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"DO YOU STILL WANT to study in J.S High?" 

     The question was simple and direct. Max was supposed to give a confident answer. He knew what he would say, but the things his father told him earlier made him uncertain. He was right, after all. He wasn't just Max anymore, and the closer he was to his birthday, the closer he was to finally inheriting everything, which included the company. If Max continues studying in J.S High, there's a possibility that all his memories will return, and even worse, the thing he and his mother feared the most in the past would finally get to him.

     As the last living Lemieux in their bloodline, was J.S High worth risking for? Is staying in that house the best decision for him? Does he need to become the Elites president when he has bigger problems to worry about now?

     Dangerous people already know what he knows. Even now, Max feels anxious that a bullet might fly through the window and directly shoot him in the head like how they killed Klyde. It might not be obvious, but Max became a different person after that night. He was always confident, but now he was terrified. He's been forcing himself to act like he has everything under control, but even his butler can see through him. He wasn't going to fool anyone, and Max was afraid that this uncertainty might be the very reason he'd end up dead.

    "No," Max thought. This wasn't the time to waver. He told Étienne to trust him, so he should make up his mind.

    What has he even been working hard for if he leaves now? And the people who believe in him, Max can't just leave and disappoint them.

     Max needs J.S High now more than anything.

     "Father, I know what you're trying to say," Max starts. "I know that you're worried about me like how you always have been. And with what happened in Germany...it made me fully understand why you tried to remove my inheritance away. But like the time I took everything back, I hope you can continue to trust me. So yes, I would like to continue studying in J.S High."

    Denzel looks at him for a couple of seconds before taking a sip of his champagne. "I knew you would say that," Denzel responds. He then releases a heavy breath and adds, "I won't force you, so there's nothing else for me to say about this matter. But I do have a condition, and I hope this time, you'll stop being stubborn."

     "What condition?" Max asks, a little bit worried.

     Denzel takes another sip of his champagne. After a couple of seconds, he looks back at his son and tells him, "Your grandmother said that she's sending their most excellent guard unit from France to London. They will be looking out for you 24\7, and I will also tell Janus to let them enter your campus and serve as lookouts."

     "A guard unit? Are you crazy? No, Étienne has been my bodyguard since I was a literal baby. He can—"

     "Étienne will not be able to protect you when you get ambushed or kidnapped, or when a snipper gets pointed on your head. To be honest, your grandmother isn't very happy about you still staying here. She wants you to move to your home country and finish your studies there instead, but I persuaded her and told her that such actions aren't necessary. But if you don't want guards following you around then I'll book you a flight back to Paris myself. Is that understood?"

     Max wanted to protest, but he took a deep breath and stopped himself. "Okay," he says in defeat. "But please, there's no reason for them to follow me inside J.S High. I will not get harmed there, I promise you."

    Denzel looked like he was ready to say no, but he paused for a second and reconsidered it.

     "The unit will stand guard outside the gates instead," Denzel offers, and Max immediately nods his head before his father changes his mind again.

     After Max and Denzel's serious conversation, Jean eventually went back to the room, followed by Estelle and Marcus. Estelle left first after eating her dessert because it was getting late and she wanted to rest. Max, Marcus, Jean, and Denzel stayed behind and talked more about business and politics, to which Marcus was dying from boredom since he didn't have the slightest interest regarding both topics. After one more bottle of wine, the four powerful men decided to end the night. And when they got out of the restaurant, Max couldn't help but feel relieved. He ate dinner with his family without anyone shouting or fighting. This was definitely a huge improvement.

     "Max, tell me when you're going to visit the company. I want to know more about that project you want to propose. We should meet up with the other team leaders so we can discuss it further," Jean says, hugging Max again and thanking Denzel for the invite. He pats Marcus's shoulder after and then drives home by himself.

     "Well, uhm...thanks...you know, for tonight," Max awkwardly says, looking at his father this time. "I don't know why I'm thanking you now since we're both heading back to the same house anyway, but you know...this was nice."

     Denzel doesn't say anything, but he gives out a small smile and nods his head before looking at his two sons. "I'll see you at home. And Maximillian, I heard you brought a guest with you. Make sure he feels welcome. I wouldn't want them to feel otherwise."

