Chapter 182

Zeno was feeling... well, whatever. If that's even a feeling, but that was the only way he could describe his feelings that night.

As he stood in front of the club, he was already feeling overwhelmed before stepping inside.

A place that used to be where he came to unwind and laugh was now a place that bore down a heavy sense of sadness on him. 

Sebastian, Cassian, Leon, we're all in there waiting on him while all he wanted was to be left alone. He would have withdrawn from Cassian's family business but he'd signed a contract with Mr. Leroy, and it wouldn't speak well of his image if he did so.

He closed his eyes, and only the wind and the sounds of car horns from the night street invaded his mind completely; he needed to let go of most of his toxic thoughts if he wanted to act normal tonight; if not, he'd just be zoned out the whole time. 

'I've got this,' He hyped himself. 

"Why are you standing here?" Zen's voice asked behind him.

"Mind your business tonight, Zen," Nicholas came up beside Zeno and looked at his face.

"Hey, I told you not to let him come; you see now? He's already poke-nosing," He sighed.

"Let's go, guys, and Zen, do try to stay away from people's affairs," Zeno sighed, walking in without looking at any of his friends.

"I'll try," Zen smirked at Nicholas before walking in behind Zeno.

Nicholas followed, feeling like something was about to happen to one of them tonight. He couldn't tell if it was him, Zeno, or any other person, but he could feel it; something was cooking.

"Zeno, I think someone's asked for you, that guy over there," Baby met Zeno as he entered the club.

Zeno looked to where she had pointed and saw Leon sitting alone in a booth.

"Thanks, Baby, I'll go say hi," He said and walked over to Leon.

As he walked toward Leon, he caught sight of Cassian sitting farther down the club, his booth seemed to be filled up, and he could see Sebastian's thighs sitting opposite Cassian's chair. They were probably waiting for him.

"Hey, Good evening, Leon. Heard you asked of me," Zeno greeted as he reached Leon's booth.

Leon smiled at Zeno, but his smile faded when he saw the sad look on Zeno's face.

He stood and and held Zeno's hand, "Hey, what's wrong, Zeno? Trust me, I can drop the cool guy look and the flirting and be just a friend who listens for the night, should we do that?" He asked softly, tilting Zeno's face up.

Zeno smiled, "You don't have to do that; I'm fine, really; I'm just a little stressed," He assured.

Leon smiled, "Do you want to know what I think?" He asked.

"What?" Zeno raised a brow.

"I think you're a pretty little liar," Leon smirked, "It's Sebastian... you're not over him. I've seen him over there, he's probably waiting for you, am I right?" He questioned.

Zeno chuckled, "Yeah... you're right. I'm not over him, but, I thought I was." He placed his hand over Leon on his cheek and slowly brought it down, not releasing it.

"I'm hurting, I hate him, yet I love him at the same time; it's toxic, I know, but I can't help it. I want to hate him, I really want to hate him, but right now, knowing that he's right there waiting for me... excites me; I hate myself for feeling this way, my head hurts, my heart hurts. I don't know what to do," He chuckled sadly, "I'm sorry for offloading such unnecessary information on you, it's none of your business," He sighed.

Leon was quiet for a while, "I like that you told me, it means you trust me enough to share your problems with me." His green eyes slowly ran over Zeno's face and he realized that he really liked him.

Zeno nodded.

"Do you want to get over Sebastian?" Leon narrowed his eyes at Zeno.

Zeno hesitated before answering, "I do," He did; he needed to let go of Sebastian to find his peace; he'd hovered over him for so long.

"Then, let me help you. However, this is not a case of a pretend relationship; this is a case of you opening your heart to me and allowing me to try to heal you. I do like you, Zeno, and I'm not going to lie, it stung hearing you say that you're still hung up on that asshole, but let me try, okay? Let me replace those memories with something better, alright?" Leon spoke softly, massaging the back of Zeno's hand.

Zeno took in a deep breath. Replacing Sebastian's memories with Leon's? Was that possible? Of course it was, this was him just being sentimental.

"We can try," Zeno said in a quiet voice, "I don't want to be with someone who won't place me first, who makes me a second option... a secret," His fists were balled as he thought back to how Sebastian had asked him to leave his house, so full of hatred and despise.

Leon stepped closer to Zeno, staring into his eyes, "I'll place you first, you're always a first option, Zeno, and did you say secret? Not with me, I'll make sure that every single soul I come across in this world knows about my sexy, cute, and handsome partner... I'm possessive, Zeno, I'll want to be with you as much as possible. I just have one wish," His hand went behind Zeno's neck, his face tilting to the side as he leaned closer.

Zeno blinked, holding Leon's shoulders, "What's your wish?" He questioned.

"See me first. Whenever Sebastian's image wants to return to you, see me first; only that way can you truly develop feelings for me. If you keep letting his memories form and settle, you might just end up breaking my own heart. I love deep, Zeno, and this is me, asking you not to hurt me," He whispered against Zeno's lips.

