Venom

《 Ninety - Six 》

The next day, Yifan went to work alone since it was his lover's off day. Lorenzo sat in the living room with Haoran and Grandma Jia. The old woman sat on the sofa as Lorenzo laid in the other one with Haoran fast asleep on his chest. The two watched a Chinese drama on the large flat screen on the wall.

"He played all morning and now he's napping." Jia looked at the sleeping child affectionately as Lorenzo smiled.

The man kissed his son's hair and held him securely. "He's my bundle of joy, Grandma Jia."

"You raised him well, hun." Jia said to Lorenzo. "His way of talking, his manners, and the way he follows Maelin and Zhen around. I love how much he adores Yifan."

"Does he miss me while I'm working?" Lorenzo asked. "Even though I'm away, I always think of him."

"Of course, he does." Jia smiled. "He misses you but he tells me he's happy that you and Yifan are spending time together. He says you used to cry a lot when Yifan was away."

"I-It was hard. I felt as if I had forgotten how to do everything. I would wake up, work, eat, sleep, but I became numb to life. The moment I left, Jade and Rosy took care of me. I tried so hard to forget Yifan but I couldn't, Grandma Jia. I couldn't even think about seeing anyone else. I couldn't force myself to be with some other man because Yifan had my heart. I left it with him before I walked out of his life." Lorenzo looked down as sadness formed in his eyes. "I was broken inside completely but had small moments of happiness when Haoran would comfort me."

"I'm sorry, Lorenzo." Jia had sadness written all over her wrinkled face. "I'm sorry I separated you by taking him to Shanghai. I'm sorry for not letting him see you."

"Grandma J-Jia, please..it was never your fault." The man shook his head.

"The love you both have for each other, may God protect it with all his will." Grandma Jia said and Lorenzo smiled.

"Grandma Jia, what's going to happen? Everything is going too quietly after Yifan did that interview."

The old woman smiled and told the man not to stress. Jia didn't have the heart to tell Lorenzo that his husband had been almost attacked several times since that day. Her grandson had forced her to promise him that she wouldn't tell Lorenzo. If the smaller man was to find out that Jacob's men had attempted to shoot Yifan again, Lorenzo would panic and let his fear take over his actions. The plan Yifan had made, held no space to act on with emotion. Everything had to be done with a clear head, otherwise everything could go wrong. Dangerously wrong.

"Time will heal everything, Lorenzo." Jia said calmly. "Don't stress. Yifan wouldn't like that, right?"

"Yes." Lorenzo smiled and looked back at Haoran.

The day passed with Haoran and Lorenzo spending time together. The man took his son shopping with Mr. Jun following them. When night came, Yifan returned from work but he didn't seem to be in a good mood. Everyone noticed but no one said a single word during dinner. Lorenzo was worried as he observed Yifan. The older man had greeted his man at the door with a kiss but Yifan hadn't even smiled at him. The moment their lips had parted, Yifan left to go upstairs without speaking to Lorenzo.

After dinner, Yifan picked up his son and went upstairs, not talking to his lover again. Grandma Jia noticed the hurt in Lorenzo's eyes and laid a hand on his shoulder. "He might've had a tough day to work."

"M-Maybe." Lorenzo stayed downstairs a bit longer as the others went to sleep. For some, he felt anxious to go to their bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, he entered the room to see Yifan walking out of the bathroom. The man was shirtless, only dressed in black track pants. Yifan's dark black locks were slightly wet and falling over his noir eyes that watched him eerily. Lorenzo felt uneasy under his husband's gaze. He swallowed and forced himself to speak.