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C H R I S T M A S S P E C I A L I
"THE MAN WHO TOLD me to enroll you in J.S High. Viktor..." Marcus reveals, leaving Max's eyes wide from shock. Never in a million years did he expect to hear something like that, but for some reason, despite the idea never crossing his mind, he felt like he understood.
"Viktor..." Max repeats, the name lingering in his mouth as he said it. "Why?" He then asks, and Marcus couldn't really continue, which was something that Max wasn't going to force since it wasn't a direct question towards him anyway.
"I should have known," Max says instead before taking a sip of water that was already on their table. "When uncle Janus tried to persuade me to enroll in J.S High, he mentioned Crème de la crème. I should have suspected that this would happen."
Marcus stares at his brother as he waits for him to compose himself. He was expecting Max to start asking him questions, and for the first time, Marcus was determined to answer and explain as best as he could if Max wanted him to, but to his surprise, Max remained silent until a waiter finally arrived to serve their food.
"Thank you," Max tells the waiter before looking back at Marcus. "Let's eat," he then says, and Marcus sighs and smiles at him before nodding his head.
The two started eating while the waiter served them wine. He then asked if they needed anything else, and when Marcus told him that they were fine, the waiter left.
When the two of them were finally alone together, Max looks back at Marcus and tells him, "I only have one question, and the only answer I want to hear from you is yes or no."
Marcus swallows the food in his mouth before nodding his head to agree to his little brother's term. Max then takes a quick sip of his wine before finally asking, "When Viktor asked you to enroll me in J.S High...did he know that you guys have erased my memories?"
The room falls silent as Marcus drops his fork in complete shock. He couldn't believe what he just heard, but when he realized that Max was waiting for his response, all Marcus could do was gulp and obediently answer, "No." And even though Max told him that he only needed to answer yes or no, Marcus explained further anyway, "Viktor never knew, but I am certain that he realized it eventually."
"Well it would be strange if he didn't," Max says as he casually starts eating again like he didn't just ask something so shocking.
"Max..." Marcus calls out with a worried tone. "When did you realize?" he asks him.
Without even looking back at his brother, Max answers, "When did I realize that I was being drugged? Well, the real question here is how were they stupid enough to think that I'd never realized this?" Max manages to joke, but when he saw the serious expression on his brother's face, Max smirks and takes a bite of his steak first before asking, "Did my question frighten you, big brother?"
"It terrified me," Marcus answers with no hesitation, and his honesty made Max take another sip of his wine. "I am terrified by the fact that you'd be angry at me for what I have done."
"I am not angry at you if that is what you're worried about. Disappointed, yes, but never angry," Max says as he looks at Marcus straight in the eyes. "I'm disappointed because you let the Sinclaire's make you do the dirty work for them. So who asked you to do it? Did father ask you? No, I don't think so. The mastermind has to be someone crueler. Perhaps an older woman like our—"
"Max, please stop..." Marcus immediately says, making Max stop talking in an instant.
When the atmosphere around them suddenly felt tense, Max takes a deep breath and puts down his knife and fork. "I only intended to eat dinner with you and enjoy Christmas Eve," he says with a sigh. "It seems like I can't even enjoy something simple as this."
Marcus tries to open his mouth to say something, but somehow, he couldn't do it. He was scared that he'd end up saying the wrong thing.
"Being Luna Lemieux's son has always been a curse, not to me but to the Sinclaire's. They couldn't handle the fact that their blood got mixed by something so evil, so I am aware that they will do everything in their power to erase that curse," Max explains with a soft tone, calming Marcus down a little.
"I'm—" Before Marcus could even apologize, Max cuts him off and tells him, "Did they threaten you? What did they say? They probably manipulated you, telling you that it's for my sake, did they not?"
Marcus takes a deep breath and looks at Max with a sad expression. When Max saw this, he couldn't really help but laugh. "Don't look at me like that. Don't look at me as if you pity me. Pity is for the dead, and for what I could remember, I am still alive."
"Max..." Marcus says, taking another deep breath to prepare himself for what he's about to say next. "I can tell you everything. I'll tell the entire story and everything you have forgotten to the best of my abilities. Just tell me the word and I'll do it."
Max stayed silent for a couple of seconds, and when Marcus thought that he was now ready to give him an answer, Max suddenly continued eating. Marcus was confused, but then Max says, "I like the way I am now."
"What?"
"I have achieved everything that I achieved because my judgment is focused on the present and not influenced by my past. If I want to ask you something then I'll ask you those questions, but as of now, I have no intentions of knowing them through this. I will slowly remember. My memories are sacred, and I trust no one to tell me about them other than myself. I hope you understand." Max says, and as surprised as Marcus was, he nods his head in understanding.
