How many times did they hear he was hurt at school? How many times had he been bullied? How many times had he reached out to them, hoping they would stand for him―for once be the parents he needed? To guide him, to support him, and to protect him when he could not protect himself.

He begged for it…for years. 

Years of longing for their attention and care. But what did they do? They neglected him as soon as he turned thirteen. Their reason? Because he could stand up for himself. And if he needed something, he just had to ask his parents' secretary. That was not…what he wanted. He needed them more than those servants who looked after him. Liam was crying, letting go of all the emotions he had suppressed all his life. He just wanted…to be loved. Was it too hard? He pursed his lips, thinking about it. 

He couldn’t even utter that ache from his heart―that he was their son. Seeing him wracked with sobs, Anton could no longer hold himself back. He pulled him close, hugged him as though it were the only way to keep him from falling apart. 

Liam wept as though something inside him had finally given way, and in Anton’s arms, it was impossible not to feel every sobbing pain. He held Liam close, swallowing the tightness in his own throat, forcing his tears to remain unfallen as he comforted him. 

To Anton, that was all he could give to Liam. To embrace him, to be there for him. Despite their differences, it was the first time that Liam felt he was not alone. Believing that there was still someone willing to listen to the grievances he carried, heavy as a cloak.

In that moment of silence, as the early spring was about to unfold, Liam bawled out, all the anxieties, frustrations, and desperation that he had kept all along. 

Anton didn’t leave the hospital until Liam fell asleep in his arms. He gently lay him on the bed and put the blankets on. While doing so, his eyes moved from Liam’s wrecked face to his bandaged right arm. He seethed behind his lips. He wanted to avenge what they did to him. But if he allowed himself to break, then who would stay by Liam’s side? Who would be there to care for his siblings as they grew? He closed his eyes, tightening his jaw as he stood at the edge of the bed. 

He swallowed his selfish anger and forced his mind toward what truly mattered—what was best to support Liam before moving to his great-aunt in Suffolk. He wouldn’t have time to go home and look after his sibling. Gladly, his uncle had agreed to care for them once they left Belgravia. 

Before he visited Liam at the hospital, it wasn’t an easy decision for him to make. When he spoke with his next-oldest siblings, who were aged 25 and 20, it was not simple either—they had grown used to having him nearby every day. They were not selfish—only afraid, worried that their big brother might leave them forever. Anton reassured them, promising his absence would not be long, and asking them to trust him with the choice he had made. 

It was fair enough that Anton needed his freedom, too. To also pursue what he wanted for his life. As Anton’s siblings, they’ve seen how their brother poured out his entire attention to them. He deprived himself of his own happiness. And now…it was time for them to let go of their eldest brother. 

And on the same night, they had a solemn farewell, having their last simple dinner together with their Uncle Bert and Granny Lou. Though Anton’s heart ached at the thought of leaving, he knew he had been loved far more than Liam, who had grown up unloved. 

He didn’t want to overstep the role he had been hired for. Yet, for once, he wished Liam could feel even the slightest measure of his care.

Months had passed, and under Anton’s careful watch at their Belgravia townhouse, Liam had fully recovered. The day was blissful, warm and bright, and for the first time in a long while, Liam finally met Anton’s siblings for a simple picnic by the lake. It was dry, cheerful, and unburdened, with peals of laughter spilling as freely as the sunlight over the water. 

The air smelled faintly of grass and water,  gentle and peaceful, carrying the soft songs of birds from nearby trees. They sat on the mat, giggling and mingling with the quiet serenity, as they partook of their packed sandwiches and cold drinks.

And this time around, Liam had never asked about his parents again nor craved for their attention. Perhaps, he had already accepted the fact that he was born accidentally, and with it, it was time to let go of the family that had never truly been his.