Chapter 1 : I Give You Freedom

Stewart Livingston took a day off and prepared a table full of dishes. Today was his birthday. He didn''t ask for gifts; he just wanted his Randal to come back and have a meal with him.

Unfortunately, Stewart reheated the dishes again and again, even remade them once, and waited the whole night, from dawn to dusk, from night to the break of dawn, but his beloved never came.

It was almost noon when Randal Peabody finally returned.

"Randal, you''re back? Do you want something to eat?" Stewart glanced at the cold dishes on the table and continued, "I''ll make you something new."

"No need, I''ve already eaten," Randal said disdainfully as he headed upstairs.

"Randal, what''s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?" Stewart grabbed Randal''s wrist and asked.

"On the contrary, I''m in a great mood because I can soon escape your clutches," Randal turned back, shook off Stewart''s hand, and said with a smile.

"You got it, didn''t you?" Stewart asked calmly, already guessing the answer, but still holding onto a sliver of hope that the person he had loved for five years might have a bit of reluctance and compassion for him.

But there was none.

"Yes, Radiance Group will soon collapse and go bankrupt. Stewart, you''re finished," Randal said triumphantly.

"Do you hate me that much?" Stewart, even though he had known the outcome, still felt heartbroken when it actually happened.

"What do you think? I wish you were dead," Randal paused and continued, "You controlled me for five years. Can''t I hate you? You threatened me with my parents. Can''t I hate you?" Randal''s relentless questioning revealed his anger and resentment.

"I didn''t..."

"Stewart, I''ve had enough," Randal interrupted Stewart''s unspoken words, "There''s nothing more to say between us."

"I really don''t understand. With your broken body, what''s the point of keeping me by your side for five years? Just to look at me? Is that fun?" Randal mocked as he watched Stewart struggle to stand by holding onto the sofa.

Stewart seemed to be triggered by something, grabbed Randal, and tried to kiss him, but was pushed away. Stewart fell against the cold wall and barely managed to stand.

"Stewart, you think you can dominate me? What a delusion. You should have acted when you had control over me. Now... ha," Randal sneered.

"Then if..." Stewart gritted his teeth and said, "I let you be on top, will you stay?"

For the first time, Stewart almost begged, abandoning all his pride, trying to keep Randal.

"Do you think I care about your broken body? It''s not even as fun as the MBs at Crystal Valley," Randal laughed at Stewart''s overestimation of himself.

Crystal Valley was a top-notch entertainment venue where Randal had spent the previous night with friends.

Stewart completely gave up, collapsing onto the sofa, and weakly said, "Go ahead, I give you your freedom."

"You can''t even protect yourself now. Even if you wanted to keep me, you couldn''t," Randal showed no gratitude. He didn''t yet know that the files he stole, while threatening to Radiance Group, were not without a chance for recovery. The real fatal blow was Stewart''s despair.

"I''m tired. If there''s a next life, can we not meet again?" Stewart no longer wanted to explain. It didn''t matter what Randal thought. In Randal''s eyes, even if Stewart gave him his heart, he would throw it on the ground and might even step on it.

Randal sneered and decisively said, "Don''t worry, if there''s a next life, I''ll stay far away from you."

Stewart finally let go of the person he had loved for five years.

Randal went to the bedroom, quickly packed his things, and left without any hesitation.

Stewart forced himself to walk to the window, watching Randal''s departing figure. He thought to himself that he would probably never see him again. If only Randal would turn back, he could take one last look.

But unfortunately, Randal couldn''t wait to fly away from this cage, so how could he look back?

Randal had temporarily rented a place, and after dropping off his luggage, he went to Crystal Valley to meet someone.

"Didn''t we just have a gathering yesterday? Are you well-rested?" Robert Walker teased.

Robert, one of Randal''s few friends, came from a family that hoped he would be calm and untainted, so he could inherit the family business in the future. However, he completely failed to meet his family''s expectations.

"I have good news for you, I''m free." Randal couldn''t hide his excitement. "Today, we can play as much as we want, it''s on me."

"What do you mean? He let go?" Robert was a bit surprised. He wasn''t familiar with Stewart, to be precise, he wasn''t qualified or capable enough to be familiar with Stewart. The few times they had interacted were because of Randal, but Robert could tell that Stewart cared a lot about Randal. Now that he let go, he must have been deeply hurt.

"I found something for him to do," Randal said with a smile.

Robert didn''t ask what it was, but he knew in his heart that he had guessed right.

It had indeed been a long time since he had seen Randal this happy. He must really not like Stewart at all.

He had asked Randal before, Stewart was top-notch in both looks and ability, had he ever thought about really being with him and living a good life together.

Randal shook his head decisively. He said that Stewart even controlled what time he came home and even locked him up at home because he stayed out all night.

Since then, Robert stopped asking.

After a few rounds of drinks, Randal was a bit drunk, pulling Robert and talking non-stop.

"No one will control me anymore, I won''t go home until I''m drunk."

"Drink up, it''s rare to have such a good time." Robert had a high tolerance for alcohol, he had trained himself well. Even though he drank as much as Randal, he looked like he hadn''t drunk at all.

"Celebrating my newfound freedom." Randal had said this sentence at least ten times that night.

"You better really not like him at all." Robert couldn''t explain it, maybe it was just a gut feeling. He felt that Randal would take a big fall because of Stewart. Although based on past situations, it was Stewart who had fallen, Robert''s feeling grew stronger, as if that day was getting closer.

"Of course, I don''t like him. I hate him to death, he wasted five years of my youth, control freak." Randal mumbled, still not forgetting to accuse Stewart.

"Hope you really know what you want." Robert said softly. Randal probably didn''t hear it, otherwise, he would have retorted.

Randal then tried to pull the guy next to him to drink.

"Alright, you can go now, we don''t need you here." Robert said, supporting the already drunk Randal.