(Último)

Knight was smiling while Valerian was glaring at him. They were in Thorn Calderon's restaurant, having breakfast. Valerian had dark shadowy bags under his eyes, and Knight was pretty sure they had something to do with him last night. He had just arrived from Spain earlier this morning, and the first person he called—or rather, disturbed—was Valerian. But no way in hell would he admit it, not to Valerian. He liked teasing him a lot.

"The next time you come back from Spain, bug someone else!" Valerian hissed at him before sipping his coffee irritably. "Fuck you, you know that? Then you bug me to have breakfast, but I have to fucking pay? You bastard."

He rested his palm on his chin and gave Valerian a mocking look. "Who would I bug other than you, best friend?"

"Maybe the East Asian guy?! You could've called him instead!" Valerian retorted annoyingly. "Both of your races are colonizers anyway."

Knight tried hard not to laugh. "Shun? Don't want to. He's busy—"

"Oh, and I'm not, you motherfucker?" Valerian scowled at him, but Knight laughed it off. "Do you know what time I slept yesterday? One a.m.! Then you called at four a.m.—"

"That means you had three hours of sleep," Knight said before winking at Valerian, who seemed more hostile than a few seconds ago. "You're welcome."

"Fuck you!"

Knight grinned at him. "You're so sweet."

"Fuck you to hell."

"Aww... should we date?"

Knowing Knight wouldn't stop annoying him, Valerian just sighed in defeat. "I hate you."

The smile on Knight's face faded. "You're hurting me now."

Valerian raised his gaze. "Fine. We'll be friends for one more year."

"I'm still hurt."

"Two years?"

"Nope."

"Fine!" Valerian huffed. "Three!"

Knight chuckled. "Gotcha."

Valerian glared at him. "Fuck you."

"Thanks." He smiled. "Anyways, I prefer you over Shun. That guy hits me with his knuckles. Besides, I only told you that I was at the airport. I didn't say you had to fetch me."

Valerian looked at him with disgust. "You're so fucking gross. Why do I even need to fetch you from the airport, you motherfucker? What are you, a woman? Fuck! You make me want to vomit!"

Knight refrained himself from laughing at his annoyed friend. "Why the hell are you mad? I heard from Shun that Grace is back." When Valerian shut up, he clicked his tongue. "You're such a pussy."

Valerian cussed again. "What do I care if she returns?"

"You don't love her anymore?" he asked. Valerian grew silent, so he took the chance to annoy him more. "Valerian has just been slain by Count Knight."

"Don't talk to me!" Valerian shouted, then abruptly stood from his seat. But just as he was about to leave, he heard Knight murmur.

"Fuck... I want some cake."

Valerian glared at him and left him without a word. He didn't mind, though, and he wasn't even surprised that Valerian came back some minutes after... with a whole cake.

"Thanks, best friend."

"You thick-skinned animal," Valerian angrily said, as if he didn't just buy Knight his favorite pastry. "Go back to the country from where you came."

Knight laughed and started eating. His silence made Valerian wonder. "You look sadder than usual," his friend commented.

Knight was stunned that he paused from eating to look at Valerian. "What gives?"

Valerian shrugged. "I just feel it. I know you, remember?"

Knight just laughed his comment off. "Don't mind me, best friend. I'll be fine..."

"Don't call me best friend!" Valerian hissed at him again. "You are not my best friend."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Knight!" someone called. It was Lander walking toward them. "Good thing you're here..." Lander said and gave him his driver's license. "Got this for you last week. Happy now?"

Knight immediately grinned as he accepted the ID. "Fuck yeah! And my car?"

"In BV. Outside Volkzki's house."

Valerian frowned at Lander, clueless about what they were talking about. "What car?"

Lander grimaced. "It's better that you don't know. You know this guy," Lander said, his eyes pointing toward Knight. "Anyways, I already took care of everything, including the papers and registration. All you have to do is drive it."

"Thanks!" Knight said with a wide grin.

Lander pulled a chair from another table and joined them. "You owe me breakfast."

"Sure." Knight raised his hand to get the waiter's attention. When the waiter was already in front of them, he told Lander, "Eat all you can. Val will pay."

"What the f—"

"I'll pay you back," Knight interrupted whatever curse word Valerian was about to bark.

