♞

MAX STOLE THE CAR keys from his butler and drove away without saying a single word to his grandmother or to any of his family members that were still at the Sinclaire mansion.

      After his conversation with his father, the only thing that Denzel told him were the words, "I'm sorry," but he didn't address anything else after that.

     Max thought that nothing would ever make him waver; that nothing that his father would ever do would make him feel disappointed in him because his expectations of him were so low ever since he was young. But this was a plot twist that he never expected. He should have set his expectations of him even lower.

     "I fucking hate you!" Max shouts like a whiny kid while hitting the steering wheel as he drives farther away from where Denzel and Edith were.

     Max tries to compose himself, gripping on the steering wheel while taking deep breaths. Max's mind was clouded, and he was filled with so much emotion that he doesn't even know where he's going. But one thing is for sure...

     "I need a drink," he says as he stares at the road ahead of him. He then remembers the time he and his friends went to a pub called "The Mask". Max didn't even think about the consequences, but he immediately sets the GPS to the said location and drove off.

     As Max arrives at the exclusive pub, Max parks the car at the side and angrily removes his necktie before throwing it to the passenger seat. He then heads out and walks straight inside.

     Like before, the students who were there instantly recognize him. Some even wanted to approach and congratulate him for his victory on Mr. Brains & Brawn, but the dark aura surrounding Max instantly made them decide not to.

     Max wasn't even saying anything, but everyone knew that he wasn't in the mood to converse with anyone at the moment.

     "Give me the hardest one that you have," Max immediately tells the bartender as he takes a seat at the bar area.

     The bartender looks at Max but doesn't question him. It doesn't even take long for him to mix something up for him. "Here you are sir," the bartender says with a smile as he slides Max a glass that was filled with black and red liquid.

    "Enjoy, but please drink moderate-" Before the bartender could even finish his sentence, Max grabs the glass and chugs it down, surprising not only the bartender but the people who were sitting close to him as well.

     Max wipes his mouth afterward and slides the glass back to the bartender. "Every time I put this glass down, another one has to be ready for me," he instructs him.

     "Sir, I've seen people drown themselves here, but this drink is a bit-"

     Max doesn't say anything and suddenly pulls something out from his pocket. He slams it at the counter, and everyone who was able to see it practically gasped from shock. It was an exclusive black credit card. Only twenty people in the entire country have it, and apparently, Max is one of those people.

     "I can pay. You can even triple the price," Max says, his tone and expression serious.

     The bartender wanted to decline the offer, but when he saw the name that's written on the black card, he couldn't help but gulp in terror. If the students of the brotherhood houses know Max as this capable white uniform, the people outside their school know Max as a very powerful boy from a very powerful family. And one thing that he's learned after working in this pub for two years is that you should never get caught up with the customers since most of them are apparently heirs, and the workers here won't stand a chance even if they're just students.

     "R-right away sir," the bartender says in defeat. And like what Max requested, every time he chugs the drink down, another glass was immediately waiting for him.

     The students who were there were looking at Max with curiosity, confusion, and even worry, but as time went by, they knew better than to disturb him.

     After a couple more drinks and a few more hours of staring at the distance, Max grabs his fifteenth glass. He takes a sip, and his head instantly aches. He looks around as his vision starts turning, and like his body finally gave up on him, he falls to the counter and passes out.

     "And he's finally down..." the bartender says with a sigh, massaging his temple as he stares at the lifeless boy in front of him.

     It was already a bit late so there wasn't anyone left at the pub anymore. Max was sleeping at the counter, and the bartender takes his card and charges him with every glass that he took.

     The drink that Max ordered was actually called the King's Drink, and it was one of the hardest mixes in the pub and the most expensive as well. But when the bartender realized that Max wasn't going to stop drinking anytime soon, he secretly changed the drink to a lighter one so Max wouldn't end up dead. He figured that after Max's fifth glass of the King's Drink, he would already be too drunk to notice the change, which he was actually right about.

     The bartender was just surprised that Max was still able to drink ten lighter drinks more after that.

     "What am I supposed to do with you? Will I be sent to jail if I touch you?" the bartender seriously asks while staring at Max.

     The bartender was about to call for one of the waiters to see if Max has his phone with him so they could check for his emergency contacts, but then the bell from the entrance door chimes, signaling him that someone went in. The bartender gets ready to greet the customer, but when he saw who he was, he instantly stiffens.

     The bartender actually doesn't really know who the customer is, and he has only seen him twice or thrice before. He always visited the pub at this time where there weren't any customers left, and his aura always terrified the bartenders and the waiters.

     "W-Welcome sir..."

     The man doesn't say anything and ignores the greeting. But as he was about to walk past him, he suddenly stops and looks at the boy who was practically dead at the counter.

     "Sinclaire?" He asks, approaching him.

     "You know him, sir?"

     The man doesn't say anything and pulls Max's body so he could see his face better. When he confirmed that he really was Max, he looks back at the bartender and asks, "What was he drinking?"

     The bartender doesn't say anything, but instead, he gives him the list of everything that Max drank.

     "Was he celebrating his victory or was he trying to kill himself?" the man asks at no one in particular. "Is he with someone?"

     "No sir. We'll try to wake him, but I think that won't be possible, considering his current state," the bartender politely answers, and the man stares at Max, deciding on what he's supposed to do with him.

