Tim was torn between two incredibly difficult choices. The first option was to stay right here by Willy's side and ignore the investigator, but he knew deep down that if anything happened to his loved ones in the future, he would never be able to forgive himself. The second option was to leave and finally help catch Dean, but there was no telling how long that would take. The authorities had been tracking the man for over thirteen years, and yet he always found a way to slip through their fingers.
Willy looked at his worried face, reaching out to comfort him. "I know you're terrified for me, Tim, and I know you don't want to leave me alone. But it's okay. I can stay with my family until you get back."
Tim sighed heavily, his eyes filled with guilt. "But I don't know when I'll be able to return, love. And I know your relationship with your parents is so strained right now... and it's all my fault."
Willy smiled gently and placed his hand softly on Tim's shoulder, squeezing it with reassurance.
Willy said softly. "Catching him is what your soul needs to finally heal. You won't ever be able to live in true peace until this is done, Tim. So go, do what you have to do, and I promise I will be right here waiting for you."
It was a heartbreaking choice for Tim. For thirteen long years, catching Dean had been his only purpose in life, but now, absolutely nothing in the universe was more precious to him than Willy.
Tim looked down, his voice trembling slightly. "Nothing is more important to me than you, Willy. I honestly don't know what to do."
Willy leaned in closer, his voice like a gentle breeze. "Don't force yourself to make this choice right this second, darling. Take your time, think about everything carefully, and I'm sure you'll do what's right. No matter what you choose, I will always be right by your side. Just promise me you won't do this purely for my safety. I know that in your past, you never really had the right to choose what you wanted. You always had to care for everyone else first. So now, I want you to make a decision for yourself not because you feel forced to protect me or because you want revenge. Do what your heart truly desires. No matter what happens next, I will never, ever blame you. Because just as you love and care for me, I care for you the exact same way. We are a family now, Tim. If before you had to protect everyone else and forgot to look after yourself, now I am here, and I will take care of you."
Sitting in the quiet room, Tim felt a deep wave of gratitude wash over him. Every single day, with every passing moment, he realized more and more that he had made the absolute right choice when he refused to walk away from his first love just to focus on revenge. Before meeting Willy, he had never believed in love at all. Whenever someone tried to get close to him or asked him out on a date, his answer was always the same cold, distant reply: he simply had no time for such things.
But the very first moment his eyes met Willy's, he felt something entirely unique and special. That was the exact second he realized he had finally found the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. At first, he had been incredibly nervous because he didn't want to drag Willy into his dangerous world, so he had taken every single precaution to keep him hidden. Deep down, he already knew what choice he had to make, but his heart just didn't want to admit it because he knew saying goodbye would be agonizingly difficult. For the first time in thirteen years, he was finally sleeping peacefully at night, simply because he had someone beautiful by his side whom he could completely rely on.
Tim looked at him, his voice thick with emotion. "I don't want to leave you, Willy... but I know I have to go, and it hurts so much."
Willy brushed a stray tear from Tim's cheek, smiling tenderly through his own sadness. "No matter how long it takes, I will always be right here waiting for you. I just want you to be able to live your life in beautiful peace. I don't want you to wake up every single morning in fear anymore. After everything you've survived, you deserve to be happy."
Willy's birthday celebration didn't end with the bright, joyful atmosphere they had hoped for, because everyone in the room knew that very soon, the two lovers would have to be parted.
That same evening, Tim called the investigator and officially gave him his answer. The final operation to capture Dean was set to begin in just a few days, as the team needed a little time to prepare all the necessary details. Knowing that their time together was running out, Tim and Willy spent every single remaining second wrapped in each other's presence. Those few days flew by far too quickly. Willy didn't have many belongings to pack from their place, since almost all of his old things were still resting at his parents' house. When the morning of departure finally arrived, the reality of the separation hit them both with a heavy, aching sadness.
Willy held onto Tim's jacket, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "I know you're going to be incredibly busy and under a lot of pressure, but please text me whenever you can, because my heart will be constantly worrying about you. Please be careful, Tim. Don't do anything reckless or crazy just to rush back to me. I love you so much."
Tim cupped his face, kissing his forehead with deep devotion. "I promise you I will be entirely careful, love. But you have to promise me you'll look after yourself too. My best security team will be staying behind to guard you and your family around the clock, but please, still be cautious. I love you so much, and my soul already misses you terribly."
They stood there on the pavement, their fingers tightly laced together, completely unable to let go of each other's hands. But they had no alternative.
Miles watched them from a short distance away. He knew that if he didn't step in and gently interrupt them, they would stand there holding onto each other for the entire day.
Miles stepped forward, his voice soft but firm. "It's time to go, guys. The longer you drag out this goodbye, the harder it's going to be for both of you. It's time to let go now."
After one final, breathless kiss that carried all their unspoken love, they slowly, reluctantly let their fingers slide apart. A deep, heavy sadness mirrored in both of their eyes.
Tim looked at him one last time, whispering firmly. "I can't wait for the day when this nightmare is finally over, because I will come running straight back to you the very same second."
Willy nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "And I can't wait for the day when our eyes meet again."
