Dorian followed Taylor to the door, but before the lawyer with the golden hair, opened it, he turned to the man he'd known for over five years. His eyes were full of pity.
"If you need anything, anything at all, Dorian, just tell me."
Dorian smiled gratefully and grasped the man's outstretched hand.
"Thanks, Taylor. Sorry again that you got to work on a Saturday."
"No worries! Single as I am, there's not much to do on a Saturday morning anyway," Taylor smiled bitterly, turning around.
He opened the door and met the screams from the journalists who were outside by the gate. The two bodyguards who had come with Taylor were standing beside the door, shouting at the reporters, who had gathered from various newspapers and pages, to back away.
Dorian said goodbye and quickly closed the door before anyone managed to get a picture of him.
Fortunately, as usual, Elliot was very pro-active, and his decision to send bodyguards to Dorian's house in Chelsea was right. Shortly after Dorian had talked to Elliot on the phone, the first reporters knocked on the door. They had not opened it, but the couple had to pull for all the blinders so that no one would be able to photograph into their home.
When Taylor had arrived, Dorian and Finian had talked to him inside the kitchen over a cup of strong coffee. Dorian had been thinking about taking a whiskey, but Finian had discouraged him. Alcohol was really not appropriate when his body was still feeling the aftereffects of suppressants.
Taylor said that Yeo-reum had written a statement on behalf of Blue Haven Records, and from the McCallister family. All Dorian had to do was approve it. Then Taylor told how them both how they would relate to the reporters and when they would know that it was time to call the police.
Dorian was overwhelmed and cursed. He knew that the paparazzi and the tabloids terrorized celebrities, but he had always managed to avoid them. Although his father was related to the royal family, their family had never been in the limelight. They were businessmen, not socialites.
Dorian walked toward the living room when he heard that Finian was talking to someone. He stopped at the doorway and looked at his beloved's back. The red-haired man sat in an armchair and spoke on the phone.
"Dadaí, is it true that Dad has met his fated pair?"
Finian jerked when he heard Eamon's voice. The boy sounded very sad, and his voice trembled. Finian understood that it was a difficult thing for the thirteen-year-old to ask.
Finian and Dorian had decided that they would be honest with the children. They knew they had already learned the news before calling them this morning. The children learned everything through social media nowadays, and the story about their father was everywhere.
"Yes, Luv. Yesterday he was at the same place as an omega that turned out to be his fated pair."
It was quiet on the other side of the line for a little while. Finian didn't want to rush the boy, so he waited patiently.
"How do you feel about that?"
Finian was struck with sorrow when he heard his son's troubled question. Eamon was a calm boy with a big heart. He had gotten Dorian's compassion for others and the gentle character of Finian.
"I'll be honest with you Eamon, I'm pretty sad. But your father and I will solve this."
"Okay. But what should I say to Caoimhe? She hasn't stopped crying since she saw about it in Shiro Nakamura's fan club before. She has removed everything that has to do with him from her pages."
Finian sighed. Caoimhe was quite the opposite of her big brother, she was emotional and had no self-restraint at all.
"Let me talk to her. But, do you want to come home, Eamon, or do you want to stay another week? It's pretty chaotic here, so we understand if you don't want to."
Eamon replied with an uncertain voice.
"Is it okay if I stay? Lugh, just let me ride him."
"Of course, Eamon and well done, it's amazing that you managed to get him to accept you. Your dad still has not been able to ride him yet."
Dorian came through the door where he'd been listening.
"Are you talking about that damn horse?" Dorian reached for Finian, kissed his cheek, and held out his hand as if he wanted the phone.
"Your dad wants to talk with you."
"Okay," said the boy, and Dorian held the phone to his ear.
"Hi, Pet. How are you?"
"I don't know, I'm worried, and Caoimhe is just crying."
Anxiety and feelings of guilt struck again, and Dorian closed his eyes as he talked.
"I understand, but you two have nothing to worry about. I love your Dadaí. You know that, Eamon."
"I know, Dad."
