Here's the third one! Expect the next chapter next Saturday.🤗

Also, don't expect much from this story as it might turn out to be very filmy or melodramatic because that's exactly how me and SabyyaButt started to plan things out for this plot.🙆

How have your been guys? Thanks so much for leaving comments and votes! It's always rewarding to see the appreciation from the readers.❤️😘

I just finished watching a drama, Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People. If you're into period dramas and enjoy Korean Joseon period plots, then give it a go. It's amazingly captivating and this drama took the best musical score crown from me! No, it's not a BL.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the read! The plot is still building up, so, more things will happen in future chapters.💜

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Chapter-3

Xing was inconsolable on their way back home. Taking turns between wailing and whimpering, clinging to his Papa, refusing to let go even for a second. His distress rose so much that Zhan momentarily forgot his own misery.

"Shh, shhh, it's all right, love, everything is fine, you're all right now."

"Papaaaaa!"

The more he tried to stop the tears the more it flew.

"I'm here, Papa's right here. XingXing is safe now." Gently rocking the small body clinging to his chest, as he soothed his son, he tried to calm himself down as well. Babies were extremely sensitive and wickedly perceptive of their parents' distress and Xing was no exception. He had a natural sunny disposition, rarely cried or threw tantrums. But the moment he sensed his Papa was sad or in pain he would become anxious. And the only way an infant knew to portray its anxiety was to cry its heart out.

Million thoughts were cramming up Zhan's head, none too pleasant but he would be damned if he focussed on anything but calming his baby down at the moment.

"What is it, sweetheart? What's troubling you? Are you hurting anywhere? Is my little prince hungry?"

"Pah-pah-"hiccupping Xing pulled his tear soaked face out of his Papa's neck, "s-sad."

Zhan almost started weeping then and there hearing that. Being loved so much by a child, by your own child, was the best feeling in the world. Xing helped him fending off his panic attacks more than his therapist or any medication ever could. "No, love," wiping those stained, chubby cheeks with his thumb, Zhan hugged his son tighter, "Papa is not sad. Papa is all right. See?" He tried to give him a cheery smile, "Papa's smiling." Even though it came out quiet watery.

Xing blinked, still sobbing and hiccupping, and patted his father's face a few times. "Papa...duv duv."

Despite the situation, Zhan cracked a laugh. Due to his stuffy nose Xing's 'love' came out as 'duv' and he cherished every distorted word that came out his son's mouth. This child was the reason behind all his smiles now. He littered that angelic face with light kisses.

"Yes! Papa loves XingXing too! Papa loves more!"

Seemingly satisfied but not feeling social, Xing went back to pressing his face to the crook of Zhan's neck. A while passed in relative silence. Zhan was lost inside his chaotic head when there was a mumble.

"Daddy."

That single word jolted him back from his thoughts. He didn't get the chance to react before now but Zhan was quite shocked by his son's behaviour earlier. Not only because he had never thought Xing would recognize his other father just like that but also, this was the first time the boy had ever uttered the word, "Daddy".

He still remembered the day, several months back, when in a fit of an emotional bout, Zhan had opened their old album and showed his son a picture of them together; whispering in his ears that this was his other parent, his Daddy.

Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that one whisper would embed itself in his son's mind this way. Xing had seen YiBo quite a few times after that- on telly, on magazine covers that he sometimes brought home from the office. But never once did Xing give any indication that he recognized the man or even remembered what his Papa told him once.

And now this.

"XingXing," he treaded cautiously, "how did you know Daddy?"

Silence. Then a petulant, "Daddy bad."

Thinking it was better not to open that can of worms before reaching home, Zhan rubbed a soothing hand up and down his son's back and took a shaky breath in.

How did his life turn into this?

XOXOXOX

"Mother."

"Yes, dear?"

"Drop the pleasantries."

"Drop the rudeness."

"Rudeness?" YiBo gripped the edge of the dining table that was between them now."I deserve to be rude after the stunt you have pulled today!"

After his talk with Vanessa, the guests were informed about his sudden 'collapse' and then he was whisked away to a nearby hospital in an ambulance, all oxygen mask and IV drip attached. Later, with the cover of the night and efficient security guards, he was brought to his parents' home. He and Vanessa had previously decided on releasing the news of their marriage two days after the ceremony had been concluded. This way, the amount of snooping paps and fans would have been reduced. And now, thanks to that decision they were yet to be hounded by cameras. However, unfortunately some blurry photos of him leaving the hospital got leaked and now an uproar had been going on on some social sites. YiBo's managing team had been working in frenzy and once again, he thanked his lucky stars for his decision to leave his previous agency and go independent. He couldn't even imagine the nightmare it would have been if he were working under some bigheads at the moment.

"Talking about deserving- undeserving does not suit you, my dear. You don't have the conception in the first place." Although his mother never raised her voice, he knew she had indeed dropped the 'I don't know anything' act.

"Do you really not understand what have you done? Why did you do it, Mum? Why today? Why now?!"

"You mean after trying to talk sense into you for months why did I choose to ruin your fake marriage finally?"

Notgonnaflipnotgonnaflipnotgonnaflip chanting inwardly, through gritted teeth he squeezed out a, "Precisely."

"Because I wanted to see you happy for a break," She shot him a glance, and then, continued to cut the fruits.

