Snippets and Sneak Peek (Chapter 5) Pt. 2 (Patreon)

Hey guys 👋 I'm here delivering the sneak peek I promised yesterday. Unlike some other previous sneak peeks, this one will be more like a compilation of snippets from the pretty long talk and meeting with Luka, Grandpa, Rin, and Takashi 😄

For these snippets' purposes, I'm going to assume MC has been flirting with both Ash and Rin, they feel love-hate but chose to reconnect with Yvette, and that Ash executed the Commissioner instead and they were really/solely interested in becoming the heir.

* * * * *

Suddenly, Rin speaks up, cutting through the little moment of silence. "If I may, I would like to join this investigation group and help." All eyes immediately fall on ${rin_him}, but ${rin_he} continues without missing a beat, "After all, my father did offer our family's assistance in this endeavour."

Takashi frowns. "Yes, I did, but I offered information. Are you sure you want to get more involved in this? I mean, I'm a bit glad and proud that you're taking such initiative, but it could get dangerous…" He trails off, clearly conflicted.

"Yeah, Rin… Please think about it carefully," you tell ${rin_him} and you mean it. You don't want ${rin_him} get hurt.

Rin is silent for a second before saying determinedly, "Yes, I'm sure. I consider you as one of the few people that I sincerely care and I will do my best to assist you, and if requires me to be more directly involved, then so be it."

Your cheeks heat up at the declaration.

*if (rin_shy > rin_bold)
"T—Thank you, Rin," you stutter out and you see ${rin_him} smiling softly. You return the smile before quickly ducking in embarrassment. Your skin is tingling from both the blush and the stares from the other occupants in the room.

*if (rin_bold > rin_shy)
"Thank you, Rin," you breathe out. You see ${rin_him} smiling softly and you return the smile in kind. Out of the corner of your eyes, you notice Takashi staring at the two of you with a mix of surprise and excitement evident on his face, his lips are open slightly in surprise. Your uncle and grandpa are not as expressive as Takashi, but you can practically feel their interest and approval of… whatever the hell just happened between you and Rin.

* * * * *

Uncle Luka claps his hands once. "Alright, I think we're just about done here…" He makes a move to stand up and that's when you remember about the question you've been wanting to ask him since your talk with your mother.

"Wait!" you quickly interject and everyone freezes in their seat. "I had a pretty long talk with my mother when she visited this morning. I asked her whether she regretted everything she did and she said yes, but she also told me that you forbid her from visiting me, Uncle Luka? Is that true?" You fidget uncomfortably in your seat as your uncle sits back down and frowns.

"Did she tell you anything more about it?" he asks.

You shake your head. "No. She just said that you didn't want her to visit me and that she was afraid of what you would do to her if she tried."

"That—" your uncle growls before catching himself from cursing out your mother in front of you. "I gave her a chance, a [i]last[/i] chance for her to be in your life. She wanted to still be able to visit you every now and then, sneakily, mind you, because if her fans found out that she has a ${mc_son}, then her career might be ruined. I didn't—and still don't—think that you deserve to be treated that way. For her to come see you secretly as if you're some kind of an embarrassment. I know that as long as the public doesn't know that you're her ${mc_son}, she would never truly be able to become a mother figure to you and I think that might hurt you even more. So, I gave her an ultimatum: Claim you as her ${mc_son} and let the whole world know and she'll be able to visit you freely, or stick to the decision she made when you were born but her career would be guaranteed safe. And you know what she chose…"

She chose her career over me… Twice…

It's such a painful realization that you feel like screaming, bashing stuff, and just lashing out in anger.

Why? Was I not enough? Or was I never the thing she ever even needed in the first place?

But you don't. It's not the time nor the place, so you bury those feelings back down as far as you can as you try to remind yourself that she regrets her decisions and that she already apologized.

Still, you'd be lying if you say that you're not regretting forgiving and agreeing to reconnect with her.

No. Stop.

You gotta stay hopeful that it might lead to something better for both you and your mother in the future. Maybe it's an opportunity to finally heal from these wounds from the past.

There's also the fact that your uncle keeping this a secret from you and him making such a big decision for you. Although, to be fair, you were just ten when he did that and he most likely did that not out of malice. After all, you probably wouldn't know any better, right? Or would've things turned out differently with your mother if he had just let her visit you occasionally? Or maybe, the better question you should be asking yourself is what you feel about all of this now that you know it?

#Uncle Luka made the right decision for me and I'm grateful to him for it.

#Uncle Luka shouldn't have made the decision without asking me, but I'm still grateful.

#Uncle Luka didn't have the right to make the decision without at least consulting me.

* * * * *

Uncle Luka didn't have the right to make the decision without at least consulting me.

To be honest, you're a bit upset to know that he made such an important decision for you without at least asking your opinion or feeling about it. You know he did that for your sake… But still, it rubs you the wrong way. What if things could've changed for the better? Maybe your relationship with your mother would've been different and not be so estranged.