"Oh? Really?" Val glared at him. "And where do I record your debt this time? In water? In the sand?

He gave Valerian a cheeky smile. "I pick water."

"How shameless," Val hissed. Knight just smiled and ordered some more after Lander ordered his.

Their area became crowded when their other friends started showing up. From Lander to Cali. Even the Coleman twins were present. Their table, originally reserved for only two people, was now surrounded by thirteen men, all having breakfast and snatching each other's food from each other's plate.

"This is fucked up," Ymar complained. "Why are we eating at one table again?"

Dark, who arrived after Lander, shrugged. "Who knows? I was here first."

"Iuhence! That's my fucking coffee! Don't you dare drink it—" Zapanta hissed at Vergara, but his protest was in vain and too late. Vergara already gulped it down his throat. "Iuhence! Pay it!"

Vergara clicked his tongue before pulling a wallet from his pocket. He glanced at his pocket and nonchalantly said, "Fuck. I only have a hundred pesos." Then he turned to Train and said, "Lend me fifty. Zapanta wouldn't be able to sleep because I drank his coffee."

Without complaining, Train took out fifty pesos from his wallet and handed it to Iuhence. "And when do you plan on paying?"

"Tomorrow."

Train nodded while they all chuckled. They knew all too well that Iuhence's "tomorrow" meant the next year or the next few years to come.

While Iuhence was buying Tyron's coffee downstairs, Calyx was munching Lash's pancake. Lash sighed while shaking his head at Calyx. "I envy you for having such a thick face."

Everyone nodded, including Knight. Everyone glanced at him in disbelief. Knight frowned with an innocent look. "What?"

Shun clicked his tongue. "Zapanta ordered cake, you ate it. Then Wolkzbin ordered cake, you ate it as well. Then Coleman bought cake, you ate it too. Same with Lander's and Cali's cakes."

His eyes widened in shock. "What da fuck... Was I not supposed to eat it?"

Everyone sighed. Zapanta looked at Valerian, whose mouth was already open to reprimand him. "Don't. You'll baby him."

But Valerian did anyway. "No, you're not."

"Oh..." Knight held his laughter. It was fun teasing his friends. He knew he wouldn't get bored if he was with them. It was a nice feeling.

"Do you want another slice?" Train asked. "Vergara will buy you some since he owes you one after stealing your fiancé."

He turned to Vergara, who just came back after buying Tyron a cup of coffee. "Then I want a triple Bavarian cake!"

Vergara looked at Knight flatly. "I borrowed fifty from Train, and you want me to buy you a cake? Do you now know how expensive a piece is?"

But Knight only pointed at Val. "He always buys me cakes."

Iuhence snorted. "That's because you two are a couple."

Shun complained, "So, what am I, a third party?"

"Like three people in a relationship?" Knight rested his palm under his chin. "Isn't that a threesome?"

Valerian could no longer help it and balled his hands into fists. Knight saw the light punch coming but didn't move—he let Valerian hit his face.

"It's called love triangle, you idiot!"

His lips formed into an "o" as he cupped his own cheeks. "Holy motherfucker!" He faked a gasp. "You want a threesome love triangle?!"

Every customer in the café looked at their table. Valerian, whose patience ran out, picked up the bread knife from the table and threatened Knight. "I'm gonna kill you, you lunatic!"

Knight effortlessly dodged the incoming attacks and was even able to reach his pocketknife and throw it to Valerian, who flawlessly caught it.

"Use that to stab me," he said, smirking as he started to run and challenge Valerian. "It's much sharper!"

"I will really kill you!" Valerian shouted.

Knight was laughing his ass off as he was running away from Valerian, who was chasing him with his very own pocketknife. He was so sad and desperate when he was in Spain; he had been punished severely for begging. But now, he realized that his heart felt lighter, his demeanor calmer. He forgot the pain caused by the fresh wound on his back. And above all, he was happy.

Even when he didn't deserve to be happy, he felt happy. Happy to be around his lunatic friends.

Only if Midnight was here... he thought, then I'll be complete.

Because of his lingering thoughts, his pace slowed down.

"Knight..." Val called his name.

Val seldom calls him by his name, so it was a normal response for him to look back, his face devoid of emotion. "What?"

