Chapter 180: In Front of Them All
Kayden
"Wha... what the hell are you doing?" I demanded as I pulled away from him, but before he could reply, I let out a sharp gasp, staring at his face.
There was dried blood on his split lip, a dark purple bruise already forming across his cheek, and that wasn’t all — even his knuckles were bleeding and swollen.
"Oh goodness, Rhys," I gasped again as I gently turned his hand over to examine the bruises on his knuckles. "Did you get into a fight with your brother? Did he..." I paused, raising my head to meet his eyes. "What the hell happened while we were gone, Rhys?" I asked, my fingers lightly caressing the bruise blooming on his cheek.
It looked like a large hand had been brutally imprinted there. When the realization of exactly who could have done it hit me, I let out a low groan of disbelief.
"Your father hit you?" I demanded, my voice rising so loudly that it echoed sharply through the empty hallways.
Rhys didn’t respond. He didn’t even flinch when my fingers brushed over his injuries.
"Why would they do this to you? Is this because of me?"
"No," he finally answered, his voice soft yet deep, laced with exhaustion. "This is the result of my own will. I am tired of them treating me like I don’t matter, so I raised my voice against them."
My eyes widened in shock. "Rhys... we agreed we would wait until the—"
"I couldn’t. I know this might put you at risk and I am sorry for being selfish, but I was tired. I couldn’t let them walk all over me anymore. I didn’t want to be their puppet and I..."
Before he could finish his words, I pulled him into a warm, protective hug.
"No, don’t be sorry, Rhys. At this point, I don’t care if anyone wants to reveal my secret. As long as it doesn’t hurt you. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me, to be put in this position because of me. I just want..."
Rhys cut me off gently by pulling away and cupping my face with both hands. "Which is why I had to do this. Don’t worry, my grandfather won’t bother us anymore. Now it’s just us. No one will ruin this for us ever again."
My eyes widened again as I stared at him in confusion, having no idea what he meant by that. "You... what are you trying to say?"
"I..."
"Uhm... guys!" Leo shouted.
We both turned toward him, and he pointed straight behind Rhys.
"What is happening?" I asked as Rhys slowly stepped to the left side until I could clearly see what was in front of us.
Right there in the center of the hallway stood Rami Calder, glaring at us with cold fury, Richard Calder with his head lowered in silence. Behind them were Raymond, Linda, Elian and his grandfather, then Jaxon, Luca, Theo, Miller, and the coach.
Everyone else wore expressions of pure shock on their faces — except for the coach, Miller, and the rest of our teammates, Jaxon, Luca, and Theo. It was as if those three had always known.
"So this is where you were all along!" Raymond yelled and then lunged toward Rhys. "You came here to be with this lowlife and humiliate the—"
Raymond jumped, trying to land a hit on him, but Rhys pushed him aside with ease. Raymond crashed hard against the wall closest to him.
Linda rushed immediately to his side. "Raymond!" she shouted. When she reached him, she crouched down in front of her son, frantically caressing his face. "Oh my goodness. Are you alright, my baby?"
Raymond groaned dramatically, placing a hand on his back. The push hadn’t been hard enough to even scratch him, but he burst into loud, fake tears, pretending to be in terrible pain.
"Rhys! Look at what you have done to your brother! How could you push him like that?" Linda yelled. "I know you don’t like us, but how can you treat your brother like this for someone like..." Her eyes met mine, and she shot me a look of pure disgust. "He’s a nobody and yet..."
"Enough, Linda!" Rhys yelled, cutting her off sharply. "I am tired of listening to your bullshit. Raymond is not my brother. I have never considered him as such — the same way I have never considered you my father’s wife. You are only a mistress who knows exactly how to run from her problems."
Linda frowned deeply. "What the hell are you trying to say? I refuse to be disrespected like this. I haven’t said anything wrong, so why the hell are you treating me like this? And what do you mean by mistress? I married your father legally!"
"Good for you," Rhys yelled back at her. "You married for the money, Linda. Everyone in the city knows that. I mean, you didn’t even wait for my mother’s body to grow cold before you jumped into his bed, so don’t pretend you actually care about this family. The name is what you care about! Without the Calder name, you would have abandoned us just like you..." Rhys stopped himself abruptly before he could finish.
I knew exactly what he had wanted to say, but the only reason he held back was because of me.
"I am done with you and your idiot son. I am done with this family! I already told father and grandfather that I am not getting married to Elian or stopping my career for a foolish human like Raymond. I made..." Rhys let go of my hand for a moment. "I achieved everything I have by myself and didn’t use anyone as a stepping stone. He should do the same."
He paused to catch his breath for a few seconds, then grabbed my hand again firmly.
"Elian, I am sorry, but I can’t be with you no matter what. The person I love and cherish is Kayden."
"Rhys..." I tried to speak, but he turned to face me, shaking his head gently.
"I am tired of hiding you, Kayden. I don’t care what anyone has to say. I love you, and I am not going to pretend anymore that I don’t." He lifted my hand and kissed it softly. "The only person I will be getting married to is Kayden. No one else."
Linda gasped loudly and looked desperately toward Rhys’s father, whose face was still lowered toward the ground. "Won’t you say anything, Richard? Sir Calder?"
None of them answered.
Rami Calder gave us one long, icy stare before turning away and heading back toward the hall, leaning heavily on his cane. Richard slowly raised his head, sent a sharp death glare toward Linda, and then walked away in the opposite direction, not toward the hall.
"You!" Linda yelled, standing up and pointing a trembling finger directly at me. "Who the hell are you? You came here and ruined our family!"
Rhys tried to reply, but I stopped him with a gentle touch. "I’ve got this," I whispered as I stepped forward. I glanced toward Leo, who gave me a firm, encouraging nod.
I heaved a deep sigh, refusing to let go of Rhys’s hand as I moved closer to Linda. Then I leaned in toward her ear.
"What the hell..." she started, taking a nervous step backward.
"I am Kelvin Hamilton’s son," I muttered quietly, then took a step back to stand beside Rhys once more.
Her eyes widened in pure shock and she gasped, stumbling backward until her back slammed against the wall. All color drained from her face instantly. She pointed a shaking finger toward me. "You... you..." She collapsed to the ground beside her son and let out a piercing scream of agony.
I heaved a sigh of relief, glad that I had finally let it off my chest. Now that she knew, I was finally free from every last connection I had with her.
"What the hell did you say to my mother!" Raymond yelled at me.
"What she needed to hear," I responded calmly, then looked up at Rhys, who nodded at me in silent support.
"Let’s get out of here," he muttered.
I tightened my grip on his hand and turned to leave.
Our teammates and coach, still behind us, started cheering and clapping loudly as they trailed after us, joining our exit.