    "Oh please. That's not even necessary," Marcus blurts out. But when Denzel looks at him, he clears his throat and says instead, "I mean, you know...he doesn't have to...he's...I better just shut up, huh?"

     Max chuckles, and Denzel doesn't say anything anymore as he enters his car and heads back to their house first. Max and Marcus walked to their car as well, Étienne waiting outside holding the door open for them. Max got inside first, but Marcus stopped and said, "I didn't want to tell our father because I know he's gonna scold me again since it's already late, but I'm heading out to meet Hans and the others. I think we're going to discuss about tomorrow. Can you cover for me in case the old man asks?"

     "Look at you, sneaking out at night like a rebel," Max teases. "Don't worry. With all that champagne he drank by himself, he's gonna be knocked out as soon as he gets home. He wouldn't even notice you gone."

     "Alright alright. I'll see you tomorrow morning," Marcus replies, reaching out to pat Max's head before hailing a taxi and leaving on his own.

     Max fixes his hair in annoyance, but then he smiles as Étienne closes the car door for him. When his butler got inside as well, the two of them finally started driving away from the restaurant so they could end the day. Max was already sleepy himself, and a little tipsy after drinking all that wine. He tries not to fall asleep in the car, so to keep himself busy, he pulls his phone out to check his messages. Max was asleep the entire day so he didn't notice all the texts he received from his friends. There was a message in their group chat from Ari and the others, telling him how excited they were to see him again. Keigo also replied with a gif of a dog crying, which made Max chuckle.

     There were a couple of messages from the jesters, as well as Krist who simply said, "See you tomorrow." CJ sent him a-not-so appropriate photo with the caption "Looks like the king of the castle is coming back," and then one more message from Arjun who congratulated him for finishing the exchange program with honor, passion, and grace.

     Max found himself smiling as he read through the messages. Ari even sent him a link to an article found on J.S High's official website, talking about Max's achievement in St. George Academy and how he's The Pride of the House of Kings. Max wasn't sure if they were being satire, but he felt thankful anyway that someone would write about him like that.

     After scrolling through a few more messages, Max finally got to the last one. And as you might expect, it was a message written by Max's very own, Gavriil Ivanovich Alexeev.

     "Have you returned home safely?" The vice president sent it seven hours ago when Max was still asleep. Max was about to reply, but then he stopped himself and got an idea that instantly put a mischievous grin on his face. So instead of answering the message, he looks at his loyal butler and tells him, "Étienne, I'd like you to take me somewhere."

     Étienne looks at his master through the rearview mirror. He could tell that Max was already half asleep, and his cheeks were flushed from all that drinking. But when Max started pouting at him like a kid, Étienne sighed and changed directions without any hesitation. He didn't even have to ask where Max wanted to go because there was only one place Max would want to visit at this hour.

     "How hopelessly romantic."

     It took at least fifteen minutes, and Étienne and Max arrived in front of a familiar apartment complex.

     "You can head home," Max says as he opens the car door.

     "I'm waiting here."

     "You don't have to."

     "I'm waiting here," Étienne repeated with a much more serious tone, and Max just sighed in defeat as he walked inside the building. He was a bit dizzy, but he knew what floor and what room to go to. Without even thinking about the fact that it was already past midnight, Max started knocking on the door. No one answered after a few knocks, hinting that the person inside must already be deep in sleep.

     Max took a deep breath, and then he touched the bracelet he was wearing and laughed. "What the hell am I even doing? He might not even be home," he says as he turns around to leave. But just as he was about to give up, the door finally opened.

     "Hello?" A soft voice calls out.

     Max turns around, and there he finds Gavriil, his hair a mess and his eyes barely open. He looks out of the hallway to check who on earth would knock at this hour. The vice president was ready to complain, but when he found Max standing outside his room, the tired expression on his face changed to disbelief.

     "Leigh?"

     Max doesn't say anything as he walks up to Gavriil. As soon as he got close, he grabbed Gavriil by the collar and pulled him in for a kiss. Gav was caught off guard, but he eventually kissed Max back, wrapping his arms around Max's waist as he pulled him closer. 