"Your back..." Val's eyes were on his back. "It's bleeding."

Knight froze. He immediately looked away with shame plastered on his face. Why did he forget? He was wearing a light-colored T-shirt.

"Don't tell them," he whispered. "Don't look..."

Valerian clicked his tongue before taking off his coat and throwing it over his shoulders. "Cover your back with that. I'll tell Shun."

Knight obediently wrapped Val's coat around his back to hide his blood-soaked shirt. Am I having too much fun that I didn't feel the pain on my back... or is it because I'm used to the pain that I felt numb—I didn't feel anything? he thought.

He glanced at Valerian, who was now talking to their friends, and smiled. Then, his phone rang. It was Dimitri—his personal Ultor, his punisher in the Orgánosi. He answered with a cold tone, "Speak, Dimitri."

"Boss, Shereik Abdul is the man behind the Triad's movement in the Middle East. And his wife knows nothing of her husband's illegal deeds. Uncannily, the husband treasures his wife so much that he won't let her into his dark world, so we can't get anything from her. As we speak, we already have people inside to infiltrate their homes—"

"Why infiltrate other homes?" Knight asked. "We need the husband. Use the wife."

Dimitri was silent for a second. "Boss?"

Knight smiled at his friends, but his voice was cold and merciless as he spoke. "Use the wife to flush out the husband."

"But, Boss, she's innocent—"

"Do I sound like I care?" He waved at his friends with a smile, but his voice was uncaring. "Use her. I don't care how. You can kill her if you want, I don't mind either. What's important is we corner her husband. I don't care who gets killed. Just do the job and be done with it. We have other important matters to do than infiltrate that motherfucker's house."

If they captured Shereik Abdul as his father ordered, he would be given a hint on his brother's whereabouts. If he had to sacrifice and use everyone around him to see Midnight, to keep his promise... then so be it.

His father was still using him, molding him into a great noble man that he should be after five years. The torture continued. Yes, he was now a boss, powerful and feared, but he was still an obedient dog. His father knew what to say to order him around.

If he wouldn't do his bidding, then Midnight would be punished, wherever he was. His father still held the ace. He was good at playing him.

"Boss, there was a threat to Mr. Volkzki's life from Abdul's friend in the Triad. Looks like they found out that you have friends," Dimitri warned. "They wanted to control your movements. What should we do—"

"I don't care who they kill, they won't stop me. Everyone around me is just a pawn after all. Do your job."

"Yes, Boss."

Knight could tell that Dimitri's calm voice was forced before he ended the call. He then looked at Valerian, who was staring annoyingly at Shun Kim.

In danger, huh?

He might still be obedient, but he was not powerless like before. He had changed. He already lost his brother; he's not losing another one.

Knight smiled at his friends as he called one of his men. "Guard a man named Valerian Volkzki. I will send you the details later. If something bad happens to him, I will bury you and your whole family alive, understand?"

"Yes, Boss!"

After the call ended, he went back to the same seat where his friends were at.

"Iuhence, where did you buy this coffee?" Tyron complained. "Tastes bad."

"Outside. Their coffee here is too expensive." Iuhence smirked before finally laughing. "Calderon was okay with it anyway. Coffee is coffee. How is that different?"

Tyron just sighed before getting the waiter's attention for their bill. Thankfully, they had their own set of bills. Calderon seemed to have trained the café staff when it came to the men. He clearly remembered the fight that occurred among them when they only had one bill. Everybody was enlisting what food they ate and caused a ruckus. The staff knew better now.

"You ate my cake. Pay for it," Cali said to Knight, and everyone who ordered cake followed.

He took out his wallet from his pocket and opened it in front of his friends. "Look... I have no money."

"We accept card, sir," the waiter chimed in.

"I don't have a card."

Shun glared at him. "You're a count, for fuck's sake!"

He pouted. "What do I do, I don't have a single coin right now. Help?"

Ymar grabbed Knight's wallet and examined it. Ymar clicked his tongue as soon as he realized. "You have no fucking shame at all. This is a new wallet, you lunatic! The tag price is still here, and it's worth fifty-five thousand pesos. No money your ass."

"It's a gift." From his father. He planned to sell it once he arrived here in the Philippines.

