HIDE: A DANGEROUS AFFAIR

TWENTY

Female interviewer: If I heard you correctly, did you say a wife and child? To the best of the public's knowledge, your son never had a stable relationship. The last he was known for was his fling with Vivian, which they never confirmed.

Mr. Edward: He liked to keep his life private. That is why he secretly got married to her in the Bahamas after they welcomed their son. I'm not putting this out in the open because I want, but because I'm trying to let the world know that my son was an angel rather than the demon they saw him as. We will hasten the transfer of wealth rights so that everyone can move on.

Wilson reached for the remote and shut off the TV. He knew the truth. His father was bluffing. No one could touch his assets. He had written a will and shared everything according to how he wanted. Then why was that motherfucker bent on disturbing his peace of mind?

“What is talking about?” Brandon slowly asked. “What is your father talking about?” he repeated.

The light air blowing in his hand had caused the blood to cease. Wilson dragged his stare to meet that of Brandon. “He is trying to draw me out. He knows that I'm alive,” he casually said.

“Is there something you're not telling me?” Brandon asked through gritted teeth. “Don't take me for a fool, Wilson. If you don't talk to me, I'm f*****g leaving!” he roared.

Wilson rose from his seat and with one swift movement hurled everything that was on the table to the ground, breaking them into pieces. He grabbed Brandon by the throat and yelled into his face, “don't you ever mention that you're leaving me.”

Brandon, not letting his action slide, punched him hard on the torso. “You think I'm soft, no I'm not. Get your s**t together. You don't become toxic when I'm here. We have the stuff to deal with. Either pull yourself together or I'm leaving. I won't repeat myself,” he ended, throwing another punch that caused Wilson to stagger.

Wilson slumped into his seat, supporting his head with his uninjured hand. “I'm sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don't make this a habit, Wilson. There's a limit to my patience and forgiveness, and I can easily run off it,” Brandon warned. “Lastly, never scream at me or refuse my help. Now, bring that hand, let me take care of it.”

Wilson obeyed, stretching out the injured hand. As Brandon bent his head to examine him, Wilson leaned in, trying to kiss Brandon, but Brandon withdrew his head. “Not now. I'm too mad at you to allow that.”

Wilson sighed and relaxed back into his seat.

Shortly, Dowen returned with the first aid kit, handing it over to Brandon.

“Dowen, connect Seattle and China. Get to the bottom of what he's blabbering about. I want answers by nightfall,” Wilson ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

“What about the bomb? Any luck yet?”

“Not at the moment, sir.”

“Okay. You're dismissed.”

Dowen bowed his head and left.

Brandon fumbled with the kit, taking out the necessary supplies to clean and bandage Wilson's hand. “The injury isn't serious. We should take this off by tomorrow. No more breaking or hurting yourself,” he warned again, his tone stern.

Like a remorseful puppy, Wilson nodded. He didn't flinch when Branson was treating him. Again, making Brandon question if Wilson was a human. If he didn't feel pain, or he was just immune to it.

“I fear that you're gradually giving in to what we are running away from. You're becoming toxic and turning out to be your father,” Brandon mumbled.

Wilson responded, “I would never become him.”

Bit by bit, he cleared out the table and replaced the kit. Without talking to Wilson, Brandon stood and stormed away. He met one of the maids and asked them for a direction to a quiet place, and she took him to a garden. A beautiful garden that had roses, lilies, and small shrubs running at full length. There was also a water fountain with colorful fish in it. On a seeing, there was a bench and there Brandon sat, trying to clear his mind.

He then remembered that he hasn't communicated with Britney since their separation. He was still waiting for her to reach out to him. Again, he exhaled, wondering how she was doing. He was missing her so much. In times like this, she would have made him smile. Brandon was sad about something, and he couldn't figure out what.

He sat there for hours until he drifted off to sleep while he adjusted his body to lay on the swinging car which could very well carry him. He just didn't want to see or talk to Brandon, as he might lose his s**t. When he woke up, he saw himself in their bedroom. How did he get there?

His questions were shortly answered when he saw a shirtless Wilson sipping a glass of wine on his laptop. Brandon sat up, regarding him briefly. “What do you want to do?” he finally asked after minutes of silence.

Wilson diverted his attention from what he was doing to Brandon. He hadn't realized that he was awake. “Hi,” he greeted, smiling.

“Hi,” Brandon responded.

“Don't frown. You'll get wrinkles on your beautiful face.”

Brandon briefly shook his head in disapproval. “I'm already aging because of you.”

“I'm sorry,” Wilson apologized again.

Brandon hauled his tired body out of the bed to go meet Wilson on the chair. He sat on his awaiting lap, kissing him on the lips. “What do you want to do?” he asked again.

“About what?”

“I'm going to make them pay for everything. But first, we must return to work. I also need to hold a press conference to debunk his words.”

“Okay.” Brandon reached for the wine and downed everything. “I don't want you to be in danger.”

Wilson chuckled then answered, “I'm already in danger.”

“So am I,” Brandon responded, gazing into Wilson's eyes.

Wilson knew that something else was making his heart beat faster than it should. A lie he was keeping away from Brandon. Something that he should truthfully tell him. Yet, he wasn't.

He couldn't just get himself to look at this beautiful perfection that he didn't deserve and tell him that there was truth in his father's game, and it was about to get serious. Because, to protect Brandon and their relationship, he had to get his hand stained. At least that was what he encouraged himself with to feel better.