The Bad Boy's Dirty Little Secret BL Chapter 75: Reconciliation

Kai’s P.O.V

A chill went through my entire body, and I froze, eyes closed, waiting for the silence to break. I fully expected either of them to come up and slap me in the face. After all, this was an even bigger disappointment than hitting that pathetic scum.

I bet my parents never expected me to turn out this way, and just like most strict households, they too would be regretting having me as their son.

But the hit never came.

I slowly opened my eyes to figure out what was happening, and the faces that greeted me were not the ones that I thought I would see. My parents did not look angry at all—they were shocked, yes, but not offended about my existence.

What on earth was happening? Was I dreaming?

The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop myself from talking. “Why aren’t you angry? You don’t look angry.” I glanced at Night, to confirm that this was actually happening and that my parents actually didn’t seem angry at me.

It seemed that I wasn’t daydreaming about my parents’ reaction because even Night looked scared out of his mind, like he thought that once my parents got over their shock, they would go back to being angry, and most probably throw me out of the house as if I were an abomination.

Maybe that was what was happening here…? Maybe I was…we…were daydreaming…maybe my parents were frozen in shock…

But all these doubts were erased when my mother finally smiled as me, her expression easing as she took a step towards me. “I don’t mind if my son dates a boy, or a girl, for that matter. Truthfully, all I ever cared about was that my son was happy, and if that person can risk their own life to save my son, then why would I even complain?”

Her eyes filled with sadness as she looked at me. She took a step forward, hesitant, before reaching forward to take my hand. “I am sorry that I ever made you feel like I was going to hurt you for finding love in a boy. I suppose we failed as your parents in that regard as well.”

My legs felt so wobbly I thought I was going to collapse right then and there. I was feeling so relieved to have gotten such a huge burden off my chest that my body nearly gave up on me. If Night wasn’t holding onto me for dear life, his grip on mine almost punishing, then I may just have collapsed by now.

Now that my mother has said her piece, I was almost scared to hear what my father would say. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have my hopes up. But then again, there was a difference between my mom and my dad. A mother’s love could make her accept anything as long as her child was happy…but a father wasn’t so easily accepting.

I thought I could handle the rejection, after all, I had been preparing for this moment for a while now. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t scared out of my mind.

I expected my father to be just like Night’s, and that he would shun me or think of my ‘gayness’ as a phase, or that I was merely experimenting before settling down because that’s what ‘this generation’ was all about. I waited for the berating words to come…I waited for him to raise his hand…my heart hammering in my chest so loud that I was sure the entire room could hear me.

And when my father finally came forward, I winced…

…but he did not raise his hand on me. What he gave me instead was a warm embrace that I hadn't felt in…ages...

He was hugging me.

Oh.

Dumbstruck, I could not move or think straight. Was this actually happening to me right now? Was my own father—awful, neglectful father—actually hugging me as a response to my coming out?

In all my life experience, I had never thought that my strict parents—a pair so uptight that my sister would rather stay silent than tell them that she was being abused—would not only be accepting of their son dating a man, but actually praise Night as well.

But here I was, in my father’s embrace…feeling my heart swell with unknown emotions as I tried to keep the tears at bay.

“Kai,” he sighed into my hair. “I don’t know enough words to express just how disappointed I am with myself, how terrible I feel. It’s only now that I have actually realized just how… absent I had been. I had no idea how neglectful I had been towards my children, how absent I had been that had made you feel like you needed to hide your true self from your own family. I never meant for this to happen…I never meant for you or Kiara not to be able to trust me or your mother.”

He pulled away, but he wasn’t done yet. “We have been too hard on you two—I realize that now. You must have felt so alone, so unwanted. I am really sorry for having failed both of you.”

“Dad…” I tried to say something, but my throat closed up and my eyes started to sting. I forced myself not to get too emotional. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, because part of me still couldn’t believe that any of this was real.

But the small optimistic, wishful thinker part of me felt seen and heard. My father had never been like this before…I had never seen this side to my parents that weren’t concerned about our grades or our manners and how successful we were in our lives. This was all so new to me that it almost felt surreal.

My father placed a hand on my shoulder. “From now on, I’ll try to be present in both of your lives as much as I can. Perhaps it’s also good timing that I am now posted in our hometown, so I won’t be going anywhere far for work in the coming days.”

He turned to Kia next, and I could see the way she had already been crying, tears straining down her bruised cheeks. “Kia, I am so sorry that I left you in the hands of that bastard. I am sorry for not being able to see how your fiancé—or, ex-fiancé now—had been treating you so horribly. I even let it get to the point of you being abused.”

He stepped towards Kia, who stood from her seat, her legs wobbly. “I know I don’t deserve to be called your father because of that failure, but if you let me, I will do my best to make up for a lifetime’s worth of mistakes and negligence.”

He gingerly took her hand, as though he was scared that she would push him away, and when she didn’t, he took the engagement ring off her finger and threw it away to a far corner of the house. It came off easily, and I was glad for that.

“Dad!” Kia cried out, throwing her arms around him. My father wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her tightly as if he too was fighting back tears. She sobbed into the crook of his neck, and he stroked her back as consolation.

And all the while, even as I watched everything unfold with my own two eyes, I still could not believe what the hell was happening. Night looked up at me, his eyes filled with unshed tears as well.

I was about to embrace him to me when my mom came up to us to give us a hug. I was stunned at first, but when Night hugged her back eagerly, I found myself doing the same.

“You two can stay in Kai’s old room for the night,” she said, ruffling our hair affectionately when she pulled back. “It’s very late now, so you can just go back to your apartment tomorrow. Does that sound good?”

I felt conflicted, but after everything that had happened, I didn’t think I had the energy to go back to the apartment either.

Night grinned from beside me, tightening his grip on my hand for an instance as if telling me it was alright. “Fine by me.”

“Whatever he says,” I said with a shrug, but even as I tried to act chill about this entire thing, I could not keep the smile off my face.

The night had finally come to an end in unexpected ways. But what I was truly happy about was the fact that just when I had thought that my dirty little secret was about to break this family apart…and make me lose everything I ever knew…the reality turned out to be the exact opposite of my fears.

Not only did my family accept me with open arms, but they also accepted Night. And that was the greatest gift I could ever ask for.