Chapter 72: How long has it been?
Michael had no choice but to start leaving the house again. Not because he needed to go out to get groceries or go eat dinner outside, but because of his family’s funeral procession.
He had to set everything up, and he could only do it alone. Pedro was there to assist him, but there was only so much that Pedro could help with.
He was basically alone through the process.
During the day of the funeral, he stood in front of the funeral house, receiving guests with a gloomy expression on his face.
No one expected him to smile or be lively, though. After all, he did lose his entire family in a fire, and they were all there to mourn them.
There were a few shameless people who did not close their mouths and kept talking about how all the properties had been sold and the money was given to Michael.
They shamelessly whispered, wondering if he was pretending to be sad just for show or if he was secretly happy that they had died, leaving everything to him since they had once disowned him.
They found it strange that there was such a will in favor of the second son, who had been marked a disgrace and disowned.
Michael heard these words, but he did not say anything. He did not react either.
He kept his head down and his eyes on the floor. He was exhausted. He just wished everything would be over already.
’I miss Noah,’ he thought, and brushed his face. He felt like crying, but he decided to stay strong.
He was no longer sad at the deaths of his family and had come to terms with it. But what made him seem so gloomy was the procedures he had to pass through to set up the ceremony, the people he had to invite, and how long he had to stay away from Noah.
The place was fairly far from his house, and he did not want to keep going back and forth on a journey that would exhaust him more than he already was, so he decided to rent a hotel and wait till the entire thing was over.
Since Noah was still in hiding from his pursuers, whom he could not remember, he had to stay hidden.
No one knew who could be an accomplice. And Michael would rather Noah stay away so that he wouldn’t be taken by his people who were looking for him.
He wanted Noah. No, he needed Noah. And especially at such a time when he had been officially left alone, Noah was the only one he could cling to, cry on, and hope for comfort from.
"It’s almost over." Pedro said, and Michael nodded silently.
Pedro was sitting next to Michael the whole time. If not for Pedro always pushing him forward, Michael might’ve actually left everything and run away.
This responsibility was too great for him.
"How long has it been? A month?" Pedro asked, and Michael nodded silently once again.
It had been a month since they started the preparations, and it had been a month since Michael felt Noah’s warmth on his skin. He felt he was reaching his limit.
"After today, you’ll sign the documents." Pedro said. They were the documents from the bank regarding the money transfer in his name.
After everything had been sold, the estimated sum was 7 billion.
Michael felt that much money, even if he lived to the age of one hundred, he would not be able to spend it all, so he was donating half of it to charity, and he would keep the other half to take care of himself and Noah.
"Are you okay?" Pedro asked after not hearing Michael’s voice once.
It wasn’t weird that Michael had not spoken since that was how he had been for the past month. He was silent and gloomy like a power house that was out of power.
Pedro naturally concluded that it was because of his parents’ death, but he had no idea that Michael was just drained from not seeing Noah for too long.
They had done a few video calls, and he had jerked off to Noah’s voice while looking at his face, but that was it.
His body felt hot and uncomfortable. It missed Noah’s touch and missed that sweet scent he emitted.
"Yes," Michael answered, raising his head and barely smiling at him. "I’m okay."
It was one more day. Just one more day and it would all be over. He would be able to go back to Noah.
Suddenly, someone walked up to Michael, and he raised his head to see a familiar face.
It was the old grandma who worked in the kitchen in his parents’ house.
"Nana?" He asked, and she nodded, her eyes welled up in tears as she got emotional.
"I’m glad you still remember who I am." She said. "How have you been? Have you been eating properly?"
"Well, I think so." He said, averting his gaze. He couldn’t even remember what he had been doing for the past month and preferred not to even think about it.
"You shouldn’t skip your meals." She said, and he nodded. "But I think you are doing well because you look so much younger and your skin is glowing."
She was one of the people who actually looked after him. She did that in place of her parents, who neglected him.
No matter how much he tried to lie to himself, the people who actually cared for him could see just what was going on as he grew in that family.
"I eat a lot of vegetables and meat." Michael said, brushing his hand over his palm, and that brought a warm smile to her face. But there was a more important matter to discuss.
"If it’s not too much to ask, can I have a word with you?" She asked, and Michael stared at her. "There is something I really need to tell you. It has been bugging me for a while, and I feel like if I don’t let you know, I will never be able to sleep peacefully."
Pedro and Michael looked at her, wondering what was so dire that it didn’t let her sleep peacefully.
"What is it about?" Michael asked, and the old lady lowered her head to whisper to his hearing alone.
"It’s about your parents’ death."
