* * *
With the awkward moments between Fyre and Tian Zi over and with Fyre having already taken contraceptives, which they bought from the local drug store after taking a short detour, they drove back to Tian Zi's private residence. The ride to their destination was silent. It was a little awkward, but the atmosphere wasn't uncomfortable. Instead, it was rather calming, even though both Tian Zi and Fyre were deep in their own thoughts. Each was thinking of their situation and becoming flustered thinking about what had happened as a whole that neither of them even realized that they had arrived already.
"Let me open the door for you." Tian Zi said as he pulled his car up to his garage. Normally Fyre would open the door for himself, but today Tian Zi wanted to do it for Fyre. He has been thinking about doing it from now on.
"Hmm, okay," Fyre replied with a blush. This was new to him, but it didn't sound so bad. He'd hated being treated like he was some fragile thing before but sometimes, he did like it, …especially when Tian Zi was to do it to him. He couldn't help but feel happy. Back then, he used to think that Tian Zi was being nice to him because he was trying to make him fall for him, purposely treating him nicer than the rest. But Fyre found out later that that was not the case at all and that Tian Zi was genuinely nicer to him because he truly treated him as his close friend, even though most of the time they fought and teased each other.
Quickly hopping out, walking around the car hood to the other side, Tian Zi offered his hand to Fyre as he opened the door for him. "Let me help you out." Fyre was a little flustered seeing the palm in front of him but he accepted it anyway because he needed it for the time being, especially since he couldn't deny that his body was still sore from last night.
"Thank you," Fyre said, holding Tian Zi's warm palm to which the Alpha responded with a satisfied smile. It may seem cringy, but now that he knew what his true feelings for Fyre were, the desire to treat Fyre even better intensified. It was to the point that he didn't care whether he looked just like his older brothers to their wife, or even worse. He just wanted Fyre to feel loved and cared for, knowing his personality.
"I want to treat you better from now on, so please don't reject me." Tian Zi whispered softly, which quickly brought a red tint on the Omega's cheeks. He was well aware that he shouldn't act so demure about this, but he hadn't yet recovered from the Alpha's confession so he'd probably have this kind of reaction for a while before he got used to it.
"O-okay... suit yourself..." Fyre stuttered shyly before he hastily marched off, leaving Tian Zi chuckling at his retreating figure. Not long after, Tian Zi followed Fyre into the house, still laughing. As soon as they entered the foyer, they were greeted by his butler who then led them to the living room. Upon entering, they were greeted by everyone within with dreadful expressions. Maverick, Joaquinn, Ashton, and even Jonathan were all sitting on the couch as they simultaneously looked in his and Fyre's direction.
"What happened?" Tian Zi was the first to ask due to Fyre suddenly standing stiff at seeing Jonathan. Seeing him reminded him of what had happened days ago. He really didn't want to see Jonathan now, but he quickly decided to forget about that matter first and focus on Maverick since it looked like something serious had happened when they were gone.
"Yeah, what's happening?" Fyre added, following his previous thought.
"It's all over the internet," Joaquinn replied and helplessly glanced at Maverick who was cowering at the edge of the couch, hugging a throw pillow.
"What do you mean?" Fyre asked again, despite having an idea what might have been all over the internet. He was not fond of social media, especially after his scandal years ago, so he had not been on the internet today. Plus, his mind was filled with Tian Zi since early morning so he had not been on his phone except when looking at the time, so he wasn't sure what was all over the internet.
"It's already been revealed that Mav is an Omega. Grandfather has been calling us, Daniel, and Father too." Ashton replied worriedly. He wasn't actually worried about the fact that everyone had discovered his older brother's gender, he was more worried about the fact that those people who defiled him would soon ruin his life.
Even though Ashton was younger than Maverick, he'd made sure to treasure the Omega because that's what their deceased mother told him and Joaquinn. But when he found out yesterday what had been happening to Maverick all this time, he felt like he wanted to kill a person. He already hated their father for treating Maverick coldly like he did to their mother, but knowing that he basically sold his own child for his ambitions, Ashton hated his father even more to the point that he wanted to cut ties with him as soon as possible.
