After the livestream, Sylvester's program soon released an official statement: Sylvester would be hospitalized for a month before his return.
Some fans went crazy cursing out Olivia, completely ignoring the recent plea, while many simply wept sorrowfully at the long break from their "lover."
The internet was unruly from night to the next day, emotions ranging from anger to sorrow to interest, and many more. But amidst the catastrophic tides, Olivia's suicide became equivalent to a pebble thrown into a roaring ocean:
Completely engulfed, with only faint mentions from those with malicious intent.
***
"Sylvester, you should be careful." The sharp-eyed male with striking white hair and violet edges spoke with a fleeting smile.
Sylvester rolled his eyes. Beside him was Vale, who diligently made his way to the third orange after neatly peeling the other two and having them circled across the plates, towering on top of the others, forming some sort of aesthetic circular tower.
He reached out and was handed a toothpick by Vale, who smiled toothily.
"I can't seem to understand what's troubling you and Zane." He flawlessly stuck three slices to the toothpick before shoving them into his mouth.
A drip of liquid leaked from his lips and, with a light lick, disappeared.
Luca reached out to the mouth-watering slices, only for his hands to be slapped away by Sylvester, who glared.
He turned to Vale helplessly, who stared for a while before pointing to the seven other unpeeled oranges beside the plate of peeled ones.
"Want some?"
Sylvester frowned, "N—"
"Yes!" he exclaimed just in time to block Sylvester's refusal.
Vale nodded, and the next second, he was done with the third and handed it over to Luca, who grinned like a child.
All this happened within the moment Sylvester had been interrupted, leaving him stumped. Seeing Luca readily shuffle the orange slices into his mouth, he let it be, albeit a bit peeved.
"I can have more ready for you in seconds if that's what you're worried about?" Vale asked considerately, and even he wasn't shameless enough to keep pushing against it.
"Luca," he called out, what had been the faintest trace of annoyance had become more evident in his voice, "Can you leave??"
'How odd,' Luca's eyes moved to Vale, whose entire attention was on peeling the bright red oranges.
Just like he had promised, he went from a leisurely pace to a swift yet expert peel of the fruits. His entire motion was smooth and easy on the eyes.
Since his arrival, a sweet scent had been lingering around, and he was certain it wasn't the oranges that were being peeled—forks couldn't perceive or taste anything relating to food. Thus, the only possibility was the presence of a cake.
Since he and Sylvester had canceled that out already, the only cake present would be Vale... meaning any chances of romantic attraction from Sylvester were zero, let alone being in a relationship.
Yet, Sylvester was being oddly friendly with him? Why?
"I can't," Luca replied with a sigh while settling down beside a glaring Sylvester.
"Why is that?"
Seeing the veins bulging on the male's clenched fist, Luca felt his head throb. In public and with most people, this asshole held onto a flattering image of a person with almost zero triggers, but not only was he easily irritable, he was even less likely to hide his aggression.
"Look, I don't want to be here just as much as you. I even had to postpone my appointment with my hairdresser, which I managed to finally get after so many postponements, and now I suddenly had to give it up because of you."
Luca caressed his ruffled brow. "Zane told me to drop a message, so here it is word for word: I wouldn't want to interfere in your fun time or anything personal, but don't forget—if I have to, regardless of how you feel about this—I WILL."
Sylvester's frown smoothed out. "Is that all? Then why did you take so much—"
"You wouldn't let me do a thing, that's why. All you've been doing is complaining. Of course, I was stalled."
He felt a fiery gaze blaze at him.
He was lying. Sylvester probably knew that, but it wasn't like he would do anything about it.
The real reason he took his sweet time diddly-daddling when he could have simply dropped his message and rushed to try desperately to meet his hairdresser's appointment was because, apart from the message, he also had to make some crucial observations—especially with Vale.
"Ask along," Sylvester relaxed on the bed while devouring the aesthetic oranges.
He had probably come to understand that it was either this or have the white-haired male lurking around like a ghost.
"..... Are you now interested in cakes?"
He received a look of disgust in response, prompting him to move on to the next question.
"What do you plan on doing for a month? You do know you'd have to lay low to avoid exposing the whole…" he motioned to the bandaged 'injury', "...and laying low has never really been your thing."
Sylvester adjusted once more before replying, with an orange hovering over his lips, "I'll use that chance to hang out with him."
Luca's eyes met Vale's, and they both smiled politely.
"Didn't Zane tell you I've been entrusted to help him learn to be normal?"
"You mean you entrusted yourself. And it's just you…"
Sylvester ignored him. "Hence, I'll use that time to fulfill my duties, alone or not. Wouldn't you like that, Vale?"
He winked at the male, who chuckled calmly, "Most definitely."
Luca observed the quiet brunette for a while before glancing toward Sylvester, who was beaming with every tiny interaction, and began doubting himself.
Could Sylvester's 'zero romantic prospects with cakes' stance really be trusted? Especially with how cozy he was being with this cake?
But then his mind went to memories of the male when with others, and he shrugged it off. Someone like Sylvester, faking a positive outlook regarding his interaction with someone was as easy as taking candy from a baby.
"Anyways," Luca mumbled, glancing at his phone before shoving it back into his pocket, "I'll be off. Zane just wanted to make sure you're alert. After all, this is the first time your 'games' have ever escalated to this extent, but he's quite pleased with how well you've handled it… It's a pity that the young lady took her life for no reason."
He stood up to leave. Looking at the uncaring Sylvester and concentrated Vale, he could tell his presence wasn't exactly pleasing.
"But do be careful from now on, especially with your 'games'. This incident might seem like something completely defeated, but if something else concerning it comes up, it could blow up to an unmanageable scale."
Sylvester nodded lightly, his eyes sparing no effort to exclaim his disinterest.
'Annoying bastard,' Luca spat inwardly before facing Vale.
"I wish you luck. We should hang out sometime when you've gotten better at being 'normal.'"
Vale nodded, "It's a good invitation. I accept."
With that, under the burning gaze of Sylvester, Luca left.
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