The parents all perked up at the mention of the engagement rings; Ramy had gone to the Lore's primary jeweller – who's expertise helped run their high-end and affordable jewellery lines. The old woman was a genius, and despite the short amount of time at hand, she had given the two families her guarantee that she could have two unique engagement rings personalised and finished in time for the press conference. All she asked for in return was free reign on the wedding bands.

Easily reading the room, the Reyes' PA pulled out a box and revealed the two silver rings to the people present.

At first glance, one would think they were two simple silver bands with a streak of gold wrapped around the circumference, however with a second look, it would appear they were not so. Looking closer, there were light scours all over the ring that formed an intricate fractal-style pattern. The rings themselves were polished to a duller complexion of silver, the kind that you would expect to come with wearing over time, however that was not the case. While it did look duller, it was because the scours were significantly brighter in colour, giving an almost twinkling effect once the sunlight hit it. The most minute detail was the that on each ring, within what could only be describe as the centremost scour, there were miniscule granules of sapphires forming a gradient from dark blue to purple, set in place with gold.

From afar, yes, they were two simple silver bands, however in reality there had been a lot of work put into the finishing, the rings being two of a kind.

The parents had gathered closer to admire the work, amazed at the sheer skill behind the old lady who had made these from two plain bands in a matter of hours. John could recognise a lot of the experimental techniques she had proposed in the latest meeting in regards to the jewellery lines. Clearly the trials had been a success since the two rings almost boasted the new techniques the veteran jeweller had come up with.

Henry saw the rings and even he couldn't help but admire the work that must have gone into them, easily picking out the small details that had made the rings special; if only they had not been for his engagement to a man. That way he could have really appreciated the beauty of the rings. Unfortunately, just the mention of the rings made him feel a little queasy, things were feeling far too real all of a sudden. The young man had no idea what exactly he had been feeling before when coming to realisation on the ridiculous situation he had found himself in, but it was nothing compared to the dread he felt now.

The other man found himself in a similar position. While he had little appreciation for the jewellery itself, he knew exactly what it would symbolise, and the thought of it made him feel a little nauseous. Of course, at some point in his life he wanted to be in the position to marry someone. Unfortunately, instead of being for his union with a beautiful lady he had come to greatly care about – or at least had the capability to develop such feelings for – these rings symbolised the announcement of his to-be-married life with a fellow man. He felt horrendously homophobic thinking so, but if the situation was any less dire, he had decided that he would much rather rot at an old age, all alone, having never found even a glimpse of the romance he so loved to read. Anything that did not include him in a relationship with a man was better in comparison to his current situation.

Almost simultaneously, the two looked to the time and sighed. There was only 10 minutes left until the press conference. A mere 10 minutes before they announce their plans to marry each other to the world; until their statuses go from single/straight men to two gay men in a relationship. Joshua had a ridiculous urge to run for it just at the thought, however he understood just how much was at stake if the Q Group managed to crush them.

Henry had thankfully thought ahead. "Ramy, did you get what I asked for?" The man nodded at his employers' second son, pulling out a fresh pack of 20 menthol cigarettes – the same ones that he and Joshua had borrowed earlier – and a clear, blue lighter. They were eagerly snatched out of Ramy's hands, Henry already starting to remove the exterior film as he announced, "I am going for a smoke."

He suddenly felt a desire-filled gaze coming from his right, looking to see that Joshua was looking at him. While the dark-haired man's pretty face was as aloof as ever, he recognised the lust of one of his kind. "Do you want to join me?" Joshua almost physically relaxed as he nodded, no one could have told he was tense until it happened. "Gladly."

The two made eye-contact, coming to yet again another understanding, to get through this press conference, they would most definitely need some nicotine in their system.

John and Marcus shared a sideways glance, both subtly smiling at how close their sons had gotten. Even though they had come of as extremely apprehensive at this whole idea, they were clearly a good fit and understood each other well. The marriage interview had not only been a success but also a definite step in the right direction. Neither had ever seen their son look so alive regarding a prospective significant other.

"The press will be here at any moment, you realise that?" Caroline pointed out, stopping both second sons in their tracks.

That fact had not once crossed either of the frazzled, suddenly nicotine-craving minds. Henry wanted to facepalm himself, they were going as far as pretending to be gay to their families for a successful merger, to have that screwed up just because they got seen beforehand would be disastrous.

The mothers easily read the nonchalance, smiling at their nerves. "While I am not a fan of this hidden habit, wear the rings before going and make sure to be at the foyer by half past." Hanna's words resonated well with the two men, and by that what is mean was that they both thought wearing the rings was a brilliant idea because it meant they could smoke longer. They both grabbed their respective rings, and left, leaving the remaining people wondering just how they had known which was whose.

Archer, Samuel and the addition of Meera had arrived at the room just in time to see the duo leave, the air around the them almost impenetrable. All three thought the same, they were already giving off the feel of a couple.

Meanwhile, the two men had gone to the front of the company building, standing just outside the entrance seeing as that was the closest area in which they could smoke. This time they each had their own cigarette lit.

Neither was particularly proud of how much they were craving the comfort of cigarettes, Joshua going as far as explaining himself out of shame. "Just so you know, I am not usually such a heavy smoker. I used to smoke every now and then when abroad. This is just due to the high-stress situation giving me a headache."

The blond man found himself calming a little at the revelation that it was not just him. "Honestly, I am the same. But this insane thing warrants more than just a suddenly nicotine craving in my opinion."

"I most definitely agree to that."

Despite their agreement, they both internally vowed to try and rid themselves of this new habit before it became an unshakeable addiction.

Whilst this happened, a large wave of press walked past them to get into the conference, the two easily recognised, sparking many questions. No one had even heard of the younger sons of the Reyes's and Lore's knowing each other, when had the two became so close? Due to this, the air was buzzing before they had even been let into the company building.

Once again, Henry and Joshua were blissfully unaware of the chatter they had caused.