Chapter 114 - Postponing

Misha shifted in his seat like a child that couldn't stay still, stretching his neck to take a look through the window. While gazing at the empty driveway, he unconsciously chewed on his lower lip, his mind seemingly elsewhere. It was as if he had forgotten that his sister was also sitting on the sofa, just beside him, and that continuously moving around would inevitably draw her eye.

"Is the movie that boring?" Masha asked, her tone of voice teasing.

"No, of course not," Misha coughed, quickly focusing back his attention on the television. "It's super interesting."

"Oh? I didn't know you liked soapy romance movies."

"Well, sometimes, I do? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, nothing, but it's too bad that that's an action movie."

"…" Misha choked on his spit, staring at his sister's mischievous smile with incredulity. A playful light glinted in her gorgeous eyes, and he understood at once that she was teasing him. "…Are you having fun?"

"Yup. A lot."

Burying his flushed face in his hands, Misha curled up into a ball, trying to become one with the sofa. Even he realized that he was acting out of character, but what could he do? Today was Gabriel's day off, meaning that he could finally leave his golden cage and come to their house. They had been talking on the phone once or twice a week, but it wasn't the same as meeting in person.

Yesterday, Gabriel had told them on the phone that he would arrive before noon, and right now, 10 o'clock was about to strike. In other words, Gabriel was likely to pop up any time soon. Knowing this, Misha couldn't help but peek at the window or the front door now and then, verifying if Gabriel hadn't arrived while he wasn't paying attention.

Just in case.

Obviously, staring at the window or the front door wouldn't make the man appear sooner, much less out of thin air, but Misha couldn't help it. It had already been a month since the last time they had seen each other, so naturally, he was over the moon at the idea of meeting up again.

For two weeks now, Misha had been looking forward to reporting Masha's breakup to Gabriel, hoping he would feel as proud of his sister as he was. However, it wasn't something they could talk about on the phone, not with Angela eavesdropping on their conversations, so Misha could only wait until they met face to face before boasting about how Masha rendered that bitch speechless.

—Well, there was also the matter of Stephan's father to discuss, but that wasn't as important as his sister's awesomeness.

Ahem. With this in mind, Misha had been unusually jittery since the early morning, becoming more agitated with each passing minute. In the long run, even Masha felt her head spinning as she watched her brother pace back in forth in the living room, circling around the low table. At one point, Masha couldn't stand it anymore and grabbed the boy's thin shoulders, gently pushing him toward the sofa as she said with a giggle:

"Let's watch a movie while we wait for Gabriel, ok?"

"What? Oh, yeah, sure. Why not…"

But even with the movie playing, Misha's attention was always drawn to the front door or the window. His antics made Masha smile and chuckle softly, her eyes becoming tender.

Pinching her brother's cheeks, she commented with a hearty laugh, "What are you nervous about? I'm the one who's going to meet her supposed fated lover today, so why are you the one who cannot stay still? Hm?"

"I'm not nervous…." Misha paused, pushing his sister's hands aside to rub his painful cheeks. "I'm just a little excited for today's dinner. I mean, for you and Yuki."

"Uh-huh."

"…."

His survival instinct kicked in, and Misha wisely decided not to comment on the matter any further. Instead, he shifted his eyes toward the television. He adopted a serious demeanor as if he was genuinely engrossed in the movie, even though he had no idea what it was about.

Needless to say, it didn't take long before his thoughts wandered elsewhere, and once again, the movie became background noise.

As his sister had said, they would meet Yuki today. Last time, when they were loitering at Stephan's, Gabriel had called Yuki with the excuse of organizing a dinner to thank her for her help at the hospital. It was a few months late, but it was always better than never. He also told her that he would bring Masha and Misha, who, too, wanted to thank her.

Gabriel had given Yuki an approximative date and asked Masha to confirm the day after his next day-off was scheduled, knowing he couldn't call the nurse while being locked up in the house. It was too difficult to contact Yuki without his stepmother finding out, and things would get troublesome if she were to get caught wind of it.

To start with, he knew that Angela would never allow the dinner to happen, even if it meant grounding him.