"Uncle Luka…" you begin as you look for the best words to use to let him know. "With all due respect, I don't think you had the right to make such a crucial decision for me without asking me first. Didn't I have a say about whether my mother should be given a second chance or not?"

Your uncle frowns. "Okay, $!{nick}… First of all, I did have the right to make whatever decision that I thought would've been for your best. Your father appointed me as your guardian in his will. And, I can assure you that she had no real intention of being your mother. She didn't want to risk her career for you. I had a whole conversation with her and I could see that whatever half-assed attempt she was planning to be in your life would only end up in disappointment and pain for you. I was just trying to save you from that," he explains heatedly before lowering his voice as he continues, "You had just lost your father and you were still grieving… It would've most likely clouded your judgment and I didn't want you to make a decision that you'd regret."

"Even if it might've ended in regret… at least it would've been my decision," you insist. "Like when I said yes this morning. I know the potential consequences, alright? And I'm ready to accept them."

“Wait, what?” Your uncle's eyes harden as his head snaps to you and you can also feel Rin and Takashi looking at you curiously, while your grandpa just scowls, his mood darkening from the talk about your mother.

“She said she wanted to try reconnecting with me, rebuilding the burnt bridge—which, I personally feel, has never existed in the first place. And I said yes. But at least I know now not to get my hopes up too high and that I'm ready for another potential disappointment.”

“Oh, so she wants to reconnect now that she's been outed,” he scoffs, shaking his head. “You're too forgiving, $!{nick}. She doesn't know how lucky she is… to have been given so many chances. But you're an adult now, and I promise won't meddle in your decision. I'm sorry if you felt like I stepped out of line…”

He sounds tired and you immediately feel bad. You just unfairly blasted him in front of your grandpa and the Aikawas over your mother who chose her career over you.

"No, it's okay, Uncle… You don't need to apologize," you quickly—and awkwardly—reassure him. "I know you thought it was the best course of action and that you only wanted to protect me… and I appreciate that."

* * * *

"Ash executed him for you, didn't ${ash_he}?" your grandpa asks. “$!{ash_he}… implied that you were the one who ordered ${ash_him}. Is that true?”

Ash… Still trying to cover for me…

“It's okay if you didn't…” your uncle reassures you. “We promise we'll understand.”

EMOTIONAL MC
“I—I just couldn't do it!” you blurt out. “I don't know why, but I couldn't bring myself to kill him. I tried to let him live…” you admit, hanging your head dejectedly.

STOIC MC
“No, it was not me. Ash did it of ${ash_his} own volition. I tried to let him live…” you trail off before shaking your head softly. “I'm still not sure why, but I just couldn't bring myself to kill him.” Your eyes focus on a spot on the carpet underneath your feet.

The room is silent except for the sound of clothes rustling and a second later, a warm hand is patting your ${mc_hair_length} hair affectionately. You look up to see that it is your grandpa, his usually cold grey eyes soften in concern. Blinking in surprise, you quickly scoot over to the left to give him some space and he sits down.

“Your kind heart worries me and your uncle, $!{nick},” he says, leaning in to give you a kiss on the forehead before stroking your back comfortingly. “I'm not saying that you shouldn't be kind. Kindness itself is not a weakness, as proven by your own father. But you should never, ever be harmless. If you are harmless like a rabbit, the wolves and the foxes—people like the commissioner and the Nemesis Project… They will pounce on you at the slightest hint of weakness and devour you alive, sooner or later… And your uncle and I would not be there to protect you forever… As much as we would love to do that.”

Your heart quickens in your chest. The thought of one day having to lose both your uncle and grandfather is making you anxious and you fidget on the sofa, some cold sweat breaking on your lower back. The drumming of your heartbeat is getting louder, filling your ear like a rushing waterfall, but you try focusing on your grandpa's touch on your shoulder, clinging to the sensation like an anchor in the middle of a maelstrom. Soon, your heart begins to slow and you can hear your surrounding clearly again as if your head breaks through the water.

"$!{nick}, $!{nick}, are you okay?" your grandpa asks and you realize that everyone in the room is looking at you worriedly and both Rin's and your uncle's arms hang outstretched, although Rin quickly drops ${rin_hers} before others can notice.

"Uh, yeah, yeah," you quickly reply awkwardly, failingly trying to act unbothered.

Your uncle frowns, eyes still scanning you in concern as he retracts his hand back. "Well, as I was saying… Try not to worry too much right now, because we'll be here to help guide you as you step up as the new head of the family and we'll continue to do so, well… until we can't anymore."

Oh, yeah. Your uncle and grandpa really want you to become the next head and you used to be really enthusiastic about that. In fact, that has always been the future you envision for yourself. Are you still determined to become the head or has the experience last night made you change your mind? Either way, it's a good idea to start narrowing your focus into one or two specific future plans.