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2024-12-17 14:49:16Laxus woke up with a severe hangover. He could not remember the last time he got himself this drunk. Actually, the last time had been when he was still living with his family and some days had been harder than others. On those days, Laxus would hide away and soak himself in something strong to make him forget his problems.
In all honesty, Laxus had also hated himself times when he had to drink himself into forgetting the kind of family he came from, but since he left home, he hadn’t taken a single sip of alcohol until he stumbled upon the family pictures online.
“Ugh, my head hurts,” Laxus cussed. He would have appreciated a steamy cup of coffee with only sugar, no cream; that was his specialty. Apart from the fact that Laxus liked to have that every morning, it also made his hangover less torturous.
Then Laxus looked around him. “Damn, where the heck am I?” he asked no one else but himself.
The room reminded Laxus of the Kinkaid mansion. For a minute, Laxus thought he was right back in his father’s house, and he tried to jump off the soft and gigantic bed, but his banging head sent him back into the bed. Suddenly, Laxus became very uncomfortable.
He should have known that the peace and comfort that came with the previous night had nothing to do with his small apartment, but then again, he had been so carried away with enjoying a perfect night that he hadn’t bothered about it until now.
“No, this cannot be!” Laxus groaned.
It was not possible that he was back in his father’s house. Definitely not. If he could fall back to alcohol simply by looking at pictures of them on the internet, what more would their physical presence do to him?
He could not allow it. He needed to leave.
As Laxus struggled to get off bed and get out of his banging headache, the door opened, and a young lady walked in carrying a steamy cup of coffee. It felt like a dream to Laxus. This particular maid’s face was unfamiliar to Laxus. However, it had been over a year since he left home, so it was highly possible that his family might have changed to domestic workers.
“Good morning, sir, something for your headache,” she said politely as she dropped the tray on the bedside table.
Laxus was speechless. The domestic servants at the Kinkaid Mansion were never this hospitable. They were polite and did their jobs, but it was nothing compared to the warm and welcoming smile that greeted Laxus from this maid.
“Sugar or cream?” she asked.
“Just sugar, please,” Laxus said. “Thank you,” he quickly added, as she poured a teaspoon of sugar into the coffee. Working at the restaurant had taught Laxus more manners than he had learned to grow up in the Kinkaid home. He knew now that the appropriate thing to say when someone, whoever it was, did something nice to him was “thank you”.
She stirred the coffee gently and served it to Laxus.
As Laxus took a drink, she curtsied and turned to leave, but Laxus stopped her.
“Am I at the…” Laxus caught himself and stopped. He was still hiding his identity, and since he wasn’t particularly certain that he was at the Kinkaid mansion, he would hate to reveal his identity. Besides, Laxus could barely even remember what happened the night before.
“Whose home am I in?” Laxus corrected instead.
He noticed the maid had a mischievous smile playing on her lips, but he decided not to read too much meaning into it. She had been kind and hospitable, so he would remember her with those.
“Mr. Bowman’s,” she responded.
Laxus’s brows knitted with confusion. “Who is that?” Laxus asked, but she grinned and quietly exited the room.
Laxus drank the coffee hastily. The coffee tasted like heaven on Laxus' tongue. He had almost forgotten what the taste of coffee was like, because he hadn’t had any since he left his family and relocated to Las Vegas, and just like magic, Laxus’s headache began to subside. Usually, he would have gotten up immediately to leave, but now that he knew that he wasn’t at his family’s mansion, Laxus decided that he would wait until he felt completely better. Besides, he also needed to see the person who brought him into his home so that he could thank him. Hopefully, Laxus was able to keep his pride and dignity intact despite being drunk.
Laxus had never been drunk in front of anyone else before. It had always been just him and the alcohol mending each other’s souls and licking each other’s wounds, which was why he always hid away to indulge in it…alone.
“Dear God, I hope I haven’t messed anything up or even revealed my identity,” Laxus was worried now about how he could have handled the situation last night. Judging by the headache that had held him down minutes ago, it was obvious to Laxus that he had way too much to drink.
“Arggh, Laxus, the least you could have done was take a bottle or two, and nothing more considering the fact that you are hiding your identity and keeping a low profile,” Laxus berated himself. “What if I had spilled some truths about myself?” Laxus could not help but feel that he had made a dangerous mistake.
But first, he needed to see whoever brought him to this beautiful house so that he could be on his way as fast as possible. Thankfully, the day was Laxus’s day off, so there was really no need to panic about not going to work or even arriving late. Laxus checked the time on the wall, and it was already mid-morning.
Then the door opened again, and an older man strolled in. Laxus remembered him instantly from the bar the night before. And yes, the man had clearly said that he was a frequent customer at the restaurant that Laxus worked at.
Laxus’s head dropped in disappointment. He knew instantly that he had made a terrible mistake.
