Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Romance

                           Chapter 9
                        6 years ago
        “Where is Oliver?!” The then 17-year-old John stormed through the main door, bumping into several maid servants.
        “Young master John, we have been instructed not to talk about it.” A maid that John has no recollection of advised. 
        Ignoring the maid’s advice, he dumped his luggage on the ground and headed straight for Oliver’s room. 
        John was already halfway up the stairs when a familiar voice broke out from the top of the stairs. 
        “John, if we knew you were coming back, we would have prepared a much-welcomed greeting.” At the top of the stairs, a figure loomed.           
        “Richard!” John exclaimed in glee. 
        Boy, was he glad to see him!           Richard is the house’s head butler and his father’s personal secretary. The 55-year-old man has spent more time with John and Oliver than anyone in the household, including their father.           
        “Thank God Richard! I heard that Oliver has returned, is that true?” John asked as he hurried up the stairs.           
         Richard had a stern look on his face as he looked down and ushered the other servants away. Upon confirming that he and John were the only ones left, he pulled John into his personal study. 
         “What’s the deal?” John asked right after Richard closed the door behind them. Richard was acting all discreet, the man's peculiar behaviour made the boy slightly nervous. 
        “How did you know about your brother?” Richard asked.
        John was reminded then that he wasn’t informed about Oliver’s return.           
         “Why wasn’t I informed the moment my brother was found?!” John asked angrily.          From what he heard, Oliver has been home for at least the past 2 days, but not once was John contacted from anyone in the household, which he expected would have at least done that much! 
        John had been keeping tabs on his brother’s whereabouts since his disappearance. The moment Oliver’s presence was spotted home, he would be informed immediately. Of cause the person he hired was done without the knowledge of his father, nor Richard. That means, if he hadn’t been acting on his own, as of right now, he would be outstation, thinking his brother is still missing!
       “We were instructed by the master to not inform anyone about it. Forgive me for not informing you.” Richard bowed as he apologized.          He continued, “Master’s orders were to take it as though your brother has never left and that nothing has happened.”
        “Why would he make up such a lie?” John asked nevertheless, although he didn't find it that disbelieving, considering the fact that Oliver's disappearance wasn't reported to the police either. 
         “I’m afraid I myself don’t know the reason why.” 
       John asked, "Do you really not know ……” He hesitated before continuing his sentence, “……or were you ordered not to?” 
       “I really do not know.” Richard stressed.          John stared hard at the man. Richard has been his father’s right-hand man way before Oliver and John was adopted. He could tell that Richard obviously knew something but was unwilling to tell.          He gave up eventually, Richard was an expert at hiding his emotions and putting on a stoic face no matter the situation.           Instead, John asked. “Where is father?” 
       “He is away on a business trip. He is scheduled to return tomorrow morning, you have to leave by then.” Richard reminded John that he was not supposed to be here long.          He understood Richard’s concern.
       “I’ll leave before night fall, but I must see my brother.” John persisted.           Richard felt pushed into a corner. He didn’t want to defy his master’s order but at the same time, it didn’t feel right to deny John from meeting with Oliver.          
       Finally, Richard gave in. “Fine.”   
       “Thank You Richard!” John wholeheartedly thanked him. 
       “Allow me guide you.” Richard ran up ahead of John and held the door open for him. After letting John out first, he then followed him out.
           “I know where Oliver’s room is.” John said. The house is big, but he has only been gone for a year, he still remembers the layout. He didn’t see the need for Richard to accompany him. 
         “Your brother has changed rooms.” Richard informed him, much to John's surprise, he didn't question why. 
        Walking along the long corridors, they would occasionally pass servants which bowed when they saw them. John bowed back.           That’s weird…… He realised that he didn’t recognize any of the maid and servants in the house. For a moment, he felt like he had entered the wrong house. 
       Finally, they stopped in front of a door. “This is Master Oliver’s room.” Richard politely said. John thanked Richard with a pat on the shoulder. Richard bowed and left.
