BLOODHOUNDS #3: THE MALICE

Chapter 36 - PAY

Ares Young

"Luke told me about why he left me." I kept my attention to the view of Beijing.

"My dad wasn't a good person. He wanted to know more about him by going the same route as my dad. He wanted to keep me safe." We both have crazy dads, to begin with.

"He was a perfect dad for me. To think that he's a bad person feels like a sin." I stayed silent.

"I heard you when you're talking to your dad, Ares, and I understand that he's not a good person, but on the other side, he's dying. Ariana said that he only had a few months left to live. I'm not saying that you should be nice, but I think eating dinner with him will give him a small amount of peace." I knew where this was going.

"I'm not forcing you. Either you want to return to Seattle or not, I'm here." My heart was heavy. I'm so done with people besides my friends. I've realized a lot of things after Luke beat me.

I've been an asshole to Leila and others, including my sister. I've realized that I should continue my life by being alone. I will hurt fewer people and myself. I think I'm done looking for someone who can accept that I'm enough for them. I've tried hard to tell myself I'm more than enough, but it still feels empty.

I love my life as a member of The Bloodhounds, and living alone might be more thrilling than having someone around. Ariana, for once, you're fucking right.

"Turn around," I told Tim, and he immediately took a U-turn. Leila slipped her hand into mine, intertwining our hands together. I texted Kayden and Tatiana that I'm changing my mind so they can go around Beijing first.

When I arrived back at the mansion, Ariana was surprised to see me again. She didn't say anything but to lead me back in.

"Baba, Ares has agreed to eat dinner with us." My dad turned his head around, not believing until he saw me. His eyes filled with tears, and he smiled. He quickly told all the maids to bring all the food out. Everyone made their way to the dining room.

He walked towards me, grabbing my hand to lead me towards the dining room. He made me sit beside him and told Leila to sit on my left side.

"I'm sorry for being rude, and my name is Anthony Young. I'm Ares' dad." My dad introduced himself to Leila, who took his hand and smiled widely.

"I'm Leila Morrow, Ares' girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you. Thank you for coming." He managed to introduce her to the rest of the family. After that, the food came, and he sat in his seat again. He started giving me all the food on my plate, and my eyes were glued to it.

"Eat up."

"When will Ariana get married to Fred?" I asked so bluntly that the whole table froze. My eyes landed on Kaleb, who looked like he wanted to eat me alive. Ariana was looking at the food in front of her blankly.

"There will be n-"

"Next week." Ariana cut my dad, causing everyone to look at her. Kaleb was the only one who didn't. His eyes shifted to the ceiling.

"Do it tomorrow, and I'll stay for the night." Leila pinched my arm, warning me not to talk about this further.

"Lixuan." My dad warned Ariana with her Chinese name. He turned to me, "Yuxuan."

"I'm moving back to Beijing for good. Zixuan will go to New York in a few years anyway. He'll take over the company for me." She announced it in Chinese so Kaleb wouldn't be able to understand. "I'm marrying Fred tomorrow."

"I have a knife in my fucking pocket, little crimson. You better watch your fucking mouth." Ariana froze when he announced that he understood her.

"How?" That came out from her mouth as a whisper, and he took out a small earpiece from his ear.

"I want you to marry Kaleb instead." My dad announced, making me and Ariana snap our heads to him.

"You're kidding me." I hissed.

"Baba!"

"Are you out of your fucking mind? You're handing your daughter to a psychopath!" I turned to Kaleb, "Did you threaten to kill him?"

"Of course he did!" Ariana said.

"He did not." My dad said.

"I'm not going to marry Kaleb. He's a psychopath!" Ariana raised her voice.

"We'll talk about this after dinner. Let's eat." My grandfather cut everyone. Everyone turned silent, and I took a bite of the fish. I froze for a split second, remembering the taste. I used to eat this when I was little, but it still tastes the same after two decades.

"Are you okay?" Leila asked, and I nodded without turning to her.

"Are you mad at me?" She pulled my shirt lightly.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry." I kept eating, ignoring her apology. My dad kept giving me food, and I had to stop him from giving me more. I didn't talk much throughout the dinner; my head was filled with thoughts, and my heart was hurting for unknown reasons.

"I'm sorry," Leila said, apologizing again as we left the dining room. She stood in front of me and held my hand. My eyes met hers, and she looked sad.

"If you're sorry, go back to Seattle."

"No."

"You didn't know." I stated, and she looked confused, "You didn't know about the past, so I'm sorry for taking out everything at you. I've realized I've been an asshole by forcing you to be with me, so I'm letting you go." She looked like she wanted to say something, but my dad called me.

"Go back to Seattle and live the life before you met me. The mansion is also yours." You let her hand go, "Thank you for everything. I wish you live a good life." You walk back into the dining room, where your dad called you.

You can feel your heart aching, like someone trying to pull it out. Your breath starts to get slower, as if you can think that time has stopped. You're holding on to the dad's chair for support.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my hair, pulling my head back. I turned to see Leila looking at me angrily. She dragged me outside of the dining room.

"My life before I met you?" She released me, and I was stunned and speechless. "How can I remember that when you've been putting me through hell?" Shit.

"How much do you want? Ten million?" She slapped me. My cheek felt numb, but I deserved it.

"I'm going to put you through fucking hell. You're going to pay for every single heartache that I experienced."