Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 136. Bad Habit

"So, mind telling me how you traveled back in time exactly?" Jake asked with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "No offense, but it's a little hard to swallow."

"You can talk!" Stephan snickered. "Who has the memories of his past lives again?"

A snort was his answer.

"You little...."

While the two threw jabs at each other, Gabriel stayed silent, his mind too busy pondering over Jake's question and what he could and could not say. Thus, whatever they bickered about went in one ear and out the other. It wasn't anything important, anyway.

All in all, just telling Jake that he and Misha somehow traveled back in time wouldn't do. His brother wasn't an airhead, and many questions flooded his mind after hearing this kind of fairytale-like story. Which, of course, wasn't anything surprising—but it was still a little troublesome.

So, how should Gabriel answer? What should he say? He hadn't had the time to plan this far ahead. He knew he should tell his brother the truth, but deep down, he couldn't help feeling distrustful. How he viewed Jake couldn't change in a mere few days, his hatred for his brother deeply rooted. It would take time before he could believe in anything Jake said, let alone confide in him.

In the end, though, Gabriel chose not to hide anything. If he wanted to establish a good relationship with Jake, he had to be honest. Besides, considering that he had dug out most of his brother's secrets, it was only fair to share some of his.

However, narrating his meeting with Santa Claus and explaining how the golden wristwatch worked made Gabriel's face grow somber. Santa had taken them for fools, just as he had feared, and the price to pay was hefty. Being reminded of this... Well, it put him in a foul mood, to say the least.

"...Santa Claus?" Jake repeated, a dumb look on his face. Now that Gabriel and Stephan were aware of his little charade, he didn't bother hiding his emotions. He had dropped the facade of the arrogant young master and wore his true face instead. "But seriously. Santa Claus?"

"I'm pretty sure 'Santa Claus' is just a convenient alias he uses to mess up with people's lives," Gabriel smiled coldly. "I still have no idea why he decided to send us back in time, but I guess it wasn't for anything good. At any rate, it wasn't for Misha to have his happy end."

In the second timeline, Misha was left alone to deal with the aftermath of his choices. His mother was dead, his sister was disabled, his father was overworking himself to the bones, and Gabriel died after accepting to travel in time in his stead. It was a far cry from a happy end.

What kind of face did the boy make as he held onto the cold, lifeless body of the man he loved? Gabriel couldn't even start to fathom it.

The only thing he could find comfort in was that Jake anonymously sent the contract Gabriel and Angela had agreed on to Misha, ensuring Angela couldn't break off the deal on her own. Masha thus never lacked money for her medical expenses, but that was just a mere consolation. It wouldn't bring back the dead, and Misha had forever lost his loved ones in that life. Even if Stephan, Dereck, and Vanessa did their best to help, Gabriel's death left a hole in his heart that could never be filled.

"So, what should we do now?" Stephan broke the tense atmosphere. "If we tell the others about Jake's memories of his past lives, it'll stir up a lot of unwanted questions."

"I know."

Misha could be dense at times and often jumped to conclusions, but he wasn't brainless. At one point, he'd realize that if Jake had memories of the previous timelines, it meant they went on. The timelines weren't reset to zero.