     "You're drunk," Gavriil says in between kisses. "I can taste it," he adds.

     "Not drunk," Max then answers. "Just a bit tipsy."

     "Really now?"

     "Shut up and just kiss me," Max demands, making Gariil chuckle.

     The two share a passionate exchange, barely pulling their lips apart to catch a breath. Max was aggressive. It could be because of the wine, or maybe because of Gavriil's intoxicating scent. When Gavriil realized that Max wasn't going to let him go anytime soon, he led him inside the apartment, closing the door before anyone could see them making out in the corridor. 

     As soon as Gavriil locks the door, Max pushes himself against his boyfriend, their bodies touching while they're still at the very entrance of the apartment. Without even exchanging words, Gavriil grabs Max by his thighs, lifts him off the floor, and carries him to his bedroom before slowly putting him down on the bed.

     Gavriil goes on top of the heir and gets ready to say something, but Max pulls him back in, clenching a handful of the vice president's hair so he wouldn't be able to let go. Their tongues explore each other's mouths again, their bodies getting hotter and hotter. At that moment, Gavriil finally lost his control. Max was back, and he missed him. He doesn't have to worry about him going back to St. George Academy anymore and not seeing him for days. Now he's back to him, and Gavriil couldn't contain himself any longer.

     He unbuttons Max's shirt, exposing his upper body. Gavriil kisses his neck, and then his chest, his fingers practically tracing every line on his lover's body.

     Max released the sweetest sound that made Gav crave more. But just as Max reaches out to Gavriil's shorts to take them off him, a tear suddenly falls from his eyes, and in a split second, he starts sobbing, the adrenaline leaving both of their bodies in an instant.

     "Oh, baby..." Gavriil sits up and immediately grabs Max's arm, pulling him towards his chest to give him the tightest embrace. Gavriil hugs him as Max sobs even louder, his tears already staining Gavriil's shirt, but Gavriil doesn't say anything about it. He just hugged Max in silence, patting his back while he kissed his head.

     Every emotion that Max has been bottling up finally gets released, and Gavriil just lies there in silence, catching every lost drop of it.

     When Max finally calms down, his body no longer trembling, Gavriil brushes his hair back with his fingers so he can see his face better. He kisses Max's eyes, nose, and then the tear that streamed down from his cheek. "Do you want to go to sleep?" Gavriil whispers instead of asking Max questions that the young heir would probably just ignore.

    Max nods his head in reply, so Gavriil moves away and removes his shirt for him. He then helps Max remove his pants and shoes before putting his own t-shirt over Max's head so he can wear much more comfortable clothes.

    Gavriil goes back to bed, and then he wraps his arms around Max again as Max rests his head on Gav's chest. With Max's eyes closed, Gavriil tells him, "You did a great job, Leigh. Welcome back."

...

Max opened his eyes, the wine from last night finally getting a toll on him because of how bad his head was hurting. He slowly sits up from the bed and then looks around the familiar room. The memories of last night were a bit hazy, but after a while, Max finally remembered the entire scene that played out while he was drunk, and as soon as he remembered, he immediately grabbed a pillow to hide his burning face because of embarrassment.

     "Good morning sir," a familiar voice greets, and Max slowly puts the pillow down so he can properly look at him.

     The Elites Rank 2, Gavriil Ivanovich Alexeev, walks up to Max holding a hot cup of tea and some freshly baked bread from the bakery downstairs. Max was too ashamed to even look at him as Gavriil placed the food down on the side table.

      "Have a drink of this. It's great for hangovers," Gavriil says as he sits on the edge of the bed. Max grabs the cup and takes a sip of it. "Thank you," he says, still not looking at the man sitting beside him.

     While Max was drinking the tea, Gavriil took it upon himself to touch Max's chin, pulling it up and forcing Max to look at him. "How are you feeling?"  he asks.

     Max's cheeks start to burn again as the events of last night flash in front of him. He couldn't stomach the fact that he was so aggressive and brave towards Gavriil as soon as he got back from the House of Bishops. He was like a starving animal.

