The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era [BL]

CASEY felt like his head was about to explode. He couldn't comprehend the things the duke was saying. He understood the words one by one, but when combined together, it felt like he was hearing some alien language.

Emmy was alive and always had been? They faked her death? Emmy had twins?

Each one of those was like a fantasy, a lie the duke concocted. He wanted to retort, tell the other how much of a liar he was, but when he raised his head and saw the duke's expression, he knew the other was not lying. That everything he said was the truth.

What did that mean?

Hundreds of thoughts swirled in his mind. But all he could focus on was one thing - that Emmy was alive. His sister was alive!

Upon that realization, he should have felt happy. But the only thing that filled him at this moment was anger. Blind, hot rage that filled every cell and every fiber of his being.

"You... faked her death? And you didn't bother to tell me about it? Ha... ha.. hahaha!

Hahahaha!"

A low laugh escaped his lips, then it gradually grew louder and louder. He didn't even notice the tears that were streaming down his face.

Thomas looked at his younger brother, who was laughing while crying at the same time. He closed his eyes tightly. It pained him to see Cassius like this. The other had always had a sunny and playful disposition. He was never confrontational. Instead, he would just give sarcastic remarks that would hit his opponent right where it hurt.

The fact that Cassius was so overcome with emotion right now proved just how angry he was. Maybe this was the pent up anger he had been suppressing inside him all these years. Which pained Thomas even more.

Because they were the ones who did this to his brother. Cassius was suffering right now because of him and their father.

Casey stopped laughing and said in an almost lifeless voice. "Not even bothering to tell me about it, I guess I really am just a baggage in this family."

"Cassius, that's not--"

Thomas wasn't able to finish what he was saying, because Cassius' face, that seemed to have calmed down, suddenly contorted.

"But I deserve to know about it. Emmy is my sister, my family! You don't have the right to keep this away from me!" Cassius shouted, almost like a guttural cry of a wounded animal. "You let me mourn her death! How can you do that? How can..."

As if he had lost all strength in his body, Cassius collapsed and kneeled on the floor. As he cried, he kept on mumbling the words 'you have no right' and 'how dare you'.

Thomas quickly tried to support the other, but was pushed away. The force almost made him stumbled over. He would probably only make things worse if he insisted on approaching Cassius, so he could only stay where he was and watch his brother wallow in his pain and anger.

Anthony watched his son fell apart like this and he felt like thousand of knives were cutting at his heart. He knew that any reason he would give would only sound like an excuse to Cassius. So, he could only stay silent.

Telling the other that he was too young to know everything back then, or that it was the best decision they could come up with at that time, might only trigger a negative reaction from the other. Even more so if he said that was what Emmaline wanted. It would only sound like he was shifting the blame on her.

And that would be wrong on so many levels. Because the only one at fault here was him. Everything started with him. The reason their family became like this was because of his desire for revenge. Ironically, when he accomplished this revenge, he realized that it's really not worth it.

But the damage had already been done. The broken bonds could not be easily mended.

And now, he was seeing the toll it had on his youngest.

He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. Drops of blood fell on the carpeted floor. But he didn't feel any pain. How dare he complain of pain when his son was the one who's really suffering?

Casey was in so much pain that he could hardly breathe. He felt like he would have a heart attack at any second. But he knew that was not the case. His heart was simply weighed down by so much sadness, anger, and pain that it could hardly beat properly.

He understood that he shouldn't be wallowing in his own emotions at a time like this. He just found out that his sister was alive. He should be asking where she was! But he also understood deep down that one of the reasons they didn't tell him about her was because they knew he would do this.

There must still be people from the Lancaster's side who were watching their family. If he went to Emmy, he might just end up exposing her to danger. But even if he understood that, it didn't mean that the anger he's feeling would subside.

These two probably didn't know where Emmy was, anyway. Knowing the duke, he would definitely make a clean cut to make sure that this truth wouldn't be exposed in the future.

There's another important fact that Casey should focus on right now. Something that he almost neglected because the news of Emmy being alive was just too overwhelming.

He wiped away the tears on his cheeks and slowly stood up.

"Emmy's children, the twins you mentioned, who are they?"

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At this time, Astrid had just woken up, still feeling sleepy. He slept very late last night reading the script of [The Shadow Within]. He was so excited analyzing it that he lost track of time.

He forced himself to get up and prepare for school. While brushing his teeth, little did he know that a storm named Cassius Grimaldi was already headed his way.