* * *
How difficult was it to say "I Love You"!? It wasn't that bad! Hanlu thought as he voices out the three words he never thought he would want to say one day.
"You make my soul sing when you walk into the room. I crave for your warmth. I'm fond of you. I have feelings for you. I am infatuated with you." Hanlu mumbled to himself already feeling a little drunk with the bottle of hard liquor almost empty despite that it wasn't been too long since he started drinking.
Hanlu continued to mumble to himself words that might be too embarrassing for him utter when he's sober. He didn't even realize his younger brother, Mo Tian Zi, followed him all the way from the Mo estate to his private Villa.
Tian Zi stood crossed arms against the doorway towards Hanlu's bar counter, he silently observed how wrecked his older brother had become just because his Omega left him. This sight once again reminded Tian Zi never to fall in love like his two older brothers, both their formidable images had been ruined by the plague. He has no desire to be the third one.
"Hey stop drinking. This wouldn't help you!" Tian Zi had been listening to his older brother mumbling drunkard words when he finally had enough. He was hoping he could tease his older brother with the thing he had acquired for his entertainment, but now he decided not to when the man had been reduced to pitiable state. Even he would feel guilty if he teased the older Alpha now.
Tian Zi was at first planning to make his older brother reveal his true feelings, but now it's clear he didn't need to. Hanlu and Tian Zi had been teasing each other for so long but that didn't mean they didn't know when to stop the childish acts.
"Let go! Leave me alone! I want to drink!" Hanlu yelled pushing Tian Zi's hold away. He glared at the younger Alpha in irritation before Hanlu shifted his eyes to the next bottle and attempted to open it. Tian Zi lets go of his older brother and continued to watch his pitiful condition.
However, due to his impatient nature, Tian Zi sigh again then fished out his mobile phone and taps on it. The second he taps on an icon in his screen, a recording suddenly started playing. Hanlu ignored the sound at first but the moment he heard the voice from the person on the recording, he abruptly perked up.
It was Ian's voice on the recording, a sudden flash of light emerged on Hanlu eyes as he turns around to Tian Zi and stare at his phone.
"This was yesterday, I thought you might want to hear this so I recorded it." Tian Zi said, then handed his phone to his older brother before he sat down to the nearest chair.
"You're so pathetic that I wanted to tease you but I'm letting you hear this without getting my entertainment. Honestly, it hurts being the only who knew. Being the only one observing both of you for years. Both of you are so dense as hell. Your skulls are so thick, nothing gets through until someone points it out!" Tian Zi spoke, at last speaking out his frustrations after observing the two for more than two years. It's obvious his older brother loves Ian Andrews, in fact, both of them loved each other that they've both formed a bond without even realizing.
Why he knew this? Well it's because he had been stalking Hanlu for years now. A hobby he developed since he was a kid because of his strong desire to play with his older brothers but unable to because they had such huge age difference. He felt a little closer when he knew things about his brothers that he kept doing it even when he's already 22.
Fortunately, by doing something like stalking. It wouldn't take a genius to notice Hanlu and Ian Andrews' feelings for each other.
Ian Andrews kept hoping for Hanlu to love him when in actuality, he already does. Mo Hanlu just hasn't realized it, so Tian Zi took the liberty of saying it or his brother will die brokenhearted.
Severing bonds are difficult, deadly even. In this world, brokenhearted can literally kill someone. Bonds are not supposed to be severed once established. Once a bond is established, that connection would engrave in your soul, wanting to erase it would mean reaping a part of that very soul.
Although many people had survived the process, it doesn't mean they went through it easily. Hundreds and thousands of people reported died just from breaking a bond, those who survived, many had never been the same.
A bond-mate may sound romantic, but the reality was far less kind. It's binding, confining, restraining to the point where even if you wanted to move on, you just couldn't. That very idea was the reason Tian Zi hated falling in love. Bonding can only happen between an Alpha and Omega but falling in love had the same concept.
"...But I was happy just being with him. Slowly I didn't realize I was slowly becoming my mother. Like her, I become pregnant with Lan just before my college graduation. She was forced to marry my abusive father and... she died from it, I was sent to the Orphanage at the age of 8 and from then I promised to be never like my mother."
"When I got pregnant I was afraid to tell Luu. I knew he will never be happy with me and I never want to take his freedom from him so I chose to stay away. I chose to leave. Luu had hurt me so many times but I was still willing to come back for him, I still crave for him, I still crave for his love."
"When he asked me to marry him, it was the happiest time of my life but at the same time, at the end of the day, I knew he was never going to be happy. That he was only forced because he found out he had a son with me. I want Hanlu to be happy and I would sacrifice my own for that but Lan, I-I can't. . ." Hanlu listened to the recording, his heart pounding fast. The only sound that echoed in the room was from Ian. When the recording finished, Hanlu pressed replay and once again it started from the very beginning.
As he continued to listen, his eyes started feeling hot and without realizing, hot liquid starting falling. Hanlu didn't notice, one drop became two, then three, four until he finally noticed when the clear liquid dripped on his hand and to Tian Zi's device.
