Chapter 5

"I don't think I understand what is going on here, Mr. Henry. I grew up with my mother in the back street of Chicago. All of my childhood memories are intact, without a missing piece. I've seen several pictures of my mother during her pregnancy with me and pictures of her holding me while I was an infant. I have some of those pictures in my apartment.

"My mother had never once mentioned to me that I was adopted, so I don't understand how I can be the young master you are looking for," Brandon breathed out as he took in Henry's serious face as he declared his words.

No matter how he thought about it, he could not bring himself to accept the obvious truth staring him deep in his soul.

The truth is in the form of a picture. The baby in the cot looks exactly like his baby pictures. The one he had with the mother he had known all his life.

With a shake of his head, he continued, trying so hard to convince himself that what he believed in was reality. "I only came to California to study, and since I had no one else to return to at Chicago, Mary Aisle after my mother's death, I decided to stay back here to start a life."

"I'm not your young master and definitely not a relative of anyone who owns or works in the Dragon Empire!" He added, and Henry let out a sigh.

"I understand your confusion, young Master Brandon. It will take time for you to wrap your head around what is going on, but I am telling you the truth: we can perform a DNA test to clear up the misunderstanding if the ring on your finger isn't much of an assurance," Henry explained.

"At the accident scene, only your parents' bodies were found. We could not find any traces of you, and at the time, we thought you had been erased since you were so small and the accident was severe."

"But three years ago, your grandfather was going to the hospital for medical treatment when he saw you. We didn't want to startle you, so we could not approach you at the time, but his sickness became even more serious, and we all got busy. It was on the day he died that he came to you himself to hand the ring over to you," Henry explained calmly.

Brandon's mind wandered to the night he had met the old man beside the alleyway. That night, he had been in a good mood after Cassandra accepted his marriage proposal. He was returning home when he came across the weak old man by the alleyway, and he decided to give him a hand to the hospital.

While reminiscing about the memory, Brandon began to piece together the puzzle. He could remember the regret in the old man's eyes as he looked up at him with his old, tired eyes. The repeated sorry. The fond way the old man had talked to him.

The way he had held on to him while telling him to wait a little longer and spend more time with him.

Brandon had given him the excuse of going to work that night, which was true, and in order to find him again, the old man gave him the ring while saying,'Fate will lead us to meet again.

He let out a sigh and relaxed into the chair with his eyes closed. All the information he is being loaded with made his head feel heavy, not knowing which direction he was meant to think in.

He could never have imagined himself as someone from such a prestigious family. He had considered himself lucky to have been able to marry someone like Cassandra, but right now he does not know what to say, think, or do.

As his mind wandered to his wife, his frustration heightened, and he got up from the chair in a hurried manner.

"This is all too much for me to process at the moment; can you get me something more casual to wear, please? I need to go home and think about it all," he voiced, and Henry nodded.

"I'll get you a new set of clothes to wear as you go home; you can stay here as long as you want; it belongs to you."

Brandon shook his head tiredly, and he pinched his nose bridge. "This is not the right place to think. I won't be able to think straight with all the shiny things around me; you don't have to take me home; I'll find my way around," he said as he began to make our way out of the large, expensive room.

Not having a reason to stop him, Henry got up and followed behind. "I'll take you to your house," he offered.

Brandon heaved a sigh of relief as the car came to a stop in front of the overly familiar apartment building. Everything since he had woken up had been nothing but a dream to him.

Stepping out of the car into the familiar space set his heart at peace, and the nagging headache was suppressed. "Will you be fine on your own?" Henry asked worriedly as they both got out of the car.

"Yes, I'll be..." Before he finished his words, he heard a voice calling out his name with an annoyed tone. As he looked back, he saw Cassandra, still dressed in the attire from the previous night, walking towards him with Young Master Dean and several bodyguards.

"It wasn't a dream; she truly had cheated on me," he thought to himself. His heart, which had settled after coming to the familiar environment, began to rave against him as all the suppressed emotions resurfaced.

Cassandra walked up to him and immediately slapped him as she got close enough. "What do you mean by what you did last night?! How could you have slapped Young Master Dean in front of all his guests?!" She demanded angrily as she reached out to slap him again.

Henry stepped forward and stood between them with a deep frown etched on his face. "Don't you dare raise your filthy hands at the young master, or you'll have yourself to blame!"