The Bad Boy's Dirty Little Secret BL Chapter 90: What Keeps the World Going

Kai’s P.O.V

There was a tense moment of silence after I said what I said, and it went on long enough for me to start being uncomfortable under their smug scrutiny. Then all of a sudden, Jonathan did the worst thing next to staying quiet.

He burst out laughing at my statement.

I watched with a grimace as he threw back his head, laughing as if I had make a terrible joke that even a naïve little boy wouldn’t make. As I sat there, in front of them, being a subject to their mockery, I felt vulnerable and naked, like he had stripped me bare and made the whole world watch.

Was what I said so wrong? I could indeed give Night my love, something that Jonathan had failed to give his own child. But apparently, it wasn’t the kind of answer that Jonathan had wanted, and now, my words felt empty, hollow, as if they meant nothing to him.

Especially when I had said it with utmost sincerity.

“Love?” Jonathan repeated, still laughing. “What can you do with your so-called love, kid? Will love pay your electricity bills? Your monthly groceries? Can you buy a new house with your love?” He suddenly sobered up, and it was kind of frightening to see how quickly he changed his expression.

I squirmed under the force of his gaze, feeling more insignificant than I had ever felt in my life.

“Money is the only thing that keeps the world going,” he said. “And it’s the only thing that will help Night in the future. He is my son, and I know what’s best for him, and this ‘love’ of yours, certainly isn't what he needs, nor will it keep him fed or have a roof over his head.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Jonathan put a hand up. As much as I hated the guy, he just had a certain presence that made me act against how I wanted to act. I wanted to stay firm and not let him trample all over me, but with one hand he was able to keep me subdued.

He kept going, “Rosalie and Night’s marriage has been fixed ever since they were children, and she has waited for him her entire life.” Next to him, Rosalie nodded at his words, and I resisted the urge to scoff. “Isn’t it unfair for her that you’re keeping him all to yourself now? Don’t you feel selfish, ashamed to be with a man who’s already taken?”

“Taken?” This time, I couldn’t keep it down as I scoffed at Jonathan. “You talk about Night, your own damn son, as if he is some kind of bargaining chip, a transaction you can’t pass up, some sort of materialistic possession that you can use as you please rather than an actual person with human emotions. Your own son!”

Jonathan seemed to have mastered the art of keeping his emotions held under lock and key, because he looked at me now with an expressionless face. Perhaps that was why he was a successful businessman.

“You say he is taken, but has this arranged marriage been with his permission, with his consent?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “Night is an adult, a grown man who can make his own decisions. I’m not keeping him locked in a gilded cage like you are. He’s free to choose whoever he wants and he chose me!”

I took a deep breath, trying my best to regain my composure as I thought about what to say next carefully.

“Night and I are both in university now, but I will graduate next year, and by then, I will get an internship and secure a good job and try my best to support Night. And I will do so because of my love for him, “ I said. “So, yes, I guess love does pay the bills after all.”

Jonathan smiled humorlessly. “And do you think that simply supporting him will be enough?” he asked. “I admire your naivety. Unfortunately for you, I have been his father long enough to understand that he lived his life in luxury and thus loves to spend and do things his own way.”

He gave me a pitying glance, and I hated how it made me feel uneasy.

“But with you, he’ll have to work and support himself as well if he wants to afford the life he used to have.”

I snapped then, my temper flaring. “At least with me he will be happy, and most importantly, he can be himself, away from his homophobic father who hates to admit who his son really is.”

At that, Jonathan raised a questioning brow, his expression shifting subtly to something I couldn’t really name. “Do you really think I am homophobic, as you say?” he asked me, and I could not for the life of me understand why he felt there was a need to clarify that.

Wasn’t it obvious? The way he acted around Night, the way he treated Night, all pointed to one thing.

But as I studied him, his eyes told a different story. There was something there…something that I couldn’t really pinpoint, but at the same time, I couldn’t deny it bothered me.

Why would he ask me such a question when he had clearly proven to us over and over that he didn’t like his son hanging around men? What was he really trying to do here?

He’s just trying to get under your skin, I reminded myself.

“I just want Night to have a life and people who will stand by him through thick and thin,” he said. “I looked into your record, boy, just so you know. And I have seen the type of person you used to be before you met my son. And that’s when you suddenly changed.”

He chuckled, but again it was mirthless. “How… admirable. But you are still young and you do not yet know the meaning of love, and how it fits in the world we live in today. So you should leave Night while there is still time. While it is still early to turn back.”

For once, even if he kept saying such things that usually would make me angry, I actually did not feel any kind of animosity from him… only a certain kind of sincerity that I hadn't expected from Jonathan Winters.

But why did he deny being the homophobe that he was when he clearly had been treating Night like he could not stand his son being gay? And now he was here making claims about wanting Night to live a comfortable life. Somehow, his words started to make some twisted kind of sense in my mind, and I didn’t like that thought.

I was silent for a while, trying to arrange my thoughts, but before I could mull over it further or argue my cause, there came a sound of screeching tires from outside the mansion, as well as the roar of an engine coming to a stop.

And there was some kind of commotion as the guards sprang into action, and the words died on my tongue.