Surprised, Hanlu immediately wiped them dry. Confusion formed on his well-defined facial features, he had never cried in his life. Although he was not ashamed of the act, he was not used to it. Not used to feeling this way. He felt for Ian that his heart was aching, so painful that it caused him to cry. He was feeling all kinds of emotions but the only thing that's clear to now is that he needed to find the Omega.
In a second, Hanlu finally decided to find Ian. He may be risking his life and their son's, it would still be better than having to make the Omega believe that he didn't feel for him. That he had not cared for him since the very beginning.
Hanlu quickly stood then snatched his own mobile device, he hurriedly walked away leaving Tian Zi still astonished at the sight he had been blessed to see. When he realized his older brother had left him, Tian Zi cursed also standing up following Hanlu's footsteps.
When Tian Zi reach his older brother, he was already on his phone talking to someone while walking towards his car.
"Hey, Wait up!" Tian Zi called in a hurry, his cellphone still with his older brother. He called again the older Alpha but Tian Zi was once again ignored. Not even sparing him a single look.
"Dammit! I said wait up!" Tian Zi yelled but again, he was ignored. Suddenly, Tian Zi felt like half of his brain cells burst. He disliked the feeling of being ignored so before Hanlu could get inside his car, Tian Zi yelled again. He yelled something that immediately halted Hanlu from continuing his previous plan.
"So are you willing to listen to me now!?" Tian Zi said, internally rolling his eyes. Sometimes he asked himself why was he such a good little brother!? The things he does for his older brothers are just way out of hand. Shouldn't he be the one getting spoiled rather him doing them favors or fixing their lives!? Tian Zi sighs at his thought.
"So you know where they are?" Hanlu repeated what he heard.
"Well, not exactly. " Tian Zi replied. When their father said he would hide Ian Andrews and claimed that even Mo Hanlu would not be able to find him. Tian Zi got curious how true was that, so out of habit, that very day, he bugged his father's car. He put three GPS tracking device on the car, he managed to put on the driver's uniform and even Ian Andrews duffle bag and Lan's pocket.
His plan was going smoothly at first but along the way, Tian Zi didn't know how but one by one, his bugs were destroyed. Three of them were not functioning, and three stopped moving. Thankfully just from the pattern, Tian Zi can roughly pinpoint Ian Andrews' possible location. Given that their father was not baiting him.
Truthfully, their father was the original sly fox among them. He even thought of the possibility that he was being tracked down.
"But I can give you a location of where you might find him." Tian Zi continued, he walked close to Hanlu and snatch his phone back. He started tapping on his mobile again then later raised the screen directly in front of his older brother.
"This place. The outskirts of the city. There are more than 50 Villas in this area owned by the most influential in the country, Politicians, businessman, even Hollywood celebrities, you name it. Security is tight but not impossible. Father might've bought a Villa there and brought them there." Tian Zi said again. Hanlu stared at the screen then to Tian Zi feeling grateful for this little brother of his.
Maybe that 8 months he stayed away from the family finally made his little brother's thick head soften a bit. He was actually willing to help this time, even taking the initiative. Hanlu's earlier drunk self has now completely sobered, he flashed a charming smile to his little brother before he approached him and gave him a tight hug.
"Thank you. When I find them, you can demand any car you want. Just name it and I'll have it shipped for you in an instant." Hanlu said as he pulled away. Hearing this, Tian Zi had his mouth drop open. Offended. He was helping in genuine concern but it's as if his older brother was seeing as him having a motive.
"I'm not a kid anymore that you can bribe and reward with cars anytime you want." Tian Zi burst in annoyance. He didn't need cars, he had tons of them that he can't fit more in his 1000 sq ft garage. But Tian Zi couldn't really complain at how Hanlu took in his 'genuine concern,' this little brother of his has always played pranks on him. They both sometimes agree with the same thing but mostly they end up teasing each other.
And when either Laotian or Hanlu needed him, the young Alpha would demand to them the latest luxury car in the market. The very first time little Tian Zi demanded to them is when he was thirteen, he wasn't even legal to drive cars yet. There was no doubt the youngest Mo was spoiled rotten by both Mo Laotian and Mo Hanlu. It was their way of showing they cared for Tian Zi despite the huge age gap between them.
"So!? What do you want!?" Hanlu probe frowning, it was odd for Tian Zi not to demand. It's like the demand should come natural. It was weird even for Hanlu not to hear any demand from him.
". . ." Hearing his older brother's question, Tian Zi felt even more annoyed.
"I don't need anything!" Tian Zi insisted.
"Really?!" Hanlu asked, he sounded like he couldn't believe there was no demand. Even his eyes were wide open and his brows knitted close to each other.
"I told you I don't need anything! Just go find your Omega already! You're annoying!" Tian Zi yelled then turned back finally had enough. Hanlu remained surprised but he didn't insist on the young Alpha anymore as he gets on in his car and started the engine.