The realization shocked him a thousand times than he thought it would. His appetite was gone and was replaced by nausea.
'Are you alright, Mal' Theodore asked, the mention of his short name tangled his inside and he couldn't hold it in any more.
'Excuse me' he said and rushed to the nearest bathroom to throw up everything in him until all that was left was guilt. He thought of running away from there, from the date but that would be breaking his trust like he did nine years ago. He calmed himself and plastered a smile on his face before going back to the private room.
'Are you okay?'
'Yeah, I'm fine, where did we stop'
'About me?'
'Okay, I would like to hear about you' Malik said but his mind said the total opposite
'My mom is an American, dad's Asian, you know how Asian parents are, strict, and I can bet with you that my dad has men outside here watching'
'Over protective' the billionaire commented
'And I'm over possessive' Theodore added and Malik chuckled. Even though he feels guilty, Theodore had a special talent of soften people hearts towards him.
'Dessert!' Natalie announced her entrance, she took their plates and placed another.
'Malik told me about you' Theodore said
'He did? I'm surprised he even talked' Malik sent his sister a glare but she ignored it
'Nice to meet you, brother-in-law, I would gladly marry him off to you'. In a low voice, 'I know about it' she winked at him and left, leaving her brother embarrassed.
'Your sister's cool, don't give me that look, I'm interested in guys' the billionaire felt his ear heat up; thankfully he had his hair covering them.
They continued with the dinner, using small talks to kill the awkwardness, they were both trying to keep their past out of their conversation also respecting others boundaries. They stood outside the restaurant to say their goodbye, the young heir kissed Malik on the cheek, causing his ears to turn red.
'Remember I'm possessive' Theodore said, his voice was low and it sounded both seducing and calm.
'I'm not touching anything of yours' Malik said, trying not to look bothered
"But someone is touching what's mine" The young heir thought and entered his car.
Theodore wasn't lying about his father having men that watched his every step, as the young heir drove away with Marcus at the driver's seat, five black cars followed behind him. Malik stood on the same spot, feeling different emotions both good and bad, Maeve and Natalie took their place beside him.
'He's falling' Maeve said with enthusiasm
'Date was a success' Natalie said and they shared an hi-five
'It's him' Malik suddenly said
'Who?' they chorused
'The boy I kidnapped was Theodore' he said and they gasped.
He left them with the shock and drove home to the solitude he missed, away from life that didn't seem to pity him neither did fate. It was like fate found out that he hasn't suffered enough and brought back his past, he wondered who else is back. He knew that this wasn't the worst that could happen but if the cat gets out of the bag, everything he built will fumble. His solitude was peaceful but his only company was guilt and he felt so suffocated by it. It was painful but he endured it because he deserved it.
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BACK AT THE KIDNAPPERS BASE
The boss was angrily shouting and throwing things when MK walked in. He was coming from meeting Natalie for dinner. It was easy for him to guess why their boss was angry; he was always like that whenever his victims' parents refuse to cooperate. This time it was worst, he pulled out his gun and shot the girl. The sound of the gun had sent Dore into a panic attack; fortunately, MK had come to check on him. He pulled the blonde boy into his arms and gently passed his finger through his hair while rubbing circles on his back.
'It's okay, everything would be back to normal, better still, imagine your favorite place' MK whispered into Dore's ear.
'The garden' Dore managed to say in a shaking voice.
'Yes, imagine sitting in the garden watching the sunrise' MK whispered.
Dore breath regulated and his stiffened shoulder relaxed as he leaned into MK chest, even with his eyes blindfolded, he trusts his touch.
'My feet, they ache' Dore said after a while and MK moved to his feet.
He removed the sandal and began massaging it, Dore let out an involuntary moan causing MK to laugh.
'I'm sorry, it felt so good' Dore apologized
'It's okay' MK said and there was a long silence, he didn't mind it as he continued to massage his feet.
Unknown to him, the formerly angry boss who no one knew his real name watched him silently and a smirk found its way to his face. Soon, Dore was asleep; MK stared at him for a while before leaving the victims' room which was almost empty.
The next afternoon, they leveled up their plan, the boss called Dore's dad and asked for ten million dollars in return for his son. Roderick Bradford being strict and rigid as he has always being didn't believe a shit even when his wife cried all night. To wrap it all, he hung up on them after he spat series of insult at them. It angered the boss so much that he pulled out his gun and pointed at Dore who was a crying mess in front of them.
'Don't shoot! I would get the money' MK said anxious, he made a promise; he can't break his promise after he broke his trust. Aneel and Fahil took the boss outside for a smoke, leaving MK and Dore who was now the last victim in the sitting room. He picked up Dore in a bridal style since his hands and legs were tied up, he took him back to the victim room and gently placed him the ground as he silently cried. MK knelt behind Dore and took out his pocket knife he kept on him for protection. He cut his palm and let his blood drip on Dore's forehead, he was creative enough to make it look like Dore's forehead was bleeding. He took a picture of him and sent it to Roderick who immediately sent a reply.
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Malik's Royce parked into his compound, his home was humble, not too big but comfortable. Not long after, a red car parked into his compound, it was Natalie's car. Natalie and Maeve had followed after him with series of questions on the tip of their tongue.
'How do you know it's him?'
'Are you sure?'
'What if you are wrong?'
'What are you going to do if you are right?'
'Shut up!' Malik said and they obliged
'And let me think' Malik added and sat on a sofa with his eyes close.
'Mal, are you alright?' he heard and felt someone squeeze his hand. He opened his eyes and saw a worried boy with blue eyes and brown fluffy hair, his Dore.
'Knock out of it, Malik!' the face in front of his changed into his sister's.
'Fuck' he muttered under his breath
"I'm now seeing things" he thought
'How are you sure it's him' Natalie asked, squeezing his hand for respond.
'They look alike and feel the same' he said and let a groan.
'He's doing it again' Maeve said as she watches her brother go into his bedroom.
Theodore sat on his bed with his back resting on the headboard as he read through Hayden's file.
'Interesting, they've known themselves for two years, fucking two years' he said to Marcus who was cleaning up their dinner.
'I found out too'
'And?' Theodore stood and followed his bodyguard into the kitchen
'Why are you acting like you caught your boyfriend cheating on you' Marcus said, 'In front of me' he added through his teeth, holding back his jealousy.
'That's what it feels like' the spoilt heir mumble and Marcus stepped closer to him invading his personal space.
'Do you like him?' the bodyguard said in whispers, as much as he hated those words he needed to know.
'No' Theodore responded, matching his voice to his, he asked,
'You like me, don't you?'