Kapitel 53: Chapter 53 (reuploaded)

Hanna watched the entire ordeal with pride in her eyes. Despite her younger son's odd sense of priorities where Henry was related, she could not help but feel that Joshua had grown into a finer man than she could have thought. While she was not sure how much credit she could take for it herself, she was proud of the fact that he was her son.

She glanced over at her eldest… was his act not cracking a little too much. He was still laughing at the situation. If anyone were to ask in that moment, Hanna would call Archer a stranger in a heartbeat.

It was best not to worry about her embarrassing son's behaviour, she ultimately decided, turning back to the near still scene.

"Looks like the idiot finally got the message," John muttered to his wife. The couple made eye contact and sighed, the younger generation were only getting braver and dumber, would society really be alright as this generation grow into power. Once again, Hanna was glad that at least her younger two had good heads on their necks.

After nearly a minute of no movement, the embarrassment got too much for Henry, the man grabbing Joshua by the wrist and pulling him away, both returning to the corner they had been drinking juice earlier. This time, the younger man opted for alcohol, reaching to the cooler under the table and pulling out a can of beer instead. This was meant to be later into the night when people were tipsy enough not to notice, but with how Joshua had just acted, Henry was already at his limits.

"Do you want one?"

There was no immediate response, making the younger man turn around and look up, ultimately having to hold back a laugh; it seemed as though Joshua's actions had finally caught up with him. Not needing an answer, Henry popped open the can in his hand and passed over to the other man before grabbing one himself. Normally it would be Henry feeling embarrassed about how he acted and Joshua teasing him, the younger man was looking forward to it being the other way around.

After a few more seconds, the man's beautiful aura fell apart even from afar, Joshua cursing under his breath, face bright red at the belated embarrassment. "I said all of that, fuck, I really said that."

"Yup," Henry unhelpfully responded, popping the p.

"I really let myself get worked up over that worthless brat. I said all of that in front of everyone. How out of touch was I? I even threatened them out in the open. God, what was I thinking, why was I not thinking?"

Just as Henry was about the stand up, Joshua dropped down next to him, hugging his legs with one hand and chugging the beer with the other. As he stopped to take a breath, the memory of his brave confession – which at the time really hadn't felt like much because he really did think Henry was that amazing a human being – replayed in his head, making Joshua drop his head onto his knees. Henry watched the older man steam away in shame, finally letting out a laugh.

"What good's getting embarrassed now?"

"Shut up," Joshua whined, not lifting his head, only making Henry laugh again.

They continued like this until they realised Samuel was standing over them, his ridiculous harem finally socialising with the rest of the guests. "This is your engagement party, why are you two hiding in the corner drinking beer? Where did you even find the beer?" While the man was keeping his face straight, he could not hide all of his amusement from his voice. He had to keep reminding himself to be strong and reprimand them for the uncharacteristic behaviour.

Henry looked up at his brother, a youthful charm around him. "It is our engagement party; we planned the whole thing. Why else would there be beer here?"

"Don't act smart with me. Both of you should know better than hiding away. While we would never normally care about rumours and what others thought to this extent, we aren't in a situation that allows for that. You two already have so much chatter about you, we can't add anything else that would harm your reputations. Besides, we said act like a long-term couple, not like different people."

Joshua slammed his now empty can on the floor, almost sulking. He did not even care that he was responding to Samuel somewhat disrespectfully. The embarrassment and irritation from how the event had been going so far had inevitably cast a shadow over his heart.

His loud sound also caught the attention of those around them.

"Why do we have to act normal and live up to our reputation when everything is going sideways? I poured my fucking heart and soul into all of this only to embarrass myself a million times over with my behaviour. Why do I need to keep trying? I just wanted a lowkey celebration, not to be stared at like a circus act."

The eldest Reyes son found himself unable to respond. He hadn't expected that kind of reaction from Joshua, in fact he had no clue that this was all so important to Joshua. Obviously the signs were there, the couple finished a whole wedding itinerary in one night, but the importance of the events never seemed that apparent.

Henry sighed, his smile fading as he acknowledged his own displeasure. "He's right. We put in so much effort so we could enjoy ourselves, but in the end, we can't even do that. How are we meant to be satisfied when everyone is criticising our every move so obviously? They didn't even care up until the press conference. If they want to drag us down from the pedestal they put us on, let them."

Samuel Reyes felt like he had opened a can of beans that should not have been touched. He had come over to tell them to stop hiding away, he did not think he would be faced with the usually perfect pair this upset at how people were talking. In fact, he did not know the two were ever that bothered by this kind of thing. While not entirely sure about Joshua, he knew that his own brother's usual attitude was 'let them try drag me down, I won't let them'; the complete opposite of what he had just said. Suddenly, he was extremely worried.

If the pair knew what was running through Samuel's head, they would have immediately laughed and told him he was thinking too much. As far as they were both concerned, they were simply a little bummed that their plan to enjoy themselves was not going their way; they were just complaining.

However, neither of the young men were aware of the heavy meaning behind their 'trivial' complaints. Neither were prepared to admit how upset they were with everyone's constant chatter and critique on their relationship, fake or not.

Now knowing that the two were really that troubled, Samuel let down his stern front and dropped down to crouch, now level with the two. These two did not need a telling-off, they needed some form of encouragement, although the older brother was not sure just how much would be too much for the prideful pair.

"Look, the two of you shouldn't worry about what others say about you, and you never should. But that also means that you can't allow it to control your lives. What kind of resolves is letting them pull you down? If anything, you should hold your heads higher. Instead of sulking and lamenting, you should push it all aside and carry on with what you originally intended in doing. Letting them drag you down is just giving up on the situation, you two are better than giving up that easily. If you two were that weak, we wouldn't all be here at your engagement party. You wouldn't have confronted the idiots spreading false information about Henry. You two wouldn't even have gotten as far as deciding to get married.

"Henry, I am going to quote your own word back to you, but don't let them drag you down. Let them try but never let them do it. Don't worry about people dragging you down, but don't stop being your best selves because of it. Don't let them deter you from what you want. Don't let them make it all feel meaningless.

"What did the two of you want from tonight? Joshua?"

The words were still sinking in as dark haired man instinctively replied in a quiet voice, "To have fun."

"Henry?"

"Have fun."

"Well then, what are you two in the corner hiding for? Go have fun."

Henry and Joshua found themselves looking at the older man, not really knowing how to react appropriately to the random pep talk. Well, not until Samuel added:

"At this point there is only one thing you two need to give up on, and that is smoking."

After a couple seconds silence, all three of them laughed, the low atmosphere the pair hadn't realised was around them finally lifting.