'Sacrificed his very own inheritance rights,' Misha inwardly repeated, the words echoing inside his mind like a broken record.
Did it mean what he thought it meant? But why? How? When?! Wait. Was it linked to his sister's medical expenses…?
When Gabriel said he could help pay for Masha's new necessities and needs, Misha didn't think much of it, not even bothering to ask where he had found the money. In his mind, Gabriel was a rich boy who didn't lack anything, but if he took the time to look at the big picture, would that cheapskate family of his really give him any money to spend on his girlfriend's medical expenses? No, not without something in return.
When Gabriel fell into a coma, his father was ready to withdraw the life-sustaining treatment if his son didn't wake up within a month. That cold-hearted man held no feeling for his very own flesh and blood. So, what about an unrelated person? They might as well die for all he cared. However, Angela was another story. If she could get rid of Gabriel by spending a bit of money, why wouldn't she? It was the easiest and fastest way.
Running his fingers through his hair to pull it backward, Misha suddenly had an epiphany. In their past life, Gabriel became a teacher. He didn't live a lavish life, and he even sold his car after moving in to help pay the rent. Masha was working all day long, and Alexey was always dead drunk, worse than human garbage. But someone needed to watch over little Misha as he was still relatively young at the time, and that had been Gabriel's job. The young master had learned to cook, do the dishes and the laundry, clean up the house, etc. He had become the perfect nanny.
But what was the price of leaving his house to take care of "irrelevant" people? How would his family react? Not with a smile for sure.
As the many questions flashed across his mind, Misha became paler. How much did Gabriel sacrifice for him and Masha in their past life? And what about now…?
Before Misha could dwell on the matter any further, he heard Gabriel tsk, "That damn brother of mine has one hell of a big mouth."
Then, he ruffled the boy's hair, offering him a reassuring smile. Because they were relatively close to the two couples, they could hear their conversation without much problem. They weren't exactly quiet, either. On the other hand, Jake and Camille didn't pay attention to their surroundings, focused on Masha, and thus hadn't noticed the boy near the leopard cage and the young man standing by his side. Many people also walked by, hiding them most of the time.
Tilting his head to escape Gabriel's hand, Misha peeked at him, and, thinking back on what he had just discovered, he couldn't help but blurt out in a sullen voice, "Are you sure you're not in love with my sister?"
"…I swear there's nothing more than brotherly love," Gabriel answered after a small fit of coughing, wondering where the hell did that question come from.
Squinting his eyes, Misha sized him up before snorting, puzzling the young man. It was just a little hard to believe Gabriel would do so much for his sister without ulterior motives. Maybe he had been around too many rotten people, but shouldn't friendship have limits? What he didn't know, though, was that Gabriel was the kind who had very few friends, but to those very few friends, he could give up the world without batting an eyelash.
Whereas Misha was shocked by Jake's words, Masha and Yuki didn't react much. Masha had long learned the truth, although she had to pester Gabriel for weeks before he consented to tell her what he had done. Nevertheless, it still made her feel guilty deep down whenever Masha thought about it. She knew he hadn't only given up his inheritance rights but also his revenge. However, her inner turmoil didn't show on her face; she didn't want to give Jake the satisfaction of seeing her conflicted.
As for Yuki, she had figured out that it wasn't that simple the moment Gabriel had contacted her to take care of Masha and told her the high salary she would receive in compensation. She was well aware of Gabriel's family members' personalities, and there was no way they would readily pay for Masha's medical expenses. With this in mind, she had asked from whom the money was coming from and knowing he couldn't fool her, Gabriel had said it was from Angela. Yuki didn't need more to guess most of the truth.
But despite already knowing the truth, hearing it come out of that brat's mouth still managed to anger her. Yet, like Masha, her face didn't show anything but utter indifference. The best way to deal with that kind of self-entitled person was not to react to their words, so both outwardly shrugged off the matter, acting as though it had nothing to do with them.
And as expected, Jake wasn't delighted with their reactions, which made him frown and snort. But as he was about to add something more, wanting to rub salt into the wound, he heard someone say behind him, "I don't think it's cheating if they both have received my blessing."
Startled, Jake turned his head toward the voice only to see Gabriel leisurely making his way to them, a child standing by his side. Jake had to blink a few times before realizing Masha and Yuki had come to the zoo with his brother and that hateful little brat.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!"
"Can't you tell?" Gabriel responded with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "We're on a "double date"."
Hearing this, Misha almost choked on his own saliva, glaring at Gabriel from the corner of his eyes. Could they please stop with that lame joke?! In a way, it sounded very, very creepy, ok! Who goes on a date with a kid?! Well, he knew Gabriel wasn't talking about a romantic date but still! Hearing him say such things made butterflies flutter in his stomach, and it was bad for his poor little heart!
"…You knew?" Jake asked after a short second, disbelief written all over his face.