YiBo gaped at her. Who is this woman?! "Do I look happy to you right now?!" Voice going shrill with exasperated contempt, he really wanted to smash something. Maybe his own head. Yeah, that would be better.

"No but you do look alive which is a far better sight than the dead fish you convinced yourself to become in these past three years."

The reminder that his mother never took their break up well nor supported how he handled things after was an old wound that just got jabbed again. Reigning in his anger was getting more difficult by the second.

"I'm a public figure. Everything I do is a matter of public discussion. If I sneeze it would become a social post. Do you know how difficult it's for me to manage a situation this big? There's someone else involved in this too! Can't you understand that? Couldn't have you talked to me before you acted upon it?"

Instead of answering, his mother threw him another question, "Weren't you a public figure three years ago? Wasn't there someone else involved then also? Did that excuse matter?"

It was a low blow. They both knew it. Didn't she witness what that break up did to him? Didn't she watch him go through hell just to forget that man? Didn't she know how he had been living on without a heart these past years because it got ripped open and shredded to pieces when Zhan left him? Didn't she?

"Mum....must you?"

Silence fell around the room.

He didn't want to go down that path. He couldn't afford to be distracted right now. There were questions that needed to be answered or else his head might just crack open with all the stress dumped on him. He had already begun to lose the mental faculty of thinking thoroughly. His entire being was strung like a bow.

"Where did you find him?"

"Oh, on the roadside, selling turnips," she replied casually, peeling off an apple.

"Mum!" Because honestly, what kind of bad Karma did he earn to have a sadist mother like this?!

Finally, finally, she put down the peeler and faced him squarely. "What do you want me to say? That how I did the things that you should have done? How hard I tried to make him come so that...so that you two have a second chance? Because trust me, you'd beg for that chance very soon."

Moments passed while those words sank deeper and deeper. Scenes, that corresponded with those words, flashed by him. A man with a baby that looked like him and called him...

He did not realize he was trembling till his nails made contact with the cool glass of the table top. He immediately clenched them into fists to spot the chatter. A tremor was running through him; not borne of anger or anxiety. In fact, he himself didn't know what caused it but he was shaking all the same.

"Who was that child, Mum?" Despite spoken softly, his question didn't brook any kind of evading.

His mother stared at him and gradually a sad smile appeared on her suddenly tired looking face, "My poor, oblivious boy... You still need to ask?"

He was trembling. Couldn't stop. Couldn't stop.

XOXOXOX

Tucking his sleeping son in his bed- Zhan didn't want to let him sleep in the nursery tonight- he quietly half closed the door and tiptoed to the balcony that overlooked a lake. From this first floor height the view wasn't as stunning as it could have been from higher up but still was soothing nonetheless. After the nightmare that the day had brought, the cool Summer breeze on his heated skin felt like a loving hand washing away his pain.

His eyes filled up without warning.

How long had it been since he received a loving caress? How long since he had cried hugging someone? So long. Too long.

Once you had a taste of love, dependency it was hard to go on without it for long. And he was tired. Why did he go today? There was no particular reason for him to agree to Auntie, Mrs. Wang's request. Then why would-

With a sudden blow he realized that there would be another Mrs. Wang from today onward.

Salty droplets of tears rolled down.

He thought he was over him; had convinced himself that he was. What a foolish man. What did he tell himself before going to the wedding? That this would be his son's only chance to see his father before he became someone else's. Really? He actually used his own baby as a fodder?

He was indeed a coward. He was a coward then, was a coward now. He could not even admit to himself that it was he who needed to see the man for one last time; it was he who could not stay away and had to know how YiBo looked in that wedding suit that Zhan himself had designed for him.

Zhan laughed mockingly. How many times had he imagined himself sacrificing his own love for YiBo's happiness? How he imagined he would stand at the back and watch him utter the vows that once they had dreamt of uttering together; how he would greet the newly wedded couple and congratulate, then turn his back before the man could say anything and walk away once again, this time for ever.

And now, here he was, humiliated, insulted, pained and empty.

After receiving the card he thought YiBo must have felt smug inviting him to rub his happiness in his face....whereas, in reality, the man didn't even know!

Bile burned his throat.

Xing....

Did YiBo suspect anything? Would he come after him to ask about Xing? Kids babble meaningless things all the time. Surely YiBo wouldn't have the time to ponder over it. Zhan suspected that YiBo's mother might figure things out and honestly, Zhan never wanted to conceal his son's parentage. During these years, there were too many times when he wanted to tell him, to show him what a precious gem they had made together. But.....never it felt to be the right time and thus, days passed by.

Now that he was married, surely, YiBo would not want to bring up a past scandal and an illegitimate child? After all, he never really tried much to contact him. If his mother could find him, surely he could have too.

No, it didn't seem probable that Xing would be in the middle of any custody battle. It should have been a relief but instead, wave of sadness and heartache rolled through him.

Tomorrow he would go back to be the strong, loving Papa his little boy knew; to be the mysterious and successful founder behind the Yiling Fashion House. Tomorrow would start a new chapter of his life where a certain name would permanently become a memory.

But tonight, in the solitude of a silent summer night, he would let himself cry. Cry for a time that would never come back. Cry for a family that would never be.

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Any thought?😶