Ymar gave the empty wallet to the waiter. "We'll pay with this."

The waiter winced. "W-we don't accept things as mode of payment, sir."

"Why not?" all of them asked in unison, making the waiter step back in fear and worry for his life. His face became pale.

"I—I—I will call the manager!" the waiter said and scurried away from them.

"You scared the poor guy to death," Lath commented. "This is the reason why waiters avoid us."

Everyone laughed until the manager approached them, with the waiter beside him.

"We will accept the wallet as payment," the manager said and accepted the wallet from Ymar. "May I ask who owns this?"

"Me," Knight answered.

"Then I will inform Mr. Calderon immediately."

Still hesitant, the waiter asked the manager, "Is this really okay?"

The manager whispered back, "They're a special case."

Knight laughed as he shook his head. Thorn Calderon trained his employees well. His review: five stars.

When they were out of the restaurant, all of them, except Shun and Valerian, tapped either his back or his shoulder to bid goodbye. Knight had to control himself from wincing every time a friend would pat his back.

However, Knight remained silent during the rest of the ride back to BV. When they finally arrived, Valerian had a surprised and fascinated look on his face when he saw the car that Lander was pertaining to.

"Really?" Valerian gave him an arched look. "A taxi?"

Knight grinned. "I want to be a taxi driver. I saved for that, you know."

"Tsk." Valerian shook his head. "You're hopeless. I thought you're a DJ or some sort."

"Yeah. It's my part-time."

"And how do you explain being a waiter at a restaurant months ago? I saw you."

Knight just smiled at Valerian. "Part of my charm."

The three of them went straight to the living room. Shun got the first-aid kid, while Knight removed his top and sat on the floor, his back facing his two friends who were sitting on a long sofa.

"What did you do to be lashed this time?" Shun asked while cleaning his wound.

I begged. "Nothing."

"You always say that," Valerian retorted before leaving.

"How many times were you whipped when you were there?" Shun asked while replacing the bandages. "You have fresh and nearly healing cuts. Aren't they painful?"

"I'm used to it."

Shun sighed. "Why do you not want to tell us the truth?"

He stood up and looked at Shun. Because this is the only way I know how to protect you and Valerian, he thought. If I show that I care, you will be part of my father's aces against me, and I won't allow it. As long as my father thinks I'm lying and manipulating you two, then it'll be okay.

Knight faked a grin on his face. "Thanks."

Shun glared at him. "Drop that fake smile. It's irritating."

Before Knight could even answer, Valerian returned with a bottle of beer and a slice of strawberry cake. "Eat and drink up, then I'll drive you to your house," he added.

Knight quickly consumed the offering before finally getting up. "No need to drive me home. I have somewhere to go. See yah later."

"Knight, you need to rest," Valerian argued. "Your wounds will open if you won't."

"No, I have to go." I have to go to the HQ to talk to Cloud.

He was determined to leave, but before he reached the door, he felt weak. He started to wobble. He touched his forehead and turned to Valerian as his vision blurred. "W-what did you put in my d-drink?"

"Sleeping pills," Valerian answered. "Because we know you won't agree with us if we tell you to rest."

"Fuck..." was all he could say before he passed out.

KNIGHT WOKE UP when it was already afternoon. He looked at his wristwatch; it was 4:30 p.m. He got up from the bed, grabbed his phone from his bedside table, and left the room.

He was still in Valerian's house. He was alone.

While walking downstairs, he checked if he received any messages on his phone. There was one—an e-mail from Cloud.

From: CLOUD SEBASTIAN
To: Minrod
Subject: Meeting
Message: I received an invitation in your stead, my lord. Later at 2AM in HQ Philippines. All the 7 bosses of the Orgánosi will be present. Don't be late, my lord.

Great! He had been a boss for almost three years now, but all the seven bosses in one room hadn't happened yet. There must be a very important agenda to talk about.

When he reached the kitchen, he saw a sticky note posted on the table. Beside it was a food cover, with a plate full of food and some pain relievers inside.

Eat up. Take your fucking meds. Don't fucking bug me. I'm fucking working. – V.

Knight settled on one of the dining chairs and ate in silence. He left the dishes on the sink, afraid to break them if he washed them. And as soon as he left Valerian's residence, he got in his taxi, which he told Lander to get. The key was already in the ignition. He drove out of BV and started driving to look for passengers.