Willy and Miles climbed into their vehicle first. As the car started up and began to pull away, Tim and Willy kept their eyes locked on each other through the glass, never looking away until the car finally disappeared around the bend of the road.
Tim immediately pulled out his phone and called the investigator to iron out the final details of his assignment. Absolutely no one was permitted to know his exact geographical coordinates from this moment on. He had to go into complete hiding near the location that his team deduced would be Dean's very next target. Tim's old family estate was completely out of the question now, because Dean had already thoroughly searched every inch of it and failed to find the specific files he wanted.
Now, there was only one logical place left for the man to strike: the workplace of Tim's estranged father, Adrian. Because the embassy building was incredibly well-guarded by government security, it would take Dean a significant amount of time and effort to infiltrate it. This meant that Tim might be forced to come face-to-face with his father again, a reality he desperately wanted to avoid. Adrian hadn't officially worked at the embassy for a few years now, but he still visited the offices frequently. Since it was a highly secure structure, he still kept many of his most important legal documents stored inside their vaults. Tim knew about this habit very well, and since he had decoded the logic so easily, he was entirely certain Dean had figured it out too.
With the plans locked in, Tim quietly crossed the border and left the country. Now, he and Willy were separated not just by miles of open distance, but by a heavy, silent stretch of time.
Willy's return to his childhood home was not nearly as warm or welcoming as he had hoped to prepare himself for. His parents were rarely ever at the house due to their demanding corporate schedules. They were still frantically trying to clean up the financial and legal mess that Tim's previous corporate moves had caused, leaving their company in a state of absolute chaos. Because of this endless stress, they barely had a single moment to sit down or spend any meaningful time with their son.
When Willy finally walked up the stairs and pushed open the door to his old bedroom, his heart sank. The space looked absolutely awful and cold, almost completely stripped bare, as if his parents had actively tried to hide his existence or make his memory disappear from the house entirely. Willy quietly began to tidy up the messy space, but when he realized that a vast majority of his personal belongings were completely missing, he walked back downstairs to find his brother.
Willy looked at him, confused. "Miles, do you happen to know where all my personal things went? I just went up to my room and found it almost completely empty."
Miles looked up from his laptop, shaking his head with a sigh. "I have absolutely no idea, honestly. My room hasn't been touched at all; everything is exactly where I left it. You'll have to ask our parents whenever they get back. They probably packed your stuff away in storage somewhere."
Willy fell silent, his chest tightening. He didn't want to call his parents to argue about something like this. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if they had just thrown his things into the trash, considering the painful reality that he had never been their favorite child. Saying nothing more, he turned around and walked slowly back up to his hollow bedroom.
The weight of the empty house pressed down on him, and he found himself missing Tim with a sharp, physical ache. If his husband were standing beside him right now, he wouldn't have to endure this cold rejection alone. His safe haven, his true home, and the one person he could always count on were no longer within his reach. His vision blurred, and soft tears began to stream down his cheeks.
Suddenly, the bedroom door creaked open, and Miles stepped inside. "Hey, Willy. Your fiancé's head of security is downstairs in the driveway. He says he needs to see you right away."
Willy blinked in surprise, quickly wiping his eyes. He certainly hadn't expected to see the security team here, assuming they would have traveled across the border to shield Tim. He hurried down the stairs to meet him at the front door.
Willy looked at him, puzzled. "Why are you here? I thought for sure you would have gone with Tim."
The head of security offered a warm, respectful smile. "Tim strictly ordered me to stay behind and protect your life, sir. He told me directly that you are the most precious thing in his entire world, and it's my duty to ensure you are safe. Please don't worry he has another elite, highly trained team guarding his back over there. Also, my men brought these things for you."
Willy walked out onto the porch and saw a massive line of delivery boxes stacked up outside. The guards carefully lifted them and began carrying them up the stairs directly into his bedroom.
Willy watched them, completely bewildered. "What exactly is inside all of these boxes?"
The head of security shrugged gently. "Honestly, I don't know the exact contents, sir. I was simply instructed by the boss to deliver them straight to your hands. There is a personal letter hidden somewhere along with the boxes, and it will probably explain everything to you."
Once the final box was safely resting inside, the security team respectfully said goodbye and returned to their designated guard positions around the property. Because Willy and his parents were staying under this roof, a massive, dense perimeter of guards was now watching the estate. They had been guarding the house well before his return, but Tim had ordered them to strengthen the security tenfold now, entirely because he knew just how deeply precious Willy was to his heart.
The once empty, cold bedroom was now completely overflowing with large cardboard boxes. Willy could barely even find a clear path to walk across the floor. He began carefully searching through the stacks, hunting for the personal letter the security chief had mentioned. Finding it among the maze of cardboard wasn't easy at all. But after a long while, his fingers finally brushed against a crisp envelope hidden carefully between two boxes in the far corner of the room.
He picked it up gently, navigating his way back to the edge of the mattress with a racing heart. He sat down on the bed, holding the sealed letter tightly in his hands. He stared down at his name written in Tim's familiar handwriting, but his fingers hesitated to break the seal. Deep down, he was terrified that the moment his eyes read his husband's sweet words, the aching desire to see him would completely overwhelm his heart.