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Cassius appears in the dining room a few minutes later and walks toward me. “That looks good,” he compliments, looking at the food on the table.
“Thanks.” I smile. “Where’s Ollie?”
“He’s still with Brandon.”
“Is the Master going to be okay? Is he unwell? Did he ask for something? I can prepare it for him and—”
“Relax,” Cassius cuts me off and chuckles. “He’s fine, and he’s eating the breakfast you prepared. He’s doing great, so don’t worry,” he assures with a small smile, and the thorns in my chest finally loosen.
I sigh in relief, touching my chest. When I spoke to him last night, he didn’t seem very well when he asked me to leave him right away. “Thank you. I was so worried.”
“He’ll be fine.” He grins once again and looks back at the food on the table. “Can I have a taste of this?” he says, pointing out the sweet side dish I made, specially made with mascarpone cream cheese and laced with vanilla.
I chuckle. “Of course, you can.” I offer him a fork and slice off a small portion, tasting the food.
He hums in approval. “Wow, tiramisu crepes?”
“Hmm, yes.”
“This tastes terrifically good, Alayna,” he praises as he chews. “I remember now that I had this for breakfast a few times in Italy,” he comments as he scoops up another dollop and chews the food slowly in his mouth.
I watch him as he deliciously runs his tongue over his lower lip—
Oh no! I quickly look away. How can I think like a starving monster, let alone about this man? I just met him two hours ago! I suddenly feel like I am betraying the Master, which I’m not, since we aren’t even together—but it feels wrong.
Well... it isn’t wrong to become attracted to someone when I’m single, right?
“Uh, thank you.”
“Alayna studied culinary arts, and she worked at a restaurant in Venice,” Oliver shares. I hadn’t noticed him coming in. “And fortunately, there’s never been a time that Brandon has complained about his meal.”
My cheeks redden as I am preparing the plates for us. I laugh. “You’re being too nice.”
“Really? Because I swear, this is what an authentic tiramisu tastes like,” Cassius praises once more.
“Brandon wouldn’t hire her if she wasn’t talented,” Oliver remarks.
The two brothers sit next to each other while I serve them breakfast. Besides the crepes, I also prepared apricot-pancetta strata and a pitcher of fresh cucumber-lemon juice.
While we eat, the Katrakis siblings speak mostly about their home. The reason why Cassius hasn’t visited is that their father wanted him to come to Athens. I never bother joining their conversation because listening to them makes me want to know more about their family.
Hearing their conversation, they have a sister who is also coming to New York to continue her culinary degree, and she cannot wait to see her cousin again—which I immediately assume they are referring to Master Brandon.
Their father, Aegeus Katrakis, is a general surgeon and runs a hospital in Athens. He specifically summoned his younger son to Greece because he needed to perform surgery on another cousin. Besides being able to perform surgery, he seems like a general practitioner since he is the Master’s doctor. He also mentions that he works in the Rutherford Hospital, and he has patients here in Manhattan waiting for him, so he couldn’t stay long in Athens.
I wanted to ask him why he is working here while his family owns a hospital, but I keep the curiosity away.
While the two brothers continue to converse, a loud ringtone abruptly interrupts them.
“Hold on a sec.” Oliver raises a hand and then draws out his phone in his pocket. He glances at his phone screen. “It’s my assistant. I have to answer this.”
“Go on,” Cassius says. “Must be important.”
“It is. Please, excuse me.” Oliver stands up, quickly exits the door, leaving me and his brother alone.
An awkward silence dominates the dining room. I savor my breakfast slowly, conscious of Cassius’s presence next to me. I watch him from the sides of my eyes as he is slicing the crepe with a fork and takes another bite.
“So,” he begins, breaking the silence. “I heard Brandon has a thing for you...” his voice echoes in my ear, “And something happened before you left his room. I’m sure of that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you touch him?” he asks straightforwardly.
