Chapter 48: In Life And Death
LEON’S POV
I should’ve known that I was doomed the moment Orion stood up from the table and smiled at me. His smile never means anything good for me.
"Come on, cousin," he says cheerfully. "Let’s go."
I would have refused like any other sane person, but unfortunately, I have spent my entire life knowing Orion, and that knowledge has taught me one important lesson.
Refusing Orion never improves a situation. It just makes it worse.
So, I followed him, ignoring how every step to the bathroom feels like a march towards my execution.
Behind us, I can feel Louise’s gaze burning into my back. There’s no sympathy or concern in her gaze, only annoyance, probably because I’m leaving her alone with the half-sibling she despises.
Her annoyance doesn’t even faze me, instead, all I can think about is the man walking ahead of me.
Orion smiles as he pushes open the doors to the restroom. He’s humming, and he looks completely harmless. But that is the problem.
People who meet him for the first time see how charming and funny he is. They always notice how eccentric he is but still brush it off as a harmless act.
Then they get to know him. Then they look into those unsettling eyes and they learn that there is no harmless act.
It’s all him.
I learned this before anyone else because I grew up with the crazy bastard, and growing up with him was a special kind of suffering.
The restroom is empty. Of course it is.
I follow reluctantly as Orion steps inside and heads towards the sinks. The door shuts with an ominous click behind us.
My stomach tightens, but nothing happens. Orion stays smiling as he washes his hands. He’s still humming, still acting normal, but nothing happens.
The same way he acted normal when we were children.
The memory surfaces before I can stop it.
I was in middle school. I was twelve and he was fourteen. Fourteen and already worse than a demon. I still remember the exact words he said.
"Leon."
"What? Is something wrong, Orion?"
"I have bad news."
I remember how serious he looked. The way his tone sounded heavy with concern and sympathy, even as he lowered his voice.
"Your mother just discovered something, Leon."
I had frozen in place.
I was a bit of a truant then, so Mother finding out something bad enough to make even Orion sound so concerned was definitely bad for me.
"What did she find out?"
"That you’re not actually her son."
I remember my heart coming to a stop. It’s still so vivid that even now, years later, I can still feel it.
"W-What? What does that even mean?"
"Apparently, there was a mix-up at the hospital, and the real child was switched with you."
He had sounded devastated. Absolutely devastated. I remember feeling a chill starting from the tips of my toes and rising to the top of my head.
"W-What is going to happen to m-me?"
Orion had stared at me, then looked away— like he couldn’t bear to say it.
"Knowing Aunt Dimitra? She’ll first find her child, then probably get rid of you after."
I completely believed him, for one reason alone— because Orion never lied. He preferred to say the truth and watch all of us normal people flounder because of his insane thought process.
And even without the knowledge of Orion’s refusal to lie, he looked so serious that I thought the conversation was a done deal.
I spent a week waiting for my death. An entire week. I barely slept or ate. Every footstep outside my bedroom convinced me that my mother had finally decided to kill me.
I cried, prayed, and even considered running away.
Then seven days later, Orion walked into my room, took one look at my condition, and laughed until he started choking for air.
The crazy bastard laughed until his lungs ached.
The whole thing had been a prank. An entire week of terror, just because he was bored.
"Who knows? Maybe the stress would’ve killed you eventually...Now that would’ve been interesting to see."
My fingers twitch. Just thinking about it makes them shake.
Across the restroom, Orion glances at me, smile wide. As if he knows exactly what I’m remembering amongst all the bullshit he’s pulled.
"I miss us being children sometimes," he sighs. "You were much more entertaining then."
I nearly flinch out of my skin. The way he casually admits it makes my stomach churn. I shouldn’t have questioned if we were thinking about the same thing.
Orion walks towards the mirrors, studying his reflection. Meanwhile, I’m standing here feeling exactly the way I always felt back then.
Small. Nervous. Waiting for something terrible to happen.
The worst part of this is that I’m not even sure if he truly notices the effect he has. Orion could spend weeks slowly destroying someone’s mental health and genuinely treat it like a game.
That is what terrifies— pisses me off. Not his cruelty, but the complete absence of understanding. And if he does understand what he’s doing and doesn’t just care, then he—
"You seem tense." He mutters softly.
I laugh weakly. "You invited us to your table."
"You accepted."
"I didn’t think refusing was an option."
"Good instinct," he hums, pleased.
My stomach drops. Orion always sounds pleased when someone correctly identifies a threat. It’s like a fucking kink.
The silence stretches until he sighs dramatically.
"How do you know Adrien, Leon?"
Every muscle in my body locks. No no no. For a moment, I genuinely wonder if he somehow already knows. The possibility makes my throat tighten.
"He’s Louise’s brother and your fiancé."
It’s a lie. A quick, desperate one. But Orion doesn’t even look at me. He doesn’t acknowledge it or react, which makes everything feel worse.
Because for a bastard who chooses never to lie, he’s insanely good at spotting them.
He calmly adjusts one of his cuffs, looking absent-minded. As if he didn’t just ask a question capable of ruining my life.
The silence becomes unbearable.
"Why are you asking?" I blurt out.
Orion looks at me and grins. "I’m just a bit curious. That’s all."
That is the truth. He is actually curious about it. But he’s not supposed to be, because I never really spoke to Adrien when we were at Mother’s birthday party.
There was only that one time at the garden, and Niko...Niko? Oh, shit.
"I don’t understand what it is that you’re curious about."
"Of course you don’t."
My hands start shaking again. Damn it. I shove them into my pocket, but it’s too late— he’s already seen them.
Orion tilts his head slightly, then steps closer.
One step. That’s all it takes for me to feel trapped. How ridiculous. The restroom isn’t small. He isn’t touching or threatening me yet every instinct screams danger.
The same instinct that had kept me awake as a child. The same instinct that had spent years warning me that Orion isn’t someone to challenge.
Not if I want to survive. Even though I did challenge him once. But as long as Adrien stays silent, both of us would never have to deal with Orion’s fury.
"You will attend your engagement."
The sudden topic change catches me off guard. I blink slowly at him. "What?"
He takes a step forward. Then another. And another. "You’ll attend your engagement, and you’ll do it while smiling, then you’ll hold Louise’s hands and pose for photographs like a happy fiancé."
The restroom suddenly feels much smaller. "I already planned to."
"Good," his voice softens. "Because you’re not breaking it off."
The words settle heavily between us. "I wasn’t planning to."
"Excellent." His eyes gleam.
For a moment, I thought the conversation was over, until Orion reaches out and places a hand on the back of my neck. On my nape.
His grip isn’t hard or painful— it’s almost gentle— which makes it infinitely worse. I freeze like a rabbit caught in the grip of a wolf.
My pulse hammers as Orion leans closer, still smiling. Always smiling. "You will never break your engagement. Swear it to me now."
His fingers tighten slightly, not enough to hurt, but just enough to remind me that he could.
"I swear it." The words taste like ash on my tongue.
"Hm." His fingers remain where they are. "I don’t hear any conviction in your tone."
"I s-swear." My voice cracks. How humiliating. "I swear I’ll never break it!"
"Wonderful." His hand remains on my neck. "You shall stay engaged and as far away from Adrien as possible."
The color drains from my face.
Orion’s grin widens like a Cheshire Cat. "What an interesting reaction," he purrs, "but don’t worry, I won’t ask again."
"Besides," his smile softens, "keeping your engagement makes everyone happy for now."
"E-Everyone?"
His eyes gleam. Something unsettling flickers through them. Something I can’t make sense of.
"Yes, everyone." He pats my head like I’m his dog. "Me, me, me, me...did I say me? And those things of course."
******
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