♞

"WHERE ARE YOU?" JEAN - Max's second cousin and the CEO of Sinclaire Corp. - asks over the phone.

     Max, who's smoking on the balcony at Viktor's apartment, slowly exhales the cigarette smoke from his mouth and completely ignores his cousin's question.

     Everyone has been looking for him, even his family, but Max has remained hidden to cool his head. And even though he doesn't want to admit it, he's grateful for Viktor's assistance, especially since Viktor's personal guards would even send him meals three times a day, which he sometimes would barely even touch.

     Though he's grateful for the king's kind gesture, Max is very much aware that he has to pay a price for such kindness. He doesn't know what it is yet, but he knows that Viktor wouldn't be so kind about it in the future. There's bound to be a catch.

    "Max, it's almost two weeks now. Isn't it about time you return? Or are you actually planning to go AWOL for a month?" Jean continues to ask, but like earlier, Max doesn't answer him.

     Jean sighs in frustration. The two were silent for a while, but afterward, Jean asks again, "Hey, I heard from some of the directors. It hasn't really been announced publicly yet, but is it true that the chairman is going to marry Edith Thompson?"

     "Yes," Max finally answers.

     "That son of a bitch," Jean curses underneath his breath. "So your chances of inheriting the company is getting slimmer, huh? He must have planned it."

     Max doesn't say anything, but he chuckles and throws away what's left of his cigarettes.

     "I want to be optimistic and tell you that in a heartbeat, your brother will no doubt give you the rights to the company if we simply asked him to, but I'm a hundred percent sure that that's the last thing that you want to happen," Jean assumes, which he was right about.

     As much as Max loves the company, he loves his brother too. Like what Jean said, Marcus would give it away with no hesitation if Max asked for it, or maybe even just give it to him without the need to ask for it. But that's not something that Max wants, and that fact alone pisses Max even more because his only weakness is his brother, and his father Denzel is well aware of it.

     "If I want to take the company, I have to take it on my own terms. I told Marcus that he should take whatever our father intends to give him. I will not put my pride down and suddenly take back my words," Max says with complete sincerity, remembering the time he and Marcus were able to talk in private during his first day of school.

     "So what are you planning to do?" Jean asks.

     Max was silent for a second. He pulls out another cigarette stick from the pack and lights it up. As he inhales the smoke that warmed his entire body, Max looks at the city lights in front of him.

     "Hidden stocks," Max finally answers, the smoke running out of his mouth as he said it.

     Jean was surprised by what he heard that he couldn't immediately respond. But after composing himself, he asks back, "D-did you just say...hidden stocks?"

     Max inhales the smoke in one go like he was intentionally trying to damage his lungs. The gust of smoke enters his body, and Max almost ended up choking from it. He coughs and throws the cigarette away, and then he grabs a bottle of beer and chugs it down.

     "You heard what I said," he answers as he slams the bottle down on a round table. "I thought about this for days. Running a business can get your hands dirty, and I've known that since I was twelve. As great of an empire our company is, we needed the support of the underground business world to keep the company running. That's where hidden stocks come in, and hidden stocks are one of the reasons why the Sinclaire Corporation is unbreakable," Max explains, and Jean aggressively shakes his head in denial.

     "No, I am not letting you involve yourself with that part of the business. The shareholders of the hidden stocks are dangerous people. Even your father couldn't control them. The only person they trusted was your grandfather, Ulysses Leigh Lemieux. Their connection with him is the only reason why they're still bounded to us," Jean explains.

     Max knows of the risk, and one wrong move can be fatal. If he does something wrong, those people can leave their company, which will greatly affect their stocks. But if they anger them, that will be a completely different conversation.

     "You're forgetting one important thing Jean," Max says as he leans at the balustrade. "I'm a Lemieux too, and I will gain their support and regain my place as the rightful heir on my own terms. If my father won't give it to me...I'll take it with an iron fist. Blood won't matter anymore," Max says with conviction, repeating the exact words that Viktor told him before.

     Jean sighs on the other line. He wanted to convince Max not to continue with this, but he knew that there was no backing out now, especially when Max has already made up his mind about it.

     "Alright, I trust you. I'll pull some strings and arrange something. Just make sure you don't mess this up, Max. If we lose the support of our hidden stocks, a lot of things may happen to the company, and you will end up with nothing," Jean emphasizes, and Max nods his head in understanding.

