Abel and his mother, Rosaline, returned to Levan Mansion to find Lewis sitting on the couch with a scowl on his face.
Since last night, when he had heard Evelynâs tearful confession that his son was âin loveâ with another man, Lewis had been livid.
The thought of his successful son, the CEO of Ryker Group, suddenly turning out to be gay was enough to make Lewis feel like his world was crumbling.
He couldnât bear the thought of his reputation being tarnished by such scandalous news.
As he wallowed in his despair, Abel and Rosaline entered the room.
Without a word, Lewis kicked off his slippers and lunged at Abel, ready to strike.
Abel effortlessly dodged as his father lunged toward him, looking unimpressed.
âDad, what are you doing?â Abel asked calmly, his handsome face composed.
âWhat am I doing?â Lewis trembled with anger. âYou want to kill your old man with this news of yours!â
âI havenât done anything wrong,â Abel replied coolly.
âWhat more do you want?â Lewis fumed. âDo you have to marry a man just to stir up trouble in this family?â
Abel remained silent, unsure of what to say.
What kind of talk was that?
Abel had never even considered the idea of marrying a man.
Lewis then noticed Luca standing nearby and swung his slipper at him as well.
âKeep an eye on Mr. Abel, you have a responsibility too!â he barked.
Luca, afraid to dodge, closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.
If Mr. Abel truly had fallen in love with that âyoung man,â Luca didnât know what he would do.
Heâd just have to take the beating.
Abel quickly raised his hand to deflect his fatherâs slipper, sparing Luca from being struck.
âDad, Luca has nothing to do with this. Why are you taking it out on him?â Abel asked, frowning.
âNothing to do with it?â Lewis seethed. âWhat kind of assistant is he if he canât keep an eye on you?â
âIf Struyria finds out that the CEO of Ryker Group is gay, how will you survive?â he continued.
âDad, youâre so outdated,â Abel replied, his brow furrowed. âWhatâs wrong with being gay? Besides, Iâm not even gay!â
âNot even gay?â Lewis sneered. âSo youâre planning to be one then?â
âThatâs right, Abel,â Rosaline added. âI saw you sleeping with that boy with my own eyes!â
âSleeping with a boy?â
Lewis slumped onto the couch with a thud.
This was it, he thought. Their familyâs reputation was ruined.
His son slept with another boy? That was just sickening. If this news ever got out to Landen, they would be laughing at them. Worse yet, they might even report it to Oscar.
At his age, Oscar wouldnât be able to accept homosexuality at all.
Can their son still keep his position as the CEO of Ryker Group?
As Lewis thought more about it, he became angrier and angrier and coughed violently.
Rosaline hurried over to pat her husbandâs back, and said to Abel, âSon, do you want to kill your parents with your anger?â
Abel furrowed his brows and didnât want to explain.
âJust tell me,â Lewis pointed at his son, âcan you stop associating with that man?â
âItâs not as serious as you guys make it out to be,â Abel said, annoyed. He couldnât believe his parents were so closed-minded.
âYou still think it could get any worse?â Rosaline said. âDo you really plan on us getting a son-in-law whoâs a man?â
Abel was about to answer when Lucaâs phone rang.
Luca glanced at the screen and saw that it was the customer service line for the automotive repair center.
He didnât answer, turning instead to Abel. âMr. Abel, the carâs been fixed.â
âOkay,â Abel nodded, then added, âDonât bother Emmett for the repair cost. Weâll pay for it ourselves.â
âYes, Mr. Abel,â Luca replied.
âWhatâs going on?â Lewis could sense something was wrong and stood up abruptly. âThe car was hit by that kid?â
âYes,â Abel nodded.
âWhy didnât you make him pay for the damages?â Lewis was getting angrier. âYou just pity him, donât you?â
âHeâs still a kid,â Abel reasoned. âBesides, it was an accident, and his car was damaged too.â
âYouâre just being too soft!â Lewis jumped up, âYou wonât change your ways, will you? Youâll only stop when Iâm dead!â
âDad!â
âDonât call me dad, youâre the dad!â
Lewisâs face turned red, and his blood pressure skyrocketed. He took a deep breath and sat back down.