Silent Hearts: Operation Breaking His Ice Heart (Complete)

Chapter 5

Rhythm's POV:

"What's going on? Why did Ada suddenly go quiet? Did you do something? Knowing you, did you say something to him? Did you offend him?" Ceidence said, clearly annoyed. I stayed silent.

"What the heck! Could you watch your words? We know him; he's the son of Uncle Natnat's friend. His family treasures him."

"I know. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just joking. I didn't think he'd be offended."
"What exactly did you say to him?" Treyton
asked, looking at me.

"I asked how many sugar daddies he has." Ceidence and Treyton both closed their eyes and shook their heads. "Look, he was putting back the baking tools, and I knew he wanted them..."

"But that doesn't mean you can say something like that. Anyone would be offended by your words. Think sometimes, Rhythm! My gosh!"

"Your brother is right. I can tolerate your words, but not everyone can handle your attitude," Treyton added. I just nodded. I knew I was wrong and had nothing else to say. The whole ride was silent, but I couldn't shake the unease. He said he didn't have a boyfriend, yet the way Sunoo hugged him earlier made me want to push him away.

When we got home, I went straight to my room. I wasn't going to explain. I was ready for Mom's nagging later. I didn't even eat. I just tried to focus on my assignments, but I couldn't concentrate because of what happened. I was frustrated. I grabbed my phone and composed a message. Afterward, I took a shower, dried my hair, and lay down. I was about to fall asleep when there was a knock at the door. I got up immediately and opened it. No surprise, it was Dad.

"Dad, uh... is there a problem?" I opened the door, and he came in. He closed it behind him, and we both sat on the bed.

"How's school? How's your studies?" This is Dad.

"School's fine, Dad," I replied briefly.

"Are you sure?"

"I know Cei spilled everything to you." I took a deep breath. "And I know, it's all my fault. No explanation. Just a pure sorry," I said.
Dad smiled at me and put his arm around me.

"You know what to do." I nodded.

"Is this your mom's scholar? What's his name, Ade..."

"Adelaide, Dad. He's been my classmate since grade 8," I said. "Yesterday, Treyton bumped into him, and he didn't accidentally spill his lunch, so we had lunch with him. And Ceidence... it looks like he made a new frienny." I smiled a bit imagining how cute they are. Mostly Ada.

"And..."

"This afternoon, he had no choice because Ceidence dragged him along, and we went shopping. I knew he wanted those baking tools, even though he didn't say it. That's why I took the initiative to put them in the cart. But I ended up saying something that offended him," I confessed.

"You like him?" I immediately looked at him.

"Dad?"

"Well, ahmmm. Hahaha. Just a random question."


"So, are you friends?" I shook my head. "Why not? Your brother said you sit next to each other in class. And if I'm not mistaken, he's even your class president," Dad said in disbelief.

"Well, it seems like Cei spilled a lot," I replied. We both fell silent.

We looked up when the door opened. It was Mom.

"Fix your mess, Rhy! What do I always tell you? Respect others and be friendly. Especially you—watch your mouth. Choose your words before you speak. I know what you did. He's the son of Uncle Natnat's friend. We know his story. We owe them big time, especially his parents. So apologize to him. Do you understand?" I stood up and approached her, hugging her.

"Yes, Mom. I'm sorry again." She hugged me back.

"Then sleep now." She glanced at Dad. He immediately stood up, and they both left the room. Mom was in a sulking mood again, judging by the way she stared at Dad. I quickly closed the door and lay down. Without knowing, I already fallen asleep.

The next day, I left early, not waiting for Cei because I had something to do. I stopped by my locker for the cookies, but I was disappointed to find nothing there. I waited for a few minutes, but still nothing. So I went to the admin office, hoping to find Ada. However, a staff member told me he hadn't arrived yet. I passed by the locker room again, glancing at my locker, but even as time ran out, there was still nothing hanging there. So I decided to go to the classroom. Suddenly, the room fell silent. I wasn't sure if they were scared of me or what. They could make noise—I didn't mind. I started reading until Sunoo arrived. I checked the time. Only 30 minutes until our first teacher arrived, but Ada still wasn't here. So I stood up and approached Sunoo. He seemed surprised by my presence.

"Is Lai— I mean, Adelaide—coming to class?" Shit!

"Ahm... I don't know. I've been calling him for a while, but he's not answering," he said, worried.

"Is something wrong?" He suddenly smiled.

"What's with that smile?" I asked.

"Nothing. Did my friend do something for you to be looking for him?" He seemed to know something.

"Nothing. I just wanted to discuss something about the report," I reasoned.

"But he told me he'd be working alone on the project; he didn't even want me to join his group," Sunoo said. "Well, who would say no to his cru... Never mind." I realized I wouldn't get a straight answer from him, so I sat back down. The teacher arrived and started the discussion. A few minutes later, Ada burst in, out of breath.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm late," he said.

"It's okay. Just take a seat," she replied. He was still catching his breath. And wait—

"Why are you limping?" I asked, puzzled.

"Ahm... It's nothing. I just slipped," he said, avoiding my gaze. I looked closely at him and saw a bruise on the side of his lip. I pushed his hair aside, and my eyes widened when I saw his reddened cheek, with parts starting to turn purple.