       Left all alone, John stared at the door, suddenly unsure of what to do. Nerves were running through him.          Why did you leave? Where did you go? What happened? He had so many questions he wanted to ask. But right now, standing right in front of the door, John was paralyzed with fear.           He felt fear. Would the person in the room be the same person 1 year ago? What if Oliver is no longer the loving and caring brother he used to be? He did leave once and disappear for a year, he could do it again. 
       John immediately discarded those unwanted thoughts and with resolve, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
       A shout came from inside the room. “I told you to leave me alone!” 
       It startled John, but he grew excited. It was his brother’s voice!          “Oliver! It’s me John!” John shouted with both hands on the door. His heart was racing, he could feel the blood rushing up to his face.           There was a moment of silence before Oliver spoke.           
       “……John?” The voice in the room sounded unsure.
        John heard footsteps hurrying to the door. He took a step back as he heard the turning of a knob, bracing himself as the door was pushed open from the inside. 
       John thought he would punch his brother but the moment he saw Oliver, he was so overwhelmed with relief, he enveloped him in an embrace instead. 
       The sudden wramth caught Oliver by surprise, his body stiffened initially but he was quick to recover, relaxing his muscles, he lifted his arms to wrap them around the younger boy and hugged John back. 
         After a long minute, John pulled himself apart from Oliver. Keeping his hands on his brother’s shoulders, he asked, “Do you know how horrible I was when you were gone?!”           Finally, getting a good look at his brother, John could tell that Oliver has grown thinner. Not to mention, Oliver looked as though he has not slept for days. The bags around his eyes were so prominent.          
       “I’m sorry. It must have been hard on you.” Oliver apologised, his eyelids drooping from fatigue.  
       “You’re not going to disappear again, right? You’ll stay here with me?” John tried to convince Oliver with pleading eyes, but it came out more of a demand than a question. He was biting his lower lip, fighting back tears. He had no idea why he felt so emotional. He must look so lame right now. 
       Oliver’s gaze softened. “I swear I won’t do it again.” He promised John.           
       “Where were you all this while?” John forced the question out of his mouth, even though he was scared of what it might be. 
         Oliver reminisced. He had a smile on his face as he said, “I ran away and studied medicine on my own all the while working part time to pay for meals.” John could tell that Oliver was genuinely happy while he was away. The blissful expression faded soon after and Oliver clenched his fist, a pained expression emerged on his face as he carried on saying, “When I left, I was filled with rage and I wasn’t thinking straight. Please believe me when I say that a day didn’t go by that I regretted doing so. I may have been living my dream, but I missed you desperately.” 
        The bed dipped a little as Oliver sat on it, seeing that, John thought they might as well get comfortable, he walked over to a chair, thinking of seating down as well.           But, he didn’t get to make it to the chair before Oliver broke the comfortable atmosphere. 
        “……I’m going to take over father’s business.”
         The sudden declaration shocked John. He almost tripped over thin air. He looked at his brother, who had his head hung low.           “I-I don’t get it. I thought you had always wanted to be a doctor?” John frowned in disbelief. Is that why he came back? Just so he could take over the business?
        Oliver dodged his question and looked to his side, avoiding John’s gaze. He had an extremely painful look on his face, clearly saddened by the decision. 
        John couldn’t believe such a verse even coming out from Oliver. Just a year ago, he was so violently against everything father wanted him to be. The Oliver John knew wasn’t someone that would give up this easily.
        Something must have happened over the one-year period he was gone, that made him change his mind so suddenly. John was plagued with a sudden wave of goosebumps. He shivered at the thought that this isn’t the older brother he grew up with. It was as though the person in front of him was a different person, someone John didn’t recognize. 
       John realised that he needed to change his approach. Oliver didn’t look well, something seems off about him., his face growing paler by the second. John pulled the chair towards the bed. Oliver looked up at him as he sat.          
