CHAPTER 20
Rayne stood behind his mother as she held his father’s hand, her eyes fixed on him. Seeing their tense moment, he decided to step outside and give them some space.
But when he reached the door, noise from the hallway caught his attention. He opened it quickly and froze at the sight of Lucian grabbing Kerry’s collar.
“Lucian! What are you doing here?” Rayne demanded, stepping out and closing the door behind him.
“You… you know him?” Kerry asked, his tone angry.
Rayne touched Lucian’s hand, making him release Kerry’s collar. “Kerry, he’s my husband. Lucian,” he said, gently pushing Lucian back with both hands holding his wrists. Lucian moved easily, almost as if Rayne had more strength.
“How did you know I was here?” Rayne asked.
“Well, you weren’t answering your calls. I called so many times. I got worried, so I called your home’s landline. Some servant answered and told me you were at this hospital.”
So Lucian didn’t know anything about what had happened to their family.
“And who is that alpha? Why was he looking at you while releasing his pheromones?” Lucian asked, noticing Kerry.
Rayne pulled Lucian closer to Kerry.
“You’re married, Rayne?!” Kerry asked quietly, looking sad now.
Hearing that, Lucian wrapped his hands around Rayne’s waist and pulled him close. “Yes. He’s my omega now,” Lucian said proudly.
“But who are you?” Lucian asked Kerry.
Rayne gave an awkward smile. “Lucian, he’s my stepbrother. Kerry.”
Lucian’s eyes widened. “You have a stepbrother? How did I not know this before?” he muttered.
“I also found out today,” Rayne whispered under his breath.
Lucian looked even more shocked, as if he had heard Rayne’s thought. His hand, resting on Rayne’s waist, moved up to his shoulder.
“Babe, why don’t we sit down and you explain everything to me from the start? Because I’m not able to understand anything.”
Even Lucian’s sweet voice sounded serious now. Rayne nodded, and once they sat down, he explained everything that had happened—how this new stepbrother suddenly appeared in his life.
“Mhm, so this is what happened… and your dad is out of danger, that’s good. I think they need to sort this out on their own. And I don’t think your dad is the type to have an affair. He loves your mom so much, everyone in the industry knows that,” Lucian said.
Rayne knew Lucian was right. He had witnessed how much his father loved his mother since childhood. And he used to hope that his partner would love him with the same devotion. Lucian was different from his father—but he was happy with him.
After a while, Mom came out of the room and noticed Lucian.
“Lucian!” she called, then paused and looked down.
Lucian stood and approached her. “Aunty, I heard from Rayne what happened. I know it must be very hard. Are you okay?” he asked, hugging her.
They both sat down. “I know it’s not my place to say, but Uncle really loves you. I worked with him once… and he never stopped mentioning you. He used to look at your photo every few minutes, saying it was his energy,” Lucian explained.
Mom began crying again as Lucian spoke about how much Dad loved her.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to cry. Rayne, please help me, Aunty is crying now,” Lucian panicked.
“Thank you, kids, for helping me. I know how much he loves me… I was just hurt, thinking he went to another woman. But he didn’t; it was someone else’s fault,” Mom said, seeming calmer. Lucian’s words had worked. Rayne thought about how perfect his husband was, so capable in everything he did.
They sat there for a while until Uncle Mack arrived. He noticed Kerry first, the only unfamiliar face, but didn’t comment. Lucian quietly moved from Mom’s side to sit beside Rayne, with Kerry on his other side.
“What happened, Cherry?” Uncle asked, sitting beside Mom.
Mom explained everything in low voices. Rayne couldn’t hear all of it—maybe Lucian’s presence had blocked some of the sound.
After their discussion, Uncle Mack stood. Rayne and Lucian stood as well. Uncle shook Lucian’s hand.
“Lucian, pleased to meet you again. And Rayne seems tired, why don’t you take him home now? I’ll call if anything happens here,” Uncle Mack said.