"I've always known. After all, Masha and I were never in a relationship."
"What…? What the hell does that mean?!"
"It's because he's gay," Camille chimed in, making a cute pout as she clung to Jake's arm. "They were both using each other to hide their sexual orientations. And you know? I had no other choice but to play along. It was so hard on me."
Masha's mouth twitched. That little bitch sure knew how to be two-faced! She'd never have proposed to Gabriel to be her fake girlfriend if that wasn't what Camille wanted. Even if it would help Gabriel cover up his sexuality because they both knew Angela could use it against him, Masha wasn't the kind to do something her lover wouldn't like. A bit after they started dating, Camille told her she wished to conceal their same-gender relationship, and the best way to do that was to find themselves fake boyfriends.
Now, Masha felt regretful. She should never have told her to be at ease because Gabriel was gay, meaning that they would never develop feelings for each other no matter how long they faked their relationship. Of course, Masha had told her with Gabriel's permission. But he had seemed reluctant at the time, and, like an idiot, she had pretended not to notice it. Really, she wanted to go back in time and slap herself. How blind and selfish had she been because of love? It made her sick to the stomach to think about it.
A silence passed before Jake managed to react. His face slowly turned red with anger as he realized he had been fooled—then, what was the point of all he had done until now?!
Gabriel and Masha had never been together. They weren't a couple, just friends. Gabriel was gay, something Angela could have used to claim he wasn't suited to be her husband's heir. In the end, homosexuality wasn't accepted by everyone and probably would never be. It was easy to discredit someone because of their sexuality in certain social circles, no matter how outstanding the person was.
"Wait until your father finds out," Jake spat out between gritted teeth.
"And what will he do? Disown me? Sorry to tell you, but I already am," Gabriel smiled, his eyes as cold as ice. "Your mother also signed a contract with me. She cannot stop providing money for Masha just because of my sexual orientation; whether she's angry or not doesn't matter in the eye of the law. You can read the contract as many times as you wish, but there is no clause regarding my sexuality."
Because Gabriel had no trust in his stepmother, he had requested a contract approved by lawyers before conceding his inheritance rights. Of course, he was the one to choose the said lawyers. The contract was also safeguarded in a bank of his choice, making it so that it couldn't suddenly disappear. He had also made a few copies just in case. He had given up his rights, but if Angela didn't follow the contract clauses, it would be invalidated, and he would regain the said inheritance rights. Moreover, if such a thing were to happen, he could not be disowned afterward, no matter the reason.
After carefully reading the contract, his father had also agreed to it and added his signature beside his wife's. That man had the guts to smirk, saying that that contract was quite interesting, to which Gabriel had perfunctorily answered with a "thank you".
Now that Gabriel had given up his revenge, he couldn't care less if his family found out about his sexual orientation. He just didn't like to talk about it as it was something private. It had nothing to do with strangers and outsiders. And once his friends knew he was gay, he had nothing else to add. He loved men, so what?
As Gabriel's words sank in, Jake became increasingly angry, so furious that a vein seemed to pop on his forehead. He had also read the contract, and he knew there was nothing they could do about it. What was the point of knowing it now? All that had done was make him realize just how much Gabriel had played them. Well played, well played indeed!
Once the anger reached a certain point, Jake forgot to think and pounced toward his step-brother, intending to grab his collar. But as he took a step forward, a crutch suddenly appeared before his legs, and he tripped, falling head first onto the dirty ground. Then, Masha quietly took back her crutch, innocently smiling.
"Oh, dear! Be careful!"
"You!" Jake yelled, ready to jump on his feet. "If you—"
"You know, maybe you should take a look around before losing your temper," Gabriel warned, looking down at his brother with such cold eyes that Jake felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Jake had a glimpse of his real personality when Gabriel proposed to sign a contract, letting him know that he wasn't as foolish as he had always pretended to be. But that was all. He had kept a polite smile and gentle approach, appearing somewhat submissive and easily deceived. However, Jake now had a hunch that beneath the gentleman's façade was a beast that could devour him alive. He could tell, for they shared half of their blood. Gabriel didn't know, but he did.
"You'll pay for this, I'm telling you," Jake grunted before leaping to his feet and leaving with Camille, not without adding, "My mother will not let the matter go!"
Because the commotion had inevitably attracted attention, Jake couldn't be wishful, not in front of so many witnesses. Thus, he left, and the group of four stared at his back until he disappeared into the crowd, accompanied by Camille. Then, Misha dashed to his sister and asked in a worried tone, "How do you feel?"
"Oh, I never felt so good," Masha chuckled, ruffling her brother's hair.
She wasn't lying. It felt great to say what she had on her mind, but there was one thing she couldn't help but wonder about. Where the hell did Jake and Camille meet? And how did those two vipers end up together? Unfortunately, those were questions she would probably never find out the answers to.
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Chapter revised on 2022-05-29
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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