Ryuuji's pov
It has been 6 f#cking years! And i still don't have any idea where on earth did he go.
I took another shot of vodka in this counter table and as I drop the shot glass, I gestured for another one.
"So what does our unmarried billionaire been doing so far?" Tanong ni Tale sakin habang tumutungga ng sarili nyang alak.
"None of your business." I replied, giving him the uninterested glance and back to my shot of vodka.
Inayos nya ang kanyang upo and rested his back on the counter while looking at the other guys having their own businesses.
"You know, di na dapat ito hide out natin. I mean, you and Kingsley and Yvo, even Klein, Wayne, Alex and Omar only remembers this place once in a blue moon." He said with hint of bitterness in every words.
"We are not children anymore. Things are not the same like it was before." I replied.
I, again took the shot and faced the others who are in their respective places.
Those who are fond of books are standing right next to the shelf, while others who likes musics plugged in their own devices, breaking themselves away from the reality.
And here I am with this punk trying to wash away the sadness and the longing I had inside me.
Wayne noticed our glances and approached us with shallow smile.
"Bro, you seem out of your league. May problema bang personal?" He asked as he make his way to the stool beside me. He gestures a hand for a drink on our trusted butcher who serves us drinks whenever occassions such as this occur.
I let out a sigh before spilling out words.
"Nothing I can't manage." I replied apathetically. I saw him took his own shot of alcohol.
"You know bro, we are brothers here. Sino-sino pa ba ang magtutulungan kung hindi tayo-tayo lang din." He said as he tap my shoulder somewhat telling me to give a bit of trust in them.
"Alam mo bro, ito kasing si Ryu, cheated on the love of his life. Now, ever since he realized that he is a total jerk, he have made actions to correct his doings. Kaso lang nowhere to be found na ang nagpapabaliw sa ating stiff Ryu!" Sabat ni Tale without holding his words. Napailing nalang ako dito and again gulped on the entire liquid in my shot glass. He knows everything about what happened to me and Bau. Although , I have an extreme alllergy to his boisterousness, he is still one of the guy i'm comfortably opening up with.
"Searching for someone who cannot be found?" Tila nagiisip na tanong ni wayne sakin.
"Why are you even hiring for investigator, kung andito namang myembro ng brotherhood ang isa sa pinakamagaling na investigator." I frowned at his remarks in confusion.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He just pointed his finger to a person on the opposite side busy reading books of whatever sorts.
"Omar is a member of federal investigating team now." He explained. "At wala nang mas makakapaghanap sa mahal mo kung hindi sya." Dugtong pa nito.
I gulp a lump on my throat, as I cannot deny the fact that my best hope is just right in here in this room, this very moment.
A tap on my other shoulder made me glace on his side.
"What are brothers for, right?" Saad naman ni Tale.
......
It was a long excrutiating discussion with Omar, knowing his personality. He is fond of making fun of people like me. He and Tale really do get along well. As the saying goes, birds of the same feathers are idiotic, weird and an asshole shit! Those 2 are irritatingly assholes! Specially to me.
He was shocked of knowing that I have fallen for a guy, but I don't have spare time for axplanations. Good thing, with serious favors like this, I can always count on these guys. All of them are dependable, brothers indeed.
...
I was in the middle of running through all the papers in my desk, when Dona came in.
"Sir, you have a handsome visitor here." She said with a smile.
I glanced at her back at nakita ko ang nagtatagong bata na akala mo ay nakikipag taguan lang with his bubbly gigle.
I outed a smile, as I saw his cute olive shaped eyes peaked through his little fingers.
"Daddy!" He shouted in excitement as if he was caught in mischief.
Hindi ko mapigilan ang mapatawa dito.
"Come here bigboy, give daddy a hug." Masaya kong tawag dito na kinatakbo nito sabay yakap sakin.
I saw Dona smile and bow before leaving the office.
I lifted him up and let him sit on my desk. Kakafive lang nya pero ang tangkad na nya lampas baywang ko na.
However, I cannot change the fact that he is the spitting image of me during my childhood years. Kamukhang kamukha ko ito, kaya nawiwili talaga ako sa kanya and even dad, his lolo is very fond of him.
