บท 17: Actor / 3.9&10 : I'm here

Eden woke up early and after taking a shower he left. He got out of the car and knocked on the door. The butler led him to the dining room. Cedro was sitting at the head of the table and Luka on his right.

"Hello, President Zephyr."

Cedro looked at him surprised but he quickly smiled.

"Hello Eden, take a seat. And I told you you can call me uncle."

Eden sat with a smile. While the maid put the food on the table Eden asked:

"What did you want to talk about that couldn't be discussed at the agency?"

Cedro immediately looked at his son with narrowed eyes. So this is why he wanted his cellphone. When he asked him he didn't ask why he trusts him plus they don't keep anything from each other at least until now. Luka was looking at him with a smile. Cedro looked at Eden.

"I'm sorry Luka used my cellphone to invite you over."

Eden never acknowledge Luka and he said standing up:

"It's okay, I'll be on my way then."

When Luka looked at Cedro pleadingly he said:

"At least stay for breakfast, it will be my way of apologizing."

Eden looked at him for a few seconds then he sat down.

Cedro looked at Luka in annoyance. If he had a plan to lure Eden he should've just told him he would've helped him instead of putting him in that position. He has his back no matter what and this is the first time he loves someone so he wants that person to love him back.

Before Eden could reach out with his chopsticks Luka did. Eden let him fill his plate. He looked at all the food in front of him and pointed at a plate.

"I want that one."

Luka immediately put it on his plate. Eden looked around and he said:

"I want that too."

Luka put it on his plate again. He looked at him eagerly waiting for his next order.

Eden looked around again and pointed at a last one.

"This one too."

When Luka put it on his plate he started to eat. Cedro looked at his whipped son and Luka looked back with a bright smile like being ordered around by Eden was something to be proud of.

He shook his head, at least it's Eden. He knows and respects him, still, he needs more information. He asked:

"How many children do you want Eden?"

Luka looked at him furiously. Eden doesn't even want to commit let alone have a child. Is he trying to scare him away? They were both surprised when Eden answered:

"Just one."

Cedro thought that he would freak out because of his question but clearly, Eden is a level-headed person. He smiled then he checked his son's reaction. Before Eden, he never met someone he wanted to be with so he doesn't know how he'll feel about kids but he's determined to have at least one grandchild. Luka was just looking at Eden eating with a huge smile. He asked:

"Are you close to your parents?"

He can tell that he isn't from that dinner they had but he wants to know why.

"No."

"Why?"

Eden met his eyes.

"Because they don't believe in me."

Cedro and Luka felt bad hearing that, they could tell it came from the heart.

Cedro asked:

"What about your twin brother?"

"No, I don't like liars."

Cedro nodded, ge has a hard time understanding Eden. He knows that Rgency is under his name and that everything his family has is because of him. But he doesn't get why there's a wedge between them, he felt that Storm played a part in it though. He saw how his mother treated him like a glass doll.

He asked:

"So family isn't important to you?"

Eden met his eyes.

"It is provided they act like it."

Cedro nodded with a smile, that's all he wanted to hear. It has always been him and Luka so he doesn't want to lose that because Eden doesn't want to be around him. Luka looked at his father as if to say enough with the questions. He smiled and went back to reading his paper.

Colton sat in the doctor's office waiting, his foot kept tapping the floor nervously. If the doctor called him to get the results it means it's bad. He would always go to the doctor with Storm but when he turned 18 he said that he'll go alone from now on since he is an adult. He refused but then he cried and said that he and Alaric always treat him like a child while Eden got to move into his mansion when he was 18. He felt guilty so he accepted and every time he would come back he would show him the results. It was always bad and when he insisted to go to treatment with him he would throw a fit too so he wouldn't go.

He can't imagine how hard it must be for him, to this day he is still sick while Eden gets to have a good life free from all the pain and continual treatments. He had to watch from the sideline as Eden got to play in movies and go out every day while he was stuck at home. He looked at Dr.Cheng when he came in. He took a seat in front of him and he smiled.

"Hello, Colton how are you?"

"I-I'm okay."

