Orion's face darkened. His lips pressed into a thin line as he shoved a piece of steak into his mouth. "No need to rub salt in the wound," he muttered bitterly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Azzy froze, clearly startled by the comnt. "I didn't an it like that," he repeated, trying to backtrack. "It's just that…"
Leiza, sensing the rising tension, quickly intervened. "Your father just has high expectations for you, Orion," she said gently, trying to smooth things over.
Orion, however, wasn't having any of it. "High expectations?" he scoffed. "How ironic, coming from a man who abandoned us for years."
The air around the table went still. Azzy's expression faltered, his face shadowed with guilt.
Leiza's face grew hard, and her voice took on a more reprimanding tone. "Don't talk about your father like that, Orion," she said firmly. "Your father didn't abandon us. He had to leave… it was out of compulsion. He wanted to be there when you were born. He was looking forward to seeing your face more than anything else, but circumstances didn't allow it."
Azzy reached across the table, trying to calm Leiza. "Hey, it's alright. Let's not destroy the mood here," he said quietly, his hand on her arm, a gesture of reassurance.
But Orion couldn't hold it in anymore. His emotions exploded. "It doesn't matter! Even if he had to leave to save the world, he wasn't there when we needed him! I don't care what excuses you have for him!" His fists clenched on the table, the frustration bubbling over. "I'm trying my best to get along here, but I wish he had never co back. This is the worst birthday ever!"
The room fell silent for a mont. Orion got up and left the seat, deciding to storm away despite the fact that he didn't want to do it.
But just as he walked a couple of steps, Leiza shouted aloud, slamming her palm onto the table. "Sit down, Orion."
Orion froze as his body literally stiffened at once. He tried to resist the command, but his body forced itself to go back to the chair and sit down.
Azzy watched, equally stunned by the display.
"Honey, you..." Azzy began, but his voice trailed off as he realized what had just happened. This wasn't any voice technique or anything. His senses are sharp enough to see through Orion's body.
Leiza, her expression pained, closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. She released the hold she had on Orion's mind, allowing him to regain control of his own body. "I'm sorry."
As soon as he was released, Orion stood up imdiately, anger flashing in his eyes. "Now you want to control even in these situations?" he shouted, his voice shaking with fury. "Abusing your power, Mom?"
He turned his glare onto Azzy, his expression full of accusation. "My mother used her voice command to control my neural chip when I was in deep trouble. But now she's using it to punish her own son even over a petty quibble, all because of you!"
Leiza's face fell as she looked at Orion, regret filling her eyes. "I never wanted to control you, Orion. I just... I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want you to make any more reckless decisions that would hurt you."
But Azzy intervened, his voice calm but firm this ti. "Enough is enough," he said, his gaze heavy with determination. "There will be no more lies between us."
For the first ti in the conversation, he decided to take control of the situation and not simply hide behind guilt and stay passive.
Leiza flinched at Azzy's words, but he continued to speak. "Lies keep people trapped in an illusion. And illusion only makes one stray away from one's path." He turned to her, his voice softening slightly. "I know you don't want Orion to know the truth, but it's ti for him to learn it. No more secrets."
Orion, still confused, glanced between the two of them. "What is he talking about?" he demanded.
Azzy took a deep breath, looking over at a panicking Leiza.
He felt a twinge of guilt for pushing her into this corner, but he knew it was the only way. "The truth is, I'm not just so random guy who showed up out of nowhere. I'm from a secretive organization called Blackwing. We've been trained since we were four years old—operating all over the world, taking out insurgents, helping governnts deal with rebel forces, handling issues their military couldn't deal with. It's not a glamorous job, but it's what we've been trained to do."
Leiza's eyes widened, her facial expression freezing in shock. "What the hell is he talking about?" She wondered in her head.
"Seventeen years ago," Azzy continued, "I had to leave for a mission in Eurasia. There was a hostage situation, and I went in to save them. But I was betrayed by one of my own comrades. I was captured and held in isolation for 17 years."
Orion's jaw dropped as he processed Azzy's words, his mind struggling to keep up. "Seventeen years?" he echoed, his voice barely a whisper.
Azzy nodded solemnly. "Yes. Seventeen long years. The mont I was free, I ca straight here to find my family. But the truth is, I was never there for you. And I don't know how to make it up to you or your mother, Orion. I don't know, and I don't have any excuses. I just want you to know that I never abandoned you or your mother. It was never my intention, but you are my family, after all. And the family is the only thing where I can ask to give a second chance. It's alright if you hate , don't want to talk with at all. Just let be in your life. Just let get to know the son I have only longed to see for seventeen years in prison, and now, finally reunited with him. That's all I ask."
Orion's heart hamred in his chest as he absorbed the words from Azzy's confession. The words from Azzy looked quite sincere, but he had a hard ti believing it.
However, what if it is true?
Azzy was, after all, his father, the one whom he and his mother looked forward to returning and spending countless days in hope, only for it to slowly fade as ti passed.
He could atleast give his father a chance to make it up. And like his father said, family deserves a second chance.
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