My Boss Is Secretly A Softie - Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Trauma (2)
Lee rolled his eyes in exasperation. This again? Damn, how annoying.

“Terrence, can you stop? You’re still my one and only, and I’m working towards this. Plus, you know how hard addictions are to stop…” he whined.

“I-it’s n-not about that.” Terrence sniffed while cleaning his tears with the back of his palm. “It’s not about not considering your addiction. It’s the fact that you don’t seem to mind it. Lee, you don’t want to stop.”

Lee froze up at the intensely gloomy gaze of the male before clicking his tongue while tapping his foot impatiently.

“Terrence, stop being a drama queen. What’s wrong with a little fun? YOU are the one at fault for being so closed-minded. In fact, I wouldn’t mind you sleeping around too! It’s not cheating if you don’t love them!”

“It is!” Terrence barked at him, causing him to flinch. “It is, Lee! Why did you lie about not sleeping with anyone else? Why… why does it feel like I’m a hindrance more than a lover to you?!”

Lee rolled his eyes. “Oh, finally! Some self-awareness! Maybe spend all that time whining to spoil me instead.”

“Why do you keep me, then?” Terrence whispered.

Lee was stumped. Why? Because… it was fun?

He liked the unsolicited attention he was being given. He liked their bed life as well—apart from being well-endowed, he was also good. He could brag about having a high-spec lover and rub it all in the face of those who said that a bicycle could never have a serious person.

Terrence was everything he wanted… for himself. The reasons were selfish, but it was still love, right?

“Because I like you,” he responded while smiling at Terrence coyly.

But it was not being bought.

“Lee. We’re done. I can’t…” Terrence whispered with his head hung low as silent tears traced his palm. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Huh?!” Lee was stumped. “You can’t just do that!”

“I will,” he replied while picking up his face to stare at the teen unflinchingly with red-rimmed eyes. “Right now. Goodbye.”

He left just like that, leaving Lee alone in his castle of pink.

“Huh?” His face twitched. “Did I just get dumped?”

By someone like that love-deficient fellow, no less?

“Hah…” he laughed angrily. What a joke.

***

The first time he arrived at the Astridge household, he had been greatly traumatized by coming face to face with his family’s poisoning.

Everyone that ate anything from home had been wiped out—including the servants—and it was near impossible to trace the sinners, but his uncle, Mr. Astridge, swore he’d find them and make them pay.

He was integrated into the Astridge family relatively easily. Mrs. Astridge was as welcoming as she was kind, Basil was more than ready to adopt a second junior, and Ariel began leaping into his room and waking him up with a boom from the very next day—until Basil stopped her.

It was a perfect life despite the hidden issues within, but he couldn’t find his peace. For some reason, he couldn’t fully embrace their love and was tormented all night by his family’s death.

He was taking therapy, but nothing was helping except the new procedure introduced to him that mostly buried that day’s memory to allow him to sleep easier, though his nightmares managed to perfectly recreate it.

But the last thing he wanted was to worry the people who accepted him with open arms and loved him with their all, so he endured everything—this was nothing.

At school, due to his lone tendencies, most people barely approached him, and those who did eventually stopped after his continuous lackluster replies. But his looks, achievements, and background were enough to give him stable popularity in school.

He was one of the most popular in school.

The day he met Lee, he had been crouched down under the garden of the school, vomiting the atrocious school lunch when Lee rolled in.

“Woah, dear,” he yelped while sidestepping him. He remembered as clear as day his pink polka-dot dress and silver wig, which made him look more flashy than effeminate. “You really shouldn’t be doing that there.”

He had looked up at him with a pale look, and Lee’s face flushed over almost immediately.

“A looker? Oh! The school prince… damn, you look 1000× hotter in real life. Woah!”

“Yeah,” he had rasped as he picked himself up. “I’ll be leaving, then.”

“Hey!” His hand was caught, leaving him frowning. “I caught that on camera…”

Lee’s face was as red as an apple as he spoke sinisterly, “Let’s hang out, and I’ll delete it.”

