Luca spent lunch and dinner alone in his room.
He didn't go home, nor did he open the door to anyone who knocked.
He spent the whole day scrolling through his laptop, looking at the remains of recordings from 17 years ago, carefully observing what had happened.
He wanted to make sure that the stranger he had seen earlier was really Lucien, whom he knew. And if it really was him, he wanted to ask for clarification as to why he had been hiding for so long, without meeting him.
The night was getting late, and Luca hadn't found any evidence. The recording after the attack at that time was gone, just cut off. No one knew what had happened after that, and he himself only vaguely remembered it, as if the memory had been forced out of his mind.
The lack of results made Luca throw himself on the sofa. His body began to feel stiff after a day of sitting staring at his laptop screen.
Luca's smartphone had been silent since earlier, and he had left it on the table. He picked up his smartphone and saw that it was already past midnight, showing exactly 12:00 a.m.
In addition, his sapphire blue eyes caught sight of a chat and a missed call from his sugar daddy.
Mr. Dominic
Luca, why aren't you home yet?
Are you angry?
Or did I accidentally make you angry?
"Huh! He still remembers me, apparently. Never mind, this time I want to ignore it."
Luca put his smartphone back and took a bottle of wine and a Bordeaux glass from the mini bar in his room.
It was strange, indeed, to have a mini bar and a mini kitchen in his room. But that was how it was; each member was given such privacy in order to facilitate their activities if there were sudden tasks that needed to be done online.
A bottle of red wine with an alcohol content of 15% became Luca's companion that night, serving as a consolation for his old wounds that had been reopened.
He poured the wine into a glass and drank it in one gulp. He did this repeatedly until the bottle was empty without realizing it.
Outside, the door was knocked on repeatedly.
This time, it was Vernon knocking, as heard from his voice.
"Luca, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. At least I'm still sane for now." Luca replied, shouting in a hoarse voice typical of someone who was drunk. His speech was becoming slurred under the influence of alcohol.
"Hey, are you drunk?"
"No. I'm still sober."
Luca blinked several times and shook his head to regain his fading consciousness.
Luca poured more wine into his glass, but not a single drop came out.
"Looks like it's empty."
Luca threw the wine glass in any direction, causing a loud sound of breaking glass that could be heard outside.
"Hahaha... Luca... oh Luca... why are you so pathetic? It's all your fault! You know it! It's your fault!" He stared intently at the pillow in front of him.
Luca rambled, his speech slurred, laughing as he pointed at the pillow next to him.
He laughed in sorrow. He was repeatedly tormented by guilt over his past, and it haunted him all the time.
"Brother Lucien, if you're still alive, at least let me know. Come to me and hug me. Do you know that I can't sleep soundly without medication? Do you know that I will always feel guilty for your death? If you are angry and want revenge for your death, at least come to me. Tell me everything if you really hate me. Don't make me feel this way, Lucien."
Luca hugged the pillow in his arms. Tears fell from his eyes after so long without crying.
"Lucien Kaiser De Romanov. You're cruel..." Luca muttered unconsciously.
Outside, Vernon was still waiting for Luca to answer his call and open the door for him. However, nothing happened. Luca did not open the door.
Vernon finally took the spare access card that had been made for emergencies without Luca's knowledge.
The door opened, and what Vernon saw from a distance was a man with a disheveled appearance leaning on the sofa with his eyes closed, his hand still holding a glass with wine left in it.
The room was a mess, with broken wine bottles scattered on the floor. He could see a laptop on the table, and Luca was clearly unconscious.
Vernon looked sadly at the beautiful man he had always admired. "Luca, what made you become like this?" he muttered.
Vernon approached the beautiful man he had been watching. He bent down and lowered his head to get closer to his sweetheart's face.
Up close, Vernon looked at Luca, who was peacefully closing his eyes, looking both beautiful and sweet. Slowly, his hand reached out and gently touched the smooth face of his sweetheart.
Like touching smooth, pure jade, that was how Vernon treated Luca.
From his cheeks, Vernon's hands moved to his nose, eyes, and pink lips.
Vernon immediately swallowed hard. The crazy desire inside him seemed to be forcibly pulled out of its cage.
His hands were already caressing Luca's sweet lips, ready to devour the appetizer that seemed to be offered to him. However, before Vernon's lips could touch Luca's, he was startled.
"No! Brother... I'm sorry. Brother Lucien! I beg you, don't leave me. I should be the one who died. Why did you leave me here alone? Brother... I'm sorry... this is all my fault. I'm wrong. I..."
Luca rambled incoherently, his eyes closed, using many words. His hand holding the glass was no exception, causing it to fly off and hit Vernon. His breathing rose and fell like a roller coaster, and the corners of his eyes were wet.
Vernon caught the pile of glasses with a grimace and checked the corner of his forehead, which was bleeding slightly. Luckily, it was Luca who did it, not someone else, or Vernon would have been really angry.
Seeing how Luca was suffering in his unconsciousness. This dream seemed to scratch at old wounds that Luca was trying to hide.
Vernon heard it and panicked. He then patted Luca's shoulder and rubbed his head to calm him down.
"Luca, calm down... go back to sleep, and forget the nightmare that haunts you. There is still a bright tomorrow waiting for you, dear..." Vernon whispered warm words, hoping to dispel his sweet man's nightmare.
And it worked.
Slowly, Luca calmed down. His body, which had been shaking, became still again as if nothing had happened. His breathing stabilized and he returned to his peaceful sleep.
Vernon smiled slightly. He sat next to Luca and kissed his sweet man's forehead.
"Luca, if you were willing to be with me, at least I could bear half of your pain. But in reality, you don't want to share that burden and pain with me, and choose to keep it to yourself. I hope you don't torture yourself any more than this."