The air abandoned my lungs. “W-why would I do that?”
“Simply because you like him.” He grins meaningfully. “What happened to you and Brandon?”
I’m not sure if I like where this is going. Just what happened to the Master when I left last night? I’m sure I didn’t do anything that might have pissed him off this time, besides our very strange conversation about him saying he wants me. Is there anything else I missed? Did he perhaps tell his cousins about it?
My blood races to my cheeks at the thought.
I shake my head. “I still don’t understand what you mean. Nothing happened—”
“Sorry about that,” Oliver suddenly reappears, startling me with his entrance. He frowns at us. “Whoa, what’s the sudden change of air?”
Cassius looks up at his older brother. “I’m asking Alayna if something happened before she left Brandon’s room.”
My mouth parts. Okay, he is attractive, I must admit, but this guy sounds so self-absorbed. Gosh, I thought he was nice. How is that his business? How can he tell Oliver that?
“I said nothing, okay?” my voice raises.
“Come on, bro. Don’t scare Alayna.” He sits back in his chair. “But I have to admit that I’m curious as well. You just didn’t ask the right question, Cass.”
I bite my lower lip nervously. Could they see that something was happening? Whatever was happening between me and the Master is supposed to be our business alone, right?
“We just talked,” I almost whisper, avoiding their eyes.
“We know Brandon’s condition very well,” Cassius inserts, “and he’s not going to end up like that if nothing happened. You touched him, we know for sure. Unless someone else was in his room, which is not the case, I guess.”
Why is touching their cousin such a big deal? What is going on? My heart is starting to get offended by their accusation. I did not expect these questions coming from Oliver.
“We won’t hold it against you, Alayna,” Oliver says softly, “we just need to know.”
“If you think I harmed him in any way, I didn’t. I swear. If you don’t want to believe me, I’m fine with that,” I say tightly.
Both brothers exchange a surprised look.
Oliver sighs. “It’s not like that, Alayna. Of course, I trust you. You’re just not getting the whole picture, I guess, or where we’re coming from, but I hope we didn’t offend you.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s too late for that,” I say, frankly.
“Okay, I guess I need to apologize to you too. I’m sorry if my questions were insensitive,” Cassius says sincerely. “It’s just hard to explain for now.”
I don’t answer.
“Brandon is actually asking for you, Alayna,” Oliver opens.
My heart lifts. “He is?”
He grins. “Yes, he’ll be waiting for you.”
As much as this excites me, I don’t want to leave the table without emptying my plate.
I STAND IN FRONT OF Brandon’s room while waiting for Oliver’s signal. He and Cassius follow me when we finish our meal and ask me to wait before coming in.
In another couple of minutes, the siblings walk out of the room. Oliver approaches me first.
“Alayna, you can come in now.”
I proceed to the room without speaking. Honestly, I feel like it’s the first time I’m meeting the Master again.
When I step into his living room, Brandon is standing by the window. His room is still as dim as before. He is bare-chested, wearing only black sweatpants and barefoot. As always, he is beautiful.
“Oliver said you wanted to talk to me,” I begin.
“I don’t think I can let you walk around my room anymore.” He doesn’t bother showing his face.
His statement and cold voice confuse me. “What? I thought we were fine like this? We were starting to get comfortable with each other’s company, right?”
“Yes, I thought I’d be okay. Having you around has been the highlight of my ten whole years of hiding. I thought I could carry on, but I’m no good for you.”
He finally faces me, exposing the scar on his chest. It looks inflamed as if it is fresh. It’s painful to look at. His cousins still didn’t tell me what happened, but I choose not to ask any questions.
“You deserve better,” he whispers. “You should not be with a man like me.”
“Stop.” I shake my head in disbelief. “Don’t say anything. Is this what you want? Is this what you want to be like for the rest of your life?”
“Of course not.” His eyes darken. “Do you think I want this? Don’t you see this scar? Until this thing goes away, I won’t be able to live how I want to,” he sighs.