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“I know I messed up last night, and I am deeply sorry,” Laxus started to plead immediately. If he was lucky enough, this man would not report his misbehavior to Mr. Henry, Laxus’s boss.The man smiled and walked fully into the room. Then he settled himself comfortably on the settee that was just beside the bed.“You did not mess up last night,” the man said.Laxus was not a fool, neither was he a child. He knew that he must definitely have done something inappropriate the night before; maybe talk too much, dance on the bar table, spill his drink, throw up, or even worse, talk rudely at one of the restaurant’s biggest customers. One report and Laxus knew that he was done for.“I know I did,” Laxus insisted, “You are just trying to make me feel better,” Laxus said. He knew how most people like this operated. They would act as though they were not bothered about unprofessionalism, but the very next day, they would stroll into the working space of that person and ruin the person’s life.
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As Laxus mixed the ingredients to start making hamburgers for the day, he could not shake off the conversation he had with the man in his house. Laxus still did not know the man’s name, as the man did not answer Laxus’s question about his name, or maybe the man had actually told Laxus his name the night he was drunk but could not recall.“Hey, you better hurry up with that,” Drake said as he entered the kitchen. For some days now, Drake had been coming in later than the usual opening time, but no one seemed to have the balls to tell him.""Make your hands work faster and stop acting like a sissy. Soon enough, customers will start trooping in,"" Drake added as he flopped on the chair he usually sat in the kitchen.Laxus decided to ignore him again; he had other things on his mind.The man had told Laxus that they should meet at his house much later when Laxus wasn’t working, so that he would tell Laxus about the deal he had for him. Laxus shivered at the thought of it.""What is it? Do
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Laxus froze in his position.What was his brother doing at the restaurant where he worked? What was his brother doing in Las Vegas?""He was pretty impressed, and he wanted to see the chef making the hamburger. You might get a huge tip, you know.""Laxus heard a voice behind him whisper. Luther was busy with his iPad while he waited, so his head was bent low. Laxus turned and discovered that it was Nessy that was whispering words into his ear. He released a tight smile, because he did not want Nessy to grow suspicious.She seemed like a really smart person, because the first time she witnessed an altercation between Laxus and Drake, she had immediately sensed that something was going on between them, so he needed to make an appearance before she began to ask funny questions.""He seemed like a very wealthy person, Laxus. Like, he basically reeks of wealth and affluence,"" Nessy praised Luther.Laxus’s jaw tightened in annoyance and stark jealousy. He did not realize that hearing someo
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After Drake stalked off, Laxus turned to leave. He still hadn’t forgotten his own pains, predicament and troubles. Also, he still hadn’t forgotten that the same Nessy had been drooling and gushing over his half-brother, but as he turned to walk away, he heard Nessy whimpering.Groaning internally and in frustration, Laxus turned and saw that Nessy was visibly shaking. Laxus would have thought that she was cold, after all the weather was chilly, but it was not enough to cause an adult to shiver, especially one like Nessy who wore a jacket as thick as his.“What are you doing here at this time of the night and with Drake?” Laxus’s voice was gruff and hostile, but instead of Nessy answering his question, she burst into tears.“Oh God, not tonight,” Laxus grumbled to himself. He had just finished shedding his own ocean of tears, and he was not about to watch someone else do theirs. Besides, one thing Laxus could not stand was watching a woman cry. It was one of his greatest weaknesses; on
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“Who are you, and why would you ask me to get into your car just like that?” Laxus asked, his voice almost quivering in fear.He looked around, hoping to see passersby like him who could help him, but mysteriously, Laxus was the only one walking the pedestrian lane that morning, or maybe he had been the only one, but he didn’t realize it until now. Laxus had no idea who this person was or who had sent him, and he was already out here in the street long enough to know how dangerous and deadly it could be. When he was still under the wealth and protection of the Kinkaid family name, Laxus always moved with drivers and bodyguards, so he never knew how dangerous and cold the outside world was.“Don’t be stubborn,” the bodyguard warned sternly.He glared at Laxus, and Laxus feared for his life instantly. He was alone on this path, and it was still very early; if he proved stubborn, he could get killed right here and his body dumped without mercy. Laxus was going through so much, but the la
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As Laxus mixed the ingredients to start making hamburgers for the day, he could not shake off the conversation he had with the man in his house. Laxus still did not know the man’s name, as the man did not answer Laxus’s question about his name, or maybe the man had actually told Laxus his name the night he was drunk but could not recall.“Hey, you better hurry up with that,” Drake said as he entered the kitchen. For some days now, Drake had been coming in later than the usual opening time, but no one seemed to have the balls to tell him.""Make your hands work faster and stop acting like a sissy. Soon enough, customers will start trooping in,"" Drake added as he flopped on the chair he usually sat in the kitchen.Laxus decided to ignore him again; he had other things on his mind.The man had told Laxus that they should meet at his house much later when Laxus wasn’t working, so that he would tell Laxus about the deal he had for him. Laxus shivered at the thought of it.""What is it? Do
