♞

MARCUS STARES AT THE food that's on his plate with a blank expression on his face. He then looks up, and the long table fit for a dozen people was completely empty. There were delicious dishes in front of him too, but no one was there to eat with him, making the food taste completely bland.

     "Where's your young master?" Marcus asks as he looks at the side where three maids were watching him eat.

     The maids got startled, but the one in the middle immediately takes a step forward and answers, "He has not arrived yet, sir Marcus."

     Marcus doesn't say anything anymore and looks down on his injured hand. He clenches his fist, and the pain immediately escalates in his entire body, but Marcus's expression was completely blank.

     Barely even touching his food, Marcus pushes his plate away and says, "I'm done eating."

     He was about to stand when someone suddenly arrives at the dining room, instantly making the maids bow to him. Marcus looks at the entrance and was surprised to see his little brother Max still wearing his white uniform while Étienne followed behind him.

     "Master Leigh, we thought you would be eating outside. Let us call the chef so we can serve you your dinner," one of the maids says. She was about to head to the kitchen to talk to the chef, but then Max stops her.

     "There's enough food here," Max says as he removes his cap and hands it to his butler before taking a seat in front of Marcus.

     The maid nods her head in understanding while the others immediately set the table for him. While they were doing so, Marcus doesn't say anything and stands from his seat instead so he could take his leave. But before he could even do so, Max immediately says, "Sit."

     Marcus looks at Max with an irritated expression, but Max doesn't look back at him. He didn't want to start anything, so he sat back down like he was a child that just got scolded by his mother.

     The atmosphere between them becomes awkward, but then Marcus looks back at Max with a serious expression and asks, "Where have you been?"

     Max stares at the food in front of him and grabs a slice of fish. As another butler arrives and pours cold water in his glass, Max answers his brother's question for him. "I had to deal with a couple of things in preparation for what will happen tonight."

NOTE: For clarification, Max's seafood allergies fall in the shellfish allergies category (shrimp, crabs, lobsters etc.) Which is why he can eat fish. I actually added that fact because I have seafood allergies myself (I wanted him to suffer too lol) but I'm not allergic to fish (tuna, mackerel etc.). Eating fish was always normal to me so I never explained it better for Max's situation. My bad!

     "Did Cj make a deal with you?"

     Without looking back at him, Max takes a bite of the fish and answers, "Yes, like how you guys expected."

     "What deal did he give you?" Marcus asks next.

     "You'll see," Max tells him before taking a sip of water.

    Marcus continues to stare at him, but Max didn't even exert any effort to look at him or ask him anything about what happened during the battle, so Marcus stands from his seat again and says, "Enjoy your meal then."

    Étienne watches in silence as Marcus makes his way towards the exit. But before Marcus could even take his leave, Max suddenly tells him, "Have you been strangling your Roses again? Or maybe you've been doing them to Jacks now."

     As soon as Marcus heard the question, he immediately turns around and barges towards Max. But before he could even do anything, Étienne grabs his shoulder to stop him. "Let's calm down," he says.

    Marcus ignores the butler and angrily pushes Étienne's hand away before grabbing Max's arm with his injured hand, pulling him off of his seat. The maids gasp from shock, but they were more surprised when they saw Marcus's hand start bleeding.

     "Let's stop acting now Max, it doesn't suit us," Marcus says, the blood from his hand staining Max's white uniform as he continues to grip on his arm. "Stop pretending that you don't really blame me for what's been happening to you. Even if you don't admit it, I know deep down you wish you didn't have a big brother so all this wouldn't have happened at all."

     "Don't go putting words inside my mouth Marcus," Max says, and Étienne immediately nods his head towards the maids, instantly making them bow their heads before heading out of the dining room so they wouldn't be able to hear Max and Marcus's heated conversation.

     "You won't say a single word to me, so let me put them for you. You wanted me to take what father is giving me because you knew I would fail, and my failure will be your revenge against our father, isn't that right?" Marcus asks as he moves closer to his brother. "I'm not a child Max, but you certainly are one, so stop dragging me down with you...I don't care about our promise anymore. I don't give a damn about the Sinclaire family and that godforsaken company, I-"

    Marcus was suddenly cut off when Max suddenly grabs him by the collar. Étienne got ready to push them away from each other, expecting that Max was going to punch his own brother, but to his surprise, Max pulls him towards him and hugs him tightly.

     "W-What are you-"

     "I want my big brother back," Max suddenly says, and as soon as Max said those words, Étienne takes a deep breath and walks out as well to give Max and his brother their needed privacy. The only reason why he stayed in the room is because he knows of Max's current state, and he was afraid that Max would do or say something that he didn't mean to say.

    Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

    "I want to see you smile at me. I want you to pat my head and tell me everything will be alright; to worry about me, to be there for me, and scold me whenever I say or do something wrong," Max sincerely says as he continues to hug Marcus tightly.

     "But do you know why I pushed you away? I pushed you away because whatever I do, even if I keep denying it myself, even if I pretend to be okay, to pretend like I know exactly what I'm doing...I'm slowly turning into the person you despise the most," Max says as a tear finally falls from his eyes.

     "I don't want to be like my mother, but for fuck's sake I'm so lost...I don't know what to do. I'm so ignorant and weak, and I feel like the only way I can endure all this is if I become like her. I'm so scared Marcus, I don't-"

     Max stops midsentence when he felt Marcus finally hugging him back. His arms were wrapped around him, and his warmth felt so familiar that Max's storm instantly calms down.

     Marcus was that important to him.

     "I want my little brother back too," Marcus says, and Max rests his head on his brother's shoulder while Marcus hugs him even tighter.

     "I'm not the best big brother in the world yet I was given the most amazing little brother. I love you Max, more than you know. I don't care if you curse at me, shout at me, hit me; do whatever you want. Just don't leave me like that again," Marcus says as he felt tears forming in his eyes too.

     Max buries himself in his brother's arms, finally letting the tears pour out of his eyes. Everything that happened to him all flows away, making him feel like he was no longer drowning.

     The two brothers didn't say anything else after that, but the silence was something that both of them desperately needed.

     After their moment of silence, and after eating dinner properly, the two went to their study room with Max's butler, Étienne. Marcus stares at Étienne while he treats the wound on his hand. The two of them were sitting on the sofa while Max sat on top of the desk, watching his butler take care of his brother's injured hand.

     "It's a shame I wasn't able to watch you battle. I really wanted to see it, even for once," Max says, making Marcus chuckle.

     "You would only be disappointed. After all, I got shot," Marcus answers back.

     While Max swung his feet like he was a kid, he smiles at Marcus and tells him, "I don't think I'll be disappointed at all. I bet you got shot because you saved someone. That's your personality after all."

     Marcus smiles back, realizing that his brother definitely knows him best. He then looks at the clock and says, "It's already 10 PM. Cj has probably cleared up your article by now."

     "Probably," Max casually adds.

     As Étienne was now wrapping the bandage around Marcus's hand, Marcus suddenly remembers something. "You know, our family advisors said to ignore it, but I am curious about who published the article in the first place. I'm sure it's not the Sinclaire's, considering how a majority of them do not approve of the wedding at all, so they won't risk publishing something like that."

     Max thought about it too, but like his brother, he had no clue who would even want to publish an article that might shame their entire family.

     "The only people who know about this are the members of Jokers and BND. And then there's Ari, Felix, and Ervin. Other than that-" Max pauses just before he could say that Viktor knows about it too. He doesn't know how his brother would react if he finds out that he stayed at one of Viktor's apartments for two weeks.

     "Anyway, it could be anyone. For all we know it could have been your mother, Edith. But rest assured, I know what I have to do now. A single article wouldn't be enough to push me down."

     Marcus looks at Max's relaxed expression and instantly got worried. Max finally told him about the deal Cj made with him, which was something that he and the rest of BND and Jokers already expected, but he couldn't help but worry still.

     "Max, are you sure you can handle being his homeboy? Cj is a very manipulative man, and he has different ways on how to deal with different people," Marcus says with a worried tone.

     Max chuckles to himself and jumps off the desk. With his arms crossed, he walks closer to his brother and tells him, "Who told you guys that I was going to be his homeboy anyway?"

...

Cj was walking down a corridor, dozens of employees bowing to him as he ignores all of them. His secretary follows behind him in silence, and as they were walking, Cj finishes off the cigarette in his mouth before tossing it towards his secretary who was barely able to catch it on time.

     "Any news about the task I gave you earlier?" Cj asks her.

     The two then arrive at an office. Cj's secretary immediately opens the door for him and tells him, "Yes master Charles, I've talked to all the stations, networks, news outlets, and press that the Mills family are connected with."

     Cj and his secretary head inside an office, which was actually Cj's own office. Without saying anything, Cj takes a seat as his secretary stood in front of his desk.

     "Your request was a bit of a rush, but we were able to find out that the CEO of Crimson Entertainment has been having an affair with a famous male actor. We sent the news to all the stations, and I am a hundred percent sure that it will be enough to cover up all the news regarding the young master of the Sinclaire's household," his secretary explains, and Cj couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction.