        “Were you aware that Father ordered everyone to not talk about your incident?” John asked carefully, wanting to not agitate his clearly emotionally unstable brother. 
        With a confused look, Oliver answered with a shake of his head. Which John acknowledged Oliver's answer with a nod of the head. He felt the need to remain calm and to not rush things. 
       There was silence for a moment before Oliver blankly stated, “It’s probably for the best.”
        Shocked by Oliver’s words, John asked, “How so?!” Entirely forgetting to keep his cool. 
        But Oliver didn’t reply, instead he stared down at his interlocked fingers.            
         “The servants……” John started, being very careful with his words. He waited until Oliver looked up at him, he wanted Oliver's full attention before continuing, “…… They have all been replaced.”           The sudden change of servants was peculiar. He remembered just a year ago, before Oliver disappeared and before he left to study overseas, the servants were still here, where have they all gone?          Whatever the reason was for the change of servants, John asked in the hopes that Oliver could shed some light into all his confusion.
        When John received no response, he looked at Oliver. And nothing, absolutely nothing could have prepared him for what he witnessed next. John stared at his brother wide-eyed, in total and utter shock.          Oliver himself didn’t seem to be aware that he was crying, tears rolling off his cheeks and dampening his pants, until he noticed John’s surprised beyond belief reaction.
        John started to panic when he saw his 22-year-old brother crying in distraught. Never in his entire life has he ever seen Oliver cry.
        “W-What the……?” Oliver wiped his tears with his hand. But it wouldn't stop flowing.           He let out a nervous laugh. “This was not supposed to happen……” Oliver’s voice was muffled and breaking. 
        John was in a complete lost for words. He was confused. His mind was running all over the place, he didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know what to do. 
         John couldn’t get Oliver’s crying face out of his mind. It was the most horrible thing he has seen in his life.          He stood up suddenly. 
         Oliver panicked when he saw John stand up. “Where are you going?” He asked worryingly as John proceeded towards the door.           
         “Wait! John!” Oliver cried out, but John ignored him and left the room.          He started running towards the only other person he knew in that house. He knew he wouldn’t be getting anything out from Oliver and he sure in hell can’t ask his father. The other only person that could possibly shed some light to his growing confusion was Richard.
        John slammed the door open and barged into Richard’s study.           Shocked, Richard, who was originally looking through files, dropped them on the table.
        Furious, John snapped. “What happened to the servants!?” John was frantic. He hadn’t notice, but his hands were trembling.
        Richard stood up, looking very concern.           “Young master John, I’m in no place to tell.” He avoided John’s gaze and that made John angrier.          Why is everyone trying to hide something from him?! 
         “Every single servant has been replaced but you’re the only one remaining! Don’t tell me you don’t have anything to do with it!” John lashed out on Richard.
         “Young master…” Richard looked distressed. And John felt bad, he knew that he was forcing Richard to go against his father to tell him, but he needed to know. 
         “The servants……” Richard spoke but was immediately cut off by Oliver.          
        “Richard!” 
        John turned to see his brother at the entrance of the door, gasping for breath. 
         Shaking his head slowly, Oliver warned Richard, “Don’t. say. anything.”           
         Looking at Oliver, Richard swallowed his words. He then reverted his attention back to John and said, “I’m sorry, John…… but the master’s words are absolute.” 
         “John, Father will not be happy if he hears that you returned.” Oliver said as he walked into the study.
         John calmed down after seeing Oliver, who wasn't crying anymore., but his eyes were visibly red and puffy. 
         Oliver walked up to John and place a hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine now. You don’t have to worry.” Oliver assured, knowing the reason for John's outburst was due to his sudden breakdown. Oliver smiled at him but John couldn’t tell if it was genuine or fake.
        “But……” John started to protest. He looked from Oliver to Richard. They both had very troubled looks.          
        Eventually, John gave in, fully understanding that he never stood a chance, it was 2 against 1 from the beginning. “Fine, then I’ll ask just one question.” He asked, looking from Richard to Oliver.
