Kian beamed. Sitting up on the bed, he crossed his legs saying, “Well, just imagine this. I had to seduce her, make her fall in love with me, and get her pregnant. How else will I have offspring? But it doesn’t matter. She did her part and Serenith doesn’t need her breast milk anymore. He’s been off of it for a few months now, just in time for her passing.”

Gael couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. Kian was happily talking about this with him.

“You know what?”

“What?”

“They didn’t suspect me at all!” he said and burst out laughing. “Pathetic, if you ask me. All I had to do was put on a show and shed a few tears. Even my father thinks she died naturally.”

“You’re a monster,” Gael said.

“I’m a monster?” Kian asked with a raised brow as he calmed down.

He stood up and took Serenith from him and placed him on the bed. Looking at Gael, he smirked, then grabbed him by the neck and choked him. Before Gael could protest, Kian dragged him out of the room to the living room and threw him against the couch. Pressing his right foot down on Gael’s chest against the couch, he asked, “And so what if I am a monster?”

“How could you kill the mother of your child?”

Kian scoffed, “It’s not like you know her, why are you defending her?”

Gael grabbed a pillow and threw him with it, saying, “You aren’t human! First, you killed that man and beat up that woman. You beat Troy into a coma and did the same with Loralei.”

Putting his foot down, he chuckled, getting onto his knees between Gael’s legs he asked, “Did you forget I gave you a lesson too that night?”

Gael glared at him. ‘How could I forget? You threatened me to stay quiet, too.’

“But to be honest with you, Loralei is the only one I didn’t hurt. That was someone else’s doing along with the grandma.”

Gael felt himself choke up. “Wh, what do you mean?”

Pouting, he said, “I can’t believe you blamed me for something I didn’t do.”

“I asked you what you mean!” Gael said.

Kian smiled, taking Gael’s hands in his, he looked at them and ran his thumb over his fingers, “I waited so long to see you but here you’re not even happy to meet me and you’re condemning me for crimes I didn’t commit.”

“Why? Why did you do it all?” He asked him.

Gazing into his eyes, he asked, “Do you really want me to tell you?”

Gael nodded his head hesitantly.

“But if I tell you, you’ll be in even more danger,” he said.

Frowning, Gael couldn’t understand what he meant. “How?”

Getting up, he leaned down, placing his forehead against Gael’s and rubbed his nose against his. Gael stared at him as he trembled. ‘What is he doing?’

Feeling Kian release a sigh, he caught a faint hint of mint coming from his breath.

“There’s no place for you to run now, Gael,” he whispered.

Tears started falling from Gael’s eyes.

Kian leaned in and pressed his lips against Gael’s.

Gael’s eyes widened.

Kian bit down on his bottom lip hard, frightening Gael, who immediately pushed him away. Staring down at him, he smirked, licking the blood from his lip. He said, “You taste delicious.”

Gael held his mouth closed, staring up at him in horror.

Straddling him, Kian yanked his hand away and tried to kiss him again, but this time, Gael hit him on the nose with his forehead.

Wiping his nose to make sure that he wasn’t bleeding, Kian then slapped Gael across the face, leaving a red handprint. Looking down at him with disgust, he said, “Useless piece of shit. I gave you many chances in the past to change your ways, but you didn’t. I came all this way to help fix you so that you won’t disgrace me, so you better listen well. I know very well that you are still friends with that bitch and got your ass fucked on the twentieth of last month by some other prick, and you are still in contact with Troy. If you don’t want any of them dead, I don’t want any disobedience from you!”

He sat down opposite and crossed his left leg over his right. Looking at Gael, who was staring at the floor in horror, he said, “Serenith will be up in a few hours. There’s a book in his diaper bag that tells you how to take care of him. Go make me something to drink.”

*

True to Kian’s words, Serenith woke up. He made a sound in the bedroom that was almost like a cry and a scream combined.

He was sitting on the barstool reading the handwritten book on how to deal with ‘Serenith Judge’ away from Kian, who was drinking coffee and working on his tablet.

He looked back to see if Kian would get up, but he didn’t. It looked like he was ignoring the scream, but then he said, “The longer he cries, the more annoyed I get.”

Gael’s eyes widened. He didn’t want Kian killing the baby, especially when he could stop it from happening.

Walking into the room, he saw the baby sitting up on the bed, rubbing his eyes.

When Serenith saw Gael, he stopped crying and stared at him.

Walking up to the bed, he stared back at him and said, “You look just like your father.”

Serenith held his hands up to him and called, “Mama?”

“Mama?” He repeated, then recalled Kian’s words about him being Serenith’s papa. Keeping his thoughts to himself. He pushed Serenith down and checked his diaper like the book said he should after he wakes up.

Kian walked into the room with the diaper bag, saying, “Change him.”

Gael didn’t look at him. He took the bag, then went back to the bed and saw Serenith was sitting up again.

Looking at the kid, he saw a smile on his face as he stared at Kian. Holding up his hands for Kian to pick him up as he called, “Mama.”

Kian chuckled, “Did you sleep well, my boy?”

“Mama,” he called again.

Kian sat down on the bed and kissed him on the lips. Raising a brow, he said, “Be good.”

He looked at Gael, saying, “Get on with it.”

Gael changed his diaper then as he was dressing Serenith Kian said, “Serenith, this is your papa.”

He looked at the child for a moment and saw that he had his attention.

“Can you say papa?” Kian asked him.

Gael moved away as Serenith sat up. He moved to Kian, who picked him up, then turned to look at Gael. Looking at Kian, he said, “Papa.”

“Very good,” Kian praised him.

Looking at Gael, he asked, “Don’t you want to hold him?”

Before he could say no, Kian shoved his son to him.

“Papa,” Serenith called him. Gael didn’t know how to feel. He was terrified, confused, and he didn’t want to be involved in any of this, but if he didn’t, what was going to happen to him?

Gael walked out with the child in his arms. He had taken out the food that was prepared for him earlier on and left it in the kitchen.

Putting him down on the floor, he watched as Serenith got up and started walking around. He made his way to Kian, calling him, mama again. Frowning with his back turned to them, he wondered, ‘Why is he calling his father, mama?’

After warming up the rice and vegetables, he walked over to Kian, who was hugging his son. Kian stared at Gael with a smile as he walked over.

Moving Serenith to sit properly on his lap and face Gael, he said, “Okay son, your time with mama is over for now. Time to go to your papa.”

Serenith whimpered, “No mama.”