Zeno could see the vulnerable look in Leon's eyes; he might look dangerous, but he had a big heart and a kind soul. He covered the space between them and kissed Leon's cheek, "I'll try," He smiled. 

Leon smiled, "Damn, you're making me shy, that's not good for my image," He chuckled.

"If you both are done, Zeno, we have a business to attend to," Sebastian's dark voice spoke behind Leon.

Zeno stiffened in Leon's arms, causing him to frown. Leon knew he had to find a way to stop Zeno from reacting to Sebastian.

"I'll see you later," Zeno said to Leon and stepped away from him.

Leon nodded, "Can I follow?" He whispered. 

Zeno was about to reply when Sebastian interrupted, "No, you can't, I said business meeting, not a date," Sebastian looked at Zeno and said, "Gerald's waiting, Zeno," He said and walked back to his booth.

"I'm sorry," Zeno apologized.

Leon nodded slowly, "Don't beat yourself up; I'll be right here waiting for you; you owe me a drink," he patted Zeno's arms and stepped out of his way.

Zeno nodded firmly, "See you," He said before walking toward Sebastian's booth.

He reached and made sure his back was to Sebastian, "Good evening, Cassian, Mr. Gerald," Zeno shook the man's hand and then shook Cassian's.

"Good Evening, Zeno," Cassian kissed the back of Zeno's hand.

"Good to see you, Zeno, please, sit," Geral pointed to the space beside Sebastian.

He bit his lip before slowly turning to look at Sebastian, who had his face set hard and unreadable. 

He moved over to the chair and lowered himself beside Sebastian, making sure his body didn't touch his.

"What's this meeting about?" Zeno asked, placing his hands on the table, his face remained straight, avoiding turning to the side because of Sebastian.

"I'm curious too, Gerald was the one who called us here," Cassian said, looking at Gerald beside him.

Gerald nodded, "As we all know, work has commenced at the resort, and due to Mr. Sebastian's fund efficiency, the place will be ready in no time. As to why I've called us all here, I just wanted to invite you all to my birthday tomorrow night; I know, I know, I could have just sent an invite, but I want to be friends outside of work; that's why I've asked to meet here. Last but not least, Mr. Sebastian mentioned to me that he had something to say, too," Gerald finished and looked over to Sebastian.

Cassian was curious to know what Sebastian wanted to ask of him, "What could be the problem, Mr. Sebastian?" He asked.

Sebastian glanced at Zeno, smirking because he knew he was about to shake his world up.

"Do you like Zeno?" He questioned casually.

Everyone froze; Gerald looked thrown off, Cassain was stunned, and Zeno was shocked to the bones.

Zeno snapped his head to the side and looked at Sebastian, "What are you doing?" He asked quietly.

"This isn't business-"

"Gerald just said we're friends, are we not?" His brows were raised in a threatening manner.

"Sebastian," Zeno gritted between his teeth, his hand tapping the side of Sebastian's thigh, secretly asking him to quit whatever he was doing.

However, Sebastian grabbed his hand under the table and placed it on top of his thigh, slowly taking Zeno's hand higher on his thigh.

Zeno froze, 'Not this again.'

Maybe he should have let Leon come with him, this wasn't what someone who wanted to forget someone should be doing. The problem was, he didn't try fighting, he was starting to enjoy the thrill.

Fuck, he needed Leon, ASAP.

"Of course, we are, right, Cassain?" Gerald asked, giving Cassian a stern look.

Cassian slowly nodded, "We are, and I do like Zeno, Mr. Sebastian," He replied. 

Sebastian smirked, taking Zeno's hand right to his cock, and slowly removed his hand from Zeno's, and as he expected, Zeno didn't move his hand away; he left it there, slowly starting to graze his fingers over Sebastian's cock.

This wasn't healthy at all, and Zeno knew it yet he couldn't help it. 

"I appreciate your honesty, but you can hold back your feelings now because Zeno's my -"

"Ex, Cassian, I'm his ex," Zeno snapped out of it and placed his two hands on the top of the table.

He knew Sebastian wanted to tell them that they were dating, so he intervened; at least telling them that he once dated Sebastian would make them understand the strained relationship between them instead of allowing Sebastian to create a forced proximity between them.

And, Zeno believed that it would also clear Cassian's questions on how he got to be so close with Sebastian's son and bodyguards.

"Well, technically, he's my ex... for now. I plan on getting him back," Sebastian faced Zeno, "I plan on making you love me a-"

"Are you done here, Zeno?" Leon suddenly appeared Zeno, his hands stretched to Zeno.

Zeno immediately stood, taking Leon's hand.

'Right timing,' he sighed.

"Yes, I'll see you at your party, Mr. Gerald, have a good night, Cassian," He said and let Leon lead him away from the booth. 

Sebastian was left speechless, his fists balled, his heart full of hot, spicy, jealousy.