SWEET AND SOUR: UNWANTED MATE

CHAPTER 14: THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE

The ride back to the Blackwood Estate felt longer than it actually was.

No one spoke.

Daniel had stopped trying to find comforting words.

Adam's hands remained steady on the steering wheel, but his thoughts refused to settle.

In the back seat, Nate stared out the window.

The campus had long disappeared behind them.

The whispers hadn't.

They still echoed inside his head.

"That's him..."

"The one from the video."

"Imagine attacking a girl."

"Money changes people."

Nate closed his eyes.

The words refused to leave.

His fingers unconsciously brushed against the bruise on his cheek.

It still stung.

Not nearly as much as everything else.

Beside him, Daniel glanced over more than once.

He wanted to say something.

Anything.

But there were no words that could erase what had happened.

So he simply stayed close.

Sometimes...

Silence was all friendship had to offer.

The familiar iron gates slowly came into view.

A few moments later, the sedan rolled to a gentle stop beneath the entrance of the Blackwood Estate.

Adam switched off the engine.

For a brief moment...

No one moved.

Then Adam stepped out first.

Daniel followed, walking around the car before opening the rear door.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

Nate gave a small nod.

"I'm okay."

It was a lie.

They both knew it.

Still...

Daniel didn't argue.

Nate stepped out of the car.

His eyes were still swollen.

The redness hadn't completely faded.

No amount of wiping his face during the drive had managed to hide the fact that he had cried.

As the three of them turned toward the mansion...

They stopped.

Derrick was already there.

Standing at the top of the entrance steps.

Perfectly still.

His expression was as calm as ever.

Hands resting behind his back.

As though he had been waiting.

Because he had.

For a brief moment, no one spoke.

Nate lowered his gaze and started toward the entrance.

He intended to walk straight past him.

Before he could...

A gentle hand caught his wrist.

Not forcefully.

Just enough to stop him.

"Nate."

Nate didn't look up.

"What happened?"

"...Nothing."

Derrick's eyes lingered on the bruise spreading across Nate's cheek.

"Nate."

"I'm fine."

His voice was quieter this time.

Almost tired.

Derrick didn't move.

He simply stood there.

Waiting.

Nate finally looked up.

"I said I'm fine!"

The words came out louder than he intended.

His breathing hitched.

For a split second...

Even he looked surprised.

Then frustration took over.

"Just... leave me alone."

He pulled his hand free and walked into the mansion without another word.

The entrance fell silent.

Daniel stood frozen.

His eyes darted between the two men.

Derrick watched Nate disappear down the hallway.

Only then did he speak.

"Aren't you going after your friend?"

Daniel blinked.

"...Me?"

Derrick gave a single nod.

"He's going to need someone."

Daniel stared for another second.

"...I can go in?"

Derrick looked at him as though the answer should have been obvious.

Daniel didn't wait to hear anything else.

"Oh!"

He hurried up the steps.

On his way inside, however, he accidentally made eye contact with Damien.

The head guard's expression remained as unreadable as stone.

Daniel offered an awkward smile.

Damien didn't react.

"...Right."

Daniel quickly disappeared into the mansion after Nate.

Silence returned once more.

Only Derrick, Adam, Damien, and two security guards remained outside.

Derrick slowly turned.

"Study."

That single word was enough.

No one questioned it.

A few minutes later...

Adam entered Derrick's study.

The moment the doors closed behind him...

He dropped to one knee.

His head lowered.

"I failed, First Young Master."

No one answered.

The silence stretched.

Heavy.

Damien was the first to break it.

"You failed to protect Young Master Nate."

"...Yes."

Adam didn't lift his head.

"You allowed him to be assaulted under your protection."

"...Yes."

"You disobeyed your duty."

"...Yes."

Each answer came quietly.

Without excuse.

Without resistance.

Damien's voice hardened.

"You should have never let Young Master out of your sight."

Before Adam could answer...

"Enough."

Derrick's voice wasn't loud.

