Revived Affection

CHAPTER 3: The Shadow of Cassius

I remained silent for a few minutes, prompting Keiji to ask me.

"Are you okay, Mio?" he inquired, shortly after releasing his hold on my hand.

"I-I'm fine, why do you ask?" I snapped back to reality.

"Because you haven't been speaking for a while now. I'm really sorry, Mio," he apologized again, even though it wasn't his fault that he didn't give me a ride earlier. I was just catching a ride with them.

"It's not your fault, but there's something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"I know there's a reason why you didn't go to school this morning, Keiji. Tell me why. You're my friend, I can tell if you're lying or not," I confidently stated.

He had been fidgety for a while now, and I was sure he was lying.

"Ah... would you like to have a snack first? Let's go to the kitchen, you must be hungry, right? I can sense it, your stomach must be growling," he said, pulling me along.

"W-what? I'm not really hungry yet. Why? Did you hear my stomach growl? I didn't hear it," he diverted the conversation, thinking I was unaware that he was hiding something. Let's see.

We headed to the kitchen, where we saw Rosey in the living room, sipping on something.

As we descended into the kitchen, I saw the woman who had opened the door for me earlier at their main entrance. She seemed to be cooking; I assumed she was their new house help because it was the first time I had seen her.

"Hey, miss. Could you prepare a snack for us?" Keiji requested from the woman.

"Of course, what would you like for a snack?" she asked.

"Anything," Keiji replied.

"Keiji, I'm okay, I'm not hungry yet. Besides, I'll be heading home soon, and I'll have dinner there. Mom might be looking for me by now," I made an excuse to leave, as I didn't want my mom to worry about me not being home yet.

"It's fine, just let Auntie know that you're here in our house," he insisted.

"Miss, after you prepare that, just place it in the living room, okay?" Keiji requested again.

We went to the living room and saw Rosey there. Keiji sat beside her, and I took the seat across from them.

The lovely woman quickly prepared the snack and placed it on the table.

"Here is your snack," she said.

"Thank you so much, miss. You've only been here for a short while, but you're already showing such kindness to us," Keiji complimented the woman.

"You're welcome, Keiji. It's just work," she said before leaving.

"So... have you finished talking?" Rosey asked as she set down her drink on the table.

"Yes, that's why we came downstairs. How about you? Aren't you going home yet?" Keiji replied.

"Why? Do you want me to leave?" The conversation seemed to be heating up.

"Not really, but you've been here for a while now. You can go home if you want." That was quite disrespectful.

"Keiji, the way you're acting towards me, you'd think you're older." What? Does that mean they're not the same age?

"So what? You're only two years older than me." What? I'm confused... does that mean she's older than Keiji? But I'm still older than both of them; I'm the older sister here. I need to intervene.

"Respect me because I'm older than you," the beautiful Rosey said, slightly annoyed.

"W-wait, hehe. Are you guys not understanding each other in front of me? And I just have a question, Rosey. Are you and Keiji classmates?" I was just curious.

"Yes, I'm actually older than him. My parents enrolled me late in school."

"Oh, that explains it."

"Her parents enrolled her late in school because she was still crawling when she was 7 years old." I wanted to laugh, but I didn't want Mio to get mad at me. Oh, Keiji.

"You can be quiet now because you're not part of our conversation, kid." That's right, he's not involved in our conversation.

"So.. why did you ask? How old are you?" Rosey asked.

"Actually, I'm older than both of you. I'm 16."

"Is that so? What would you like me to call you?"

"Just call me by my name; our age gap is not that big."

"No problem, I'll be leaving. Bye, Mio." She bid me goodbye, not Keiji. She even gave Keiji a disapproving look.

____

"Ah.. so these are his children? They really resemble him," remarked Cassius, one of the wealthiest businessmen in this country.

He held two photos of Reid's children, Kai and Keiji.

"Which of them is older? Tell me about them," he inquired.

"Kai is the elder of the two, both equally intelligent, yet the elder's intellect is incomparable. He is currently a college student, and I do not know much about him as he resides far from his family. Keiji, on the other hand, is the younger or the youngest. He will be entering high school next school year. He started practicing taekwondo when he was only 9 years old, not out of his own volition but due to his father's insistence. He is on the verge of achieving the highest rank in taekwondo, the black belt. He is also bright, preferring to focus on his studies, often engrossed in reading books. He is well-versed in sports. Currently-

"Enough, I only wanted to know a few things, but you are adept as you almost know everything about them. It means... the youngest is indeed intelligent in physical and emotional aspects."

"You're right, but his intelligence in physical and emotional aspects is not enough yet because he's still young. He only knows one martial art, he can't even defeat your only child."

"Are you referring to intelligence in the mind? HAHAHAHA, my only child has no clue about fighting. He may be intelligent, but that's not what I want for him. He should also learn to fight, even his bullies he can't confront with harsh words, he can't even earn their respect. He's too soft, he's like a girl," Cassius commented.

"Don't compare your child to others. He has many abilities that he hasn't shown yet. Don't force him into things he doesn't like," the man defended his employer's son.

"You don't need to defend my child anymore, he has heard everything. Right, Cyrus my son? I hope you don't feel disappointed in me, I'm just stating the real You. Do you understand, my dear child?" Cassius said with a smile.

Cyrus, his son, simply nodded in response.

"Alright, Shadowfox, leave before I shoot you in the head. Every time I talk to you, I get stressed." Cassius ordered Shadowfox, his most skilled and trusted spy.

Shadowfox bowed to Cassius before leaving.

"F*******k!!" Cassius shouted loudly as Shadowfox left, causing Cyrus to startle.

____

"What, your birthday is coming soon, right?" the voice on the other end remarked.

"Yes, I thought you would forget my birthday." Keiji said while sitting on the bed, talking on the phone. The only person he was talking to was Kai, his older brother.

"Even though I may be far away, I will never forget the birthdays of all of you there, especially yours and Mom's," Kai said on the other line.

"HAHAHA, what about Dad?" Keiji asked, chuckling.

"Do you want to talk about him more? HAHAHA just kidding. Of course, even though I get mad at him sometimes, I never really forget his birthday," Kai replied.

"Exactly, even if you want to forget, you really can't forget," Keiji agreed.

"Yeah, that's true. By the way, how's your studying going there?" Kai changed the subject.

"Dude, even if you didn't ask, I'm still smart and studying hard."

"You're right, just keep studying well. I'll come home for your birthday."

"Really? I'll be expecting that," Keiji said excitedly.

"Yes, of course, if I'm not busy," Kai teased his sibling.

"Well, how's your training in taekwondo going? You must be really good at kicking, right?"

"Let's not talk about that. But when you come home, I'll greet you with a strong kick so you'll see how good I've become," Keiji boasted.

"Okay then, Keiji, I have to end the call now because I have a lot to do. It's really tough when you're in college."

"Alright, big brother, you can do it," Keiji said before finally hanging up the phone.

"Keiji!" Keiji was suddenly called.

"Yes! What is it?!" he asked.

"Come eat, I've been calling you for a while now!"

"Yes, just a moment, I'm coming down!" Keiji replied, quickly leaving the room.

____

Author's Note:

Dear readers,

Hello, how are you? Did you enjoy reading my story? I apologize if there were parts that were not pleasing to you. I want you to know that the story is just beginning, so it may not be very exciting yet. But as it progresses, you will come to appreciate the story more. That's all, goodbye!