Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Loyalty

Okay, to be fair, Liam knows what Mr. Aster is talking about, but at the same time he doesn't want to acknowledge it.

Is it his pride or his loyalty to Mar that made him not want to address the offer?

Probably both.

As Mr. Aster said, Liam would walk the same path his parents had, but better. Better in what exactly? Huh, maybe he doesn't know everything after all.

The platinum blond alpha only nodded his head in response, and he could feel his companion getting nervous next to him. Liam's feet shifted just a little closer to Mar's, close enough for their knees to touch. The effects were immediate, purple eyes turned to look at him, and the platinum blond alpha just stared back at his best friend. Comforting his partner came almost naturally at this point, and they've been together for not even a week yet.

The black haired alpha let out a small sigh before he turned to face his father again. "Liam is doing his best to go with his parents' plans, father. Isn't Dr. Velison's goals align with yours?"

"Dr. Velison isn't William Junior." Cold grey eyes landed on the platinum blond alpha once again. "I have Dr. Velison's loyalty, so do I have yours, William Junior?"

"My loyalty has always been with your family, Mr. Aster." Sky blue eyes looked back at cold grey. Liam stubbly let his pheromones loose to show that he's serious about this. "I swore an oath, didn't I? Did that mean nothing to you?"

He remembered being young and stupid, at the prime age of eleven years old, he was told by his parents to just follow whatever instructions the Aster family gave them. He will be paid to spend some time with a new friend, but he had to repeat some fancy words before doing so. Liam learned later in life that it's called an oath, and anyone who works for the Aster Family made one, including his parents and the Devins.

Basically, the oath was something along the lines of never betray Mr. Aster or there will be severe consequences, and whatever happened in the family stays in the family. Little Liam didn't care back then, all he wanted was a friend and some money to spend on Christmas.

One side of the Aster Family patriarch's lip lifted up into a sinister half-smile. "You were a child then."

"Am I still a child now?" The platinum blond alpha asked back. "I was a child then, but I understood what I was getting myself into. Do not underestimate the Velisons. Your family has worked with us for decades, so do not doubt my generation now."

The history between the Asters and the Velisons really went back for decades. Centuries even, but Liam could only count on one hand of which Aster worked with which Velison. His grandfather, appropriately called Dr. Wilhelm Velison Junior (let's face it, Wilhelm is just another way of saying William, and the cycle of Williams will begin anew if Liam happens to have a son), worked with Mr. Aster's father through the civil war and the country's switch from monarchy to oligarchy. The Asters were a branch of the monarchy, but they quickly dropped the title when they found it beneficial to do so.

Liam's father, the current Dr. William Velison, was the only child Dr. Wilhelm Velison had, and he found friendship from a young age with one of the Aster's three alpha children, Mr. Aster himself. As his brothers fell, Mr. Aster rose to power with the help of Dr. Velison, and throughout the years, Liam's father has remained a close family friend to the billionaire fuckboy who obtained his fortune via nepotism and various other shady means, but the world worships him anyways.

Thus, Liam partnering himself with Mar looked natural to everyone, just another Velison with another Aster. With their age range, it's only natural for them to be friends.

"You seem to be more loyal to my youngest son than..." The Aster family patriarch picked his words carefully. "The other more talented ones."

The platinum blond alpha visibly cringed at the last sentence, and Mar let out a nervous chuckle. Shit, his own father just called him less talented than his siblings. Mr. Aster doesn't like sparing anyone's feelings, not even his baby boy whom he spent years trying to cradle so that he could save what's left of a woman he once loved. "Loved" is a pretty generous term, honestly.

"Mr. Aster, I can and will work with Madison if I must." Liam took a deep breath. "However, I don't think he wants to spend time with me doing meaningless things such as hiking and going to the gym. My friendship with Mar was built on doing things we both mutually enjoy, even though they seem meaningless and time wasting to most people."

A dry laugh came from Mr. Aster, and Mar gave Liam a face that says 'well done'. The platinum blond alpha just shrugged back. None of them planned this heist, so they have to make do.

Anyways, what's so funny about him actually enjoying spending time with his best friend? Did his father not do that with Mr. Aster?

Liam remembered being younger and being put in the backseat of his parents' car without context as they drove away for a weekend. It wasn't the first time, and it wasn't the last either. An hour of driving just to go golfing with Mr. Aster and his mistresses. At least Liam and his sister got snacks and fancy junk food at the golf court. Unlike the Velisons, the Aster's children were less inclined to cling to their father to participate in any social events. Well, that's because they're probably well aware that their dear father wasn't treating their mothers right. The platinum blond alpha never asked about what happened to Mar's siblings' mothers, nor he asked about Marbella until recently.

"I see." Mr. Aster calmed his laugh, but there was still a glint of amusement in his grey eyes.