Chapter 94 - Fooled

'Sacrificed his very own inheritance rights,' inwardly repeated Misha, the words echoing inside his mind like a broken record.

Did it mean what he thought it meant? But why? How? When?! Wait. Was it linked to his sister's medical expenses? When Gabriel said he could help pay for Masha's new necessities and needs, Misha didn't think much of it, not even bothering to ask where he had found the money. In his mind, Gabriel was a rich boy who didn't lack anything, but if he took the time to look at the big picture, would that cheapskate family of his really give him any money to spend on his girlfriend's medical expenses? No, not without something in return.

After all, back when Gabriel fell into a coma, his father was ready to withdraw the life-sustaining treatment if his son didn't wake up within a month. That cold-hearted man had no feeling for his very own flesh and blood. So, what about an unrelated person? They might as well die for all he cared. However, Angela was another story. If she could get rid of Gabriel by spending a bit of money, why wouldn't she? It was the easiest and fastest way.

Running his fingers through his hair to pull it backward, Misha suddenly had an epiphany. In their past life, Gabriel became a teacher. He didn't live a lavish life, and he even sold his car after moving in to help pay the rent. Masha was working all day long, and Alexey was always dead drunk, worse than human garbage. But someone needed to watch over little Misha as he was still relatively young at the time, and that had been Gabriel's job. The young master had learned to cook, do the dishes and the laundry, clean up the house, and so forth. He had become the perfect nanny.

But what was the price of leaving his house to take care of 'irrelevant' people? How would his family react? Not with a smile for sure. As the many questions flashed by in his mind, Misha became paler. Just how much did Gabriel sacrifice for him and Masha in their past life? And what about now?

Before Misha could dwell on the matter any further, he heard Gabriel tsk, "That brother of mine sure has a big mouth."

Then, he ruffled his hair, offering him a reassuring smile. Because they were relatively close to the group of four, they could hear their conversation without much problem. They weren't exactly quiet. Jake and Camille didn't pay attention to their surroundings, focused on Masha, and thus didn't notice the boy near the leopard cage and the young man standing by his side. Many people also walked by, hiding them most of the time.

Tilting his head to escape Gabriel's hand, Misha peeked at him from the corner of his eyes. Thinking back on what he had just discovered, he couldn't help but mutter, his voice sounding sullen, "…Are you sure you're not in love with my sister?"

"…I swear there's nothing more than brotherly love," answered Gabriel after a small fit of coughing, wondering where the hell did that question come from.

Squinting his eyes, Misha sized him up before snorting, puzzling the young man. It was just a little hard to believe Gabriel would do so much for his sister without ulterior motives. Maybe he had been around too many rotten persons, but shouldn't friendship have limits? What he didn't know, though, was that Gabriel was the kind who had very few friends, but to those very few friends, he could give up the world without batting an eyelash.

Whereas Misha was shocked by Jake's words, Masha and Yuki didn't react much. Masha had long learned the truth, although she had to pester Gabriel for weeks before he consented to tell her what he had done. Whenever Masha thought about it, it still made her feel guilty deep down. She knew he hadn't only given up his inherence rights but also his revenge. However, her inner turmoil didn't show on her face; she didn't want to give Jake the satisfaction of seeing her conflicted.

As for Yuki, she had figured out that it wasn't that simple the moment Gabriel had contacted her to take care of Masha and told her the high salary she would receive in compensation. She was well aware of Gabriel's family members' personalities, and there was no way they would readily pay for Masha's medical expenses. And so, she had asked from whom the money was coming from, and knowing he couldn't fool her, Gabriel had said it was from Angela. Yuki didn't need more to guess most of the truth.

But despite already knowing the truth, hearing it come out of that brat's mouth nonetheless managed to anger her, yet, like Masha, her face didn't show anything but utter indifference. The best way to deal with that kind of person was not to react to their words, so both outwardly shrugged off the matter, acting as though it had nothing to do with them.

And as expected, Jake wasn't delighted with their reactions, making him frown and snort. But as he was about to add something more, wanting to rub salt into the wound, he heard someone say behind him, "I don't think it's cheating if they both have received my blessing."

Startled, Jake turned his head toward the voice only to see Gabriel leisurely making his way to them, a child standing by his side. Jake had to blink a few times before realizing Masha and Yuki had come to the zoo with his half-brother and that hateful brat who had punched him in the groin—a few months ago, at the hospital. Unable to contain himself, he blurted out, "What the f.u.c.k are you doing here?!"

"Can't you tell?" smiled Gabriel with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "We're on a 'double date'."

Hearing this, Misha almost choked on his own saliva, glaring at Gabriel from the corner of his eyes. Could they please stop with that lame joke?! In a way, it sounded very, very creepy, ok! Who goes on a date with a kid?! Well, he knew Gabriel wasn't talking about a romantic date but still! He didn't like how hearing him say such things made butterflies flutter in his stomach. It was bad for his poor little heart!

"…You knew?" asked Jake after a short second, disbelief written all over his face.

"I've always known. After all, Masha and I were never in a relationship."

"What…? What the hell does that mean?!"