For obvious reasons, she didn't want Gabriel to be in touch with the people of the hospital, less he found out about the first time he was admitted to said hospital. It would be problematic was he to learn about his first coma. The lesser Gabriel knew about his past, the better it was.

Meeting with Yuki thus had two purposes: the first one was to allow Masha and the nurse to bond, and the second, to ask about the first incident that had plunged Gabriel into a coma. Although he remembered most of it, he was only thirteen years old at the time, and his mind had been quite muddled because of the drugs.

Several details were unclear and needed to be clarified.

During his hospitalization, Yuki had been the nurse in charge of him, so she was the best witness he could ask for. There was also the doctor who had taken care of him, but his stepmother had most likely bribed him, and his mouth was, therefore, shut tight. If he were to contact him, it would travel to Angela's ears at lighting speed for sure.

Honestly, Gabriel could have investigated the incident in the second timeline; however, he hadn't. He had given up on his revenge to take care of Masha and help out Misha. So as not to get tempted, Gabriel discarded the idea of conducting his own investigation, thinking that he could always wait until the situation was more stable. Maybe then he could try to find out the whole truth.

Also, Harold, Stephan's father, needed extra attention in his past life, that guy being painfully naïve. He refused to believe his son no matter how many times he warned him about the dangers and still wanted to meet Matthew face-to-face. To put it bluntly, they had had their hands full, trying to keep Harold alive and well.

Gabriel hadn't had the mindset to interrogate Yuki back then, even though she was always near. But now was different as putting Angela behind bars was one of his top priorities. He would use whatever means he could to attain this goal, even if he had to dig up past skeletons such as his mother's death and the attempted murder on himself.

However, there was one small detail: Gabriel still hadn't talked to Misha about that bloody incident. It was something difficult to bring up, even more so when knowing Misha would be furious on his behalf, as well as distressed, once he heard about his past. In all honesty, he didn't want to see any more tears running down the boy's cheeks, not so soon at least, and it made him hesitate.

Well, Gabriel also hadn't found the right opportunity to tell him. Even Masha only knew a little about the incident, just enough to understand the gist of what had happened. And that mostly was because she had been there for him afterward, following him everywhere at school like a duckling.

Even if Gabriel didn't like the idea of bringing up the matter, he was aware he had to. He had decided not to fight alone this time around, and thus, hiding some facts for fear of distressing Misha was nothing but counterproductive.

After much consideration, Gabriel made up his mind to resume the events before meeting Yuki. Moreover, this way, he wouldn't startle the two siblings with his, let's say, unusual questions.

However, life could care less about his plans, and like always, they went down the drain.

Just as he had feared, Angela ȧssigned him a chaperon for today's day-off. She had pushed Tristan toward him, saying things like no one else would be at home today, and someone needed to babysit him. In her case, she was off to work, whereas Jake left for a place not appropriate for kids, meaning that Tristan couldn't come with either of them.

Or, in other words, if Gabriel didn't bring his little brother along with him, then he would have to stay at home. They couldn't let such a young child alone, after all. And as the big brother, he had the responsibility to take care of him.

When all was said and done, his plans for the day were dashed, thanks to the kid's presence. Whether Gabriel liked it or not, he couldn't talk about his mother's murder in front of Tristan. Although the boy listened to him and wouldn't purposely sell him out, there was still a possibility he would blurt out what he had heard today before Angela. In the end, he was just a little boy, not an ȧduŀt who knew what to say and not say.

Long story short, the discussion with Misha would have to be postponed again, and he could do nothing about it.

Sighing, Gabriel prepared to ring the doorbell, but before his fingertip could even touch the buŧŧon, the door was flung open, and Misha grabbed his wrist to drag him inside. By extension, Tristan, who was glued to his brother's leg, was also brought in, stumbling on the carpet.

"What took you so long?! Come in, come in!" Misha giggled, flashing them a bright smile that warmed the heart.

'…Well, the discussion being postponed isn't so bad, after all,' Gabriel thought as he instinctively smiled back at the child, closing the door behind him.

That sunny expression of his was much more to his taste than any gloomy one, and he wanted it to last a bit longer. Because the moment he told him about the incident, he knew the light in his eyes would become dull, and his smile would be nowhere in sight for a long time.

A very, very long time.