Dr.Cheng looked in his drawer looking for a folder. He grabbed it and he handed it to him.

Colton swallowed and he opened it. He looked at all the papers and his face fell. It said that Since Storm has been out of the hospital his condition only worsened. He couldn't understand how he could be worst than when they started treatment. The last time he went to see Dr.Cheng he told him that he was much better. Colton looked at him panicked and he asked:

"Why didn't you tell me that his condition got to this point? I would've never let him come alone if I knew."

Dr.Cheng looked at him confused. He pulled a paper out of the folder and he turned it around. He said:

"It's the wrong file it's Eden's."

Colton looked down again confused. He looked at the dates with a frown.

"Dr.Cheng there is a mistake. It says that Eden had a relapse two years after coming out of the hospital."

He looked at the pages lost.

"It doesn't make any sense it says that his conditions only worsened since then."

Dr.Cheng took the file explaining:

"When Storm and Eden came out of the hospital Storm was the only one who still needed active treatment. Two years later Eden came to see me alone and I was confused because you weren't there. He told me that since he became a legal adult you didn't need to be with him. When I checked him I found that he had become sick again a few months after leaving the hospital. When I asked him why he didn't come to see me he said that he has a career now and that he was the only one who could take care of the family and pay for Storm's treatment since Alaric wasn't working."

Colton looked at him wide-eyed.

Dr.Cheng said:

"I told him to come see me regularly from now on but he only came when he turned eighteen. He said that now that Rgency is thriving and the family doesn't need him he doesn't have to work as much to take care of you. He would still come every year so I could check his condition and I would always implore him to take care of himself but every time he would give another excuse like my mother wants a new house, Storm's condition is worsening, my father's company need more money put into it so he needs to work more. All those years working long hours took a toll on him."

Colton let out a shaky breath as tears kept running down his face.

It doesn't make any sense. When they left the hospital Eden immediately started his acting, he took a few classes and he quickly got discovered. He kept taking project after project, why would he if he is sick?

He looked at Dr.Cheng.

"I did notice that he looked tired every time he came back home but I thought it was from working all day."

"I gave him medication to help with the pain but I wasn't as effective as a treatment."

"He didn't have to do that we would've found a solution to survive and get them both treatment."

Because of bad business decisions, Alaric lost his job two months after the twins were released. It was then that Eden started to act in commercials and modeling. He would always give the money to Alaric saying that it was payback for the acting lessons. Every time he would come back home he would give the paycheck and say that he was only giving back what they gave him.

They thought that Eden was only doing that so they wouldn't yell at him anymore when he treated Storm terribly. They thought that he was buying them so he can act as he pleases. But Eden was even sicker than Storm why would he look down on him for being healthy? None of this makes sense.

Dr.Cheng looked at him uneasily. He could tell that he was keeping something from him Colton immediately grabbed his arm asking:

"What?"

Dr.Cheng said uncomfortably:

"He told me that it was a good thing that he had to work since he was able to get away from you and Storm's lies."

Colton's breath hitched. He looked down as more tears fell. No Storm wouldn't lie about being bullied and all those awful things Eden said about him and Alaric. No, he doesn't believe he would do something so evil. He wiped his tears and he asked:

"Why did you ask me to come here?"

Dr.Cheng pulled a file out of his drawer and handed it to him.

"I just wanted to give you back Storm's file in case he needs it in the future. I tried calling him and emailing but he never responds. I'm retiring in a month and his new doctor will need his file in case he relapses."

Colton looked at him wide-eyed then he opened the file frantically. When he finished reading it his eyes turned cold. He asked:

"How long has he been on remission?"

"3 years, a month after he turned 18."

Colton closed the file and he said:

"Thank you."

He stood up to leave but he stopped when Dr.Cheng called him.

"If you see Eden can you tell him to come to see me? I haven't seen him in a while and I'm worried. I want to put him in the hands of a colleague before I retire."

Colton nodded and he left.

After working all day Alaric left for home. He walked to the living room but no one was there. He felt that the house was too quiet. He asked a passing maid:

"Where is everyone?"

