Two years later…

Gael groaned as he woke up. The door bell was ringing continuously. Looking at the alarm clock, he frowned. It was three in the morning. ‘Who could it be?’

Getting up, he put on a jacket and made his way to the door. Looking through the pee hole, he couldn’t see anyone, but the bell was still going off.

Opening the door frantically, he looked at the bell to see if there was something wrong with it, but then he saw a man in all black standing against the wall with a bored expression.

His eyes widened. Flashbacks of what happened to him two years ago appeared. His knees went weak under him, making him drop to the floor.

The man before him knelt down and stared at Gael. After a moment, he removed the mask covering his face and asked, “Did you forget about me?”

Gael’s heart sank to his stomach. He pushed Kian out of his way and scrambled on his knees back inside his apartment.

Kian walked after him slowly and slammed the door shut behind them.

Taking off his jacket, then his shoes and socks, he went after Gael, who rushed to his bedroom. The door was closed. He knocked on the door twice, saying, “It breaks my heart that you forgot about me and now you are running away too?”

Taking a key out of his pocket, he unlocked the door and walked in, but there was no one around.

Chuckling, he said, “Did you really think that by moving apartments, I wouldn’t find you?”

In the place Gael was hiding, he was terrified. Fear overcame him, followed by anxiety. He looked around the dark place that he was hiding in and the isolation and powerlessness made his mind go blank.

His body was trembling. He was terrified. ‘Did he come to kill me?’

Gael did everything to change his lifestyle and overcome the fear he experienced whenever he closed his eyes.

Clutching at his hair, he pulled strands out as the paranoia kicked in. ‘I did everything he wanted. Why is he back?’

Gael soon began to hyperventilate. His chest felt tight as the sound of squelching blood echoed in his ears.

Kian searched the bathroom under the bed, then looked at the closet. Chuckling, he opened the doors one by one, then finally, he found the one he was looking for.

Gael raised his head and looked at him.

Kian saw the fear on his face. Kneeling down, he wiped Gael’s eyes, saying, “I didn’t even do anything to you. Why are you like this?”

Gael couldn’t bear to look into Kian’s eyes. It wasn’t the green that he had when he showed up at the hospital, but the dark brown when he hurt Troy.

Helping Gael out of the closet to the bed, he said, “Wait here.”

He went to the bathroom and returned with a wet towel and wiped Gael’s face.

Gael was worried that he would suffocate him, and he was even too afraid to move, but Kian only wipe his face.

Placing the towel down, he looked at him saying, “I have a surprise for you.”

Gael frowned as he looked at him.

Kian was smiling. He pointed a finger at him, saying, “But you have to wait here, do you hear me? No running, no fighting. Just wait here.”

Before Gael could respond, Kian had already left.

Clenching his hands, he became ashamed. ‘Why can’t I run? I can’t even move.’

Moments later, Kian walked back into the room with a huge box wrapped in gold wrapping paper and a red bow.

He placed it gently on the bed and, as Gael looked at him, he could see a proud smile.

Turning to Gael, he stepped back saying, “Go ahead, unwrap it.”

But he didn’t move. He stared at the box, confused.

Kian grew impatient, “Come now. Do you think we have all day? What if something happens to it?”

“Wh, what is it?” He asked.

“You’ll see once you open it,” Kian said as he took off his shirt and sat down on the bed.

Gael stared at him and saw that he was eager for him to open the box.

Getting on his knees, Gael slowly undid the bow, then unwrapped the paper. Looking at the brown box, he opened it, then shuddered.

Looking at Kian, he asked, “What the fuck did you do? Did you kill him?”

Gael quickly picked up the baby inside the box and held him tightly. Checking to see if he was breathing, he sighed, relieved.

Chuckling as he made himself comfortable on the bed, Kian said, “Why would I kill something I made?”

“Something you made?” Gael asked as he looked at him, dumbfounded.

Looking down at the baby in his arms, then at Kian, he saw the baby had the same moles on his chin.

Quickly putting the baby down on the bed, he asked, “What are you doing? Why did you bring him here?”

Kian threw the box off the bed, then picked up his son and laid him on his chest. Rubbing his back, he looked at Gael saying, “What am I doing? He’s our child now Gael, that’s why he’s here.”

Gael frowned, “Our child?”

“Yes, our child.” He repeated.

Staring at the baby in his arms, Gael couldn’t understand. This man was doing things you’d never expect him to do and if he wanted his own child, he’d just—shaking his head. He took a few steps back.

“If you leave this room, I’m going to throw you against the wall,” Kian warned him. The calm, subtle happiness was now void as he stared at Gael.

Freezing in his steps, his heart raced again. It wasn’t as though he was planning to leave, his balance was just off.

“Come sit beside me and let’s have a decent conversation,” he said.

Gael looked at the space beside Kian and hesitantly sat down.

Kian chuckled, “There’s no need to be afraid.”

Gael just stared at him. This man was his nightmare. How could he not be afraid?

Placing the baby on Gael’s chest, Kian said, “From today, you are Serenith’s papa.”

“Serenith?” Gael repeated.

He nodded his head. “Yes, you’ll be his papa.”

Unable to speak, he stayed silent. Looking at Kian, he saw he had his eyes closed with a smile on his face.

Looking down at Serenith, the child resembled his father. Frowning, he wondered, ‘Will this child turn out like his father? A killer? An abuser?’

Looking at Kian, he continued, ‘They never found the killer. I was also told that Kian worked on the case as an advisor to both Troy’s and Loralei’s cases. He gave them so much to go on, but it led to a dead end. What has he been up to all this time?’

Serenity whimpered and opened his eyes. He stared at Gael for a moment, then smiled, but went back to sleep.

Glancing back at Kian, he saw that his head was tilted to the side. ‘Where’s this child’s mother? Don’t tell me that he kidnapped this child?’

“Whe, where is his mother?” He asked.

Kian opened his eyes slowly and looked at his son. Sighing, he said, “She was a real headache to deal with but I’m glad it’s over with.”

“Did you kill her?” He whispered.