    "I am so sor—" Before Max could even apologize for no good reason at all, Gavriil leaned forward and kissed him, and in an instant, the embarrassment that he was feeling vanished as Gavriil pulled his soft lips away from him.

    "How are you feeling?" he asks him again.

    Max takes a deep breath and finally smiles. "I bet you felt quite frustrated last night," he teases.

     "Yeah, I had to take care of it in the shower when you fell asleep," Gavriil answers, making Max laugh and hit his shoulder.

     Gavriil kisses Max's forehead this time before brushing Max's hair back with his fingers. "Do you want to talk about it? About St. George? About Klyde?" Gavriil finally asked, and Max smiled. He always knew when to start conversations like this.

     "If I tell you that I might be in danger, will you get mad?" Max asks, reaching out to tuck Gavriil's hair behind his ear. Gavriil then grabs Max's hand and gently kisses his finger before answering, "Well, you've always been in danger so there's not much I can do."

     "Alright, then brace yourself," Max begins. He takes a deep breath, and afterward, he looks back at the vice president and finally tells him, "Klyde was killed, right in front of me. I saw him and spoke to him, and then he told me the very thing he found out that made people start chasing after him. I thought we were safe. I thought he was safe. But then...then this bullet..."

     The image appears in front of Max again, Klyde's dead body still haunting him despite everything he has heard and seen so far. "I know who bought St. George Academy but at the same time, I can't risk telling anyone about it. I want to tell you, Gav, so that I can escape this burden, but... but I love you too much to purposely put you in danger, so please, please don't ask about this anymore, okay? This will be the last time I'm going to open this up. You don't have to say anything else or ask me to do certain things. Do you understand me?"

     Gavriil looks at Max in silence. Max didn't even give him time to process everything so Gav couldn't think of what to say. He honestly wanted to ask more about what happened and what they could do about it together, but for now, he'll let Max be stubborn. It wouldn't change anything if he forced Max to open up about everything else that happened that night.

     "Alright," he says. "I won't say anything about it anymore if that's what you want. But you have to promise me something. Promise me that if you ever feel like you're not safe, or if you're in a situation where you want to run away, call us. Not just me, but your family and protectors too. We'll trust you on this, Leigh. We trust that you have everything under control, so do your best as well, okay?"

     "Okay."

     Gavriil smiles and pulls Max towards him to give him a hug. Max sighs in relief and hugs him back, resting his chin on Gavriil's shoulder while Gav continues to hug him tightly. After a while, the vice president pulls away and says, "By the way, your butler is drinking tea and reading the newspaper in my living room."

     "Oh, okay," Max casually replies. But when the words finally sunk in, he looked at Gavriil with shock and disbelief and then remembered that Étienne was actually waiting for him at the parking lot last night.

     "When I went to buy bread at the bakery, I saw him sleeping in your car so I knocked on the window and asked him if he wanted to have some breakfast," Gavriil explains further, but Max doesn't say anything about it anymore as he runs out often the bedroom to double check if Gavriil wasn't messing with him or not.

     When Max got to the living room, a familiar man was sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and reading news from the newspaper just like what Gavriil claimed.

     "Oh, good morning, Master Leigh," Étienne respectfully greets as he puts the paper down. "It seems like you slept well."

     Max still looked at him with shock, but then he remembered that he was only wearing his boxers, as well as Gariil's old T-shirt, so he immediately grabbed a pillow from the sofa and covered himself before suddenly defending, "Whatever it is you're thinking, you're wrong. I just fell asleep and—"

     "You don't have to explain anything Master Leigh because I have no strong desire to meddle in your personal affairs," Étienne interrupts. "But we do have to hurry back home now before your father wakes up and realizes that you did not return home just when you got back after staying in St. George Academy for a month."

     "I'm pretty sure Father's not gonna care," Max retaliates.

     "Well, he might not. But you still have to get ready. After all...you'll be returning to J.S High today. You wouldn't want to keep your house waiting now would you?"

- END -

NOTE: I'm not certain yet but just a heads up. I might not be able to update any more chapters after this because I have a job interview coming soon and I'm still preparing for my PowerPoint presentation. I don't know if I can update one more chapter this weekend but just in case, I'll see you all next Friday! Hoping for your kindness and understanding!