Loathsome Man

The Lee Estate

King Alistair stood before the gold-plated wrought-iron railing on the second floor foyer and watched as Selena walked out of the mansion. He looked below at the mansion's main floor to check who she was eyeing just before she stepped out of the double doors. Regrettably, there were far too many visitors that the king could not point a finger who exactly that other person was. The way she stared at that guest sent goosebumps all over his body. Was she telling that person to seek revenge for her? He took one last sweeping eagle-eye look at the guests on the main floor but saw nobody peculiar.

The king took another sip of his alcohol to ease the bugging suspicion in his mind and just as he was about to leave and join the company of other guests, he saw Maxen out from the corner of his eye and matter-of-factly said, "That's very unbecoming of you, Maxen."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Your Majesty, but I don't tolerate assholes," Maxen uttered under his breath. He stood beside his father, King Alistair, one hand dipped in his pants pocket while another held a new serving of champagne.

King Alistair subconsciously sniggered at his son's reply. He almost believed Maxen, but he's not ignorant to the truth that his son was out for blood the moment he met Lance Go in the flesh. "Don't tolerate assholes or ex-fiancés? How disgraceful of you to make a scene because of a girl."

"Relax, Your Majesty. Nobody is perfect. See? Even God took a break on the seventh day."

Maxen pulled out his hand in his pocket and checked the time on his wristwatch which told him it's almost nine in the evening. He earned another snigger from King Alistair beside him. He realized that his father must have seen Olivia's photo because he was also holding his phone at that moment. Maxen took his chance and flaunted Olivia's photo to his father just to piss him off.

"Look how beautiful she is. Imagine how adorable your grandchildren will be," Maxen giggled like a love-struck highschool boy as he teased King Alistair who maintained a poker face on.

"Hmp. Talk to me after you tell your best friend that you want to marry his sister," King Alistair challenged his son. He didn't need to include Henry Lin in the list. That loathsome man never cared for Olivia anyway.

"I will," Maxen softly replied. Sensing the lack of confidence in his son's words, King Alistair didn't press on because he knew all the secrets those two boys keep and how it will come and bite them or even tear their friendship apart one day… or maybe not. He clank his champagne flute with Maxen's, waking the little prince up from his stupor, clearly affected with what the king said.

Maxen faced his father and their clear blue eyes met. He squared his shoulders and repeated what he said, "Ollie. Will. Give. Us. His. Consent."

This time, the king smiled when he saw the lost fire being ignited in his son's eyes that his pupils looked like they were dilating like a wildfire. He took a sip of his champagne and savored every pop of the bubble in his throat followed by the soothing and tingling burn of alcohol. And when all the bubbles were gone, he let out a helpless sigh.

He remembered how this morning, for the first time in thirty-two years, he had an argument with his son because of a girl and tonight he saw him almost kill a bastard because of the same girl. The king knew in his mind that he used the crown as an excuse to keep his son safe and away from the Pyxis but his heart knew better.

Nothing kept King Alistair from falling in love with that Pyxis member decades ago and nothing stopped his brother Sebastian too who did his best to keep Amelia Lin by his side even if it was only as a friend. King Alistair swallowed what felt like a few remaining bubbles lodged in his throat as he came up to the conclusion:

Only death would stop the little prince from keeping his Rose.

And the one thing that King Alistair could do was to keep Maxen and Olivia safe for as long as he could.

King Alistair was about to leave when he caught sight of the loathsome man Henry Lin climbing up the grand staircase. They gave each other a civil smile and a curt nod before they went on with their own separate ways.

After Amelia's accident, the two greatest families of Nisia entered a cold war and the friendship cord between the Lins and the Suis was cut and abandoned, never to be tied again. The good part was, Maxen and Oliver's brotherhood remained.

The youngins gathered inside a media room on the left wing of the mansion. This was their favorite spot in the house because it had its own dry bar and Wyatt did the honor of becoming their bartender of the night.

"You pig! Where are your manners, Maxen? Gosh," Ava voiced out her frustration as soon as she saw Maxen enter the room with a grin on his face. "Good thing Selena didn't throw a tantrum. Have you seen how her dad was holding his anger in?"

"That bastard started it. Ask Wyatt," Maxen defended himself, a finger pointing at Wyatt's direction, the latter smirked as he filled a stainless steel cocktail shaker.

"Even if he hadn't started it, that sleazeball deserved those punches. Not after what he did to Olivia," Oliver commented, sniffing the faint perfume on Ava's neck as he hugged her from behind while they sat on a curved sofa.

"Olivia?" Maxen asked with his head bowed, afraid to meet Oliver's eyes. That guy hid his sister from his radar for a reason and if Oliver sees the truth in his eyes that would be a recipe for disaster. He needed to take a break and assess how he would break the news to his best friend. For sure Ollie would throw a tantrum and put up a fight once he finds out that Maxen was deeply interested in Olivia especially after all the stupid things they did together growing up.

Across the room, Oliver cleared his throat. He could not take his words back now. How could he be so mindless sometimes? He'd been keeping Olivia's existence away from Maxen for years now and all it took was seeing his best friend punch that Lance Go for his barriers to crumble down. "My sister. You'll meet her this weekend. Auntie Martha's throwing a party for her. Intimate, that is. Father doesn't enjoy showing her off. You know… after that accident..."

Maxen kept mum and busied himself with the vinyl record shelf. He found his favorite "Frank Sinatra" record and placed it on the player, the soft jazz music of the song "Fly Me to the Moon" filled the room, setting the mood for the group of friends.

Wyatt slid a cocktail glass towards his sweet honey and tipped his head, "Cosmopolitan for the beautiful lady." Emily pawed her platoon commander and flaunted her love and admiration - hashtag PDA - for everyone else to see. Now that Oliver knows of her and Wyatt's relationship, there's no need to bottle up her feelings.

Ava cleared her throat, slightly uncomfortable with Wyatt and Emily. Growing up, she didn't really hang out with the "four clovers" as what the four friends call themselves because she belonged to a different circle of friends. It was only until after college that Ava and Oliver started to date. Suddenly, she remembered that Maxen added a plus one in the list this morning. Caressing Oliver's ears, she asked, "Maxen, who is 'O Sui'? Is she perhaps your 'new friend'?"

Wyatt and Emily raised a single eyebrow in unison and gave each other a knowing look. The longer the friends stayed together, the more the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly. They watch in awe and with much anticipation at how Maxen would survive the night without slipping the truth.

Maxen almost snorted the champagne in his nose. He slumped on the adjacent sofa of Oliver and Ava and crossed his legs, splaying his arms on the rest, he replied to Ava, "She's not my 'friend', she's someone special."

"Ooh she turned down your invitation then," Ava asserted.

Maxen shot daggers to Ava. This white-snake. When would she stop hissing at him? He gave her one scornful look and maintained his silence. Talking with a Lee woman would cause someone's death. He shifted his gaze to Oliver and felt bad for the guy. Of all the women in Nisia, why fall in love with a lady like Ava? He tinkered on his phone and sent a message to MIB1 to let him know when he's done with his sparring session with Shadow.

An hour later, just a second before the clock hit ten, Maxen felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. His eyeballs almost popped out of its sockets when he read MIB1's message.