Hello Stranger(completed)

Chapter 19

"Oh you are awake, you know you made me so worried its been two days since you are sleeping" it was Tay who spoke New looked at him without saying anything now he understood why he is in Tay's bedroom "You know you scared a shit of me New you know how scared I was seeing you like that?" He continued New felt a bit guilty wasn't it him who should be taking care of Tay but looks like it was Tay who was taking care of him, tears were there in New's eyes.

"What's wrong, my love? Why are you crying?" Tay's voice was soft and reassuring. New struggled to find the words amidst his emotions. "I... I'm sorry," he managed to utter, his voice trembling with uncertainty. Tay's smile remained gentle and understanding. "It's alright. I understand you have a lot on your mind. Take your time," Tay said, offering a comforting gesture. "Here, have this and try to relax. Your well-being comes first." Tay's sweet tone and caring demeanor eased New's heartache, offering a glimmer of solace in their shared moment of vulnerability.

New felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards Tay, realizing that Tay was truly the most incredible person he had ever encountered. With this realization, New made a firm decision—he couldn't keep Tay in the dark any longer.

"Te... do you remember when we got the deal with that multi-million dollar company?" New's voice carried a hint of nostalgia as he glanced at Tay, who nodded in response. How could Tay forget that momentous day? It marked a pinnacle of success for their company, a milestone they had worked tirelessly to achieve. Yet, it was also the day when he noticed the subtle but unmistakable distance that had begun to grow between him and New. "I... I went to meet a client, and you had a meeting too. But that client I met, it was all a setup, orchestrated by Kay. The whole deal was fake, designed to distract you so that you wouldn't pursue that million-dollar project," New revealed, the weight of his words hanging heavy in the air. Tay listened in stunned silence, absorbing the shocking revelation.

 'He spiked my drink... I don't know when I lost my consciousness when I woke up... I... I... I was in a hotel room.' New's voice quivered with the recollection, as if the harrowing experience had unfolded just yesterday. Tay, his usual stoic self, remained silent, though his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil. New recognized the telltale sign of Tay's panic, yet chose not to address it, respecting Tay's silent struggle.

"And there... there was someone... next to me, asleep... and it was Toby, Te. I feel unclean, tainted... you shouldn't have me near you. I'm sorry for hiding this from you." Tears welled up in New's eyes, his voice choked with emotion. Confessing to Tay lifted a burden from his soul, even if Tay's response was uncertain. He braced himself for rejection, yet felt a newfound sense of readiness to face it. 

As New poured out his plea, his voice broke with desperation, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. The silence that followed Tay's refusal to respond weighed heavily on him, gnawing at his heart like a relentless storm. With each passing moment of Tay's silence, New's desperation deepened, suffocating him in a suffocating embrace of guilt and regret.

"Te... please," New choked out, his voice barely a whisper amidst the turmoil of his emotions. "Say something... anything. I can't bear this... your silence."

But Tay remained unmoved, his expression inscrutable as he continued to hold New in his embrace. The absence of words only fueled New's anguish, amplifying the echoes of his own self-condemnation.

"Why won't you speak?" New's voice cracked, his desperation spilling over into his words. "Say you hate me... blame me for everything. Just... please... don't shut me out like this."

But the silence persisted, stretching out like an endless abyss between them. In that moment, New felt utterly alone, trapped in a void of his own making. With each passing second, the weight of Tay's silence threatened to crush him beneath its unbearable weight.