"Storm is staying at a friend's house and your wife is in the master bedroom."

Alaric nodded and he went up the stairs. He was stunned when he entered and he saw his wife seating on the bed crying desperately at an open computer.

He pulled him in his arms and he looked at what he was looking at in Storm's computer. He could recognize it because of the stickers on it. It looked like an old videotape from the twins' bedroom. He could see that Storm was asleep while Eden was sitting on his bed holding a cutter.

He opened his eyes wide. Did Eden hate Storm that much that he wanted to kill him? Is that why Storm hid a camera in their room because he was this scared of him? Colton looked at Alaric and he played the video. Alaric felt his heart beating faster, even if he knows he didn't go through with it since Storm is alive. Eden pulled out the blade and he looked at it for a long time. He rolled up his sleeve and he approached the blade near his wrist.

For a long time, the blade hovered above his vein. After a moment, tears ran down his face, and he put down the cutter. He grabbed his book and read it, despite the tears falling on every page. After a while, he stopped crying and closed the book. He hid the cutter and laid down.

Colton clicked on another window already opened showing him the same scene again but it was a different day. He showed him at least twenty of them where the same thing would happen but it was a different day. He clicked on another window and played a video. Eden held the blade near his vein again crying silently. He looked up surprised when he heard:

"You should do it."

Storm stood up from his bed and sat next to Eden.

"You know that mother and father hate you. Every time I tell them a story they believe it immediately because they only love me."

Eden asked exhausted:

"Why do you hate me? Why do you keep making up lies? What did I ever do to you?"

Storm looked at him viciously.

"How is it fair that we were both sick but I was always in worst condition than you? Despite that, they always treated you like you were better than me when you're not! I knew if I lied they would believe it and they do. Even with you working and paying for everything they still love me more than you. It doesn't matter if you keep giving them your paycheck it'll never change. Every morning I'll go to them crying and they'll believe me."

Eden said:

"You already know that they love you more than me so you can stop. They were willing to pull the plug on me for you."

Storm laughed his eyes shining.

"Really? I didn't even know."

He tilted his head and he asked:

"How did you?"

Eden looked at him and he simply said:

"I could hear everything when I was in the coma, this is how I found out that you've been lying to them about me since you could speak."

Alaric violently closed the computer. He stood up walking in a circle. He looked at his wife who was crying silently and he said in horror:

"He's known everything since the beginning."

Colton was shocked when Alaric fell on his knees crying.

He's never seen him cry even when they were going through hard times before Eden started to work.

"He's still sick, he's been sick this whole time."

Alaric looked up.

"What?"

"I went to see Dr.Cheng and I saw his medical file. A few months after he left the hospital he relapsed but he told him that he had to work for the family."

Colton wiped his tears and he said:

"He took every offer he received to help with Storm's treatment, buy me a new house, and help you build Rgency. He left when he was eighteen because Rgency thrived and we didn't need his money anymore."

Alaric looked down as more tears fell on his face. He felt like his heart was broken in half. He always thought Eden was healthy since he always worked but turns out he did it for them. He truly believed that he bullied Storm because he was healthy. It killed him that his sick son was being treated that way by his twin brother when he's been in the same place as him before.

More tears fell on Colton's face. How could he be so blind? How could he favor a son to the point where the other felt this way? When he left he thought that it was for the best so he wouldn't be here to bully Storm and he could see how happier he was but now he understands that it's because that's what he wanted. When Storm said that he wanted to be an actor he was surprised because he kept complaining about Eden's career and how fame changed him but now he understand that he was jealous. He looked down crying desperately because there is nothing he can do to fix what he did to Eden. After a few seconds, he stood up comforting his husband while he held onto him tightly.

More tears fell on his face picturing Eden with that cutter. He went through so much and the worst in all of that is that he went through it silently on his own. He can still remember the times he and Alaric would yell at him and he would just sit still and apologize, he can still see the pain in his eyes. This is all his fault he knows that. Eden worked constantly so they would live well and every day when he would come back from work exhausted he would yell at him. He was even willing to pull the plug on him and save Storm because he would always tell him how Eden looked down on him for being younger and weaker.

