Contract Marriage With A Grumpy Idol

9: Enough

“Wow, what are you doing here? Cait Emmanuel finally saw my empty suite and sent you for a peace talk, no?”

Rion did not respond. Instead, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. If only he could slap the grin in the pop star's face, he would have done it already in front of everybody else.

“You look great, by the way,” added Augustus, his grin turning to a smile.

Rion, however, did not know if the change in the demeanor was genuine. Or if he should be expecting a raging plot twist. A word from Augustus Immaculata that would degrade him as a human and make him feel like sh*t.

He stayed silent at the compliment. Or if he could really call that a compliment.

Coming from Augustus Immaculata, that should be some sort of hidden beginning of yet another chaos.

After all, it has all been catastrophic whenever they would come face to face.

“Let us go home. I came here to pick your drunkard ass up, so come on—”

“Thank God you did not leave the mansion looking like the wh*re that you are,” there it was. The plot twist. The shift in the dynamics.

Rion was disappointed, got even more disappointed in the singer, but it was not surprising anymore.

News may say that he was nice and kind. He supports rights and morally correct revolutions. But in reality, he was just a j*rk, an assh*le hiding in a beautiful and talented body. His soul was rotten. He was destined to end up in hell and if it would require Rion's statement to being him there, he would d*mn speak up and make sure they will be together in the eighth circle.

Augustus has been treating him like the pop star does not have even just a pinch of humanity left in his compass. He was worse than an animal. He was the worst.

The first month of living with Augustus Immaculata, although he was granted access in a gorgeous mansion and his friends were free to visit anytime, was hell. And still, they have barely even met!

What more could it turn out if Augustus starts to stay more often in the mansion with him? Rion could already visualize the chaos and war— either silent or like a tornado. The quarrelling would never stop. Sounds of bickering would fill the house. Indirect humiliation would echo in every hall. He would be dead by midnight.

And that would be the worst-case scenario.

“F*ck you,” Rion said as he started to step back.

If Augustus did not want to leave yet, then he would not force him.

He looked around for a seat near Augustus so he could watch after the drunk singer while he was drinking. Like a bodyguard. Like a d*mn butler, even if he did not apply for that job— though it would admittedly be a better work than be that j*rk's contract husband.

He kept Augustus in his sight, making sure his eyes would not flicker somewhere else the entire time for a long span. Still, he chose to fulfill the favor Calyx initially asked him for. Despite receiving harsh comments, he still wanted to make sure Augustus would not do anything rash and stupid to cause yet another havoc under his name, or a headline the next morning.

For Calyx, the rest of the boys, and for Cait Emmanuel.

Augustus Immaculata could f*ck himself. But he would do this for that singer's friends...

~

He was not heaven's strongest soldier to be capable of standing Augustus Immaculata's tiresome guts. Nor was he the toughest to stay through the man's annoying personality and rudeness. The singer's cruelty. And his inhumane demeanor that could have left him friendless.

And he did not know how Zero Degree and Cait Emmanuel ever made deep bonds with him. Or why they cared so much about him. He could not see any reason for them to cherish such a man.

Augustus looked down on him like he was nastier than any existing animal in the planet. A treatment no one in this world deserves. Not even the considerably nasty species in the planet.

Rion might have endured all those for the sake of his father's treatment, to prolong his old man's life, and for him to be able to give back to the one who raised him. But it did not mean he was fine with it. It did not mean he could take it again and again. It did not mean that he was sure he will be immune to it by the process.

With that, he would expect nothing from Augustus Immaculata.

However, right now, with Augustus ignoring his grunts for help and the commotion before the singer's drowsy brown eyes, and completely disregarding Rion's presence in his front even after the latter has saved his ass from being blown right in the face?

That was completely low of Augustus. So low than what he has expected of the humanity left in the pop star's veins.

At that point, Rion swore he felt pity for Augustus Immaculata. With all those talents, his looks, his voice that sings like an angel, and his hard earned wealth at a young age. You would think he deserved all the praise he was getting. But no. Augustus Immaculata deserves to be pitied instead.

He has lost natural human reaction. He only cares about himself. And in return, if he keeps on doing that, he will also lose everyone who cared about him. Shame.

