Broken Bond: Between Chapter 250 - 8: Bad news

Chapter 250: Chapter 8: Bad news

Shawn imdiately got a reply asking if Athan could call him. He did not wait for him to and pressed the call button instead. He glanced at Knoa who was watching cartoons, and he slowly stood and went over to the kitchen, and sat on the chair where he still could see the kid.

"Shawn."

A low and deep voice entered his ear.

"Yes," he curtly answered. Athan had a habit of calling his na, and then going silent for a good minute. It was as if he was carefully constructing what to say or maybe filtering them, only telling him what was necessary.

It was one of the reasons why, despite having him known since childhood and getting in contact four years ago, constantly exchanging greetings and short ssages, their relationship still seed distant.

Athan built walls between them, although it could be considered as just a fence he could always put his arms over, it’s a clear boundary that he set between them. And Shawn never tried to step over that fence.

A minute of silence passed, and Shawn waited for Athan’s voice again. "What are you doing?"

Shawn sighed. "I’m just watching over Knoa."

"You? Why? Where’s Knox?" Athan’s voice sounded surprised and confused.

Shawn furrowed his brows in wonder. "Didn’t he go to you?"

Athan quickly answered, "He’s not here."

"What? Then, where did he go? He was in a rush after receiving a call." I’m certain it was after he talked with soone. Shawn beca worried.

"Did he not say where he’s going?" Athan asked again.

He shook his head despite knowing he won’t be seen. "No," he mumbled. There was silence on the other line, longer than before. He heard distant voices from the background, and he couldn’t help but be worried. "Hey, is there sothing going on? Are you okay?"

It took another minute for Athan to answer. "Yeah. What about ?"

Shawn leaned at the edge of the table without his eyes leaving Knoa. "I saw the news. That’s why I thought that Knox was with you because of that. Is that true though? Even though it’s on the news, I’m skeptical to believe that you punch soone without reason. You’re not that kind of person."

"... you think so?" Athan’s soft voice sounded weary and made Shawn feel sothing.

He bit his lower lip and straightened his posture. "Yes. You’re very gentle, Athan, and soft-spoken compared to other alphas. You are kind too, so I won’t believe the news unless you confirm it to

yourself."

A soft chuckle echoed from the other line. Shawn clutched his chest. There was sothing itchy underneath his clothes.

"What should I do? Will you look at

the sa if I tell you I really punched soone and even thought of killing him right on the spot?" Athan whispered.

Shawn stiffened. He didn’t expect that, but he knew Athan just well, even though there was a line between them. "Then, that CEO might have done sothing so awful to anger you. Tell

what is it and I’ll be the judge."

"What are you going to do if I tell you?"

Shawn could imagine Athan smirking. "Hmm... I’m good at hacking! I’ll hack his phone and expose his nude photos to the public...? Or maybe photoshop them and make his wiener smaller?"

A lodious laughter rang in his ears. Shawn paused. He suddenly wished Athan was right in front of him, so he could see him laughing. He’d never seen him like that before.

"How are you sure he has so nude photos on his phone? Who keeps their own naked photos in their gallery anyway?" Athan asked between laughter. The weariness in his voice faded, to Shawn’s relief. He was glad that he could lighten his mood through just small talk.

"Oh. There’s a lot of them, I’m telling you," Shawn remarked, nodding his head as if trying to convince his conversation partner.

Athan went silent for a few seconds. "...have you hacked soone’s phone before and saw sothing like that?"

Shawn pursed his lips tightly. "..."

"Shawn..." A reprimanding voice echoed. Shawn bit his lower lip and gulped. Athan sounds scary when his voice is serious, paired with his face that lacks sympathy and is full of indifference, soone might pee his pants by just the way he stares. "You shouldn’t hack the phones of just anyone who crossed you. How do you even do that without getting caught?"

"I’m skilled at it," Shawn quickly replied. He imdiately realized how proud he sounded, and thought that Athan might misunderstand again, so he added imdiately, "But hey, I didn’t keep the photos, okay? It’s the phone of soone who kept extorting and blackmailing an oga using his naked photos! I felt pity for the guy, so I took action. It’s just that one ti..."

Shawn’s voice trailed off. He rembered it wasn’t just once... but he can’t admit that to Athan, right?