How could be so stupid? He is his mother how could he not know his son's heart? He pulled back looking at Colton.

"This is all my fault."

"It's ours but we can still fix it."

"How? He hates us as he should."

"It doesn't matter if it takes a lifetime we'll do everything to earn his love back. We'll give back everything he gave us but first, we need to make sure he goes to the doctor."

Colton said:

"He won't listen to us."

Alaric thought for a few seconds and his eyes light up.

"Luka he'll listen to him. I could tell that he liked him."

Colton nodded.

"Let's talk to him tomorrow. You need to get that paper back before Storm forces him to sign it. It'll only make things worst."

"I'll talk to his agent. Where's Storm?"

Colton answered his eyes just as cold as Alaric's.

"He said that he's staying at a friend he met on set for a few days."

"Don't say anything to him yet."

Colton nodded.

Eden closed Versem and he looked down laughing in anger. Their reaction to the truth makes him angrier than if they didn't care. When they were kids and Storm started to lie they wouldn't say anything to Eden, they just believed that he was evil. So when it was time to chose it was easy to go for Storm. When they were released Storm started to lie again and in the beginning, Eden would deny but he could tell that they doubted him until one day when there was an incident.

Storm dropped a glass vase and Eden stood up to help him clean up. Storm accidentally cut himself and when his parents came in he was kneeling in front of him with a piece of glass in his hand while Storm was crying pitifully.

They thought that Eden was responsible and Storm confirmed, since that day he knew that the way they saw him changed. He stopped denying when Storm would lie and just apologize. When they were financially independent he left. They were no cameras in his home so he couldn't just tell them to check the tapes. He created them using Versem and put them in a file on Storm's computer.

He knew his mother would go through it after his visit to the doctor. They were all real scenes except the last one. He created it so they would know that Eden knows that they were willing to pull the plug on him.

His hands tightened into fists as he pictured his father crying. He grabbed his cellphone and tossed it in rage. He didn't think that he would have any reaction. He knew that his mother would so he was planning on taking down his father and brother. He planned on taking everything back including Rgency and having his brother suffer dearly. He didn't think that his father would willingly give it away. It doesn't make any sense. He used Versem to check his parent's reaction when he died in the original timeline.

He watched as his mother cried himself to sleep every night for a month while pretending to be okay during the day until he finally was. He checked on his father and saw how distracted he was at work until he took a sabbatical. His parents looked like a shell of themselves for a long time but they would pretend in front of Storm until they became themselves again.

He closed Versem biting his lip. This isn't fair, he shouldn't care about them when they treated him so poorly. He wishes he never knew this is all his past lives, it somehow hurts more now. In the previous universe, it was easy because he knew that his father and sister hated him but this time he knows that they never did. He wishes they did, he wished they would laugh at his pain then it would make it easier. He buried his face in his folded legs.

He's in a universe where his parents love him but it doesn't take away what they did to him. He'll just let them wallow in their guilt for the rest of their lives and destroy his brother. Nothing's changed, he'll take everything back then he'll dance on Storm's grave.

He looked up when he heard a sound. He asked furiously:

"Who told you to come in?"

Luka could tell that he was upset, he saw more than anger in his eyes there was pain. He walked to him but he stopped when Eden ordered:

"Get out!"

He can't leave him when he is like that. He took a seat next to him but Eden yelled again:

"I said get out!"

Eden waited for him to leave but Luka was unwilling. He stood up and he walked to the bathroom. Before he could Luka pulled him in his arms but Eden kept struggling.

"It's okay I'm here."

Eden stilled and he looked at him asking:

"What did you say?"

"I'm here."

At that Eden's eyes moistened and he couldn't stop himself from crying anymore. He buried his face in Luka's chest. Luka held onto him his heart clenching in pain.

In the first universe when Eden thought he had lost Chen he held him in his arms and he said I'm here. Every time he was upset he would say it, in the previous universe the twins would say it too. It's like a magic spell at this point, he believes him when he says that. No matter what he knows that Gege will always be there for him.