"It's true. It's all over the internet... But I don't see any inappropriate content yet so it's not too late." Tian Zi replied after quickly scanning his phone. Fyre walked to him as well to see. While he was at first wondering why Joaquinn suddenly revealed Maverick's gender with Jonathan around, he quickly realized that there was no sense in hiding it anymore anyway because everyone should know it already.
"Don't worry. Zi and I are going to help you. They will never humiliate Mav more than this." Fyre assured, after seeing what was on Tian Zi's mobile screen.
"While it's true that we can't stop people from talking about this, their opinion will pass after a while. It's very common for people, especially from powerful families, to hide their genders for personal reasons so this won't cause a huge problem. Besides, I've already dealt with the files I found and they are never going to recover them. For now, it's better to talk to Elder Sullen and let everyone understand. As for your father, I don't know what you want to happen to him yet. If you want, Fyre and I can find some dirt... or you and your brothers should talk about it for a bit." Tian Zi suggested hesitantly, looking at Fyre before they nodded at each other as if they were thinking the same thing.
Truthfully, it was very easy to ruin someone's reputation these days because everything was on the internet or accessible by technology. Everyone had dirt they wanted to hide, or if they didn't it was easy to make some. So, if the brothers wanted to ruin their father, it would be easy to do so. He only needed the go signal to make it happen, which the brothers will have to decide themselves.
"Thank you so much, Tian Zi, Fyre. I-I don't really want to go that far, but I'll talk with my brothers..." Maverick replied softly. It was very clear in his voice that he had been crying. Even though he knew that his father never loved him, in the end, he still didn't want him to fall into ruin. At this point, he just wanted to break free from him and live a normal life, together with his brothers.
"Mav, are you going to talk to Father?" Joaquinn asked. The bruises on Mav's face were still fresh from before so after his secret had been found out, their father might harm him again if he showed himself. He'd already hurt him after his plan had been ruined, he'd definitely hurt Maverick again if they saw each other. Because apparently for him, having an Omega son was humiliating. He didn't hate Omegas, but it was a different thing when one of his children was one. He despised Omegas enough to find it okay to use Maverick to his own benefit. He was honestly a lot worse than their uncle George, who seemed to have been influenced by their father's belief, …and their grandfather had no idea this was happening within their 'prominent' household.
"I-I will. I-I'm going to tell him that I don't want to hide anymore. And that I'll try and fix this without his help." Maverick timidly replied. He may have convinced everyone that he was an Alpha by acting tough, but he never really was. He was never brave nor confident. And if he came off that way, most of the time he was acting, and his mind would fill with anxiety, wondering if he was going to be caught or not.
"Okay. If that's what you have decided on, but you can't meet grandfather and Daniel in your condition." Ashton said this time while Joaquinn nodded in agreement.
"I'll tell them that you will talk to them when you're ready. For now, just focus on healing." Joaquinn said dotingly, to which Maverick only replied with a gentle nod.
"I don't know what's actually happening right now, but I'll also help in any way I can." Jonathan suddenly inserted, with a faint smile towards Maverick. Even though he was not as close as he was with Tian Zi and Fyre; Maverick, Joaquinn, and Ashton Sullen were still considered his friends. They had been together for more than 4 years now and at some point, he had indeed noticed Maverick becoming a little too feminine for an Alpha. But he didn't actually think that he was an Omega after finding out this morning. The only reason he had come to Tian Zi's house was that he was hoping he would see Fyre and get to apologize personally for his disturbance a day before. But instead of finding his two friends, he found the brothers in the living room with a heavy atmosphere.
"Thank you, everyone, for helping us. I will surely not forget about this." Joaquinn with a grateful smile towards Jonathan, Tian Zi, and Fyre.
"We're all friends here. It's the least we could do." Tian Zi said, and the other two agreed.
* * *
To be Continued…