It didn't need to be.

The room immediately fell silent.

Damien lowered his head.

"My apologies, First Young Master."

Derrick looked toward Adam.

"You were wrong."

Adam lowered his head even further.

"I know."

"You were wrong..."

Derrick continued calmly.

"...but not because you failed to fight."

Adam finally looked up.

A faint crease formed between his brows.

Derrick's gaze remained steady.

"You failed because you allowed Nate to believe protecting him meant obeying him."

The words settled over the room.

"If you had followed him..."

Derrick paused.

"He would have been angry."

Another pause.

"If you hadn't..."

His eyes briefly drifted toward the window.

"...this was always a possibility."

Adam's hands slowly tightened against the floor.

"I still failed."

"Yes."

Derrick didn't soften the truth.

"You did."

Adam swallowed.

"Please punish me, First Young Master."

Another silence followed.

Derrick looked at him for a long moment.

Then...

"Stand."

Adam blinked.

"...First Young Master?"

"I said stand."

Adam immediately obeyed.

"I am not interested in punishing someone who already understands his mistake."

Derrick folded his hands behind his back.

"What I require from you..."

His voice remained calm.

"...is that you never repeat it."

Adam straightened.

"...Yes, First Young Master."

Only then did Derrick ask the question he had been waiting to ask.

"Now.... Name"

Adam stood perfectly still.

"The student responsible..."

He swallowed.

"...is Angela Trinz."

Silence.

Derrick neither moved nor spoke.

He simply turned his head slightly.

"Damien."

The head guard stepped forward immediately.

"The Trinz family owns Trinz Pharmaceuticals, First Young Master."

"They currently maintain three joint ventures with Blackwood Holdings."

"Our investment group also owns a thirty-two percent stake in their logistics subsidiary."

He paused briefly.

"Their business has relied heavily on the Blackwood name for the past twelve years."

Adam's eyes widened slightly.

Even he hadn't known that much.

Damien continued.

"They're ambitious."

"But financially..."

"They are dependent."

Another silence settled over the room.

Derrick's fingers tapped the polished desk once.

Just once.

"The father?"

"Richard Trinz."

"The mother?"

"Elaine Trinz."

"The daughter.....Angela Trinz." Derrick said his fingers still tapping lightly on the table.

Damien answered each question without hesitation.

Derrick nodded almost absentmindedly.

"I see."

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Yet everyone in the room felt the temperature drop.

Adam had served the Blackwoods long enough to recognize that look.

It wasn't anger.

Anger was loud.

This...

This was calculation.

Derrick slowly walked toward the window overlooking the estate gardens.

"The Trinz family..."

He spoke almost to himself.

"...has forgotten where its roots are."

No one dared interrupt.

After several moments, Derrick finally turned around.

"Prepare the car."

Adam looked up.

"...First Young Master?"

"I'm going to speak with Nate."

"Alone."

Damien bowed.

"At once."

As the guards quietly left the study, Adam remained standing where he was.

Something told him the conversation Derrick was about to have with Nate...

Would decide the fate of the Trinz family.

A soft knock sounded against Nate's bedroom door.

No answer.

A few seconds passed before another knock came.

"Nate."

Derrick's voice was calm.

"I'm coming in."

The door opened slowly.

The room was quiet.

Daniel sat on the edge of the bed while Nate stood by the window, staring out across the estate grounds.

Neither of them turned around.

Daniel was the first to break the silence.

"I'll... give you two a minute."

He squeezed Nate's shoulder as he stood.

"You know where to find me."

Nate gave the smallest nod.

Daniel walked past Derrick.

For a brief second, the two men exchanged a glance.

Then Daniel quietly closed the door behind him.

Silence settled over the room.

Derrick walked no farther than the middle of the room.

He looked at Nate's reflection in the window.

"You should let the doctor look at your cheek."

"I'm fine."

"You've said that three times already."

Nate let out a tired breath.

"I'm still fine."