“I’m not tired! And how can I leave Mom in this situation?” Rayne said immediately.
Mom, looking fine now, nodded. “Yes, Rayne. And Lucian, you both should go back now. It’s fine here, don’t worry about me. Mack is here,” she said.
Rayne couldn’t argue. They said goodbye to Mom and Uncle Mack. He even said goodbye to Kerry, noticing Uncle Mack put his hand on Kerry’s shoulder and whispered something to him.
As they left the hospital, Rayne suddenly remembered Lin. Lucian had been with him earlier, but Lin had come here alone… so where was he?
“Lucian, where is your younger brother, Lin? Did you leave him alone at home?” Rayne asked.
“No. Do you think I would leave that idiot home alone? He doesn’t deserve that much freedom,” Lucian said.
By the time they reached the car, Rayne saw Lin inside. He stood on the seat, pressing against the windows, looking trapped and begging for help. His face was pitiful.
Rayne quickly opened the car door, and Lucian flicked Lin’s forehead while standing behind him.
“Stay out, idiot! What are you trying to show the world? That I kidnapped you or something?” Lucian said.
Rayne thought the same thing. The way Lin pressed against the window made it look exactly like he had been kidnapped.
He slid into the back seat with Lin.
“Rayne, why did you sit back? Come here, sit beside me,” Lucian said.
But Lin hugged Rayne’s arm tightly, refusing to let go, his puppy eyes pleading.
“It’s okay, Lucian. I’ll just sit here for now,” Rayne said.
Lucian’s red eyes glared at him through the rearview mirror.
“Rayne, didn’t you hear me? Come and sit beside me. Are you going to listen to that little idiot or your husband?”
Rayne thought Lucian was being completely senseless. How could he say that?
“Lucian, it’s not like I’m listening to Lin. I just want to sit in the back seat, so what’s the problem? If you want someone to be in the passenger seat, then…”
Rayne grabbed Lin and pushed him up onto the passenger seat from behind.
“Is it okay now?” he asked. Both brothers glared at each other, tension thick in the car.
Thank goodness they were finally sitting in the front. Rayne pressed his back against the seat and looked outside, trying to relax.
Then suddenly, Lucian stopped the car. Rayne frowned, why were they in front of a company they didn’t even know?
Wait… Lucian must know this place. That was why he had stopped.
Just then, a man came out of the building. Rayne immediately recognized him, he was the same person he had seen at their wedding. Lucian’s best friend. Ren.
Just like last time, Ren’s half ponytail was tied up on his head, yet he still looked handsome in that suit, well, he was an alpha in the end.
When Ren reached the car, he directly opened the passenger seat door and found Lin sitting there.
“What! Go back, I’ll sit with my brother,” Lin said, rolling his eyes.
“So you want me to sit with your brother’s wife? Okay then, I’ll go and sit,” Ren said.
Hearing that, Lin realized Rayne was sitting in the back, so he moved without even getting out of the car and slid into the back seat beside Rayne.
Ren also sat inside. “Hello, Rayne! We meet again. I don’t know if you remember me or not, but we met at your wedding.”
Rayne smiled because he had recognized Ren the moment he saw him. And who could forget Ren?
“Yes, I remember. You’re Lucian’s best friend.”
Ren burst into loud laughter, which made Rayne feel like he had said something wrong. Rayne quickly looked down in guilt.
“Sorry! I wasn’t laughing at you, Rayne. I just laughed because you remembered me, hehe,” Ren said, still smiling as he looked at Lucian.
Rayne felt a little relieved that he hadn’t said anything wrong. Just then, he felt a touch on his hand, making him glance at Lin.
Lin was smiling at him. “Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid of that man. I’ll protect you.”
Rayne chuckled, because Lin looked so cute saying that. His tiny fists were clenched tightly, making him even more adorable. Rayne pulled him onto his lap and hugged him tightly.