However, just as how he knew certain things about Athan, Athan knew so things about him as well. "That last line doesn’t sound so convincing."

Shawn grinned behind the phone. He cleared his throat and said, "Hey... just leave it, will you?"

A sigh escaped Athan’s mouth. "You should be careful about doing that from now on."

"I’m always careful. In any case, you’re the one who should be careful! You’re against the CEO of that DV Group. Why did you cross paths anyway? Is it because of business?" Shawn tried to change the topic, and he succeeded.

"It’s sothing personal," Athan replied. His voice changed, and Shawn knew better than to probe any further.

Whatever it was, he was certain Athan wasn’t in the wrong.

"I’ll just go there," Athan’s voice ca up again. But it seed like he wasn’t talking to Shawn.

Go where? He wanted to ask but was sure Athan would just ignore him. If it’s sothing personal, then is it okay for him to ask?

"I’ll call you back, Shawn."

The call ended. Shawn stared at the phone for a minute before standing up and accompanying Knoa to watch another series. However, his mind was racing to Athan. He seed like he was in a rush. Is everything really alright?

Everything seed fine after the case against Athan was withdrawn. However, Knox’s schedule beca more hectic and Shawn almost took care of everything Knoa needed. He wasn’t complaining, rather, he was grateful.

His salary increased, and he doesn’t even have ti to think about his family problems. However, one fine sumr day, after he picked Knoa from the daycare center, he received a call from his uncle.

"Uncle, what—

"Go to the hospital right this instant. Your father collapsed."

Shawn’s blood turned cold as the words sank in. The news was like a punch to the gut, his mind a flurry of panicked questions as he gripped the phone tightly. "Wha...what happened, uncle? Is he okay?" His voice trembled, betraying his fear.

"Just get here as soon as you can, Shawn. He’s in critical condition," his uncle replied with a tone laced with worry.

Shawn didn’t hesitate. "I’ll be there."

Hanging up, he turned to look at Knoa, whose eyes were fixated on the candies in his hands. Shawn bent down, trying to hide the worry in his face, and forced a smile. "Hey, buddy, Uncle Shun needs to go sowhere. Do you want to go with , or do you want

to drop you to Uncle Franz first?"

Knoa’s face turned excited after hearing that they were going sowhere. He chose to tag along with him, so without wasting any more ti, he grabbed the keys and carried Knoa to the car. The ride to the hospital felt surreal—he barely registered the turns, the cars, or the surroundings passing by, his thoughts were just entirely focused on his father’s face, their last argunt, and his indescribable guilt.

His father was strong and dependable. So, the idea of him lying in an ergency room, helpless, seed impossible. But he knew it was real; it wasn’t just a ploy to bring him back ho; his uncle’s tone had confird that.

When they reached the hospital, Shawn hurriedly parked and lifted Knoa into his arms. The child clung to his shirt, picking up on his unease. Inside the building, the sterile sll hit him imdiately. He approached the reception desk, voice shaky as he gave his father’s na, and was directed toward the ergency ward.

He finally spotted his father’s motionless body surrounded by doctors and nurses, trying to revive him, while his uncle stood nearby, watching with a weary and fearful face. He could see his father’s body jerked upward from the electric charge, while the beeping of the monitor deafened him.

His shaking hands clasped his mouth, covering half of his face, as though he was ashad to show his face, too frightened to let his sobs escape. He looked lost and extrely guilty. He kept dismissing his family’s calls, kept ignoring their words, and now it happened.

His father, due to stress because of his unfilial and ungrateful son, had a heart attack and collapsed.

"Shawn..."

He heard a worried voice. He blinked, and finally, the tears fell in his eyes. Knox imdiately pulled him in his arms, and he could feel Knox patting his head.

"D-Dad..." he called out tearfully, his voice muffled by Knox’s shoulder.

Miraculously, the vitals of the patient went back up. Shawn lifted his head in glee and relied, and he dared to walk closer, but Shana blocked him, glared at him with anger, and shouted, "This is all your fault! If only you hadn’t left ho and obeyed Dad, this would have never happened!"

Shawn knew. It was his fault. His resolve which strengthened his wings to fly free... crumbled.