"Who's with you? And why are you here?" Malumanay kong tanong habang pinaglalaruan nito ang neck tie ko.
"I'm here with Tito Vlad, daddy. Kasi I miss you na. After school, I told tito Vlad to take me to you, kaya poh ako andito." Paliwanag nito sa akin. Napabuntong hininga nalang ako.
"And your mom?" Walang gana kong tanong dito.
"She said kasi Daddy, na puntahan daw nya kausap nya sa phone. She left me with tito Vlad." Napayuko nalang ako dahil ayaw kong makita ng anak ko ang unti-unting pamumuo ng galit ko.
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Nagaalala nitong tanong. Pinakalma ko nalang ang aking sarili at hinarap ito.
"Nothing Levi, daddy is fine. Do you want to go buy some ice cream?" Pagiiwas ko nalang topic dito para di na pumuno pang muli ang galit ko.
That bitch, uunahin pa talaga ang kalandian nya kaysa ang alagaan ang sariling anak.
"No daddy, sabi ni teacher sweet foods will eat my tooth away. Ayoko poh mawala tooth ko daddy." Cute nitong saad sabay pakita sa akin ng kanyang maliliit n ngipin.
Natawa naman ako sa asal ng anak kong ito. He is really cute and very intelligent. Ginulo ko nalang ang buhok nito at hinalikan ito sa noo.
"Then what do you want to do? What do you want daddy to do for you?" Nakangiti kong tanong dito. Umiiling iling lang ito.
"Nothing daddy, i just came here kasi I really miss you. And near lang poh kasi yung playground nila luke and duke dito daddy. I want to play with them eh." Makulit nitong paliwanag sakin. I smiled at him at binaba na sya sa desk ko.
"Ok then, do you want daddy to take you to the play ground?" Tanong ko dito at tumango naman ito.
...
Nasa playground na kami at masayang nakikipaglaro si Levi sa mga anak ni kingsley.
"Look at those guys. Parang tayo lang nung mga bata pa tayo." Nakangiting saad ng katabi ko ngayon.
"Yeah, just like the old times." Sagot ko habang di inaalis ang tingin sa mga bata. Napabuntong hininga ako saka humarap dito.
"King, how did you manage to make things work?" Di ko mapigilang tanong dito na kinakunot ng noo nito.
"What do you mean?" He replied in confusion.
"I mean, you and Devin. How did your love manage to survive despite the judgement of people around you?" Walang gatol kong tanong sa kanya. I was always been thingking of how this well know bachelor was able to love and be proud of his love for another guy without hesitation. Not even afraid of vitiating his reputation.
He just gave me a smile and gaze back at the playing children.
"You know Ryu, love is many different thing except for quitting." He started. "When you choose to love someone, you withdraw yourself from all the negativities of this world full of opinionated people. Loving someone, covers your eyes to the spoils of others and only focus on the wonderful things that blooms within you." He continued.
"It's like having the most beautiful dream in a state of reality. So why stain the overwhelming feeling with the fear of judgement? Because, one doesn't know fear when they are in love." I was in awe with everything he said.
It's like a given notion that when someone is in love, they are bound to speak of only good things. Never, did I thought of Kingsley saying this words in a much comfortable manner.
I was really caught aback. Tongue-tied, with no words to say.
For someone who has this high profile above all of us, to be able to set aside all of his for the sake of love, is indeed imeasurably incredible.
I felt ashamed of myself. Nakakahiya ako. I gave up love just to maintain my status. I gave up on love just to keep my business running.
And like a shameless man, I am now chasing after love. Chasing after someone who put colors into my life. Chasing for that someone who made my life worth living. And now he is gone and left me with nothing to do, but to look, wait and just keep on looking.
I let out a sigh to release this heavy feeling within me that is slowly eating me away.
I felt him tapping my shoulder.
"Do not worry Ryu, if things are not well for you now, then it is not yet the end. Sooner or later, you will find that happiness or that happiness you long for will find you. Either way, you only have but one thing to do." He said in comforting manner. I looked at him with questions in my mind.
" You need to give value to your happiness more than anything." He smiled sincerely as he ended his words.
.....