     "And the article?"

     "Erased. No one will be able to find it anymore. Anyone who republishes it will then face lawsuits."

     Cj couldn't help but chuckle as he looks at his watch. There are still ten minutes left before midnight, and Cj has finally fulfilled his end of the deal with Max. "Get ready to be my new homeboy little Maxy," he says, making his secretary look at him with furrowed brows.

     "Do you want anything else master Charles?" his secretary then asks.

     "Do I want anything else?" Cj asks back as he looks back at his secretary, staring at her from head to toe with a grin on his face. "I'm in a really good mood today Ms. Rose. Do you know what else you could do for me so we could both feel good together?" He asks before licking his lips, making his secretary gulp.

     Ms. Rose was Cj's fourth secretary just this month. She has heard rumors of what type of man he was and how terrifying he could be. They say getting Cj mad was the last thing that you should do to him.

      "I...I don't understand-"

      The room falls silent, and Cj continues to stare at his secretary without saying a single word, terrifying her even more. Ms. Rose could feel sweat form on the side of her forehead as she tries to process what her master meant. But before she could even do anything, a message suddenly pops up from her tablet.

     "E-Excuse me, sir," she says, immediately clicking on the message to see what it was.

     Ms. Rose reads the message, and as soon as she reads the context, she couldn't help but cover her mouth from shock.

     The grin on Cj's face instantly vanishes when he sees his secretary's reaction.

    "What is it?" He asks, now with a more serious tone.

     Cj's secretary turns her tablet off and says, "Sir, I apologize, I'll handle this right away."

    Ms. Rose was about to take her leave, but Cj immediately stands from his seat and grabs hold of her wrist, almost making her entire body tremble. She slowly turns back to her master, and when she saw the menacing look on his face, she immediately bows and says, "I apologize master Charles. I have greatly failed you."

    Cj's hold on his secretary's wrist becomes tighter, making Ms. Rose wince in pain.

     "Master, I...I'm r-really-"

     Just before his secretary could start begging on her knees, Cj grabs the remote on his desk and turns the television on. And the moment he turned it on, Max's face was on the news.

     "Yesterday, an article was released stating that the young heir to Sinclaire Corp., Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire, was no longer running for the chairman seat of the said luxury hotel and casino company. The family has not denied nor confirmed any of the news until today," a news reporter reveals, making Cj's eyes widen from shock.

     "The young heir has finally released a statement saying: It is true, my rights to the company have been renounced. I will not hide nor cower for I have done unimaginable things to earn that title. Though it is with a heavy heart that I admit that my family has betrayed me, I will definitely earn back their trust and make them realize why I deserve to be the next chairman."

     A picture of Max was shown on the screen, and beside it was the exact words that the reporter just read. Cj couldn't help but angrily grip on the remote that he's holding. He was gripping on it so much that it could literally break.

     "As the reason for all this was not disclosed, we tried to hear the side of Maximilian's family about his statement regarding their said betrayal, but their family's representative made it clear that they will not comment about this matter. John, back to you..."

     Cj takes a deep breath and changes the channel, and then he changes it again, and again, and again, and all of them were about Max.

     The room falls silent for a second, but then Cj angrily throws the remote on the screen, making his secretary shriek from shock.

     Cj was panting heavily as he stares at the broken television. And as the television was still able to show Max's face despite the cracks, Cj stares back at the heir and says, "You sly little fox." He then looks at his watch, telling him that it was already midnight.

     For the first time ever, Cj was not able to fulfill his deal.

     Ms. Rose looks at her master and tries to approach him, but then Cj starts laughing out of nowhere, confusing her even more. She wanted to say something to him, but then Cj stops laughing and angrily shouts, "Get out of my face! Now!"

     Ms. Rose flinches, but she immediately bows and runs out of the office.

     As soon as he was left alone, Cj brushes his hair back with his fingers, messing up his perfectly waxed hair as he laughs again as if he has finally lost it. Cj was laughing with no filter, but this time, his laughter was taunting, almost like he was ready for the challenge.

     Cj walks closer to the screen as he continues to stare at Max's face. "You really are like our old president...how annoying."

     As the broken t.v continues to show the news about Max's statement, Cj walks back to his desk and takes a seat. After brushing his hair back with his fingers, he places his elbows on top of the desk and intertwines his fingers together. With a grin on his face, he says, "Nothing else I can do now. Might as well just have fun."

- END -