He couldn’t care less. He had a million ways to get it deleted, and even if it was released, he had even more ways to take care of it.

As for Lee… He wasn’t disgusted by the male, neither was he thrilled; he just couldn’t care.

“Sure,” he muttered, taking back his hand. “My number is XXX…”

He had agreed that day out of sheer indifference and came to the location he had been invited to with the same demeanor.

That was how his meeting with Lee began and his understanding of what he wanted. He didn’t just want love… he wanted to be loved specifically.

Throughout their dates, Lee had been all over him. All attention was on him; every little thing… was about him, and he was intoxicated. He loved it. He loved being the center of attention and the all-in-all of someone.

It was… rejuvenating. And he became healthier, literally.

His depression cooled over, and he became less gloomy. This was probably why Basil hadn’t speedily dissolved his relationship with Lee once he found out about it.

The infamous Lee—had it not been for the unusual goodness that came from their relationship… Why would anyone want one of their closest person to be with that person?

It wasn’t simply about sleeping around; it was his dealings. He was an adrenaline junkie and chased around anything that gave him a high.

Sleeping around, playing about, and a very characterless life. Almost everyone associated with him had bad habits, and there were even rumors that he did drugs. He was, in essence, a ruined teen.

But, of course, love was stupid—or at least the human desire to hold onto whatever gave them a little bit of joy, regardless of the backlash it came with.

Lee was Terrence’s terrible addiction. It was so obvious to them that there was no love, only a codependent type of relationship.

Lee got the superficial high of having someone as good as Terrence moon over him, no matter what he did, as long as he tossed him a little sugar every now and then.

And Terrence could stabilize his intense desire to be the center of someone’s love and attention—despite the fact that his relationship with Lee had long passed that stage.

He knew this but couldn’t face the truth. But after much mental gymnastics to justify the male… he couldn’t anymore. Lee… wasn’t the one he was looking for.

It wasn’t about being used but about not getting what he wanted. He was fine with being used as long as he kept getting what he wanted, but Lee obviously couldn’t care less to give it to him, and so he was done.

Easier said than done. He was done four times and came right back, pleading like a starving clown, but this time was the last.

Not because he had managed to convince his mind to give up Lee, but because his mind had gotten sick and tired of everything and simply killed all affection and excuses he had for him.

His fair lashes parted open at the calling of the chauffeur, and he alighted before strutting into his room.

Now what?

***

“Vincent, you’re very funny. Do I look like a doll to you? Why are you treating me like one? Now I even have to follow some stupid schedule and a particular set of behaviors—what went wrong with you after your sister’s death?!” Mr. Astridge argued with blazing eyes.

Mr. Astridge sipped on his coffee blankly before facing the enraged woman. “It’s for your safety.”

“Hah?!” Mrs. Astridge was not thrilled. She laughed sarcastically, then tore apart the paper in her hand and scattered it all over the male’s face, ruining his coffee.

She leaned into his face with a grim expression.

“I’d rather fucking die than act like some doll for ‘safety’ reasons! And don’t you dare drag any of the kids—including Terrence—into this madness you’re adopting!”

An angry stomp out was followed by a slam of the door, and Mr. Astridge was left seated alone in the large room.

He sighed. How exhausting.

***

Days later, Mr Astridge had been busy as always when a shocking incident occurred.

“Father! Father! Father!” Ariel ran chaotically into her father’s office.

Mr. Astridge frowned, ready to caution her fiercely as his mood was sore from the last argument with his wife, but was stunned when he saw his daughter running in with a face filled with tears.

“Ariel? Ari, what is it?” he stood up immediately, scooting before her and wiping away the tears of the child, which kept on falling.

“It’s… It’s…”

Their moment was disrupted by the intrusion of Mrs. Astridge.

Her face, although much calmer, mirrored the same anxiety in her daughter’s face.

“Darling! Come quickly! Terrence is in a tub of blood!”

“WHAT?”