     "Thank you, Jean, I knew I can count on you."

     "This is seriously getting out of hand. I always suspected this day would come, that the Sinclaire's would try to take everything away from us, but I didn't know that your father would be the one to initiate it," Jean honestly says with a sigh.

     "Jean, if you aren't careful your position as CEO might be taken too. Who knows, maybe they'll give it to Edith," Max says, making Jean's expression turn sour like Max just said a tasteless joke.

     "That's not going to happen because I'm not going to let it happen. Half of the board of directors is still on the Lemieux side. I have done everything I can to get to this position and I'm not letting them take it," Jean answers, making Max smile.

     "That's good to know," Max says before taking one of the bottles and realizing that it was already empty.

     Max sighs and turns around to get another bottle in the fridge, but to his surprise, he spots a man standing in the living room with both hands inside his pockets. That man was none other than vice president Gavriil Alexeev.

     Max was so surprised that he accidentally lets go of his bottle, causing it to shatter on the floor, and immediately making Gavriil look back at him.

     "Max? What was that? Are you alright?" Jean asks at the end of the line.

     "Jean, I'll call you back," Max replies instead. He doesn't even wait for Jean to answer as he ends the call to look back at the unexpected visitor.

     "H-How did you get in?" Max asks with complete shock and confusion.

     Gavriil doesn't answer Max's question, but he suddenly approaches Max and grabs his arm, pulling him away from the shards on the floor so Max wouldn't get hurt by them. 

     Max didn't appreciate the gesture though as he angrily pulls his hand away from Gavriil, staring at him with his brows furrowed.

     Gavriil stares back at the furious Max with a blank expression, but he was actually observing him. Max has dark circles around his eyes, and it's only been 2 weeks but he already looks thinner. Gavriil then notices the pile of used cigarette sticks and beer bottles on the floor. It was no doubt that Max has stopped taking care of himself ever since he got here.

     "I thought you didn't want to be a chain-smoker?" Gavriil asks instead, instantly annoying Max even more.

     "What are you doing here? How did you get in here?" Max asks again but with a more serious tone this time.

     Gavriil looks back at Max and slowly approaches him. "Viktor told me."

     "Vik...why would Viktor even-" Before Max could finish his sentence, Gavriil suddenly cuts him off and says, "Return to J.S High. Your protectors have been restless. I think 2 weeks of cooling your head is enough."

     The mere mention of J.S High made Max feel guilty inside, but he brushes the feeling away. "I have more important matters to attend to than J.S High."

     "Is this how you'll repay the people who trusted you?" Gavriil immediately asks as soon as he heard of Max's answer, and that question alone frustrates Max even more. But even though he didn't want to admit it, Gavriil has a point. He understands that he needs time alone to think for himself, but to pretend like there aren't people who are waiting for him is just selfish, especially to the people who trusted him the most.

     "You could have at least reassure them that you're alright, instead of just drowning yourself with alcohol and cigarettes. Has the great Maximilian fallen to this extent?" Gavriil continues to ask, and this time, it was Max's turn to move closer to him.

     "You don't know me, so don't go spitting shit about me. You have no idea of what I've been going through," Max says, his voice mixed with pain and anger.

     Gavriil, who has always looked calm and collected, starts showing an expression that Max wasn't expecting to see. It was soft and gentle. It was almost like he knew exactly what Max was feeling.

     "What makes you certain that I don't?" Gavriil asks, and Max clenches his fist as he stares down at Gavriil's almost hazy eyes.

     The apartment falls silent as the two stares at each other without saying a single word. But the more Max would stare at Gavriil, the more that his chest would ache. It felt like something was fogging up his memory. It felt like there was something that he had to remember but he just couldn't.

     "Enough with these games. What are you doing Alexeev? Why do you care if I don't return to J.S High?" Max finally asks.

     Gavriil becomes quiet for a second that Max almost thought that he wasn't going to answer him. But as Gavriil takes a long deep breath, he lifts his hand up and tries to reach out for Max's face, but he immediately pulls himself away and clenches his fist as if he remembered something unpleasant that instantly made him stop.

     "You are someone...that I desperately wanted to protect," Gavriil finally answers.

