Omari looked at himself in the mirror after getting dressed, then looked back at Octavius, who had a smirk on his face. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all.”

Octavius snickered as he said, “It’s autumn and perfect. Maybe now I’ll stop thinking about you.”

Omari glared at him. “This is the last time I’m coming here and you better make sure you keep thinking about me!”

Octavius nodded knowingly. “Next time, I’ll be prepared and, of course, I will always think of you.”

Omari harrumphed, fixing his jacket. “Let’s get this over with.”

Octavius turned to Caecilia. “Thank you.”

“If I may, your highness, will it be too much to ask? Can I accompany you out to be safe?” She asked him.

“No problem!” Omari yelled with his fist in the air. They effortlessly snuck out of the palace with the help of the guards and got into the SUV.

Octavius looked at Caecilia, who climbed into the second vehicle. He turned to the front, asking, “Why in the world is she following us?”

Antero looked into the rearview mirror at him, then ahead, saying, “Who wouldn’t? Just imagine when the king and queen find out, you’ll have so much more to deal with than just a worried maid.”

Omari shuddered thinking about being followed by the royals. “Please, just get me home so that I can change. I am very uncomfortable right now.”

As they made their way to Omari’s home, Omari called his parents to let them know he was coming. He turned to Octavius and asked, “Do you want to meet your in-laws?”

Octavius stared at him briefly, then shook his head, “No, it’s too soon.”

Omari shrugged it off. They stopped outside his home, and Caecilia couldn’t believe her eyes. Omari climbed out and dashed off inside. His parents stopped him at the door and his mother asked, “My child, are you in trouble?”

Omari shook his head, confused. “No, why?”

“We saw you climb out of that car. Who is inside there?” His father questioned.

Omari smirked evilly. “Let me get dressed, and I’ll introduce you.”

Edgar stared out of the window at the black SUV’s thinking, ‘Disrespectful.’

“Honey, I am going out there to see who this bastard is,” Edgar said.

“Good Luck,” Jasmine cheered him on.

He made his way outside and stopped in front of the SUV. He frowned, looking at the two cars behind, then knocked on the window, asking, “Did you honestly think you would get away without greeting us? Do you think I will have such a disrespectful son-in-law?”

Antero turned around and saw the pale-faced Octavius, then climbed out. He walked over to Octavius’s side and stared at the old man who had shock written all over his face.

Antero bowed to him then opened the door and out stepped a nervous Octavius, who had a glare on his face.

“Good morning, f—father-in-law,” he greeted.

“Father-in-law? Your highness?” Edgar said, as they all saw his eyes roll to the back of his head. He passed out.

Omari came running out of the house and looked at the stunned Octavius, who wasn’t moving. He looked down at his father, then asked, “How could you kill him?”

His heart sank. “He’s dead?”

Omari rolled his eyes amused, he looked at Antero asking, “Can you help me get him inside?”

Antero didn’t feel like lifting a human and instructed the others to do it.

Caecilia followed them in to help because she had a medical degree but out of curiosity, too. When they entered the cramped home, Jasmine was left speechless. On one hand, her husband was unconscious and on the other, the fourth prince of the kingdom was sitting on the couch, being comforted by her son.

What was happening here? 

Jasmine walked over to her son with a tray in her hands and looked at Octavius nervously as she offered, “Your—your highness, would you like some tea, it’s not the one that you probably like to drink but it is something.”

Octavius lifted his head out of Omari’s neck and looked at her. He forced a smile and said, “Thank you, Mrs Valentine. I appreciate it.”

She handed him the cup after placing it down on the tray, then on the table and sat opposite them. She looked at the men in black suits, then at her son, who was patting down his bodysuit.

She rubbed her hands over her face, asking, “So, when did this happen? Do you know how much trouble we can get in because of this?”

Omari stood up and turned around. He looked at Antero, who was standing not too far from them, and asked, “Do I look right?”

Antero quickly nodded his head. “Very. Better than what you had on when I took you to the palace.”

Omari had on a red and black checkered bodysuit that stopped under his butt and brown bunny shoes on his feet.

“You’ve been to the palace, Omari? My child, what in the world is going on here?” Jasmine asked her son, who continued to ignore her.

Octavius smiled. “Is he always like this?”

Jasmine looked at the prince confused, then it clicked and nodded her head, “He tends to ignore us when we ask too many questions or when he thinks it is irrelevant to him.”

Octavius sighed exasperated, “And he hears everything you say too.”

“He has been like this since he was a baby and I have no idea why he is like this,” she answered with a smile.

Octavius looked at his boyfriend, but he was long gone, along with Antero to who knows where.

Turning back to Jasmine, he said, “I’m sorry I got your husband into such a position. I didn’t think he would collapse.”

Jasmine flicked her red hair over her shoulder and smiled at him. “No need to worry about that, old fool. His heart just likes to play tricks on him from time to time.”

Octavius saw the smile on her face and was confused. She nodded her head and continued to explain, “There are no medical problems. He was just frightened. He’ll be okay and besides, the head maid is here to help us.”

He nodded to her words and decided to not keep his thoughts to himself. Everything he learnt about Omari was food for his soul. “I can’t wrap my mind over what I have seen. I’m surprised Omari hasn’t told me about this—are you and Mr Valentine, his biological parents?”

She started chuckling hearing his question and shook her head, “I had trouble conceiving and so did my husband. It was devastating to hear that we could never have children, even if we tried. There should have been hope for us. Maybe he could have gotten another woman pregnant, but no. We were on the verge of getting divorced because of depression from both sides until my boss approached me and said he heard I was struggling to have a child. I thought he wanted to sleep with me, but he instead told me he and his wife no longer want their child.”

She chuckled humorously when she said those words and wiped away a tear, continuing, “We’ve wanted what they have and they were ready to give him up. I didn’t accept the deal even with the money he offered to help support us. I even met his wife, and she was not happy to give up their child and that is another reason I said no, but then one night, I opened my door and she was standing there holding him. He was only eleven months old and asleep so I took him from her even though she was crying—I thought that if I just kept him for the night and waited for her to calm down, then I would return him in the morning but we got to their place and the maid handed us the adoption papers, birth certificate with our names on it and explained that they were no more around.”

Omari walked in wearing white sneakers, changing out of the bunny slippers, and saw that his mother was crying. He rolled his eyes and said, “So first you give my father a heart attack, then you make my mother cry.”

“I…” Octavius started, but couldn’t finish his words as Omari twirled around, showing off his body.