"What the fuck! What happened here?" I didn't care if I drew attention.

"Your tone, Rhythm! Our teacher is still here. Don't mind me. I'm okay. Itold you, I just slipped," he said, looking away.

"No! This is serious. We need to go to the clinic. We need to clean this up." I stood up and looked at the teacher, who nodded. Well, no one can say no to me. I'm a Thompson. No one can stop me.

"Ouch!" Damn! I noticed the scrape on his arm, so I lifted him up.

"Not here, Rhythm. I said I'm okay. It's just a small thing. Put me down," he said shyly. I find he's cute. God! why now? i ignore him and I didn't budge. I held him gently so he wouldn't fall. When we got to the clinic, we were immediately attended to—I think our teacher informed them.

He stayed silent as the nurse treated his bruises and wounds. Seeing the bruises and scrapes made my blood boil with anger at whoever did this to him. I didn't believe for a second that he just slipped. Damn it! I was seething with rage. No one should be bullied in this school. And no one should be a bully.

"Who did this to you?" I tried to keep calm. Seeing him like this made my heart ache. He shook his head.

"I told you, I just slipped," he said with a smile.

"You can lie to others, but not to me." He kept shaking his head.

"If you won't tell me, then I'll find out myself." I was about to stand when he grabbed my hand. We were both suddenly jolted by an electric spark.

"This is nothing compared to what I did to them. I won't let them push me around," he said. "Please, don't get involved. This is my fight. Don't drag your name into this. This is a catfight," he said calmly.

"A catfight? With you covered in bruises!" I shouted. He just stayed silent.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout." I sat down beside him. "Are you feeling anything else?" He shook his head.

I was the one who treated his wounds. It hurt me every time I saw him wince in pain whenever I accidentally touched his injury.

"You don't have to do this. Go back to the classroom. I can handle myself," he had been pushing me to leave for a while now. Does he hate me?

"And I told you that I don't want to. I'll stay here with you, and besides, I'm the owner's child, and I'll be the owner in the future," I said.

"I don't want you to get involved in this mess. What will Sir Gulf say? That you neglected your studies just because of a classmate? I don't want that."

"And what will my mom say if I neglected her scholar, knowing that I could help? My mom wouldn't mind about that. She would be even angrier if I left you here and did nothing..." My sentence was cut off when my phone suddenly lit up. He also glanced at it, grabbed the ice bag from my hand, and placed it on his cheek.

"Done. You're welcome. Just take care of Lai," I smiled. I can never hide anything from Ceidence. Someone must have told him what happened. I looked at Ada, and I caught him looking at me, so he quickly looked away.

"You can go back to the classroom now. I'm really okay. Thank you for your concern," he said shyly.

"Look at me when you're talking to me." He looked at me but still avoided my gaze.

"Thank you..." he said.

"I'm sorry," I cut him off. "I'm sorry for offending you yesterday, I didn't mean it. It was a joke, but it wasn't a good one." He just looked at me. "Please forgive me..."

"It's okay. You did go a bit too far, but I'm used to that kind of talk, so I don't even know why I was surprised. I know you're aware of my family's whole story since Sir Nat is your uncle and a friend of my parents. No harm done," he said.

"But still, I'm very sorry. My mom was mad at me last night because of what happened, and even my brother and Trey were disappointed in me. That's why I haven't been speaking much because sometimes, the way I talk, I don't realize I'm hurting someone, like what happened yesterday." He smiled. "Why?"

"It's just the first time I've heard you speak in such a long sentence." I smiled too. "You're handsome." His eyes widened, and he looked away with a smile.

"That's not new to me."

"S-sorry. It slipped out." He avoided looking at me.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." He stood up, but I saw him wince, so I quickly stood up too.

"Be careful. Don't stand up just yet." He sat down again. I touched his forehead and neck. Why is he flushed? "Hey! How are you feeling? Why are you flushed?" He shook his head. "No! You're not okay. You're also warm. Do you have a fever?" Just then, the door opened, and my mom arrived.

"Mom, why are you here?"

"What happened? Oh my gosh! Who did this to you?" From Mom's tone, I could tell she was already getting angry. I could see that Ada was nervous. Who wouldn't be scared with Mom's aura like that? Ada couldn't speak and just bowed his head.

"Rhythm?" Mom looked at me.

"I don't know, Mom." She looked back at Ada.

"Sorry, sir, I just got into a fight." Mom sat beside him and held his hand. Mom's phone rang, and we both looked at it. He opened Ceidence's message.

"Look, I can't believe Ada did this, Mom. Well, deserved!" Mom just laughed and looked at Ada.

"Good job, Lai! There's no denying you're Mari and Mark's child." Mom said. He glanced at me when he mentioned "Lai." Ceidence must have told him something again, for sure. And it seems he's pleased with what Ada did.

"I'm sorry, sir. I just couldn't take it earlier. I'll accept any punishment." He kept his head down.

"It's not wrong to defend yourself once in a while. It's just right that you taught them a lesson." He looked at the picture again. "Gosh! You did all this to them?" I shook my head, looking at Mom, who seemed amazed. Ada just nodded.

