SIXTEEN_THE TRUTH IN THE DARK
“…Yes,” Aiden finally said quietly.
The room was dim, lit only by the soft lamp near the bed. Outside, the mansion was silent.
Alexander stood beside the bed, watching him.
Aiden stared at the glass of water in his hands.
“My real mom,” he continued after a moment.
Alexander didn’t interrupt.
Aiden rarely talked about his past. Even in his old house, no one cared enough to ask.
But for some reason, the silence in this room felt different.
“She used to protect me,” Aiden said softly. “Whenever my stepmother yelled at me, my mom would stand in front of me.”
Alexander leaned against the wall, listening.
“But she got sick when I was little,” Aiden continued. “And after she died…”
His voice faded.
“My dad married my stepmother.”
Alexander already suspected the rest.
“She never liked me,” Aiden said with a small, bitter smile. “Actually… hate might be a better word.”
Alexander’s expression hardened slightly.
“And your father?”
Aiden shrugged.
“He ignored it.”
The room went quiet.
Alexander pushed himself off the wall and walked closer to the bed.
“And the nightmares?”
Aiden looked down again.
“They started after my mom died. I keep remembering that day.”
Alexander noticed something.
Aiden always tried to act strong. Sarcastic. Unbothered.
But right now he just looked… tired.
Alexander spoke calmly.
“You’re safe here.”
Aiden looked up.
The words surprised him.
Alexander didn’t say things he didn’t mean.
Aiden forced a small laugh.
“You’re a mafia boss. I don’t think the word ‘safe’ usually applies to you.”
Alexander’s lips twitched slightly.
“Compared to your stepmother, I might actually be an improvement.”
Aiden blinked.
“…Okay, that’s fair.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Aiden laid back down slowly.
“Sorry if I woke you.”
Alexander looked toward the desk where he had been working earlier.
“I wasn’t sleeping.”
“Still,” Aiden muttered. “Nightmares are annoying.”
Alexander turned off the lamp beside the bed.
The room became darker, but the moonlight from the window softened the shadows.
He returned to the bed and lay down on the other side.
For a while, there was only silence.
Then Aiden spoke again.
“Alexander?”
“Yes, kitten.”
Aiden groaned softly.
“You’re never going to stop calling me that, are you?”
“No.”
Aiden sighed.
“Unbelievable.”
But this time there was no real annoyance in his voice.
Just tiredness.
A few minutes later, Aiden’s breathing finally slowed as he fell asleep again.
Alexander glanced toward him briefly.
The younger man looked much more peaceful now.
For the first time since the strange wedding, Alexander realized something.
This marriage might have started as a solution to a problem.
But somehow…
Aiden was already becoming more important to him than he expected.