Chapter 93 - Does family mean nothing to you?

Notes:

- At the time I'm writing this, it has been a solid year and a bit, so forgive me if I forget details or add information that contradicts the information given prior. Everything is slowly coming back to me.

- Unfortunately, this had been the only chapter I had worked on as I had lost motivation on writing anything. Maybe because I got burnt out with the vast number of words I actually wrote up till now, or just my education and life got in the way. I cannot promise that I am back and up and running to continue this story but I'm posting this chapter in hopes of motivating and pushing future me (who lowkey has undiagnosed OCD) to complete the unfinished story. If you see this story status change back to uncomplete/ongoing, it means I'm actively working on the chapters again ^.^

- I kind of forgot the details of how the second couple's story is going to go, only just the general gist so you guys would still have to wait a while even if I got back into it.

- Once again, thank you to everyone who read till now or even those who dropped it half way. Without you guys, this story would've probably never reached chapter 93.

- No beta so forgive my mistakes.

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POV: Aiden

This cannot be happening right now.

But before we get to that, let's talk about how my best fucking friend FINALLY got his shit together and finally got with the man he had been pining after for what feels like a decade. Actually, scratch that. He didn't get his shit together. I got his shit together.

Both of those fuckers should be grovelling and worshiping me till the end of dawn. Except, all I got was a simple text message saying thanks and another saying not to bother them for a few days so they can have hot, steamy, uninterrupted sex. Honestly, I feel like I'm not appreciated enough these days and should just ditch these losers.

Whatever, as long as Nero (and I guess Leo) is happy. I think it'd been around a week since they'd entered their intense honeymoon stage. Like seriously, you'd think Nero would be all against PDA and at first glance, it looked like he was. But I swear that guy was secreting goading on his boyfriend to be bolder each time. Like cute but also stop before you both get arrested for public indecency.

As much as I complain though, I'm glad Nero is open to me about their juicy endeavours and whatnot. I'm a nosy bitch who wants to know about my best friend's successful love life so I could ignore my own unsuccessful one.

While Erwin and I were still working together, we haven't properly spoken or interacted outside of the work context. It's horrifying awkward each time we're in each other's presence and my chest throbs painfully every time I'm in his vicinity. I'm constantly reminded of how my shitty high standards constantly put me a position of one-sided, painful pining with no resolution whatsoever.

As if Erwin could love this mess.

So yeah, needless to say... I've been a grumpy fellow with a menacing aura for a while.

And that aura got a whole lot worse due to the scumbag sitting across from me. This leads back to the whole "this cannot be happening right now" pizazz.

My eldest brother was sitting across me. You know, the one that made my childhood a living hell and destroyed any sort of existing self-esteem. Yeah, that fucker.

Now you may be wondering... why didn't I just NOT go and not say no? After all, I gained somewhat of a backbone.

And to that I say, I had been physically and forcefully dragged out of my own home to a café nearby so he could say whatever the fuck he wanted to say.

We had been at this café for 15 minutes, orders put in and the damn guy still hadn't said anything. He just stared at me. This was turning into a huge waste of time (as if it wasn't already) and I had expressed this bluntly.

"This is a waste of time. I'm going." I stood to get out but Marcel quickly interrupted my movement by quietly but sternly replying, "Sit back down."

I scoffed. "You know, I don't I have to listen to you anymore right? I don't live under you."

Marcel returned a knowing smirk. "You don't but you voluntarily will sit down and listen if I mention that I can get your grandpa involved."

Oh yeah, another reason for my shitty mood these days. The fucker and his family has gotten my grandpa hostage.

I could practically feel steam come out of my ears but I silently sat down anyway.

"So what do you want?"

Marcel hummed. "Straight to the point I see."

I raised one of my eyebrows. "You seriously don't expect me to small talk you to the point, right? I want nothing to do with you so why the fuck would I want to speak more than I have to?"

My brother's eye's grew colder. "Language."

I just rolled my eyes and silent mocked him.

Marcel continued to glare before turned his face back to neutral. "Well, I'm here to ask you of a favour."

That caught me off guard. "A... favour?"

"Well... not really a favour since you can't actually decline and you have no option but to go through with it."

Ah, that sounds more like it. "What in the ever-loving fuck can I do for you?"

"Get married."

I blinked once. "Excuse me?" Had I heard correctly?

"You heard me. You need to get married to the person of our desire."

Apparently I had heard correctly. "Uh, no I don't?"

"You do if you want grandpa back safe and sound in your hands"

I spluttered in shock and sheer disbelief. "You mother- are you saying you weren't going to keep him safe while he is in YOUR hands?!"

My brother steamrolled on like I never even said anything. That fucking asshole. "I'll even throw in a bonus and guarantee that none of us will ever come near him again after your marriage." He smiled like he was some saint.

Again, I was blinking in shock of his shamelessness and this unexpected predicament. "Do you seriously think THAT would make any of this blackmailing any better??????"

"Hmm... I wouldn't call it blackmailing. Call it... incentive maybe."

"Incen-" I inhaled deeply and exhaled just as deep to calm myself down. I looked him dead in the eye. "You know, I can just go get him myself, right? I've pretty much found him and you all saw the other night that I'm more than capable to take him from your grasp and keep him away."

Marcel's fake smile dropped but by looking at his stance, apparently he still had the upper hand. "Oh, you could certainly try but what would be faster? You travelling to where he is, or me giving a single call to my... employee who's on standby to put a bullet through his head whenever I ask for it?"

I froze. This son of a cock sucking, mother fucking, bitchless fuck.

"F-Family truely means n-nothing to you, huh?" I couldn't help it. All the guts and confidence dwindled away, leaving me with a gaping hole in my chest and closing off the only door I had to hope. To think my loving and caring grandpa would be in a situation where his own kin would rather see him dead than alive. "You know, he loved all of you so much."

My brother sneered back saying, "And then YOU became his favourite child and therefore everything he built will end up with you."

I slammed my hands down on the table. "How MANY TIMES do I have to SCREAM that I want NOTHING to do with your FUCKING family or business. Your fuckface of a father knows this and grandpa knows this. I ain't getting shit and we're keeping it that way."

"Lies!" Marcel hissed. "In this world, it's the survival of the fittest and words mean shit. Everyone is a fucking liar and you're probably itching to take everything that is ours as revenge for your upbringing."

I leaned back on my chair and looked at my brother with – for the first time – sadness and pity. This pitiful man had grown up to the point of loneliness and has no comprehensibility of the concept of trust or friendship or maybe even happiness.

Apparently, me looking at him irked him more than anything else I've ever said, if we're going by how he was clenching his jaws and fists.

"You know, for once, I feel really fucking sorry for you. I truly do."

This time, it's Marcel's turn to slam the table and stand up. "You WILL marry who I tell you to or your grandpa is gone." And with that, he stomped away to the direction of his car.

He's your grandpa too, you ungrateful prick.

I remained sitting, processing all the information from today and thinking about how to go forward with my life from now on. I thought of the past and the present and how much of it was going to change.

I thought of that man and finally, finally accept that... it was never meant to be and it never will be.

I looked at the gloomy sky, ready to cry whenever I'm ready to do so.

At least I won't be completely alone.

Sayonara, my paradise.

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(T/N: I'm sorry I had to end it like that. Aiden is my shits and gigs character. Props to anyone who can figure out where that reference is from.

I'll also explain why Aiden specifically needs to get married in the later chapters.)