"Come on, let's end this bitter conversation and just enjoy our dinner," Max then says, now smiling.
Marcus couldn't say anything else and just nods his head.
Despite the intense revelations, the two started eating in silence as if nothing happened. The silence between them didn't mean that they were angry at each other. As Max said, he wasn't angry. Cliché as it may be, Max can never really get mad at his brother. Even if Marcus points a gun at him, he'll never get mad.
...
When they finally cleared their plates, the two split the bill and headed out where the Christmas lights could be found.
"Never knew there were this many people out in the cold during Christmas," Max says, his hands inside the pockets of his coat to prevent them from freezing.
Marcus, who's walking beside him, glances at his brother before removing his scarf and draping it around Max. Max was surprised, but he doesn't say anything and just let Marcus put his scarf on him.
When Max has finally warmed up thanks to the scarf, Marcus looks back at Max's eyes and tells him, "I'm sorry if I was never the kind of big brother that you needed. I always disappoint you, and at times I feel like the more I try to protect you, I end up harming you instead. I promise to be better."
Max didn't expect his brother to suddenly say such things to him, but instead of responding, Max reaches out and flicks Marcus's forehead.
Marcus was surprised as he starts massaging his forehead because of the pain, but his reaction made Max start laughing, so Marcus finally loosened up as he looks back at his brother with a smile.
"Can I at least be sincere for once?" Marcus asks, and Max shakes his head as an answer.
"Oh well, I guess you don't need a present too," Marcus says as he starts walking away.
Max immediately follows him and grabs him by the arm. "Present? Did you buy me a present?" Max excitedly asks him, making Marcus chuckle because moments like these make him realize that Max will always be his little brother.
As rich as Max and his family is, they rarely get any presents, which is quite ironic since you'd think they already have everything but something as simple as a gift is uncommon to them. Honestly, he'd even be delighted if he received a mug or even a picture frame.
"Okay okay..." Marcus stops walking and grabs something from his coat. He pulls out a small blue box that had a silver ribbon. He hands it over to Max and says, "Open it."
Max thanks his brother first before opening the present. When he opened it, he was surprised to see that it was actually a golden letter M brooch.
"It's a brooch," Max says as he takes the brooch from the box to take a closer look at it.
"The letter stands for our names, Marcus and Max, but if it's too cheesy for you, it can stand for money too since you also like money. Of course, it's not something you wear at school, but you can wear it on your suit when you're at a party or something like that," Marcus explains, adding a little humor to it so he wouldn't be too embarrassed if Max ends up not liking it.
Thankfully, Max did end up liking it to the point where he was lost for words.
"Do you like it?" Marcus finally asks.
Max looks back at his brother and nods his head. "Thank you," he says. "It means a lot to me."
Marcus almost sighed in relief before smiling and patting Max's head. "You're welcome," he replies, and Max puts the brooch back inside the box before hiding it in his coat.
"Now I kinda feel bad for what I'm about to give you," Max says, pulling something out from his pocket as well. Marcus was expecting to see an item, but to his surprise, Max pulled out his phone instead.
"You're giving me...your phone?" Marcus confusingly asks, making Max laugh.
Max doesn't say anything to his brother as he dialed a number. When the person on the other line answered, Max asks, "Where are you? I'm just outside the restaurant that I sent you. Oh, you're close? Okay, I'll see you in a bit."
When Max hides his phone back, Marcus looks at him with curiosity and confusion before asking, "Who was that? Did you order something online?"
"You can say that," Max says, and just in time, someone calls out his name. Max and Marcus turned around, and to Marcus's surprise, it was Cindy, walking towards them with a shy smile.
"M-Max...what did you—" before Marcus could even finish his sentence, he stopped talking in an instant when Cindy stopped in front of them. All Marcus could do was clear his throat and stand awkwardly.
"Merry Christmas Leigh," Cindy says, reaching out and hugging Max, which Max gladly accepts. When Cindy pulled away from him, she takes something out from her bag and hands it over to him. "It's not much, but I wanted to give this to you. I hope you like it."
Max was surprised by the unexpected present, but he happily accepts it. "You're too kind. Thank you."
Cindy smiles before gesturing at Max to open it. So Max did open it, and inside the box was a silver Rolex, something that Max would often wear.
"You know me too well. Thank you, Cindy."
"It doesn't top the diamond necklace that you sent me this morning, but I'm glad you like it," Cindy then says, surprising Marcus because he wasn't expecting Max to ever give Cindy something so expensive. For some reason, he felt like he lost in a competition.
