Chapter 85: People will do anything to get you to watch porn these days
A few hours to what happened a few minutes to midnight, Noah said to Michael,
"I need to go get the cake."
Michael raised his head, his heart warming up at the thought.
What flavor was the cake? How big would it be? Noah decided to keep it a secret and planned to surprise him.
Even the thought of it being a surprise made Michael’s heart race.
"Alright," he said and saw Noah out.
After Noah left, Michael rested his back on the door, his heart pounding in excitement.
"I want to get Noah another present." He said to himself and turned his head to look at the jacket stand. Noah’s other jacket was there.
He picked it up and sniffed in deeply as he walked deeper into the living room, dropping his body on the couch.
"Noah smells so good." He thought, still smiling happily.
He had previously bought that suit for Noah, planning to give it to him on Christmas day but Noah found it sooner.
He needed something he could give to Noah in exchange for the best birthday he was going to give him.
"Should I leave now so he doesn’t know I went out?" He wondered and checked the time.
When would Noah get back? He had no idea so he messaged him.
While he messaged him, he headed for the fridge and picked out a chocolate bar, tearing it open as he stared at his screen, waiting for Noah to reply.
’Hm, that’s odd.’ he thought. ’He should’ve responded by now.’
While he waited, he got a message from an unknown number.
"What’s this? Spam?" He wondered but opened it anyway, only to see an attached field with no words attached.
Michael took a moment, squinting his eyes suspiciously at the attached file and simply deleted it.
"Phew!" He exclaimed, tossing his phone aside. "People will do anything to get you to watch porn these days."
That was what he thought and then he got a notification.
He thought it was Noah’s response and quickly picked up the phone but it wasn’t Noah’s response.
It was another attached file sent by the same number.
"The hell!" Michael deleted it again. He got mad.
He was looking forward to Noah’s response but Noah wasn’t responding, even when he sent two more messages.
It showed that Noah had read the messages but there was no response.
"Is he unable to respond right now?" Michael asked himself.
He was getting bored. This was a perfect opportunity to simply sneak out and get the present before Noah came back.
He looked at the time. It was a little bit to 10.
In two hours, it would be 12 o’clock.
"I should probably go now." Michael said and got up from the bed. "I still don’t know what to get him but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I’ll know right away what I want to give him as soon as I set my eyes on it."
He would try to be back before midnight, but if Noah got back before he returned, Noah would definitely call, so he didn’t need to worry.
Michael got dressed in something cozy and headed out.
"It’s so cold," he mumbled. "Let’s hurry." He felt excited.
Since it was Christmas Eve, everywhere was still abuzz. There were a few nice shops open, so he took a look around, but nothing caught his eye.
"Haah, there’s not a lot of time left." He said to himself, his cold breath flowing out in the cold night. "I should take a look at one more shop."
He turned but that shop happened to be a ring shop.
"Hm, a ring?"
He never thought of it. The last ring he wore was his wedding ring but he only had it on for a year. After the divorce, it no longer felt special and he threw it away.
He entered the shop. It was warmer than outside.
"Hah, I really need to get home." He exclaimed as he sneezed.
"Welcome." The lady upfront at the first desk warmly greeted him, and he smiled. "What kind of ring can I get you?"
"Ah, I don’t know yet." Michael said. ’I don’t even know if I want to get him a ring. It would be somehow misleading... I guess.’
He looked around.
He was looking for something that felt just right with Noah. Something that.. sparkled? No, that’s not right. All rings sparkle.
Then, what was he looking for?
He just didn’t know yet. He’d know once he saw it. He just needed to... His eyes fell on one and his eyes widened... Feel it.
"This one." He pointed at the ring.
It was plain, looking like it was made of black silver. It wasn’t anything fancy but it sure was pricey. But Michael did not care about the price.
Michael took a look at the ring closely in case it wasn’t the right size but as he looked through the hoop, he saw it was the size of Noah’s index finger.
Well, as long as it could fit in one of his fingers, it was just right.
"I’ll take this one." He said.
"A very nice choice. Would you like this customized?" The sales lady asked.
"What’s that?"
