章 61: Awkward Silence

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Woken up in a dim-lit room, Maverick instinctively touched his bandaged neck, feeling a throbbing pain and a little dryness in his throat. He briefly recalled what happened to him and he sat up and looked around the room he was in. He quickly realized he was in one of the guest rooms at Mo Tian Zi's house, remembering that he'd asked the Alpha for help out of desperation of his current situation. Now, he slightly regretted it; but then again, he didn't have anyone else to help him. The only other friend he knew was Fyre, but he didn't know where he lived or his contact information. He also felt guilty about what he'd done in the past. After all, until now, he still hadn't cleared it up and apologized properly for it.

Maverick inspected his body and he sighed again. He knew the doctor would have probably told Tian Zi about his other bruises, aside from the ones he had on the neck and face. As much as possible, he hadn't wanted to say it because he'd felt ashamed of himself. It had been his choice to sell his body and maybe, just like his father said, part of him had enjoyed it. Part of him craved it because he was an Omega. That it didn't matter if he quit or not, he was still the person who chose to whore himself out for the benefit of his family.

He'd chosen this path and he didn't have anyone to blame except himself. Of course, a lot of the time he regretted it. He had been 19 and had fallen into the hands of the wrong people. For years he had this in his mind, slowly draining him, …and finally, he had enough.

'I guess I can thank Father for making me realize that I could have said no to those people.' Maverick thought and briefly laughed at himself. He didn't have any tears to shed anymore for this because every night he'd cried, and he was now all dried up. Each time someone used his body, he'd just remind himself that it wasn't a big deal, that he was just someone who was trying to survive. It wasn't a big deal at all. Alas, it did matter and it was breaking him inside, but there was nothing he could do about it. For now, he just wanted to hide away and escape reality.

The tears that he thought had dried up started accumulating in his eyes while his nose began to run. He sniffled softly not wanting to cry about this again. Thankfully, before his tears started to betray him, a sudden knock could be heard from the door, then it slightly opened and a short maid softly came in. She didn't think that Maverick was awake at first, so she was a little surprised to see the patient sitting up on his bed with the lights still off. They'd made sure to tell him earlier that he could use the remote control on his side table to turn it on or off.

"Ahh... I'm sorry. I didn't know you were awake, sir. I was about to wake you up for dinner. The Young Master had us prepare a meal for two. He has requested that you join him now at the dining table, if it isn't too much. He also said that if you didn't want to, you didn't have to force yourself as well." the maid conveyed gently as Maverick quickly wiped his eyes and nodded.

"It's okay. I'll go and eat dinner with him. Thank you." Maverick replied. He slowly got off of the bed to follow the maid, who then led him to the dining room. When he arrived, he found Tian Zi was already at the table and waiting for him. As soon as Tian Zi saw Maverick he stood up, urging the Omega to come. Seeing Maverick's face again and the bandage around his neck, he felt bad for him. He was now contemplating whether or not he should ask again about what had happened to him or if he should just let it be so that he wouldn't force Maverick to recall the bad memories.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I asked the chef to serve him best. I hope you like it." Tian Zi said with a faint smile while Maverick also responded with a smile and went to his designated seat.

"I don't mind. I'm not a picky eater. I'm also sure you have one of the best chefs in the city working for you." Maverick chuckled a little. But he was right, because unlike the Omega, Tian Zi is a picky eater so it was a necessity for him to hire the best he could find.

"That's great. Let's start eating then so that you can continue your rest." Tian Zi smiled kindly to which Maverick replied with a slight nod. The both of them were never really close so, despite those couple of incidents, the atmosphere between them was rather awkward. No one was talking, so the sound of the utensils hitting the porcelain plate made the atmosphere even more awkward. Tian Zi never really liked having conversations, but at this moment the feeling was opposite. Maybe because he had a lot of questions in mind and it was definitely showing in his actions as he glanced in Maverick's direction ever so often, which Maverick noticed.

"Is there something that you'd like to ask?" Maverick initiated after a brief sigh. He was staying at the Alpha's place, so he didn't want things to become more awkward between them than it already was. Besides, he already knew what Tian Zi was so curious about, and it was kinda his right to know 'cause he owed him big time for helping him. The Alpha could have declined his request, but he didn't. He was involving Tian Zi in his situation so it was the least he could do so that he could prepare when everything blew up on the surface.

"Ahh... I do have questions, but I don't know if you're comfortable talking about it." Tian Zi stated, initially surprised by Maverick's sudden question, then expressing his mind hesitantly, not wanting to offend or sadden the Omega. He'd promised himself that if Maverick still didn't want to share his problems with him, then he would let it be and this would be the last time he would ask. He would respect the Omega's decision.

"Is it about how I ended up like this?" Maverick guessed, but it wasn't really a guess because he already knew. What else would the Alpha be so curious about except for this?

"Hmm. If it's something I'm capable of, I want to help you fix your problem since you're basically part of my family." Tian Zi said. Maverick is Daniel's cousin. He couldn't let the Omega suffer any further or else Daniel would get angry with him, and then his eldest brother would get revenge for him. He could already imagine a dreadful situation so he wanted to prevent such a future. Furthermore, he needed something to distract his mind from thinking about Fyre. This was the perfect chance to do that.

"Thank you. Letting me stay here and keeping me hidden is already a huge help." Maverick smiled. The situation he was in right now was rather complicated. There might be something Tian Zi could help him acquire but he was too embarrassed to ask about it. He'd try and handle it by himself and if he couldn't, he'd toughen up his face and shamelessly ask the Alpha for help again.

"I don't really mind. You can stay for as long as you'd like."

"Thank you, Tian Zi." Maverick smiled again while Tian Zi nodded, getting back to his food. Both of them became silent again but unlike earlier, the awkward atmosphere between them had vanished. So, after a little while, it was easy for Tian Zi to start a conversation again.

"Anyway, is there any chance that you'd tell me what happened?" Tian Zi asked suddenly after their brief silence. Listening to his question, Maverick thought for a second and looked at the Alpha. To be honest, he only had a little time left before all his secrets would be revealed to the world. That was why he had hidden himself, not wanting to face his brothers, who were very protective of him, because he knew they would be hurt by this when they found out. He knew he was never going to escape his approaching doom so he thought, at least once in his lifetime, he wanted to have someone—a friend—with whom he could share his life story aside from his brothers. Tian Zi was a nice guy who'd helped him a lot, so maybe he was the best option.

"Do you really want to know?" Maverick confirmed and assured.

"Yeah. I don't know what's happening in your life and your family, but two brains are better than one, right? Letting it out will also make you feel a lot better. Well, I hope so." Tian Zi replied and Maverick agreed with a chuckle, listening to the Alpha being careful with his words.

"Then I'll tell you... but promise me you'll hear me out before you judge me. I don't really care if you find me disgusting afterward but let me finish telling you all before anything else. Are you okay with that?" Maverick offered. His life is obviously very complicated. Tian Zi should know that because he was the only other person who knew he was an Omega, …that he had not slept with. Just from that, Tian Zi should also know that there was something deeper to this than just him hiding his gender his whole life.

Tian Zi was taken aback by Maverick's words and wondered what the situation was that the Omega would have to warn him like that. He did wonder why he was pretending to be someone he was not, but he never really thought there was a deeper story into that, aside from the common discrimination against the gender. There were a lot of Omegas who hated being an Omega. There were also Alphas who hated being Alphas, and Betas as well. He didn't really think Maverick was any different.

"Maverick, I don't know what it is that you're about to say to me, but I promise that I won't judge you that easily so you can rest assured." Tian Zi said and just like that, Maverick started his story.

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To be Continued…