     Max wasn't expecting an answer, and he especially wasn't expecting that answer. But for some unknown reason, despite the fact that he doesn't know where such a bold statement came from, a tear still fell from Max's eyes, and something inside him felt like it was in great pain.

     "Why can't I remember?" Max asks, immediately letting the tear slide down his cheek. He didn't know what it meant, yet he felt the vice president's sincerity and courage to be able to say such a thing. Gavriil wanted to say something else, but Max takes a few steps back instead. And just before Gavriil could even stop him, Max accidentally steps on the shards of glass that's on the floor.

     Max curses underneath his breath and tries to move away from the shards, making him stumble back.

     Gavriil immediately runs to his side to help him, but Max tries to push him away. "L-Let go..."

     Blood marks from Max's feet stain the cold floor as Max tries to continue to push Gavriil off of him. But as he was trying to do so, his vision suddenly becomes blurry all of a sudden, and in an instant, he collapses at Gavriil's arm.

     Gavriil holds his ground and hugs Max tightly so Max wouldn't fall. This has been the first time that Gavriil has ever touched or even been this close to Max again. He was so close to him that he could even smell the cigarette and alcohol on him.

     As the room falls silent, Gavriil looks down at Max and removes the hair from his face so he could wipe the tear on Max's cheek with his index finger. "Leigh..." he softly whispers, as if he wanted to know how it would feel like to call that name out loud again.

     Max obviously doesn't answer, so Gavriil takes a deep breath and lifts Max up so he could carry him instead, surprising him even more because he wasn't expecting him to be this light. "I'd scold you, but I blame all this on Viktor instead since he's the one who allowed you to have all those cigarettes and alcohol," Gavriil says to the unconscious Max as he walks towards the bedroom.

     As Gavriil gently places Max on the bed, he looks at Max and tries to touch him for the second time. But like earlier, and like the time at the clinic, Gavriil stops himself and pulls his hand away. "It saddens me that you don't remember," Gavriil tells him. "But I know damn well that it's better that you didn't, or we both wouldn't have been able to move on from such a tragedy."

...

Max slowly opens his eyes when he felt something damp touch his forehead. As his vision becomes clearer, he realizes that Gavriil was actually standing on his side, wiping his sweat with a wet cloth.

     "What are you doing?" Max asks with a weak voice.

     "You're finally awake," Gavriil answers instead. "I bought food for you, and some medicine that will hopefully make you feel better."

     Max tries to sit up, so Gavriil immediately touches his back to assist him. "You shouldn't move too much," he tells him.

     Max ignores the comment and notices that the bruises on his feet were already patched up. He looks back at the vice president and sees him staring back at him, so Max immediately looks away from him.

     The room falls silent as Max stares at the view outside the window with a blank expression. It was already morning, which only means that Gavriil has been with him all night.

     "I want you to leave," Max finally says.

     Gavriil takes a deep breath as he takes a seat at the edge of the bed and seriously asks him, "What if I don't want to?"

     Max clenches on the sheets, but he still doesn't look back at Gavriil. He wanted to feel something, something like a sense of importance, but every time he'd look at Gavriil, his chest only ached. There was only pain.

     Gavriil sees Max's reaction, making him sigh again. "I have nothing else to say to you so you don't have to worry. For now, you should rest," Gavriil then reassures him. "But there is something else that I want to inform you about."

     Max doesn't ask what it was, so Gavriil continues, "I overheard your phone conversation last night when I was waiting in the living room."

     When Max heard of what Gavriil said, he couldn't help but chuckle as he sarcastically asks, "Should I kill you then to keep your mouth shut? Or should I spare you for taking care of me?"

     "Hidden stocks...I know someone who holds a lot of power regarding hidden stocks," Gavriil answers instead, and that alone finally made Max look back at him with his eyes wide from shock.

     "What do you mean?"

     Gavriil looks straight at Max's eyes and seriously tells him, "Charles Justin Mills. His family holds the largest tobacco company in the world, and their company has the largest hidden stocks in the country."

     "T-That can't be..." Max says in disbelief. He didn't know how to react, or how to feel about that newfound information, but what Gavriil said next helped clear up a path that Max thought was already blocked.

     "Other than the hidden stocks, Cj Mills is also the leader of rank 5, Cigarettes. A brotherhood you should be able to conquer next."

- END -