"Gosh, you're just like me when I was in school. Dad was always called to the guidance office because I kept getting into fights. Good thing none of my kids took after me." We all laughed. Mom was a spoiled brat since he was an only child. Even now, Dad still spoils him.
Neither of us went back to class, and Mom heself asked our adviser for permission. Our teacher immediately agreed.

"What are you doing here, Mom? Shouldn't you be at home? Where's Dad?"

"Oh, chill, one question at a time," he laughed. Well, he's close to giving birth to our youngest sibling, so he really needs to be careful. "I came here because I wanted to see Lai's classmate." He whispered the last word to me, so only we could hear. Mom is such a tease.

"Mom! Even you?" I pouted.

"Well, I'm bored, and I'm annoyed with your dad because he didn't wake me up. So I need to sulk." Ada looked at us. "You're so cute. I hope my baby looks like you," he said, forgetting that Ada had a bruise on his cheek. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot." We were about to take him home, but Ada didn't want to at first. However, Mom insisted, and he had no choice. I also wanted to see where he lived. Well, I was just curious.

In the car, we were quiet, and Mom was laughing because she was teasing Dad. She loves teasing her husband. Well, all of us at home do. Her phone had been ringing for a while. He even took the driver's phone so he wouldn't answer it. The driver was already scared that Dad might fire him. Well, Mom is Mom. When he's in the mood, you can't do anything. I count, 1, 2, 3... I quickly answered my phone. I knew Dad would call me.

"Where are you? Your teacher said you didn't go to class. Where's your mom?" Mom glanced at the side mirror, trying to hold back his laughter.

"He's with us, Dad." I could hear the irritation in Dad's voice. I put him on speaker so Mom could hear.

"Where are you going? You know it's dangerous for your mom to be out in her condition."

"I know, Dad. I'm sorry. We're just dropping Ada off, and then we'll go home," I said.

"Gulf Finley Thompson, I know you can hear me. I will deal with you later." I laughed because of the sudden change in Mom's expression. Dad hung up, and Mom went silent.

"Good luck, Mom," I said.

"Maybe I went too far." He called Dad, but he wasn't answering anymore. I just shook my head. I looked at the person beside me. He was just staring out the window.

"Are you okay?" He looked at me and smiled.

"I'm okay. Thank you." We arrived at the location Ada pointed out as his house. I didn't expect it to be worse than I imagined. A small shanty near a creek was their home. My heart broke even more, knowing this was where he lived. Should I ask Mom to give them a house? I know my parents wouldn't mind. Is this why he didn't want us to take him home yesterday?

"This is our house, Sir Gulf," he said with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry for the unpleasant smell and appearance. Hehehe."

"It's okay, Lai." Wth, Mom! Mom looked at me again and chuckled. Mom and his endless teasing era.

"Hey! Where are your parents, Adelaide? They haven't paid rent for months. Tell them to start packing up! They should never have been allowed to live here! You should be in the trash, since you're trash yourselves..."

"How dare you talk to the child like that!" Mom suddenly shouted. People started coming out of their houses. Why wouldn't they? Mom's voice echoed so loudly I think it reached the main road. I looked behind us, surprised to see that we now had five bodyguards with us. They were Matthews' men.

"Sorry, it's Boss Dark's order since you're in a dangerous area." I nodded. The power of my uncle Nat's family is beyond my reach.

The woman was surprised and spoke again. "I don't know who you are, but I know you're rich. So why don't you just pay this kid's family's debt? They're full of promises they never keep. They're a plague on society."

"Arnold." Our driver immediately approached and handed over his bag. Mom took out a check, and Ade's eyes widened when he saw Mom writing the amount.

"S-Sir Gulf..." Ade said, almost crying and shooked not to give the money. But Mom ignored him and handed it to the toothless woman.

"Here, this should be enough for you. I even gave you extra." I could see the sparkle in the pig-like woman's eyes. Sorry for the word, but she really looks like the piglets on the farm, plus she's covered in pimples and is dark-skinned.

"I knew it. I'm not surprised this kid is with a rich person. Just like his parents, I don't know how they poison the minds of wealthy people like you. Don't let yourselves be fooled, they're...." I was shocked when Mom suddenly slapped her.

"Sorry, my bad, I forgot to mention the slap is part of the payment."

"How dare you..." Mom slapped her even harder.

"Here's more payment," and he threw cash at her. I don't even know where it came from. Mom looked at Ade, who was now crying. "I'll talk to Mari and Mark. From now on, you're not living in this rotten, dirty place anymore." So no need to say it, Mom had already taken action.

Sawattdeeee 🙏 my dear cuties out there 😘😚 UD for todey's bidyow 😚 I missed updating and I really missed writing. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it because of work. And thanks to all the cuties who liked this story and to those who've been waiting. Here it is, the new update. I hope you like it. It's late, but before I go to sleep, here's the update. Jubjub!

And please support our cutie babie Gulf for his another new single song entitled: "WITH YOU" by Gulf Kanawut featuring Lazyloxy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6SUyoMiyzk