"Do you want to put someone’s name on it or an initial?" She explained and Michael thought of it.
"Can I get a wolf head on it then?" He asked. "Nothing too detailed."
"Yes, you can."
"How long will it take?" Michael asked.
"Not more than an hour and not less than thirty minutes." She said and Michael’s eyebrows gently furrowed.
"That’s too long." He looked at his time. It was thirty minutes to midnight. "Is there any way to hasten it? I can pay."
The saleslady decided to talk it out with the craftsman and came back with a positive response.
"Twenty minutes." She said. "That’s the time he needs to do it at full speed."
Michael sighed. Guess it couldn’t be helped.
He paid for it and waited in the lounge.
He took out his phone and checked to see if he still hadn’t gotten any message from Noah. It was odd.
He had seen all of his messages, but he wasn’t responding.
He might’ve been worried if he didn’t see the messages, but he was.
It was already half an hour to midnight. Why hadn’t he contacted him yet?
Once again, he got sent that mysterious attachment. He got angry and almost reported the number.
But then, he took in a deep breath and decided to just watch it. Who knows? It might not be porn.
But just in case, he lowered the volume before opening it.
And just as he saw the person on the video to be Noah, his heart shook.
What was Noah doing in this video?
He increased the volume to hear what they were saying.
"Did you do it?" Noah asked a man who was standing across from him.
This video was secretly filmed so the people in it had no idea they were being filmed.
"I simply carried out your order, sir." The man bowed his head. "But it seems someone else paid them a visit."
"What do you mean?" Noah asked, his tone cold.
It was so unlike the tone Micheal was used to but he recognized this. At the time Noah was trying to be hard on him, he used this cold tone with a terrifying gaze.
It was the same as the one in the video.
’Is this really Noah?’ He wondered. ’Was this before he lost his memories? I don’t know what they’re talking about.’
"I apologize, sir. Someone decided to ruin your plans while I had my back turned." The man in the video said and finally raised his head to reveal the scar on his face.
’Why does this man look familiar?’ Michael thought, unable to recall where he had seen him.
"It has already happened." Noah said and tucked his hands in his pocket. "At least now, Michael will have some peace of mind."
Michael’s eyes widened, and his heart seemed to have frozen for a minute. Did he... Just call his name?
How come? Wasn’t this a time before Noah lost his memories? How...?
"Sir," The scarred man called out. "With all due respect, do you think this is ideal?"
"What’s that?"
"Deceiving the female."
Michael’s heart thumped painfully. His hands holding the phone had begun to tremble. He couldn’t understand. This conversation... It was clear that they had it after Noah had met Michael but how was this possible? Noah was an amnesia patient. He...
"It’s because I love him that I deceive him." Noah said. "I need Michael. I can’t give him up."
"Then do you plan to keep deceiving him?" The man asked. "This life... You’ll have to give it up, sooner, Alpha Noah. I say this as your loyal subordinate. You should tell him the truth."
Noah went silent and then sighed.
"Keep the matter of his parents’ death under wraps. I don’t want him finding out I was involved in it no matter what." Noah said. "I appreciate your subordination, Sebastian, but I will deal with this matter myself."
Michael was confused. He was beyond confused. What was going on? Was Noah... Deceiving him?
"It’s ready." The sales lady announced and Michael snapped out of it.
He just couldn’t understand. There must be a mistake, right?
’I don’t want him finding out I was involved.’ the words replayed in Michael’s head and he ended up covering his mouth.
Ah, was Noah...? Was that why he knew that his parents were going to die? Did he...?
"Sir?" The sales lady waited for his response and he looked up, barely smiling.
"Ah, yes. I... I’d like to see it." He said and watched her as she placed the box down. ’I don’t know what’s going on, but I’d like to talk to Noah and hear from him directly. I don’t want to believe that...’ he clenched his fist. ’...he killed my parents and had been deceiving me.’
He wanted to keep doubting, hoping to hold himself up till he met Noah again and asked.
He would only believe it once he saw it. For all he knew, this video might’ve been fabricated.
He stared at the wolf’s head on the ring.
He would definitely get to the bottom of it.