        “I’ll answer it if I can.” Oliver cooperated.
        “Wherever the servants are, are they doing fine?”
         “Yes. They are all doing fine.” Oliver replied. John could tell from the smile on his face that he was being honest. 
         Oliver escorted John out of the study and back to his room. They talked for a while before John bid Oliver farewell and decided to leave. He needed to catch the last train to the airport.          
         Descending the stairs, John was glad that his bag was where he left it, laying abandoned on the cold hard ground. He whispered an unnecessary apology to it before picking it up and slinging it across his shoulder. Just when his hand was about to land on the handle of the main door, the door was pushed opened on its own.           
         Bewildered, John took a step back. The door continued to open frustratingly slow, and it didn't take a genius to figure that the person on the other side was struggling, seeing that one minute the heavy door was being pushed open, the next its weight was shifting it close again. 
         John decided to not wait any longer, he had a plane to catch, his hand wrapped around the door handle and without warning the person on the other end, pulled the heavy door further open.
          John frowned when he looked around and saw nothing, expecting to find an elderly man or woman who was earlier struggling to push open the door. His gaze finally made the decision to look down and he saw a tiny figure.
         A girl? No, it’s a boy. They locked eyes and the child was looking up at John with curious eyes. He looked around the tender age of a 10 year old child.           
         Who is this? John thought to himself.
         John was captivated by the boy as much as the boy was with him. The boy had beautiful big black eyes that stared at John in amusement. John’s attention broke when out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a familiar figure exiting a car out in the driveway. 
        John stood wide-eyed, even though every single cell in his body screamed for him to run, his body paralysed. He didn't need to look in the mirror to know his face must have contorted in fear, a direct contrast to the boy who was smiling brightly and full of excitement at him. 
        John watched in horror as his father walked up to the both of them and placed a hand on the boy's tiny head, ruffling the boy's hair, who started bouncing in joy at the touch. The man smirked at that sight as he looked up at the still frozen John and said, “Right in time John, I would like to introduce you to your younger brother, Eric.” 
         And John's bag might or might not have slipped off his shoulders and dropped to the ground. 
                     XXXXXXXXXX 
         “John! Are you still there?” Oliver shouted through the line. 
         John snapped back into reality. “Oh sorry……! I was just thinking about Eric.” 
         “I haven’t seen him in a while, how is that boy?” Oliver asked. His voice softened.
         “He hates me even more now.” John let out a nervous laugh. 
         “Are you fine with that?” 
         Was he fine with being hated? Probably not. 
         “I don’t know what to do, Oliver. 6 years later and nothing has changed.”          
         “Protect Eric, that’s the one thing that you can do.” 
         “That goes without saying.” John replied in no hesitation. 
         “Ok listen up! this is a message from the boss.” Oliver switched into a serious tone, ditching his earlier carefree persona. The boss Oliver was referring to could have been no other than their father. 
         John picked up his pen, ready to write down any important news.           “I’m all ears.” 
         “He says to not let him down. That he is waiting for good news on the participant of the school’s representative for the event. He wants confirmation as soon as possible.”
         “I got that already. Since when did you become Father’s spoke person?” John asked jokingly.
         Oliver let out a long sighed in frustration to ensure that John could hear through the line. “Ever since Richard fell sick, I’ve become busier.” He then proceeded to laugh.          John smiled knowingly. He knew that Oliver was joking. 
         Always busy with work, It has been quite some time since he and Oliver saw each other. He was honestly glad Oliver called, he felt his mood brightened ten-fold after the talk. He made a mental note to be the first one to call Oliver the next time. 


All Rights Reserved © 2018 by Anne Teng
 
End of chapter~Guys, If there's anything that helps me get through a day, it would be writing, so if you have been having a rough day today, I hope that my writing could at least help you out even a little. Remember guys, to work harder than the devil! 
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