"The girl in the video that's…Mimi?" Alec asked doubtfully.
Tobias nodded his head, sounding a hum of confirmation. The shock and astonishment Alec felt were overwhelming. He looked back at the video, his hands slightly trembling.
Alec's voice contained a slight choke. "When was this?"
Tobias replied, "Last night at Lux Nightclub."
Alec's eyes widened incredulously, "Last night?!"
For god's sake, this all took place in twenty-four hours and she didn't even tell him?!
"I-Is Mimi okay? How badly is she hurt? Are there any scars?"
If there were scars he knew his sister would surely faint on the spot and devote her life to Buddhism.
The shock would be too great for her!
He could see her lying soullessly on a white hospital bed, righteously voicing the words: "Now with my beautiful face disfigured, I can no longer enjoy the pleasures of gorgeous women and their firm busts. Farewell, my dear big brother."
At this thought, Alec's face became more contorted. Unaware of the absurd thoughts running through the other man's head, Tobias sighed.
"She's fine, I had her checkup at a hospital this morning."
Though he still felt the results weren't satisfactory enough - despite examining three times.
At his words, Alec finally sighed a breath of relief. However, recalling the footage, his expression dimmed.
The moment he remembered Mimi hurting that bastard Yu Feng, he felt slightly alarmed but still felt the urge to cheer and cry tears of encouragement.
Yet, the fact Mimi hadn't thought to mention this matter to him agitated him.
"What happened with Yu Feng?" He wanted to give that man a taste of his own medicine for harming his sister!
A cold glint flashed passed Tobias's eyes, "Don't worry, I've already had someone take care of him."
Alec's tight brows slowly relaxed. That was good! No one better to punish the man than Tobias Itou!
"And," Tobias's voice lowered. "The man in the mask is Shen Jue."
Heeding this, Alec frowned again, "Shen Jue?"
Tobias nodded.
Alec was stunned. As in the Shen Jue, the man his sister despised for being the fiancé of her sister, Emily Hirogori?
What was Mimi doing with him?
Based on the footage it was apparent the two of them were working together. A sudden thought arose in Alec's mind.
Were Mimi and Shen Jue working together to take revenge on the Hirogori family?
Considering Mimi's intense hatred for their family, it wouldn't be a surprise if the girl would be willing to work with Shen Jue to succeed.
It's just…
It didn't occur to Alec that the girl was still caught up in it. It had been ten years since Emily's death. That was enough time for Mimi to move on and enjoy her own life - which he assumed she had been doing.
Alec never considered how profound Mimi's love for Emily Hirogori was. At the thought of this, Alec's expression hardened.
How could he have been so blind as to not see how much she was grieving?
While he ignorantly assumed she was free of the pain of Emily's death, her thoughts for revenge had become extreme to the point it controlled her entire life.
He understood now, this was the sole purpose Mimi had relentlessly worked for in the past ten years.
Alec clenched his trembling fists tightly. He felt so powerless!
Tobias noticed Alec's clouded expression and sighed. "This matter, I want you to keep it a secret from Mimi."
Alec's brows furrowed, "What? Why?"
Tobias looked at Alec and paused, his eyes slightly averting his. For the first time, Alec saw a somewhat guilty expression on Tobias's face.
Alec asked in shock, "You...She doesn't know you stole the footage?"
Tobias: "..."
The man fell silent but eventually, released a grunt. Alec's mouth slightly parted in surprise, like a gaping fish.
So...
He was spying on his sister?!
A look of judgment flashed through Alec's eyes for a moment before he glanced down to the dent on the desk and snapped his mouth shut. Tobias's response to the footage was greater than he imagined.
Alec sighed. He could understand the man's efforts and knew he was trying to look out for his sister. Alec could merely shake his head helplessly and swallow all of his unspoken, protective brotherly curses.
"Don't worry, I understand."
But he wasn't going to let Mimi get away so easily. To think she thought to conceal this from him, the girl deserved a spanking!
More importantly, he wanted her to talk to him and share her thoughts. He wanted to be there for her and bear her grievances.
As her big brother.
Alec glanced at the tall, unfeeling man at his desk.
"Tobias, thank you for taking care of her." He smiled bitterly. "I've been around Mimi longer, yet it seems like you know her better than I do."
Tobias blinked his eyes and straightforwardly said, "Naturally."
He was consistently observing her, how could he not know her better than him?
Both of Alec's eyebrows twitched. Logically speaking, Tobias was more protecting and attending toward the girl than he had ever been.
But this bastard...wasn't he a little too cocky?!
Alec snorted, "If I didn't know you were an emotionless, modest man, I would have assumed you were a pervert trying to court Mimi."
Unexpectedly, following Alec's words, Tobias's body stiffened, his pupils suddenly constricted. At the same time, Alec noted his unusual reaction and squinted his eyes.
"Hey, what's with that reaction?"
Don't tell me…
Without having the chance to finish his thought, Tobias said, "I was just thinking…that brain of yours still seems a little damaged."
Alec: "…"
Well fuck! Who are you calling damaged?! His brain was perfectly fine!
Whilst Alec bitterly spat unspoken curses in his head, Tobias's eyes were lowered to look at the paperwork before him, his deep eyes hidden.
Admittedly, Alec's previous words made him feel a little uncomfortable.
A slight tightness squeezed the bottom of his heart. He was unable to describe it. He had never experienced a feeling like that in his entire life.
Tobias took a deep breath and tried to suppress the strange, complicated emotions within him.