He Hates Me, He Loves Me Not

The manila folder sits on Dylan's lap like a hot coal.

He keeps his eyes trained on the view outside the car, vision tinted with the dark glasses on his face, yet the flimsy material on his thighs feels as heavy as iron. With Collin driving him back, he has no other way to distract himself but to count the number of red cars that pass by. So far, there have been ten red cars, two of which are sports cars, although all of them are too obnoxious for his taste.

As Collin hums along to the latest popular song on the radio, Dylan briefly wonders how the Alpha managed to follow him without bringing his own car. Did Collin trail after him using the street cameras around? Is there a GPS tracking device somewhere he doesn't know about? Or … is Colling secretly living in the Lin family home, watching his every move from the walls and the ceiling?

(Dylan is thinking too hard. With his mind coming up with telenovela-worthy scenarios, he completely forgets that the Alpha is currently residing at a penthouse close to Isza Station. In fact, on the elevator ride down, Collin saw him park his car. It's quite funny seeing him scurry towards the subway, but the Alpha won't tell him that.)

Unsurprisingly, Dylan realizes he doesn't mind even if Collin is on his tail. To begin with, Primo wouldn't have entered the entertainment industry if he wasn't prepared to have his privacy breached, but even then, there's something about Collin that makes him feel safe..

So here they are, driving back to the Lin family home with the files Lucy asked him to retrieve.

By the time he has seen the fifth milk tea shop since they left the parking area around Isza Station, Dylan's eyes have started flitting back to the folder on his lap. To him, it's like a big, red button with the words 'DO NOT PRESS' on it, making his fingers itch to do the exact opposite.

He's interested in knowing what's inside this folder that made Lucy Jones—that intimidating woman—ask him for a favor. He knows it won't be anything small, but it's not as if he can't keep a secret or two. Perhaps, it won't hurt to take a peek.

No. It'll be wrong if he does.

But what if he accidentally drops it, he'll have no choice but to look at it while picking it up, right?

No, that's too far-fetched. The chances of the papers scattering to the floorboard are slim.

He shakes his head to rid himself of any funny ideas. Since this might be his only chance of seeing Kaiden again, he'll abate his curiosity by trying to see if there's any hotpot restaurant around.

Oh, there's one and it looks good. His eyes shine upon seeing the long line of people waiting by the entrance.

He's about to tell Collin to take note of that place when he hears the Alpha curse under his breath.

The car stops.

They jolt forward, one seatbelt away from a head injury. Then, there's a loud honk.

"Are you okay?" Collin asks him with worry clearly written on his face.

Dylan nods, untroubled aside from the adrenaline pumping through his heart.

By the time Dylan realizes what's happening, there's a couple of teenagers apologizing profusely in front of their vehicle. He also discovers Collin's arm crossing over his torso, acting as a second barrier to prevent him from flying from his seat, while the other is waving the teenagers away.

They start moving again, and if Dylan notices that Collin is driving slower than before, he doesn't point it out. He adjusts the seatbelt across his torso to loosen its grip.

Then, it's his turn to curse under his breath. His imagination came to life because there, on the floorboard, are Lucy's papers spilling from the folder.

He bends down to pick it up, telling himself that this is not intentional, but he still catches a glimpse of the words written on the papers.

He slowly moves back up as his heartbeat speeds up again. This time, however, it's not because of the adrenaline.

He reads the paper once, twice, even taking off his sunglasses in case he's seeing wrong. How can he be wrong when he boasts of maintaining his 20/20 vision?

--

Collin keeps thinking of the accident they narrowly missed earlier.

On any other instance, Collin may have said a word or two of warning, but he can't let those kids see the person in his passenger seat. Thankfully, no one got hurt, or else it won't end with a simple hand gesture.

The double-duty scent patches do their job, rendering Collin blind to the Omega's distress. He doesn't notice anything wrong until Dylan is whipping out his phone and yelling, "WHAT IS THIS?"

Alarmed, Collin immediately looks for a safe spot to pull over. He turns on the hazard lights as he watches Dylan clench the phone with white knuckles.

"Did you do this on purpose? Did you know I would look?"

Collin can't hear what the other side is saying, but he knows it's nothing good when he sees Dylan become short of breath. He unbuckles both of their seatbelts, hoping it does at least /something/.

"Lucy, this is not just bad news," Dylan hisses to the phone. "This is enough to bring my family down."

Lucy? Collin recognizes that name. He's certain she is Damon's former secretary, but he doesn't know anything more than that.

Then, Lucy says something that makes Dylan laugh, but the sound is full of ridicule. "Dad plans to hand down everything once that older brother of mine gets married to him. What then?"

Collin brings a hand over the fist on Dylan's lap, trying to calm the Omega with his pheromones at the same time. He doesn't know what the conversation is about but he doesn't want to see Dylan like this.

"Is this why I can't see him?" Dylan asks, trying to blink away the tears welling in his eyes.

When that first drop rolls down his cheek, Collin is quick to wipe it away with a gentle hand. At this close, he finally hears the female voice, yet he only catches the last part: "... clean your family's mess first."

The call ends just as abruptly as it started. Collin continues to wipe away the tears on Dylan's face, his inner alpha crying along with their Omega. He can't take his sight away even as Dylan closes his eyes in defeat.

"What do I do?" Dylan mumbles, leaning back on his seat. "I only know how to act."

He doesn't hesitate to say, "I'll help you."

At his offer, Dylan stares at him with red-rimmed eyes. He can see the hesitation in them, the terrified gaze looking for an answer, but Collin knows there's no need for Dylan to ask. He's ready to help the Omega with whatever it is.

In a quiet voice, Dylan says, "You can't let my brother know."

"Okay." He is quick to promise, willing to do anything as long as the tears stop.

Without a word, Dylan hands him the paper and the folder. Collin goes wide-eyed at what he reads.

Ties to the black market? Purchase of illegal drugs? Synthetic pheromones?

What is this? And what has his friend gotten into?

--

Damon wants to rest. He doesn't know why Heath even visited him at the hospital if all he's going to do is yell at him.

Is this a new tactic on how to torment an ex-lover? If it is, it is extremely effective. His fatigue has only gotten worse since Heath entered the VIP room.

He also doesn't understand what the Beta has been spouting since earlier. Is it something about leaving his family alone? Is he asking why Damon is involving them in their breakup?

Damon doesn't know. None of Heath's words make sense.

He turns his head to the side, opting to look at the view outside the windows. It's the same view he's been seeing for the past couple of days, but there's not a lot of options available for someone who can't leave the hospital bed.

Heath yells again but Damon tunes him out. He can't spend his limited waking hours listening to his former lover rant, especially since he still doesn't understand how he has gotten to this point. It's getting hard to think when all his body wants to do is sleep.

However, when Heath rattles the bed, Damon has no choice but to pay attention.

"How can you do this to me? Is it because of what I said that you sent the police to my house?" The Beta's tears do nothing to dampen the indignation on his face.

Damon can't even sigh, the action too taxing, but he's tired and he doesn't want to prolong this conversation. So, he forces himself to say, "I didn't call the police to your house, Heath."

It's obvious that Heath doesn't believe him, scowling at him from the foot of the bed.

Before Heath expresses his doubt, Damon interrupts him with, "I don't know who did, but if you're not hiding anything, there's no need for you to react like this."

Of course, there's also the matter of reputation and whatnot, but Damon doesn't care about that.

"Leave," he orders, and Heath does so without a word.

He's intrigued by whatever mess the Valentino family has gotten into this time, but the curiosity disappears as he falls unconscious again.