Chapter 284: Riddles in Bed

"What if I told you that I still want to go even though you don’t want me to?" I asked as I tried to keep my voice from shaking.

"I’ll take you along," Hayden replied emotionlessly.

"Really?" I asked without bothering to hide my disbelief.

"Yes. That’s what Harvey thinks that I should do as well…" Hayden said before letting out a long sigh.

That made me realize that the talk that Hayden had with Harvey must have been about this. That didn’t give me any insights as to why Harvey thought that I should go along with Hayden, though. I wondered what the two brothers were thinking and then my mind drifted back to wonder about what Ethan was thinking.

"I guess…I’m not so sure why Ethan would want me to be there…" I admitted in a small voice.

"He probably thinks that having you there will help convince me to do what he wants," Hayden replied, clearly displeased.

"Will it?" I asked, curiously.

Hayden looked straight and me before his eyes narrowed dangerously. I shouldn’t have asked that.

"It won’t," he replied before turning away.

I guess I’ve said more than I should have, and I was overestimating myself if I thought that I could change Hayden’s minds or any of his beliefs. In the end, I was the one who probably stepped over the line.

"I’m sorry…" I apologized softly.

I could feel the muscles of his chest and arm stiffen before he let out a soft sigh and turned his head back my way. His blues eyes met mine and the gentleness in them had returned to my utmost relief.

"You don’t truly understand the role that you play in this, do you?" Hayden asked as his blue eyes held mine.

Of course, I didn’t. It’s like I’ve been trying to solve this whole riddle all by myself and the ones who held the clues did very little to help me.

"Care to educate me a little on the issue?" I asked, once again trying my luck.

"I don’t really understand what Ethan is thinking and I don’t want to. He’s crazy and it doesn’t make sense to try to understand a crazy person," Hayden said as he stared up at the room’s ceiling.

I followed his gaze as my eyes glanced up at the mirror ceiling above. The image of us laying together in bed greeted me and I was pleasantly surprised to see how close we were. Hayden’s arm around me pulled me even closer to him.

"I see…" I mumbled.

"That doesn’t mean that I don’t have my guesses as to what he’s thinking. When Ethan was young, he pretty much agreed to everything that Jack told him and everything that Jack wanted…" Hayden said before trailing off.

"But…thing have changed?" I stated my guess.

"Definitely. He grew up and although he must be obsessed with your father, he’s started to think on his own and I know for a fact that he’s come up with different ways to achieve Jack’s vision…even if somethings go against what Jack wanted…" Hayden explained his theory without much passion.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, not quite fully understanding what he meant.

"For instance, Jack doesn’t want you involved in the mafia world. Ethan either doesn’t care about that or he has decided that he wants to involve you. That’s why you’re here now…" Hayden explained.

"I’m definitely here now…" I replied. That’s for sure.

I waited for Hayden to further explain what I didn’t understand especially the role that I played in all of this. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine what role I could possibly have in this issue between the two gangs. In my point of view, I was a very insignificant figure with completely no influence on anything or anyone. Perhaps, I had a little influence on Hayden when he was in a good mood.

"I told you before that Jack wanted me to become a doctor. That pretty much meant that he didn’t want me to be involved much with the gang after my brother succeeding my father’s role," Hayden said, and his hand began stroking the small hair around my ear again.

He must have been doing it absentmindedly, so he probably didn’t know just how soothing I found his gentle caresses. I snuggled closer to him as I paid even closer attention to his words.

"It’s a guess on my part but Ethan probably wants me to take over Torex. That is what Harvey believes in as well. Ethan became a lot more active in gang matters after news of my brother’s death spread like wildfire after his supposedly passing. Since my father had a second son, which is me, it didn’t impact Torex’s standing much because the line of succession was still secured," Hayden explained.

I wasn’t sure if I was getting this right but if I had to guess the direction where this was headed then…

"Ethan wanted to unite the two gangs after he heard that you will be taking over?" I asked as I lifted my head in surprise.

"Correct. Although he knew that Jack didn’t want me to be too involved, Ethan probably thought of it as the perfect opportunity to make Jack’s dream of uniting the two gangs come true. The two gangs led by the boys that he brought up or something like that…" Hayden said.

I could sense the disgust that he had at the thought. In a very twisted way, I guess I could see why Ethan came up with the idea that he did. However, there was a very important piece of information that Ethan and the world doesn’t know: Harvey is still very much alive.

"But…Harvey is still alive…" I murmured as my brows furrowed in a mix of frustration and confusion.

"Exactly…" Hayden said before he started laughing.

I lifted my head up and stared down at Hayden’s laughing face. His chest and body shook at the impact as he continued to laugh even harder. I wasn’t certain of what Hayden was thinking or seeing while he laughed like that because I couldn’t find anything in this whole mess funny.

--To be continued…