     "Has he paid for his drinks?" The man continues to ask, and the bartender nods and hands him Max's black card.

     The man takes the card from the bartender's hand, and without saying anything else, he grabs Max's arm and drapes it around his neck before carrying him on his back like some kind of kid who fell asleep at the sofa, and the dad has to bring him back to his room.

     "Alright white uniform...let's go," the man says as he adjusts himself and heads out of the pub with Max lifelessly lying on his back, not knowing where he's even heading.

...

Max slowly opens his eyes, only to be greeted with an intense headache.

     "Shit," Max complains, remembering the time he went to the pub and completely blacking out after that. He takes a deep breath and slowly sits up. Max then scratches his eyes, and when he opens them back, he realizes that he was actually in an unfamiliar room.

     "What the-"

     "You're finally awake," a voice suddenly says.

     Max immediately looks to the side and almost fell off the bed when he saw who the person was.

     "V-Viktor?!" Max asks from shock.

     Viktor, who's casually sitting on a sofa drinking tea and reading a book, looks at Max and says, "Before you suspect anything weird, I left you here and went back home last night. I just arrived back an hour ago and decided to have tea, which leads us to this."

     "Why...why did you bring me here?" Max asks, dumbfounded by how strange this situation escalated.

     Viktor looked as calm as he always was. He gently puts his book down and takes a sip of his tea first before looking back at Max like nothing about this situation was weird at all. "A very pretentious elite will be mad at me if I left you in such a state," he answers, only to make Max look at him with his brows furrowed in confusion.

     Viktor chuckles and finally stops stalling. "You were drunk-dead last night. I would have driven you back to your mansion, but I thought that you might have actually run away, and bringing you back home would have been very awkward. Though it doesn't really matter to me, I don't want to get interrogated by the people at your house either, so I just brought you here."

     Max wanted to question Viktor's decision, but he asks instead, "And where is here exactly?"

     Viktor takes another sip of his tea and stands up from the sofa. "This is one of the flats that I own. I stayed here while our mansion was being renovated. I don't use it anymore, so you can stay here as much as you want," Viktor explains.

      Max nods his head in understanding, but then he realizes what the last sentence was and immediately asks, "What do you mean I can stay here as much as I want?"

     Viktor stands in front of a window, making Max stare at his back instead. "There's someone that you don't want to see right now, is that correct?" he asks, surprising Max even more.

     "I don't know what happened to you, and I'm honestly not interested enough to know, but I am much aware by the fact that you're not the type of person to suddenly go to a pub and get wasted with no apparent reason, especially when you've always maintained this perfect heir image of yours," Viktor explains, still not looking back at Max.

     Max doesn't say anything and continues to stare at Viktor's back as Viktor continues to stare at the view of the city from the window. Viktor always had a proud look on his face, but as he is aware that no one is able to watch or see him, his expression slowly softens.

     "In the past, there were times when I just wanted to disappear and just unwind and be by myself. It's actually ironic now, considering how everyone thinks I'm dead," Viktor shares, and Max couldn't believe that Viktor is just opening this up to him so casually. He almost couldn't recognize him.

     After a few seconds of silence, Viktor finally turns around and faces Max. "I could have left you in the pub or at the gutters for all I care, but I know a defeated man when I see one, and a bit of...kindness...won't hurt."

     "Should I be thankful then?" Max asks.

     Viktor takes a deep breath and places his hands inside his pockets. "I don't need your gratitude, and I don't really care what you decide on. You can leave now and go home, or you could stay here and cool your head. But remember, never decide on something while you're angry. Anger only results in pain," Viktor says, staring at Max deeply in his eyes before finally walking away. He was about to grab the doorknob and leave, but without any hesitation, Max suddenly tells him, "I may not be the heir to the Sinclaire Corporation anymore."

     Viktor, who was reaching out for the doorknob, suddenly stops, his eyes wide from shock after what Max had just revealed.

     "I have done everything I can to secure my position. I've worked day and night, expecting to be the rightful heir to that company, jeopardizing my health and a chance to grow up like a normal kid, but in the end...I get nothing in return," Max openly says, surprising himself as well. He didn't know that he'd be able to open this topic up, but what's more surprising is that he's sharing this with Viktor.

     "I know that what I'm going through doesn't amount to what you've been through but-" Max pauses as tears started pouring out of his eyes again.

     Viktor, who was listening diligently, takes a deep breath and looks back at Max. He pulls something out from his pockets and approaches the devastated heir. Without saying a word, he hands Max a handkerchief.

     Max stares at the handkerchief and sees a Stepanov logo engraved on it. He was hesitant to take it at first, and not because it was from Viktor but because it seemed important. But when Viktor wasn't putting his hand down, Max was forced to take it.

     He uses the handkerchief to wipe his tears, and as he was doing so, Viktor finally speaks. "I'm a Stepanov, so I know how important a family company is to someone. I know because I've also sacrificed a lot to save mine," Viktor tells him. "When we are faced with something impossible, we have to remember one thing..."

     Max looks back at Viktor, waiting for what he's about to say. He wasn't really expecting much from the king, but what he said next was something that Max desperately needed to hear.

     "You cannot steal what is already yours, so take it back with an iron fist. It doesn't matter who stands in the way; whether it's your friend or your family. Let them have a taste of what they stole...and then mercilessly leave them with nothing."

- END -