Shutter

Chapter 28 - Filthy

It was three in the morning and neither of them went back to sleep. Each had different reasons not to and somehow, it relates to the person they are sitting next to each other.

Mikhail was on his phone scrolling through his messages while Soren was beside him slowly looking at the photos one by one. The latter's excitement couldn't be contained that no matter how much Kael told him to rest, he couldn't.

He looked like an idiot staring at photos for the past two hours.

"Kael?" Soren called with a seemingly weak voice as he turned to Mikhail. The young master averted his eyes from his phone to Soren and raised his eyebrow.

"Where was this?" He pointed to the picture. The pile was so thick that even though Soren had been looking through the photos for the past two hours, he was still halfway.

He didn't recognize any of the places the pictures were took.

"Hmm..." Mikhail tried to search his memory where that place was. When he remembered it, he smiled gently as what happened in that memory started flowing in his mind.

It was like the trace of euphoria he once took in after disappearing.

"It's Palais Garnier in France."

"Oh..." Soren couldn't help but gape at the magnificent architectural design of the structure. It was so intricate and grandeur. He had been to many places in his career as an actor but he never bothered stepping foot in places like this. But now that he saw Kael visiting one, his mind was telling him to visit it too.

But of course, the main attraction was the man in the middle of the photo.

He couldn't take his gaze off of Mikhail. He was breathtaking. The man wore a black three-piece suit that hugged his figure so well that it made his well-sculptured body stand out against the elegant background. His waist was lower in proportion compared to his chest and wide shoulders that made it even more enticing for anyone to look at.

"What's the occasion here?" Soren inquired.

"It's a wedding of an acquaintance. I was invited as one of the guests there."

"I see..."

Soren looked intently at the beauty of the place.

It was beautiful and it felt like he travelled back into the older centuries where structures like this carved with the skillful hands of a master sculpturer, builder, and painter were on the rise.

His eyes went back to Mikhail in the center and he inhaled deeply.

"You're beautiful," he praised subconsciously because he was thinking Mikhail was indeed beautiful in the photo but he spoke it without thinking. Soren's fingers traced over Mikhail's face and he felt his heart pump wildly.

He had seen Kael in a few occasions wearing a suit but that was when they were younger. The photo in his hand looked like it was taken recently and Kael was already around twenty-seven in this.

The young master's features had matured well. The smile plastered on his face was elegant and supreme. Compared to when he was a teenager where his face was still a bit on the softer side, the one in the photo was that of a dashing prince who fit every lady's midnight dreams.

When he was done admiring the photo, Soren proceeded to look at the next one but he stopped altogether as he froze in his spot.

It was still a photo of Kael in Palais Garnier but this time, he was with someone in the picture.

Prince Julian Witheridge.

Soren stared intently at the photo.

Julian and Mikhail were shaking hands in it and they both had smiles on their faces.