“Yes, I can see that.” I swallow dryly. “But what you said doesn’t make sense... after what you just told me... You don’t want me to touch you? Fine, I won’t, if that’s the issue here. But you’re sending me away right after you told me that you wanted me?”
There, I said it. The words slipped out of my mouth with bravery. I can’t keep pretending his confession of admiration doesn’t affect me.
“Alayna...” He takes a step closer, reaching out to me.
“Don’t come any closer.” I wipe my tears away. The sound of my voice tightens. “If this is about me touching you, I can work with that.”
“Do you think this is all about that?” he snaps. “How many times have you tried to touch me, and it didn’t matter? I didn’t care about that. Something could go on between us, but I am not capable of making this into something more.”
“Why?”
His face expresses an inexplicable emotion. “I won’t be able to protect you. I won’t be able to give you the life that you want.”
He’s acting like we’re over before we ever really began... before he ever even tried.
“Then come out and face the world,” I try to persuade him. “You can talk to me and tell me what’s wrong. You can tell me everything. Let’s try, Brandon.”
His brows furrow. “What did you just call me?”
“Master?”
“No, you called me...” He swallows. “Say it again.”
“Brandon...”
A chuckle escapes his lips but doesn’t touch his eyes. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time,” he pauses, “except from Oliver.”
“I’m sorry, I just got carried away.”
I look up at him. His mouth only an inch away from mine.
“Do you think this will work?” he asks softly.
“We will make it work.”
His mouth covers mine instantly, and I drape my arms around his neck, his muscular arms wrapping around my waist. I tangle my fingers in his hair and arch my back into his hard rock torso. He groans with my response and deepens the kiss with his tongue, seeking an entrance. I open my mouth and give him access—my stomach flutters with pleasure, excitement, and bewilderment, all at the same time.
For a couple of minutes, we are in the same position, but then he carries me to the couch and lays me down. I curl my legs onto his waist, pressing him against me with my hands messing with his hair. We kiss, nip, and lick each other’s mouths, learning more about how to taste and feel each other.
Moments later, he pulls away and kisses my cheek.
“Alayna, if we are going to choose this path, it’s going to be hard,” he whispers in my ear.
“I know, but it doesn’t matter now.”
I’d never wanted anyone as much as I desire him. I never wanted to kiss anyone like this in my life. I lean into him, so I can taste more of him, but he shifts his face away.
His forehead furrows. “But if I don’t send you away, you won’t have the life you deserve.”
I ignore him and cup the unmasked side of his face, and he doesn’t seem to mind. I feel his warmth and the cold, metallic touch beneath my skin. No, he is burning... feverish.
“You couldn’t know that.”
Brandon shut his eyes as if in pain. He grits his teeth, and his face turns bright red. Unexpectedly, he stands and holds his chest, suddenly panting.
“Hey, are you alright? Oh my God!” I exclaim as he brusquely collapses on the floor. I instantly ran to his side. “Brandon, what’s wrong?” I try to touch him, but his hand stops me.
I back away, but he grasps my wrist and looks at me instead.
“Alayna,” he whispers sorely. “I don’t want you to see me like this. I’m sorry, but you have to leave now,” he says, forcing himself to speak, his voice croaky.
I touch my mouth, preventing my tears from falling.
“See you, like what? Are you hurt somewhere? Do you need help? I could help you to—”
His grip tightens on my wrist, and he shakes his head. “Call Oliver, please...”
“Alright,” I nod, panicking. “I... I’m going to call him.”
I don’t understand what’s going on with him anymore. Hurriedly, I stand and sprint out of the room, fortunately finding Oliver and Cassius outside the door. I trip, almost losing my balance.
Oliver catches me and holds my arm to steady me. “Alayna? What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I think he’s in pain,” I say, still dumbfounded. “I don’t know what happened.”