When Max noticed his brother's reaction, Max couldn't help but chuckle as he says, "Don't worry, I gave Scarlet and my other friends a present too. No need to be jealous."
Marcus instantly looked flustered as he defended himself, "W-What do you mean jealous? Why the hell would I be jealous? You can give anyone anything you want. It's not like giving presents is a competition on who gives the best one."
"Whatever you say, big guy," Max playfully says before looking back at Cindy. "Take care of him for me okay? He's too much of a goofball so he might trip and break his neck or something."
Marcus was about to argue with his brother, but Cindy just laughs it off and says, "I'll try my best."
Without saying anything else, Max smiles at the two of them and walks away. Marcus was about to follow his brother, but then he felt something cold touch his arm. Marcus looks down and sees that Cindy was actually holding onto him. "Do you want to hold onto me so you wouldn't fall and break your neck?" She jokingly asks with her cheeks all red.
Marcus wanted to convince himself that it was only red because of the cold, so he clears his throat and casually answers, "If you're okay with it."
When Cindy heard his answer, she smiles and gives him her hand. Marcus was unsure at first, but he slowly grabs hold of it before squeezing it gently.
"Your hands are cold," he says.
"Then keep it warm for me," she answers, and the two starts walking away as if they were the only ones around.
...
Max walks back alone to where he parked his car. As much as he wanted to spend the entire night with Marcus, he thought it was a perfect idea to let two of his most important people rekindle their relationship on Christmas Eve. It's the least Max could do after receiving a ton of help from Cindy. After all, Cindy had a major crush on his brother ever since they were young.
"Well, time to go home," Max says as he approaches his car. As he was getting closer to the parking, Max looks down to search for the car keys in his pocket. But when he looked up, he instantly stopped.
Someone was leaning on his car, and that someone was none other than Gavriil Alexeev.
"Is this fucking karma for what I did to Marcus?" Max asks himself. He then turns back around and was about to make a run for it, but Gavriil notices him and calls out, "Leigh?"
Max curses underneath his breath and slowly faces Gavriil who was now walking towards him, instantly making Max's heart start beating fast. Gavriil was wearing a long coat that he matched with a fedora. It almost looked like a scene in a movie where the two main leads finally reunite.
When Gavriil was now in front of him, Max awkwardly scratches the back of his head and asks, "W-what are you doing here?"
"Cindy told me that the three of us were going to eat dinner together and told me to wait here while she gets you. Cindy and I were together just a couple of minutes ago but where is she now? Is she not with you?" Gavriil asks, almost making him face-palm himself.
"That sly little vixen," Max mumbles underneath his breath, but then he chuckled, realizing that he was slowly starting to sound like Cj now.
"Leigh?" Gavriil calls out again, confused on why Max suddenly chuckled.
When Max composed himself, he finally looks back at Gavriil. "She...kinda left with my brother?" Max answers with an unsure tone, surprising Gavriil.
"She left? So it's just us two?" Gavriil asks, and Max sighs and tries to explain, "It's a bit complicated but I think she set us up. I actually ate dinner with Marcus and was about to go home. Sorry..."
Gavriil, who was still surprised, takes a deep breath and slowly nods his head in understanding. "Is that so?" He asks before scratching his head. When he noticed how troubled Max looked, he smiles and gently pats Max's head to assure him that he wasn't mad. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay? I'm sure you're tired so you should head home first. Don't worry about me."
"Are you sure?" Max asks.
Gavriil nods his head and slides his hand from Max's head down to his cheek. Max flinches when he felt Gavriil's cold hand despite the gloves that he was wearing, but he didn't push him away. "I'm just glad I was able to see you and personally greet you a merry Christmas," he says.
The two of them stare at each other for a couple more seconds until Gavriil finally pulls away from him. "Drive home safely, okay?" He then says before finally walking away.
Max stares at him and bites his lower lip. For some reason, ever since their last dinner together, Max has been anxious around him. Every time he thinks about him, he ends up feeling strange inside. For Max, it would be easier if Gavriil wouldn't stick too close to him so he could organize his feelings first, but somehow, seeing him walk away like this made his chest ache.
"Gav!" He shouts, making Gavriil stop walking to turn back around to face him.
Max didn't know what he was exactly doing, but he mustered up the courage to say, "Étienne's away and I told all our maids and helpers to head home for Christmas Eve. Father's not home either and Marcus would probably return late..."
"What are you saying?" Gavriil confusingly asks.
Max takes a deep breath and walks towards Gavriil before shyly tugging the hem of his coat. "Do you...perhaps...want to spend Christmas Eve...at my place?"
- END -