“Hahaha, it tickles, Sister-in-law!” Lin giggled from the hug, so Rayne didn’t let go either.
The whole car filled with Rayne and Lin’s laughter, and after five minutes, they both finally calmed down.
Rayne realized he had been laughing so much that his mouth was hurting.
He leaned back against the seat, feeling tired from playing. His stamina was very low.
“Do you have water in your car, Lucian?” Rayne suddenly asked.
He didn’t know if Lucian kept a water bottle in the car or not, but his throat was dry and he was feeling thirsty, so he asked.
Lucian glanced back at Rayne, then looked forward again to search for a water bottle.
“Sorry, there’s no water in the car right now. But don’t worry, we’re going to reach resturant soon.”
Hearing that, Rayne nodded.
But just then, Lin grabbed his little backpack, took out a small water bottle, and offered it to Rayne.
“Here, sister-in-law. You can drink my water.”
Rayne was so happy seeing that, and he was about to take the bottle too, but then…
“No, Rayne, don’t drink that water! He drinks from that bottle all the time, and he shares it with his friends. You don’t know who else has used it.”
“What’s wrong with sharing with friends? You don’t have friends, that’s why you don’t know how important it is,” Lin said, pouting as he took the bottle back.
Rayne didn’t want to hurt the child, but since he heard that Lin’s friends had also drunk from the same bottle, he didn’t dare take even a sip.
He just sat quietly, looking outside while swallowing his dry throat, hoping they would reach their destination soon.
Within five minutes, Lucian stopped the car. When Rayne looked outside, he saw they had reached the restaurant.
He quickly opened the door, helped Lin out, and went straight inside the restaurant without waiting for Lucian.
As Rayne walked in with Lin, Lucian and Ren were still in the car. Lucian chuckled as he finally stepped out, and Ren did the same.
“Lucian, my friend, why don’t you have babies already? I want to see you become a family man soon,” Ren said.
They walked side by side.
“It’s not that I don’t want babies,” Lucian replied, “but Rayne is still young. I don’t want to hurt him.”
Ren nodded. Rayne was only twenty-two, while they were twenty-eight. Of course he was younger. But then suddenly something struck Ren’s mind, and he looked at Lucian quickly.
“So you haven’t slept with Rayne yet?”
“No, we haven’t. I don’t want to scare him. I lose control of myself whenever I’m close to him.”
“You are indeed wild. But you haven’t even marked him? You’re already married,what’s stopping you? Don’t tell me Rayne doesn’t want you to mark him.”
Lucian kicked Ren’s leg lightly as they walked, both hands in his pockets. He thought about it, had Rayne ever said anything about marking?
As far as Lucian remembered, Rayne had never mentioned marking. Not even once.
“He never said anything about marking, so I didn’t bring up the subject. But I want to mark him already, because there are too many flies around him,” Lucian said, eyes fixed ahead.
“Man, don’t be creepy. Talk to him about it and mark him. And if he says no, then maybe you two don’t belong together. But honestly, I doubt he’ll say no.”
They both walked inside while talking and saw Rayne and Lin already sitting side by side, with Rayne drinking water.
Seeing him drink, Lin also lifted his own glass and took a sip. Ren and Lucian went over and sat across from them.
“So, what do you want to eat? It’s my treat,” Ren said.
“I’m not hungry now. I already drank two glasses of water, so I think I’m full. But Lin and Lucian, don’t be shy, order something,” Rayne said, still holding the glass in his hand.
Rayne noticed Lucian was staring at him silently, his eyes fixed only on him. Rayne wanted to ask why he was looking like that, but since Ren was there, he kept quiet.
“Rayne, I think we need to talk. Let’s go since you aren’t hungry,” Lucian said all of a sudden.
Rayne blinked in confusion. “What do you want to talk about? And how can we leave Lin and Ren alone?”
Lucian didn’t bother explaining. He stood up, walked to Rayne’s side, and grabbed his hand, pulling him up effortlessly with just one hand.