“What did you do to him?” Cassius asks, his tone accusing.
I shake my head. “I said, I don’t know! I didn’t do anything.”
“Then tell us the truth. Did you touch him or not?” he questions again.
“Yes!” I exclaim. “But he allowed me to.”
No one dared to answer, but Oliver shut his eyes and squeezed his temple. Cassius mutters a curse. Now, I am utterly confused.
“Ollie, could you check Brandon? My briefcase is still inside. Give him the pill. He needs to sleep first before I give him the medicine,” Cassius instructs.
Oliver scowls. “Are you sure? He’s been sleeping all day.”
“I don’t have a choice. Go on, I’m after you. I need a word with Alayna here.”
Oliver briefly shoots me a glance and eventually nods, then treads into Brandon’s room. We watch him until he’s out of sight, then Cassius starts speaking.
“If you’d just told me the truth earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I don’t know what is going on, and no one is telling me anything. How could I possibly tell you of all people, whether I touched him or not? That’s supposed to be a private matter,” I point out, my voice rising.
“Not to me,” he answers. “Look, it’s not my place to stop you or question whatever Brandon’s going to do with his life. But this has happened before, and I don’t want it to happen again. It almost killed him—”
“What do you mean it almost killed him?”
Isn’t that too much of an exaggeration? Who could die with a simple touch?
Cassius heaves a sigh and rests his hands on his waist. “This is much more complicated than I thought.”
“Can you just tell me what’s going on with him?”
“Brandon is ill, Alayna, and I’m not supposed to tell you this.”
“Ill?” I frown in surprise. “He seemed fine to me, only with scars, but those are just scars, right?”
“His sickness is not physical. It’s in here,” he starts explaining, pointing out his temple. “It’s in his brain. He has a psychalgia.”
I let out a frustrated breath. A what? “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that.”
Cassius tenses up. I can sense his hesitation, but eventually, he starts explaining, “It’s a psychological disorder, caused by traumatic physical injury. His case is acute, though not chronic. It rarely happens, only affecting him when it’s triggered. As you can see, it has affected his way of living. This illness caused him to lock himself away from everything around him. He is traumatized, depressed, and grieving. Did you see the scar on his chest?”
“I did, yes. Accidentally.”
“That scar is only a scar. He doesn’t have any internal damage. But his body remembers the pain. If his brain tells him that it hurts, it is going to appear as physical pain, and the pain is real.”
“A psychogenic pain,” I conclude.
“Something like that.”
I almost want to fall on my knees; my head is suddenly spinning. I know that he is suffering because he wouldn’t lock himself away if he were okay, but I didn’t expect this. Not only is he in agony, but he is suffering mentally as well.
“I want to know what happened to cause his scar,” I urge.
“I’m sorry, Alayna, but in that case, I think you should ask Brandon. I cannot say anything more than I’ve already told you.”
My heart twitches and my breath quickens as I try to find the right words. “Who... who do you think hurt him?”
“No one knows what happened that night, Alayna. Only him.”
My throat dries up. Brandon probably doesn’t want to tell anyone because he doesn’t want to remember it. I guess I can understand him. I was like this too, when my father passed away.
“Anyway, don’t take it too far if you’re leaving here anyway,” he continues. His statement sounds more like a piece of advice.
“What do you mean?”
“Brandon won’t make it a second time.” He looks at me sincerely this time. “Alayna, I can see that you are a good person. However, this whole setup isn’t normal—for you or him. If you choose this path, you can never turn your back and do what you want. Are you ready for that kind of life?”
Turn back from the life that I want?
What do I want?
I only want to pluck my family out of poverty. I want to be a world-class chef, build my own restaurant, and see my mother healthy again. Those are my dreams. That, and... probably start moving on from the horrors of my past. Since I’d arrived here, I’d been too preoccupied with things to think about... that.
Have I already forgotten about all of it?