"You're a good kid, Eamon. Could you put your sister on the phone?"
"Okay. I love you, Dad."
Dorian smiled.
"I love you too!"
Dorian heard Eamon talking to someone in the background, someone crying and screaming, "I don't want to talk to him." Dorian put on the speaker and stood, so the phone was between him and Finian.
It took a while before he heard his daughter's sobbing.
"Hello."
"Hi Caoimhe, it's your Dad and Dadaí here. How are you, Sweetie?"
"Dadaí, I'm so sorry. I would never have liked that omega if I had known this would happen. Forgive me."
Dorian and Finian exchange surprised looks.
"But honey, don't say that. You haven't done anything wrong, and neither has Shiro Nakamura. You can still enjoy his music," Finian said with his kind voice.
"Never. I hate that man. He'll take Dad away from us," she screamed, crying. "I can hear that you're sad, Dadaí, and everything is his fault."
"Now stop Caoimhe, it's nobody's fault, and nothing will change. I will not leave neither your father nor you. I will never meet him again."
Dorian sounded stern, but he knew that Caoimhe would not listen to any of them now. She was so damn stubborn.
"According to people on Shiro's fansites, you will get sick without each other, and you will die."
Dorian froze and looked questioningly at Finian. What he saw in his husband's sad eyes almost broke his heart. Finian thought this too!
"What are you talking about, Caoimhe? Who said that?"
"A girl put out a link to a page that has listed all known fated pairs and every single one who lived without their partner has become really sick and died. So, you will die, Dad, if you do not leave us!" the girl cried utterly hysterical, and they heard how she did something with the phone and ran away.
"Dad?" they heard Eamon say with a sad, little voice.
"I'll come and get you," Finian said firmly, and Dorian nodded in agreement.
Finian then talked to his older sister, and it was decided that Finian would get there as soon as he got a plane ticket.
After the conversation, Finian and Dorian stared at each other before embracing each other hard. Dorian felt tears flow down his face, which he buried in Finian's neck.
"Forgive me, Fin, please forgive me."
The red-haired man held on tightly to his beloved.
"You don't have to apologize, because you haven't done anything wrong. I keep telling you this. As you say, we will solve this together." Finian grasped the taller man's shoulders and took a step back, his heart aching when he saw the sad and anxious look of the man he loved so much.
"I'm going to do some research, so don't worry. Okay?"
Dorian nodded, but the tears did not stop.
Finian kissed away the tears that fell and then caressed his husband's cheek; they never looked away from each other.
"I love you, babe."
"I love you too. Do you want me to come along?"
Finian shook his head.
"It's best if you stay at home and take care of the company. I'll solve this with the kids."
Finian went to his office to book a flight ticket to Kerry. Dorian stared after him, and when he was sure Finian wouldn't hear him, he sat down in an armchair and hid his head in his hands. The tears just flowed, and Dorian struggled to stay above the surface. It felt like he was sinking in a deep, dark hole. He didn't feel like himself, it was like there was something incredibly wrong with him, and he could feel his body changing.
After intercourse with Finian, he felt a little better, but slowly the emptiness in him began to come back. It was like a hole inside him, a void that had formed within him, and it just got bigger and bigger, not stopping until it swallowed him whole.
When Dorian heard what his daughter had said and when he saw the confirmation in Finian's eyes, he understood. That fucking omega's pheromones. He needed them.
Dorian hated this. He hated it so much.
"Dorian, there is a flight in three hours. Can you drive me to the airport, or should I take a taxi?"
When he heard Finian's voice from the office, Dorian wiped his tears and took a deep breath before answering.
"Of course, I'm driving you, darling. I can go to the office afterward and look over some documents."
"Thank you, but you shouldn't immerse yourself in work just because you feel lonely," he heard Finian said while laughing.
Dorian smiled and stood up. The Irish man knew him too well.
"Not making any promises, Luv."
Finian continued to laugh. Dorian loved that laughter, and he promised himself there and then that he would do everything in his power to never take that laughter away from his beloved.