Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 69. A New Day

At seven in the morning, Alexey was mercilessly kicked out of the house by his son. Still half-asleep, he stumbled on the snowy doorstep and almost fell face-first onto the asphalt—it had the merit of scaring him awake.

After steadying himself, Alexey heaved a sigh of relief; it had been a close one this time, and he had seen the ground from up close. Feeling somewhat wronged, he glanced over his shoulder at his son.

Why did Misha have to be so ruthless so early in the morning...?

Ignoring his father's puppy eyes, Misha stood in the doorway, a stern expression on his doll-like face. They stared at each other, and seconds went by until Misha lost patience and roared, "What are you doing?! Get moving, or you're gonna be late for work!"

Alexey's whole body seemed to jolt as if he had been struck by lightning. He then turned around and dashed to the car like a madman; if he were to be late for work, one of his colleagues would give Misha a call and tattle. Those traitors had long forgotten what camaraderie was, only knowing how to dot on his son.

Sometimes, Alexey felt deep regret, wanting to slap his past self for bringing Misha to the office. If he had known his son would conquer everyone's heart and use his colleagues to spy on him, he'd have left him at home—even if Misha had to spend the day alone. Anyway, this child was mature enough not to burn down the house in his absence. Probably.

In any case, what was done was done.

A few weeks ago, Alexey had to go to the company for an important meeting. It required his skills and couldn't be put off. However, his wife had died only a few days ago, and his daughter was still lying in a hospital bed. In those conditions, the idea of leaving his son in an empty house put him ill at ease. The tragedy was too recent, and he was afraid his son would do something he shouldn't.

Of course, he thought of asking someone to babysit Misha, but he didn't know anyone who could, and his deceased wife's family lived quite far away while his was in Russia. He could have asked Gabriel, but he was dealing with matters at home and thus couldn't come to look after his son.

With no choice left, Alexey decided to bring Misha to the company.

Everyone knew what happened to him on Christmas Eve and was very considerate. No one complained about the child's presence and smiled gently instead, treating him with extra care.

While Alexey was busy presenting their new mining project to a few affiliates, his colleagues took care of his son. Little did he know they would also exchange contacts because Misha said he was worried about his father. The boy wanted them to let him know how Alexey was doing. After all, his father tended to bottle up his emotions, and he was afraid he wouldn't say anything until he exploded.

If only that were all, Alexey wouldn't complain. But his son had become worse than an overbearing wife. Misha was indeed worried about his emotional state but also everything else that concerned him. What he was doing at work, what he was doing outside work; his son had to know everything.

Whenever Alexey was late to work, Misha would nag him all night, meaning he could say goodbye to his supper. His son supervised his schedule as a secretary would and strictly forbade him from drinking. The last time he bought a bottle of vodka, he was scolded until his ears were ringing; he even thought they would fall off at some point.

Sometimes, Alexey wondered who was the father and who was the son.

"Wait! Don't forget your lunch!" the boy reminded him as he ran to his father, stuffing a lunch box into his arms. "And don't cause problems for your colleagues."

"I won't." Alexey paused before adding, "Then, I'm off."

Misha responded with a snort and quickly went back inside, escaping the cold weather. He watched his father's car leave the driveway through the window, then veered to the kitchen.