That afternoon, Lucas went straight to Nael's room. He was sure his little brother was playing video games. But when he entered, he saw Nael lying on the bed. This had never happened before, except when the boy was sick.
"Hey, have you been sleeping all day?" Lucas exclaimed, jumping onto the bed and patting Nael on the back. Normally, his brother would get angry and hit him back.
But Nael just stared at him, his face red and his eyes swollen.
"Go away!" Nael yelled, hiding his face in the pillow.
"Hey, are you crying? What's wrong? Heartbroken?" Lucas asked, still teasing. But he realized the situation was serious when Nael didn't answer.
"Wow... are you really heartbroken? A guy or girl? What grade?" Lucas asked curiously, pinching Nael's cheek from the side.
Nael, who was already emotional, became even more upset because of his brother's behavior. "Aaargh, get out! I'm not heartbroken!"
"Hmm..." Lucas pulled Nael's hair to see his sibling's face more clearly, which only made Nael even more upset.
Nael pushed Lucas's hand away while the young man looked at him seriously.
"Are you really crying?" Lucas hissed. "Aww... what happened, little baby?"
Nael sighed in annoyance, getting even more upset with Lucas. He immediately sat up and threw a pillow at his brother.
"Hey, stop it!" Lucas exclaimed, laughing, pleased that he had successfully provoked his younger brother.
Nael cried again. "My phone is broken!" he shouted after a moment.
"What phone?" Lucas frowned. What kind of phone could make his younger brother cry like that? "Wait—did you have porn in it?"
Nael glared at him. "I'm not like you!"
Nael explained that the phone Alexander had given him was broken when Nathan threw it.
"Oh, Alex gave you a new phone? The same one he gave Nathan last night?" Lucas asked.
Nael nodded. "I don't know why he hates me." He wiped his tears.
Lucas rubbed his younger brother's head. "Well, if I were him, you might be the first person I'd strangle too."
Nael looked at Lucas seriously, his face sad. "Why?"
"Look at your face, it's annoying!" Lucas laughed. Nael immediately remembered that his brother was never serious. He hit Lucas's face with the pillow again.
"Get out! Go! Go away!" Nael shouted, hitting Lucas until the young man left his room.
"Hey, hey! We're going shopping, remember? Come out later!" Lucas shouted from outside the room.
Nael shook his head. "I'm not going!"
Malvin knew what was going on and tried to mediate and convince the two of them. But Nael insisted he wouldn't talk to Nathan until the boy fixed his phone.
And no one could get Nathan to open the door.
The shopping trip was canceled. They tried to get the two of them to sit down and talk directly, but nothing worked.
Until Roger came home after dinner. Nael chose to take his food to his room. Nathan didn't come out at all, even though Malvin persuaded him to bring his food inside.
"Nathan, please open the door. You haven't had dinner," Malvin said, raising his voice slightly.
But there was no response. This worried him.
"Nathan?"
Malvin tried many times, but it was useless. Leo, Lucas, no one was able to get Nathan to come out.
Meanwhile, Nathan was busy in his room with his old books. He was used to unpleasant situations and disappointment. Usually, immersing himself in his studies helped distract him.
For him, there was no point in thinking about it, even though what Alexander had done added to his anger. But he couldn't do anything. He couldn't control other people. It was Alexander's right to give anything to anyone.
But the more he thought about it, the more upset he became. Very upset.
Nathan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He gripped his pen tightly and opened his eyes to finish the last problem he hadn't had time to do at school.
His excitement about his new phone was now replaced by annoyance. He hadn't touched the phone at all since the incident that afternoon.
He heard his siblings shouting his name, trying to persuade him from outside his room. He just grumbled because it was very annoying.
"Can they be quiet?" he grumbled irritably, covering his ears and trying to distract himself with the problems in his book.
When evening came, Roger returned home and heard what had happened. But he had been very busy that day. The first thing he did was go to Nathan's room. After half an hour, his gentle talk had no effect.
He left Nathan's room and went to Nael's.
Nael's door was open, without a knock. Roger entered carrying a bottle of soda and a bag of chips. His face was bright as usual.
"Nael," he called cheerfully, "I heard you were crying in here like a baby."
Nael pouted, still playing with his old phone. "I'm not crying."
"Uh-huh," Roger sat next to him, opened the chips and handed them to him, "Really? Then why do you sound like a singer who just screamed for two hours?"
Nael turned his face away, not wanting to talk. Roger stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Come on, show me your phone."
Nael stayed quiet. He didn't need to ask how the man knew his phone was broken. If one person in the mansion knew about a problem, then everyone would know.
Slowly, Nael took the phone Alexander had given him that morning. Roger looked at the badly cracked screen and whistled softly.
"Wow. Look at this. The crack has a… creative shape."
Nael frowned deeper, not in the mood for jokes.
Roger chuckled softly, rubbing his brother's head. "Listen, I can buy you a new phone. A super expensive one. One with a camera that can see the future if you want."
Nael snorted at the joke. "I don't want another one! I want that phone..."
"Why? You don't like the phone I gave you?" Roger put on a fake hurt expression.
Nael looked at Roger lazily. "It's... a gift from Alex. He never gives me anything directly. Only that phone. I want that phone."
Roger stopped joking. He understood. More than anyone, he knew how Nael viewed Alexander, not as a perfect figure but as someone he wanted to get close to, someone whose attention he wanted.
"I know, but it's just a phone. You can get a new one from him. I'm sure Alex will give it to you," Roger said seriously. "Your relationship with Nathan is more important right now."
Nael was still sulking. "You don't know how I feel."
"Well, you can fix this phone. Replace the screen and it's done. Or buy a new one. If you want Alex to give it to you, ask him. I don't want you to be obsessed with that phone. Alex is still alive, you know? He's not dead," Roger chuckled.
Nael was silent.
"You can get anything from him anytime you want," Roger continued.
Nael stayed silent, but he listened carefully.
"But your relationship with Nathan, if you don't start fixing it now, I don't know if it can be saved. He's too hurt," Roger said again.
Nael looked down.
"I'm not saying you have to accept what he did. I know he was wrong. He shouldn't have thrown your phone. But now we have to try to be patient with him," Roger said carefully, knowing Nael was sensitive.
"So... are you willing to forgive him?" Roger finally asked.
Nael pouted, still not accepting it, but Roger's words touched his heart. After all, he wanted to be close to Nathan.
"Come on," Roger persuaded, hugging his younger brother.
Nael groaned and avoided the hug. "I tried. I tried to get close to him, but he rejected me," he said.
"Do you know how many times he rejected me too?" Roger sighed. "He hates all of us. But you tried, and I really appreciate that."
Nael turned his head, unable to hide the warmth in his heart at Roger's words.
"But I won't forgive him until he apologizes," Nael said.
Roger sighed, but he understood his brother's feelings. "Whatever it is, don't cry anymore."
Nael clicked his tongue. "Why do you always treat me like a baby? I never cry."
"Uh-huh? Look, your eyes are swollen."
***
Meanwhile, that night, Nathan saw something he shouldn't have seen in the basement.