Bruce was in his study where he had intended to review the recent projects of Wayne Tech to take his mind off the current turmoil his life had gotten stuck in after his father's death. But work was not enough of a distraction to keep him away from all those perturbing thoughts that swirled in his head.

The knock on the door made him look up and he saw Alfred, the family butler and one of the very few people he completely trusted, enter with a tea trolley.

That meant the clock had struck four and yet again Bruce hadn't been able to do anything productive since morning. The questions in his head were not letting him concentrate and he knew the only way he would be able to focus would be after he got his answers.

Realizing that Alfred could possibly answer a few of those questions, he spoke up, "Alfred... What do you know about Uncle Alan?"

The old man paused, slightly surprised at the unexpected question, "any specific reason for you to ask, Master Bruce?"

His brow furrowed slightly, "not really, just curiosity I think."

Alfred nodded, giving him the answer without further delay though a nostalgic expression had flickered in his eyes, "Master Alan was a fine young man in his day. Your father was very fond of him and despite them being half brothers, both of them never treated each other any different." 

"Half brothers?"

"Your grandfather had him out of wedlock. But his wife insisted to bring the child to the family and raise him as their own."

"Then who was Uncle Alan's mother?"

He shrugged slightly, "I only know what I've heard, Sir. And no one mentioned her in the Manor. Though I do know that Master Alan was allowed to visit her whenever he wanted to. He went to stay with her for a week once every three months or so until she died."

"Right... And what was Uncle Alan like?" Curiosity to find out more about the uncle he had never known made him ask another question.

"He was quite the gentleman and had exquisite taste in music and art. Before you, Master Alan had been looking after the major portion of Wayne Enterprises while your father was more interested in politics. Those were good times for the family, but good times don't last as long as we might wish for."

Alfred had paused at that, eyes glimmering slightly as he recalled the last days of the younger Wayne brother. It still pained to think that such a fine man had been reduced to a crazed state where he had been extremely terrified of owls and that fear had ended up in his death too.

"What happened to him? I mean... Why did he end up committing suicide?"

Alfred shook his head, the nostalgia turning into sadness, "no one knows that for certain, Sir. He had disappeared from Gotham for eight years and people accused him of running away with Alastair Vikander's wife..."

Bruce's ears perked up at that name, "you mean, Lavina's mother?"

"Yes, Master Bruce," he resumed, "whether the rumors were true or not is still unconfirmed. But after your father brought him back, he wasn't in a stable condition. He was always afraid that someone would come for him and kill him. That thought probably drove him to ending his own life as well."

"Strange," Bruce mused, pondering over those words as well as how he had seen Lavina back at the family cemetery a few days ago.

Ever since then, he couldn't shrug off the thought that there was some connection between her and his uncle.

"Say if he did run away with Lavina's mother, could Lavina be his daughter instead?" He finally voiced out the question that had been plaguing him most.

Alfred was surprised at the abrupt question and shook his head again, "no, Sir. Miss Vikander has her father's eyes. She is not Master Alan's daughter."

"Oh," a sigh of relief escaped him because the thought of her being his cousin had been disturbing considering their past history.

"Master Bruce, may I ask you a question instead?"

He looked up, shaken out of his thoughts that had traveled down another track, "yes, you may."

"Are you and Miss Vikander not engaged anymore?"

Bruce knew that question had to come up sooner or later and since he had been hiding the truth from his mother, he had been feeling a lot burdened about it. Confiding in Alfred might relieve some of that burden, he thought, so he decided to answer truthfully.

"You're right. We called off the engagement a month ago," he replied, the expression on his face unreadable, "we were having some issues so we mutually decided to part our ways. But I couldn't tell it to Mother because she would not be able to take it as of now. You know her health has declined a lot after Father's death and I can't risk giving her any other shock. So... I asked Lavina to keep visiting here and not tell her anything until the time is right and she agreed. So for Mother, we are still engaged. But in reality, that chapter is over."

Alfred could see that in spite of the emotionless look on his face, those pale blue eyes glimmered with a soft sadness. He could see that breaking the engagement had hurt Bruce even though the man was trying his best not to let it show.

"Love is a mysterious feeling, Master Bruce," Alfred remarked, wise old eyes looking at him with a mix of concern and understanding, "believe it or not, I can see both of you feel the same way for one another. So hearing about you calling off the engagement has been quite a shock."

Bruce sighed, "I don't know about her but I can honestly not see a future with anyone else."

"Miss Vikander is a very shrewd woman," Alfred resumed and Bruce listened to him closely, knowing that the man had a keen observation, "and from all I have seen of her, she is fiercely protective of the people she holds dear. It seems to me that the reason behind her not wanting to be engaged to you anymore has much more to do with your well being than you can assess as of now."

Those words did not make sense to him but it seemed as if Alfred knew exactly what he was talking about and had stated that after full conviction. 

Still Bruce was confused, "what do you mean, Alfred? She told me she cheated on me and she can no longer stay bound to our engagement. That was all."

"Not exactly," the old man pointed out, "she had to give you some reason to call off the engagement and she chose that one. But I believe that the reason she gave is not entirely true. It seems to me that she is in her way trying to keep you safe."

"But from what?" Pale blue eyes flickered in uncertainty, "what is she trying to keep me safe from?"

"Herself," the answer took Bruce by alarm but the old man had said it so calmly as if it was the most natural thing to say, "she is protecting you from herself, Sir."

***