"No."

Derrick's voice remained even.

"You're pretending to be."

That made Nate laugh.

A short, bitter laugh.

"You've known me for two days."

"And yet..."

Derrick met his eyes in the reflection.

"...I know you're lying."

The smile disappeared from Nate's face.

He looked away.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't have to."

Another pause.

"But I do need to know one thing."

Nate waited.

"Did she hit you first?"

The question caught him off guard.

For the first time since Derrick entered the room...

Nate looked directly at him.

"...Yes."

"And you pushed her away."

"...Yes."

Silence.

"I thought so."

Nate frowned.

"You believed me?"

"I asked because I already believed you."

The words landed with surprising weight.

Derrick wasn't asking him to prove himself.

He simply wanted the truth.

Nate felt something tighten in his chest.

"...Everyone else believed the video."

"I didn't."

"Why?"

Derrick answered without hesitation.

"Because you're not the type of person to hurt someone without reason."

Nate lowered his eyes.

"...You don't even know me."

"No."

"I don't."

"But I've been watching you."

"You thank servants."

"You apologize when someone bumps into you."

"You still worry about a bodyguard getting into trouble because of something you asked."

His gaze settled on the fading bruise.

"You also tried to convince me this didn't hurt."

Nate couldn't find an answer.

The room became quiet again.

Finally, Derrick spoke.

"I've already been informed about the Trinz family."

Nate stiffened immediately.

"Derrick..."

"I can end this before sunset."

His tone never changed.

"Their businesses."

"Their contracts."

"Their influence."

"Every door they rely on can be closed."

Nate turned around so quickly the chair beside him scraped against the floor.

"No."

Derrick held his gaze.

"No?"

"No."

"You can't."

"I can."

"I know you can."

Nate's voice rose despite himself.

"That's exactly why you can't."

His breathing became uneven.

"I won't let an entire family lose everything because of me."

"They attacked my husband."

"They attacked me."

Nate corrected him quietly.

"They attacked me."

The words hung heavily between them.

"I won't become the reason parents lose their jobs."

"I won't become the reason innocent people suffer."

"If Angela has to answer for what she did..."

"Then Angela should answer."

"Not everyone around her."

Derrick studied him for a long moment.

"You still pity her."

"No."

Nate shook his head.

"I pity the people who'll get caught in the middle."

Another silence followed.

Derrick finally spoke.

"You understand that if I do nothing..."

"I know."

"...she may try again."

"I know."

"And next time..."

His eyes settled briefly on the bruise.

"...she may not stop at a slap."

"I know."

Nate's answer was almost a whisper.

"But this is my fight."

"I've spent my whole life solving my own problems."

"I'm not going to stop just because I married a Blackwood."

Derrick walked a little closer.

Not enough to invade Nate's space.

Just enough to be heard.

"The moment you married into this family..."

"You became someone I am responsible for."

Nate looked back at him.

"And the moment I married into this family..."

"I didn't stop being myself."

The words were calm.

Steady.

"I don't want to hide behind your name every time someone hurts me."

"I need to know I can still stand on my own."

For the first time...

Derrick didn't answer immediately.

Instead...

He thought.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than before.

"...Very well."

Nate blinked.

"I won't touch the Trinz family."

Relief washed across Nate's face.

"But."

The single word stopped it.

"If Angela approaches you again..."

"If she threatens you again..."

"If she lays a hand on you again..."

"This matter becomes mine."

Nate remained silent.

"I will respect your wishes."

Derrick continued.

"Once."

"But I won't allow the same mistake to happen twice."

The room fell silent again.

Nate knew what Derrick was offering.

It wasn't permission.

It wasn't surrender.

It was trust.

Slowly...

He nodded.

"...Okay."

Derrick gave a single nod in return.

The agreement was made.

Neither of them shook hands.

Neither of them smiled.

But something had changed.

For the first time since their marriage...

Neither of them had won.

Neither of them had lost.

They had simply met each other halfway.