"What do you need this for?" Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion as Aiden fiddled with the syringe and needle.
He had knocked on Isaac’s door in the middle of the night, practically begging the latter for a syringe ant to draw blood. At first, Isaac was confused. But Aiden was desperate enough to promise even thousands of dollars for this asly equipnt that Isaac decided it wasn’t too much trouble to put on a shirt and head downstairs to his clinic to grab one for Aiden.
"No particular reason," Aiden replied with a shrug as he pocketed the unsealed equipnt, flashing Isaac a bright smile. "Thanks. It’s a bitch to find a store open at this hour selling this."
"You tell ," Isaac muttered under his breath. "Does this creepily odd behavior of yours have sothing to do with Alia?"
Aiden stilled at the na.
"Did she tell you anything?"
"Ah ha!" Isaac said. "So it does have sothing to do with Alia."
Aiden silently cursed under his breath.
"And no," Isaac continued, watching Aiden’s despair with amusent. "She didn’t ntion anything. I heard it from Dimitri, who heard it from Ronan."
"You sure have a lot of informants," Aiden muttered begrudgingly. "And quick too."
"Just so rumor from the vineyard about how you majorly fucked up," Isaac replied, swatting the comnt away.
"Maybe you should consider swapping your line of work to that of a journalist or a paparazzi," Aiden suggested in a deadpan manner. "I am sure Lady Vanity’s chief editor would be thrilled to hire you."
"I am already experiencing a midlife crisis," Isaac said, rolling his eyes. "That’s way too old to swap careers now. I am too far in." Then, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorfra. "So? Are you going to explain what this is for?"
Aiden sighed and pursed his lips. "Did Ronan not tell you?"
"Not really," Isaac confessed. "He only said that you fucked up bad and that Emline Hawthorne’s kid is actually yours."
A second sigh escaped Aiden’s lips as he explained everything to Isaac and how the only way for Alia to forgive him was if he could get a syringe of blood from Emline to test.
"Is this also why you’re moving back ho?" Isaac asked, glancing at the packed boxes.
Most of Aiden’s things were already gone, but he had moved so many figurines over that it was impossible to move everything all in one trip. For now, Aiden was paying Isaac to use his apartnt as a storage area for his knickknacks. His personal belongings, however, were all packed.
Aiden only offered Isaac a difficult smile before reaching down to pick up his backpack.
"Thanks for your help," was all he said before Aiden turned and left, leaving Isaac alone in the hallway, eyeing the door as it slowly shut behind Aiden’s disappearing figure.
***
"Aiden!" Catherine Laine hurried down the winding staircase of the Montgory family ho when she saw the familiar figure enter through the front door.
When she first heard the sound of the door opening and closing, she thought that perhaps her husband had returned ho after he had left the house earlier in the night. She hadn’t expected to see Aiden back, of all people, especially after he had disappeared and refused to return for so many days.
Swiftly, she descended the stairs and made her way to Aiden, checking him through here and there as though he had just returned from a dangerous battle. When she found nothing of worry, she tightly squeezed his shoulders, her eyes watering in a mixture of anger and relief.
"There’s no need for tears, Mother," Aiden said. "I’ve just returned."
"About ti you did!" Catherine chided, though there was no heat behind her words. She pulled him by the arm further into the house. "Were you planning to stay out there forever and never return?"
"For as long as you house that woman here, then yes," Aiden retorted.
"She is your godsister," Catherine reminded. "We’re family."
"Not by blood," Aiden swiftly countered. He sighed, raising a hand to run through his ebony hair. "I’m surprised to see you awake still. Can’t sleep?" He then looked around. "Where’s Dad?"
"And whose fault would that be?" Catherine asked rhetorically with a roll of her eyes. "You’ve made worry day and night after going missing like that." She raised a hand and rubbed her temples. "Sleep evades , and your father is always off who-knows-where."
"That can’t be good for your skin," Aiden said, purposely ignoring Catherine’s last comnt. He then donned a childish pout and placed a hand over his mother’s shoulders. "I have sothing that might just help," he said.
Placing his bag down, he dug through the compartnts and pulled out a small box.
"Tea," Aiden said. "Lavender tea. Very soothing. This is a great brand I got from one of my friends overseas. How about I make you a cup? It will help you sleep better."
"I shouldn’t drink liquids this late―" Catherine cut herself short when she t Aiden’s round puppy eyes, watching her with unshed tears.
Her heart softened. She reached forward and pinched his cheek as though he was still a child.
"Oh, alright then," she relented and said, smiling wistfully as he watched Aiden beam in delight.
’This child,’ she thought to herself. ’He has finally grown up and learned to care for people. Maybe ti outside this house has finally taught him sothing.’
Aiden swiftly returned with the cup of tea as promised, and true to his words, the aroma was divine. Just one whiff and Catherine could feel her headache dissipate like the steam rising from the hot cup of tea.
"Careful," Aiden cautioned. "It’s hot."
Likewise, the taste did not disappoint. The first sip instantly had Catherine sighing in relief. Within seconds, she finished the drink, finding herself surprisingly thirsty despite her initial reluctance to have anything before bed.
The teacup clinked once when she placed it back on the table, and within seconds, Catherine felt her eyelids droop. She yawned, delicately placing her hand over her lips.
"Effective, isn’t it?" Aiden asked with a light smile, and Catherine nodded. She stroked his cheek affectionately.
"Very much so." Exhaustion crept up her spine, threatening to pull her under. Catherine yawned a second ti before standing to her feet, rising from the couch. "I think I’ll head to bed. Wash up and sleep early."
With that, she turned and retreated into her bedroom.
Aiden waited downstairs for a few minutes before trailing up the stairs, making his way to his parents’ bedroom. Gently, he pushed the door open to see his mother soundly asleep. The tea had worked like a charm― or more accurately, the sleeping pills he had nicked from Isaac’s apartnt worked even better than whatever fancy tea did.
He pulled out the syringe and walked forward.
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