When he saw a group of girls hailing for a ride, he stopped his taxi and slid down the window by the passenger's seat. "Where to?"

But instead of answering, the women stared at him in awe of his beauty. Knight just smiled. He was used to it. He was not a narcissist, but he knew he was good-looking.

"Where to?" he repeated.

"J-just th-there..."

The smile on his face remained. "Where there?"

"M-mall..."

"Hop in."

The three women got in the taxi. No one spoke during the first few minutes of the ride, but the women interviewed him eventually. Questions after questions, and all of his answers were lies.

"Keep the change, handsome," one of the women said.

He stared at three hundred-peso bills and laughed. I think it's fun to be a taxi driver, he thought. He needed to work hard to get money. So, that was how his night started—driving people to their destinations with his new taxi.

It was already one a.m. when he parked in front of Racini's Hotel. He went in and walked toward the elevator.

He punched in his code using the floor numbers before pressing the close button. Then, the elevator started going down.

Knight looked up at the ceiling before he closed his eyes when he felt the pain on his back. "Fuck..." he hissed softly. "When will I stop being in pain?"

Knight clicked his tongue. This pain won't stop until I become more powerful than Father. But he knew it would be a long time before it would happen. Damn it!

He got into his senses and went back to reality the moment the elevator opened. He stepped out and punched in his code again. The double steel door opened and let him in.

Looking at him from head to toe, Cloud greeted, "My lord, you look like shit."

He grunted. "This is how handsome men look nowadays."

Cloud chuckled. "The other bosses are already in the conference room, waiting."

Knight nodded and accepted the stainless-steel water bottle that Cloud gave. "What's inside?"

Cloud just smiled, but he retained a cold poker face as they walked. Every member of their organization looked at him, but he paid them no mind. No close colleagues, no problem. He would never give another ace to his father.

He opened the cover of the stainless-steel water bottle and smelled what was inside. He shook his head.

"This is the reason why I can't fire you," he told Cloud and then drank a mouthful of beer. "Damn, that's good."

"As if you can live without me, my lord," Cloud retorted. "I'm too precious."

Knight's face remained stoic. "Yeah, yeah..."

Cloud opened the door for him when they arrived in the conference room. Inside were six men, including himself.

"I will take my leave now, my lord." Cloud left without waiting for his answer.

Knight carefully examined the men in front of him, assessing their strengths and weaknesses that he could exploit in the near future.

That was who he was. He was raised that way. To think that other people were beneath him. To think that lying and pretending were necessary to control the people around him.

These men, these other bosses—he knew them already by reports and rumors.

"Won't you introduce yourself?" Daemon Cox asked, the head of South America.

"Why bother?" he said in a cold, distant voice. "I'm sure you know me already."

"For formality's sake, mate," chimed in Draco, the head of Australia.

Knight didn't bother answering. What was the use? If these people got close to him in some way, they would be used against him too.

No more ace of cards, Father.

"Let's start the agenda," he insisted.

"Hold up," Monti Parisi interrupted. "We're still missing one boss."

That made him still. Missing one? Oh, yeah. There were supposed to be seven, but only six, including himself, were present. And he had no idea who it was because the Boss of North America was newly appointed.

"That brat..." Daemon clicked his tongue. "I told him not to be late. Is he oversleeping again?"

He gazed at Daemon. It looked like the two knew each other. Well, they had to know each other. They were, after all, the closest of them all—South and North America bosses.

Knight stood up and walked toward the door. "I hate waiting. Just call me when he arrives."

He was about to open the door when it opened. The newcomer had arrived.

"Sorry, everyone!" the newcomer greeted, sounding so cherry and energetic. "I overslept!"

"I knew it!" Daemon hissed.

Everyone was joking around with the newcomer, the new head of North America, but Knight was frozen, rooted in place as he stared at the man with the same face as him, smiling and joking with Daemon Cox.

"N-Night..."

Midnight glanced at him. His eyes were cold, his body movement distant. But he still managed a smile for him. A fake smile he hated.

"Yow."

That single word, for some reason, cracked his heart.

Kuya had turned into yow, as if Knight had become a stranger to his dear brother.