Thank You

7:27 pm.

The Maxim Chateau was situated 15 minutes away from the main city grounds and less than 20 minutes from the Red Church. But with the immense snowfall, it took an additional few minutes of driving.

The snow-shrouded mansion reflected in Miles' eyes as he drove past its gates.

It was a fairly old two-floored chateau sitting on a stone substructure in thousands of square meters wide, the brick masonry of walls almost fifty feet high. And a total of five average bedrooms, two large bedrooms, and a master bedroom.

It was an estate from his grandfather to his father when his grandfather passed.

When Miles' mother died of plane crash, his father was still a busy man, and grieving his wife, he couldn't take proper care of the four year old Miles.

Miles was taken in by his grandfather.

The whole of this house was basically his treasured childhood. But his father just had to take a woman and a child in, tarnishing the beautiful image engraved in his memories.

Miles had just turned 11 when his grandfather passed, which was barely seven years ago. Just a few months of his grandfather's passing, his father brought in a curly red-haired woman and a child beside her with the same features. That child was a few months older than Miles, but that woman treated that child as if he's fragile as a glass. That made the situation between the father-son and the mother-son duos awkward.

Until his father couldn't take it anymore and forced the two kids to get along with each other, putting Miles into a tight spot, but that's just what that woman wanted. She hated Miles for whatever reason. Miles himself doesn't need his sensitivity to know and feel that she was openly showing it.

The child was the same, too. He'd often make things difficult for Miles,following in his mother's footsteps.

But what's worse was his father couldn't see it. Miles tried to complain to him as a child, but his father often brushed him off as a child's baseless grumbles. So Miles had no choice but to purse his lips and barely open them again while also trying his best to stay away from the mother-son duo.

But it looks like he can't do that tonight.

He slowly walked up to the chateau's entrance. Outside, the incandescent lights from the living room's chandelier illuminated the stone paths covered in snow, almost giving Miles the illusion of returning to nine years ago when he was just eight years old

The snow at the time also came early, but compared to the present snowfall, the snowfall that time was much more gentler, like the dragonfly dipping onto the lake's surface.

At that time, his grandfather would accompany him to play with snow.

He would lay against the pile of white, his grandfather would help him up, and he'd deliberately fall again. He'd do that multiple times until his grandfather would give up, and when his grandfather did, he would laugh so hard he'd fall.

When he laughed, he his subtly fell onto the entrance of the chateau. The golden light inside fell onto the windows, so vibrant and full of life.

It was his home.

Miles shook his head and quietly walked onto the gigantic wooden double-doors engraved in patterns of the lily flower and almost seven feet high.

The chattering of different kinds of voices could be vaguely heard. It seemed that the woman had guests tonight.

Miles furrowed his brows and pushed the door. The subtle creaking sound stopped the voices in the midst of their chatters.

The chateau's entrance layout was when you opened the door. There would be the hallway where the living room would be directly seen.

In the living room were a pair of velvet sectional sofas facing each other, and single seater sofa. That red-haired woman wearing an extravagant white dress with her hair tied into a beautiful bun, sat on at one sectional sofa with and opposite her were two other women dressed in almost the same manner as her. Behind them was a furnished wooden imperial staircase.

One glance at her, and Miles' head began to ache.

".. Oh! You came back alone? Where is your father?" Her voice was filled with feigned worry when she mentioned Miles' father.

(A/N: Did I forget to introduce mother-son

duo's names? Nope! Miles refused to acknowledge them no matter what, and the first half of the story was in his POV, so I gotta leave her at 'red-haired woman' and 'red-haired son'. Don't worry, tho Miles' father is gonna mention them later on.)

Miles answered perfunctorily, "He's staying out for the half of the night, dining with old classmates."

He then strode towards the staircases.

"You... haven't eaten yet, right? The guests and I already ate a few moments ago... what about you call your brother? He also still hasn't had dinner yet.."

"I already ate outside."

".... Oh... then please call your brother for me.." The red-haired woman immediately began to excuse herself from her guests.

"No need, mom, I'm here." Just before Miles could ignore her and take another step, a red-haired man walked down the stairs. He wore a respectful tone as he swept his eyes on Miles.

"Brother... you haven't taken off your coat yet.." He seemed like an older brother just reminding his younger brother, but in the eyes of the guests, Miles was already a disrespectful brat when they heard the red-haired man's remarks.

Miles just nodded. He walked past the red-haired man and disappeared from their view.

"... Is that really Mr. Maxim's son from first wife? He didn't even say hello to us just now!" One of the guests complained in a hushed voice.

"This is what happens if a mother dies and leaves her kids — lack of proper manners!" The other replied.

"If she just stayed home back then, she could've raised that kid a bit better!"

"Look at our Mrs. Maxim right there, and look at how respectful her son is!"

"That's because our lady raised her son well and attentively!"

......

Miles vaguely heard the last words, and he snorted coldly as he entered his room and locked it.

Sure enough, birds with the same feathers flock together.

All these people see are the surface of the duo's acts. But the way they judge about who's more and who's less was as if they could see the whole picture.

Miles leaned against his door. He clutched the front part of his hair and sighed deeply.

He was tired, so fucking tired.

His heart was already aching from how long he's been holding in.

He closed his eyes and sighed again.

Suddenly, his mind traced back to when he was under the same umbrella with the man in black, just barely an hour ago.

........

The surroundings were all a blanket of white, but the man beside him was clad in all black, like a dot in a plain white sheet of paper.

The man matched his pace as they walked towards where the cars were parked.

There were no words exchanged between the two of them, but the silence between them felt so comfortable.

It was so comfortable that Miles almost forgot where he parked his car and had the man in black wait for him for a minute.

Before Miles closed the door of his car as he got in, he looked up and met those hazel eyes again.

"... Thank you.." His voice was more like of a whisper, but the man heard it and nodded before he turned around and left.