"There he is" Dominic announced proudly as Axel staggered in.

The huge smile on Dominic's face fell and got replaced by a scowl. Axel had his arms wrapped around two gorgeous women in skimpy outfits and he was drunk.

He goofily smiled at his father. "Dad, meet Savannah and..." He stopped and thought for a while. "What's your name?" He asked the other girl.

"Fiona" she smiled at him.

Axel laughed. "Dad, meet Savannah and Fiona!" He announced.

Charlotte's eyes widened as she stared at her brother with nothing but horror. She gulped as she took in his condition and two middle-aged women in his arms.

"Axel, what is the meaning of this?" Dominic roared

"I'm enjoying my life, dad" he laughed

"Behave yourself! A professor of Harvard is watching you right now!"

"Oh you mean, your friend Devon is here?" Axel chuckled. "Hello, uncle Devon! I look forward to meeting you at Harvard." He said goofily in a loud voice. "I mean, we all know that I don't even have to lift a finger to get in"

Dominic clenched Axel's arm and dragged him out of the house. The two women followed in high heels. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He hurled him out. "I told you to come prepared and this is how you fucking show up?!"

"Seriously?! I'm finally living like I'm supposed to and you have a problem with that too?!" Axel asked annoyedly.

"You just insulted me in front of Devon!"

"I don't fucking care! What do you want from me?! LET ME FUCKING LIVE FOR ONCE!"

"YOU CALL THIS LIVING? SLEEPING WITH MULTIPLE WHORES IN YOUR BEDROOM?! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY SHAME?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THIS CAN AFFECT YOUR SISTER?!" Dominic was beyond furious.

Axel breathed out in a bored manner. "I'll take them to my penthouse..."

Dominic pushed Axel back furiously. "Are you in your fucking senses?!"

Axel clicked his tongue. "I learned it from you. I have seen you bringing multiple whores to your bedroom" he shrugged ignorantly. "Do you have any idea how this can affect Charlotte? Knowing that her father sleeps around like a fucking teenager!"

Dominic shoved Axel back again. "Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

"Or what? What are you going to do about it?!"

Dominic stepped forward. "I pull her strings always remember that" he whispered

Axel stared at his father unbelievably. He knew who his father was talking about. He regretted ever listening to him. He forgot why he left in the first place. He forgot how heartless his father can be. He wished he could go back in time and change his decision. He wished he could find Chloe and live with her for the rest of his life.

"You are unbelievable" Axel's voice was almost inaudible.

Dominic laughed humorlessly. "Here I am, working hard so that you and that girl can have a better future and what do I get out of it, huh?! Humiliation, disrespect?"

"I just need you to stop dictating my life?!" Axel asked

"Dictating your life? Why are you acting like I forced you to break up with that girl? I gave you a choice. I told you you can stay with her. You chose to be here, you chose to leave her behind. Stop pointing your finger at me." Dominic exhaled loudly. "You wanna be a man? You wanna be something without your father? Then start taking responsibility for your actions! Stop being a fucking coward!"

Axel looked away as he couldn't stare his father in the eyes because he knew that he was right. It was his decision, Dominic never forced him. "What do you want me to do?" He asked, helplessly as he had no other option.

Dominic put a hand on his shoulder. "I want you to go in there and apologize to Devon and introduce yourself to him. Tell him how amazing you are at football and painting and all the other things you're good at. I brought him here because you said you wanted to do this on your own, well, this is your chance"

Axel swallowed uneasily. "Can you reschedule? As you can see I'm not my best self right now"

"Of course, anything my son wants" Dominic gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and walked back in.

-ˋˏ ༻𐀔༺ ˎˊ-

The next day, Axel couldn't pay attention to anything. He was hungover and his head pounded. The behind of his eyes ached. He felt like he got hit by a bus.

Since he came back, he had become withdrawn, he barely hung out with his friends. Half of the time, he had no idea what was going in around him. He couldn't pay attention to school. His hands were always stained with paint. All the girls that talked to him annoyed him.

With his bag lazily hanging over his shoulder, he wandered into the school hallway looking around mindlessly.

And then finally his eyes fell on her...

It was her picture...

He hastily strode towards the school trophy case. He saw her picture in a photo frame. She was smiling widely as she held her certificate after winning the math competition. He tried to open it but it was locked. He stared at the keyhole frustratedly. He tried to open it again.