I hate to admit, but Cassius is right. I can’t be so selfish and turn my back on the reason why I am here. I shouldn’t sacrifice everything just because I like someone. Maybe I just got carried away with the situation; maybe I’m too enchanted with the Master and only confused myself.
My life is not in this house. I didn’t expect that a short moment in this mansion changed me so much.
“I’ve only known him for weeks!” I laugh humorlessly. “And I don’t know if I’m able to stop.”
“Hey...” Cassius calls out softly, reaching out to me, and gently pats my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you to stop. I just told you the possibilities, but it’s all on you. Brandon needs someone like you beside him. That’s also another possibility.” He smiles faintly.
I shake my head. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“I believe my brother already spoke to you about this. There’s another way. You can still help him come out.”
“I already did.” A cold, stern voice abruptly thundered behind us. I jolt in shock when I find Brandon out of his room, still bare-chested and barefoot. His eyes glower at me and his cousin. The pain is still marked in his eyes as if he is barely able to withstand it. Oliver is just a step next to him.
“Brandon.” Cassius steps away from me.
“What the fuck are you telling Alayna?” Brandon questions.
“I’m just explaining the situation.”
“And who gave you the right to say anything?”
“But it’s the truth, Brandon. Don’t you think she has the right to know?” His voice remains calm.
“What to do you fucking know about the truth?” he barks, but his piercing, cerulean eyes darted to me.
“Brandon, you can do this later.” Oliver interrupts in front of us. “Go back to your room for now. It’s not good for you to be here. You’re still feverish and—”
“Isn’t this what everyone wants for me, Oliver? To come out of my fucking cave?” Brandon marches towards me, grabs my hand, and shoves me aside. Then he faces Cassius. “You just came back, and you think you know everything? Ah, it’s not even twenty-four hours, and you’re putting your nose where it shouldn’t be.”
“It’s not like that, Brandon,” his voice remains soft and composed.
“I told you that being my doctor is the only thing you can do for me after what you did to me last year. So why do you keep getting in the way?” Brandon berates.
“Why don’t you give people a chance?” Cassius speaks up. “You don’t give anything a chance. I told you I was wrong, and I’m sorry. I left this house because I thought you would do better without me but look at you now.”
“I was willing to welcome you back!” Brandon shot back, his eyes wide. “But you just fucking blew it up when you started to open your mouth.”
“I can’t believe you are still this immature,” he pauses and glances at me. “Until when are you going to keep her here?”
Brandon seethes under his breath. “It’s none of your fucking business.”
“Face the reality, Brandon. Everyone here around you have their own life.”
Oliver doesn’t say anything, but he hurls out a deep exhale.
“Lennie gave up her whole life just to stay with you,” Cassius continues. “You can’t expect everyone to stay with you forever, doing nothing but keeping their mouth shut. Don’t you think that Lennie deserves a life that’s more than this? We deserve to know why we’re doing this so we can help you. How about Oliver? Did you ever ask him what he wanted in his life? He’s always been with you, ever since your—”
“Are you done?” Brandon cuts him off with his shout. “Do you think I didn’t know any of that? Did I ask all of you to do that for me? I didn’t ask you—”
“Yeah, you didn’t,” Cassius smirks. “We did this to ourselves. Is that what you are trying to say here? Can’t you see how selfish you’ve become? Now there’s Alayna. She’s not Oliver or me. I know that it’s not my place, but someone should tell her what she’s dealing with.”
“Cassius, no,” Oliver interjects, grabbing his brother on the shoulder. “That’s enough.”
He jerks away. “No, Ollie. I wanted to tell this to him so he would stop treating everyone as his servants.”
“Excuse me, can I just say something?” I finally interrupt after listening to their resentments. “Everyone here has their point, but this conversation is pointless if everyone is angry, don’t you all think? Do not let this lead to something else.”
None of them answered.
“It’s past twelve, and I think all of us should take a rest,” I say in dismissal.