"It's because he's gay," chimed in Camille, making a cute pout as she clung to Jake's arm. "They were both using each other to hide their s.e.x.u.a.l orientations. And you know? I had no other choice but to play along. It was so hard on me."

At those words, Masha's mouth twitched. That little bitch sure knew how to be two-faced. Masha would never have proposed to Gabriel to be her fake girlfriend if that wasn't what Camille wanted. Even if it would help Gabriel cover up his s.e.x.u.a.lity because they both knew Angela could use it against him, Masha wasn't the kind to do something her lover wouldn't like. After a while of dating, Camille told her she wished to conceal their same-gender relationship, and the best way to do that was to find themselves fake boyfriends.

Now, Masha felt regretful. She should never have told her to be at ease because Gabriel was gay, and as such, they would never develop feelings for each other no matter how long they faked their relationship. Of course, Masha had told her with Gabriel's permission. However, he had seemed reluctant, and yet, she had pretended not to notice it. Really, she wanted to go back in time and slap herself. How blind and selfish had she been because of love? It made her sick to the stomach to think about it.

A silence passed before Jake managed to react. His face slowly turned red with anger as he realized those two had been fooling him and his mother for such a long time. They had never been together. They weren't a couple, just friends. Gabriel was gay, something Angela could have used to claim he wasn't suited to be her husband's heir. In the end, homos.e.x.u.a.lity wasn't accepted by everyone and probably would never be. In certain social circles, it was easy to discredit someone because of their s.e.x.u.a.lity, no matter how outstanding the person was.

"Wait until your father finds out," spat out Jake between gritted teeth.

"And what will he do? Disown me? Sorry to tell you, but I currently am," replied Gabriel, his eyes as cold as ice. "Your mother also signed a contract with me. She cannot stop provide money for Masha just because of my s.e.x.u.a.l orientation. Whether she's angry or not doesn't matter in the eye of the law. You can read the contract as many times as you wish, but there is no clause regarding my s.e.x.u.a.lity."

Because Gabriel had no trust in his stepmother, he had requested a contract approved by lawyers before conceding his inheritance rights. Of course, he was the one to chose the said lawyers. The contract was also safeguarded in a bank of his choice, making it so that it couldn't suddenly disappear. He had also made a few copies just in case. All in all, he was given up his rights, but if Angela didn't follow the contract conditions, it would be invalided, and he would regain the said inheritance rights. Moreover, if such a thing were to happen, he could not be disowned afterward, no matter the reason.

After carefully reading the contract, his father had also agreed to it and added his signature beside his wife's. That man had the guts the smirk, saying that that contract was quite interesting, to which Gabriel had perfunctorily answered with a "thank you".

Now, Gabriel could care less if his family found out about his s.e.x.u.a.l orientation. He just didn't like to talk about it as it was something private. It had nothing to do with strangers and outsiders. And once his friends knew he was gay, he had nothing else to add. He loved men, so what?

As Gabriel's words sank in, Jake became increasingly angry, so furious that a vein seemed to pop on his forehead. He had also read the contract, and he knew there was nothing they could do about it. What was the point of knowing it now? All that had done was make him realize just how much Gabriel had played them.

Once the anger reached a certain point, Jake forgot to think and pounced toward his half-brother, intending to grab his collar. But as he took a step forward, a crutch suddenly appeared before his legs, and he tripped, falling headfirst onto the dirty ground. Then, Masha quietly took back her crutch, innocently smiling.

"Oh, dear! Be careful!"

"You!" yelled Jake, ready to jump on his feet and teach that girl a lesson or two.

"You know, maybe you should take a look around before losing your temper," warned Gabriel, looking down at his brother with such cold eyes that Jake felt a chill crawl down his spine.

Angela and her son had a glimpse of his real personality when Gabriel proposed to sign a contract, letting them know that he wasn't as foolish as he had always pretended to be. But that was all. He had kept the polite smile and gentle approach, appearing somewhat submissive and easily deceived. However, Jake now had a hunch that beneath the gentleman façade was a beast that could devour him alive.

"You will pay for this, I'm telling you," grunted Jake before leaping to his feet and leaving with Camille, not without throwing them a disdainful gaze.

Because the commotion had inevitably attracted attention, Jake couldn't be wishful, not in front of so many witnesses. And so, the group of four stared at his back until he disappeared into the crowd, accompanied by Camille. Then, Misha dashed to his sister and asked in a worried tone, "How do you feel?"

"Oh, I never felt so good," chuckled Masha, ruffling her brother's hair.

She wasn't lying. It felt great to say what she had on her mind, but there was one thing she couldn't help but wonder about. Where the hell did Jake and Camille meet? And how did those two vipers end up together? Those were questions she would probably never find out the answers to.

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Author has something to say: Hi guys! In a little bit more than a month, Sweet Devil will celebrate its two-year anniversary! I can't offer much, but still, I wanted to celebrate it this year. So, I made a few keychains of little Misha and a giveaway! Two winners will receive one keychain. Here the link to the giveaway on my Twitter: twitter.com/VaesenRs/status/1387517281895333889?s=20 . The tweet is also pinned to my profile. I will put an image of said keychains in the comment area!

For early access, feel free to check out my P a t r e . o n !

P a t r e . o n : *******.com/rsvaesen

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