"What are you doing?"

He turned to see Chris staring at him weirdly. He heaved a frustrated sigh. "Nothing" he mumbled and walked the other way.

He strode straight out of the school and sat in his car. He breathed in and out a few times to calm his nerves. He started the engine and drove out of the school.

He went straight to his home. Leaving his car in the middle of the driveway with the key still in the ignition he sprinted to his room.

Dominic saw him running inside and decided to follow. He stopped outside of his bedroom and heard the commotion. He could imagine Axel breaking all the stuff in his room.

He knocked on the door and waited. When Axel didn't answer, he knocked again, and mid-knocking the door flew open and Axel stood there fuming with tears running down his face.

He wiped his tears furiously. "What do you want?!"

"May I come in?" Dominic asked calmly.

Axel thought for a while before stepping aside. Dominic walked in and closed the door. He turned towards Axel.

"Axel, what is wrong with you?" He asked

"I wanna go back! I wanna go back to Chloe!" He answered sternly.

Dominic put his hands in his pockets. "And ruin everything?"

"I hate it! I hate everything"

He strode towards the couch and sat down gesturing Axel to sit down as well. "Axel, let's talk"

Axel stayed in his spot. "I'm listening..."

Dominic sighed deeply. "No, what I meant was... Talk to me"

"I told you I wanna go back. There's nothing to talk about!" He snapped

Dominic pointed a finger towards Axel. "You were selfish when you asked that girl to leave her life behind, her scholarship behind for you. And what did you do for her in return? I don't think you could much with a mechanic's salary?"

"We loved each other" Axel answered

Dominic scoffed. "Was she happy with just your love? Were you happy?"

"We were fine!"

"I find it hard to believe. Why did you call me in the middle of the night then?"

Axel shook his head. "It was a mistake! She asked for some time, I should've waited"

Dominic nodded. "And now after three to four months, you wanna go back and take everything from her again? She is finally happy, can't you just let her be!"

Axel's lips parted in surprise. "She's happy?"

"Very... She's living her life for the first time. Why do you want to take it away? Are you being selfish again, Axel?"

Axel walked closer to his father and sat down. "Doesn't she miss me?" He asked, almost childishly.

"I don't know about that... But what I do know is that she is fine and happy..."

Axel looked down as he thought about it solemnly. "She is happy without me?" He whispered more to himself.

"Axel, my love, she has moved on and you need to move on too. Don't destroy your life or hers. She's living without you and you need to learn to live without her too."

"I tried..." His chin trembled. "But I don't know how to"

"Focus on your studies, focus on yourself. Be something... Enjoy life. Slowly, if you tried... You'll start to forget. It will get easier. It's painful for me to see you like that. Do it for me, if you love me more than you love her"

"Of course, I love you, dad. Just because I love Chloe, doesn't mean I don't love my family. There's no competition! I wish I could have a life where you all could coexist"

Dominic looked at his son and all he could think about was how much he loves him. "You know after everything that has happened, I might have allowed you to date her."

Axel's eyes lit up and hope glimmered in his heart again. "Really?"

"But too much damage has been done already... I don't think she'll take you back now... After the abortion and everything that followed"

Axel inhaled sharply as the word abortion fell on his ears. "Yeah..." He answered as he remembered their last fight and the fact that he left her after that.

Dominic stood up and dusted his clothes. He caressed his son's hair and kissed his forehead. "I love you and your sister more than anything, Axel. I hate seeing you like this"

"I'll try, dad" Axel whispered, looking down.

"Take your time" he mumbled and strode out of his room.

Once Dominic was a safe distance away from Axel's room, he hastily called his assistant. "Gabriel?"

"Yes, sir?"

He looked back to his bedroom door and spoke. "I sent you an address. I want you to go there personally. A girl named Chloe Jones lives in that building. Get all the information about her. Set up that scholarship again and make sure she's well-taken care off"

"On it, sir. I'll leave this evening"

"Also get her a new apartment and set up a trust fund for her" he instructed

"Okay, sir, anything else?"

Dominic gritted his teeth. "Just hurry while you're at it!"

For the first time, Dominic was afraid. Afraid of losing Axel. He couldn't imagine Axel's reaction If he found out that Dominic lied.

Now, all he needed to do was to make sure that Axel and Chloe never meet again. Even if it meant sending her away to another country for college.