I went back to my office and let Thrace and Vlad look after Levi.
After I finished evaluating all the necessary documents, I rested my back on my chair and looked at the clouds outside.
I thought about the things that kingsley have said. Sana hindi ko nalang ginawa ang desisyong iyon. I should have chosen him.
A ring from my mobile phone brought me back to my senses.
"How was it Omar?" I ask as I answered the phone.
"Hold your horses bro!" Natatawa nitong sagot sa kabilang linya. I just rub my forehead in disappointments from him. I really am not into this beating around the bush thing.
"If you don't have any information from Bau's whereabouts, please do me a favor and don't bother calling me." I sternly said.
"Relax bro, loosen up a bit. Wag ka magpakastiff masyado. I have all the information that you needed." He said with a tone of disappointment.
"I-i'm really sorry, bro. I'm into a lot of things lately and I don't have time for chilling out. You know what I mean right?" I ask reasuringly.
"Yeah, no worries bro. So here are the intels." He begun.
I am in a roller coaster of emotions right now sa lahat ng sinuwalat ni Omat sa akin.
Kaya pala hindi ko sya mahanap dahil nasa america ito. And the other Auster that my investigator have found out before is indeed an imposter.
"You little Bau, is somehow in danger Ryu. Maybe not now but I believe from the series of events that had happened, mukhang may mga tao talagang gusto syang pabagsakin." Pagtatapos nito.
"I'll handle everything from here, Omar. Maraming salamat bro." Pagtatapos ko sa usapan namin at patay na rin sa aking telepono.
Napangiti ako ng wala sa wisyo.
"He is back. And I will have him back." Bulong ko sa aking sarili. Dahil akin lang sya at pagmamay-ari ko sya. Walang ibang pwedeng umangkin sa kanya kundi ako lang.
A knock on my door made me swivel my chair on its direction. Kita kong pumasok si Dona.
"Sir, an invitation was sent to our corporatw email and I am definitely sure you would like to know about it." Saad nito in an uneasy manner.
"Details." Seryoso kong saad as i averted my gaze back to the glasswall of my office.
"Well, it is from a renowned group of companies. A cocktail party that aims to introduce the newly appointed CEO." I can sense the hesitation in her voice.
"And?" I asked.
"Well, the email's letterhead is from Riverheart-Castero group of companies and one of the signatories is Auster Brave Riverheart Castero." Pagtatapos nito na kinatingin ko ulit dito ng nanlalaki ang mata.
"W-what did you say?" Paglilinaw ko sa sinabi nya. Halos kumabog ang dibdib ko sa di ko malamang dahilan.
"He sent us an invitation for his appointment as the new CEO of his multibillion company." Pagliliwanag nito sa kanyang sinabi kanina lang.
Its as if my heart is racing. A flood of of different emotions are in outburst within me. At long last, I will be able to see his angelic face once again.
So unusual for me, but I feel like I need to rush. I need to look good. I need to act cool. But, most of all I need him.
"Dona." I almost whisper in so much excitement. I can even contain the rush of adrenaline within me. I even felt aroused with the thought of seeing him. I can't believe how much anticipation has been sleeping within me for the past years that even just thought of seeing him gives so much effect on me.
"Dona, please.." I outed in complete defeat over my body's total submission to the excitement.
"I need to look handsome." For the first time in my life did I ever felt insecure because of excitement and anticipation.
Itutuloy....
________
A/N:
Guys my updates are limited to 2k plus words only. Pagpasensyahan nyo na talaga yan lang kaya ng utak ko. Don't worry few chapters nalang and we will bid goodbye to our most pabebe character na maldita and his yumyum papable. Tsaka everyday update naman tayo eh kaya wag na magalitching kayo okies!
Gusto ko talaga imention lahat ng mga nagcocomment isa isa, pero nga mga may dearest nahihiya naman ako baka di nyo bet eh. Pero gusto ko lang malaman nyo na nagpapasalamat ako sa suporta ng sobra sobra. Thankies 😊
Anyways vote at comment nalang kayo kung ano gusto nyo.
Sino man mauna sa comment box dedic ko next chapter 😊
I love you josh ♥️♥️