The bar was loud and blasting. The music can break eardrums and seep through anyone's guts. The guests were too occupied in the dance floor, in front of the counter, drinking, dancing, or making out — everyone else was too wasted and lost in the moment. That even they did not notice the commotion that was happening.

In one of the farthest corners were Rion, Augustus Immaculata, and a strange man Rion did not even know the name of.

He kept on looking around for help, to find literally just anyone who would be willing enough to lend him a hand. There was none.

As ridiculous as it may seem, he also hoped to spot any member of Zero Degree or any of his friends inside the bar. So any of them could pull this drunk man away before this exact scene becomes big enough to cause catastrophe and garner attention from the masses, then end up on tomorrow's morning headlines. There was none.

No Janvick, no Shawn, no Hans, no Calyx. Nine of his friends. Not one person looking in their direction.

He shivered in fear, but stood tall and pretended to be tough.

“Little boy, let me just beat the s**t out of that man, Augustus Immaculata, and I will spare your life. It is this easy. Let me have my way and release my anger, and you are free. Sounds just right?”

Rion shook his head, no. He shrugged the man's negotiation off as he moved to step forward and get in between Augustus Immaculata and the stranger.

Although scared and already trembling in tremor, he continued to guard Augustus like a butler he swore he was not.

It was part of his duty, after all. Of his promise to Calyx, although unspoken. He has to make sure Augustus would not be involved in any mess tonight. He has to make sure Augustus comes home unharmed, and harming no one.

When finally, the pop star's attention was on them, Rion almost blew out a sigh of relief. If only the assh*le did not look away in an instant as if he was not there, as if he did not see the scene before his own naked eyes.

With a sole glance to Rion, Augustus went back to sipping in the bottle of tequila he was holding. Emptying it in one last gulo before pulling yet another spare one from the case in his front.

“G*DDAMN IT, AUGUSTUS IMMACULATA! ARE YOU F*CKING NUTS?! D*MB?! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE QUICKLY, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND FIND CALYX'S DRIVER OUTSIDE! BY THEN, WAIT UNTIL I GET THERE. ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?! F*CKING IMBECILE!” Rion snarled as loud as he can, breaking the sound barrier to reach the singer who did not even case one bit.

Augustus, busy with his drink, just shrugged the yell off like he was deaf.

“Ah— oh? Were you not the one Augustus Immaculata married—? F*ck, you are Rion Nathan, are you not? So, so protective of you, how f*cking sweet,” the man mumbled in a sarcastic tone, frowning disgustedly at Rion, then turning to Augustus with the same look, then back to the former, “That poo star will be your downfall, little boy. He does not know how to trust.”

Who cares? It was not like he wanted to gain Augustus Immaculata's trust.

“Sir, please,” Rion replied, “I do not know who you are. I am not knowledgeable about any of your personal problems with Augustus. I do not know what you are up to. But will you please leave us alone for now? He is still too drunk to have a talk and mind his business with you. I am sorry.”

“You do not know who I am and what that man has done to me— to us? You are his d*mn husband, little boy. Do not go telling me you do not know!”

“Augustus never told me about you,” Rion scoffed. At least what he said was the absolute truth. He never told him anything about the man. Or generally anything besides degrading sh*t like he was not human at all. “Or what happened between you two. Who are you? Maybe I can relay your message when he is sober—”

“Augustus Immaculata f*cking insulted our family when he suddenly came out as... gay! Out of the blue, he married a... disgusting man like you? What sorcery was that?!”

Even with the undeniably deafening noise, the man's voice resonated through their space. It sent chills down Rion's spine, making him flinch further.

The man was at his peak. He was mad and raging. Like a bull being taken down inside a coliseum.

What the heck did Augustus Immaculata do for the guy to be this furious? Ready to fight and kill for the sake of reasons Rion did not even know of and will never have any idea about.

“Ah, that motherf*cker. Imagine dumping my sister... who has been showing motives for months, only to tie the knot with a f*g? Like you? A commoner, broke, jobless boy he has probably picked up somewhere nasty. Augustus Immaculata must be out of his mind, do you think so, too?!”

“I... I do not know about that, Sir. Or sorry that happened?” Rion replied.

However, his response sounded sarcastic to the man's ears. With even more vigor, his gaze sharpened and bore deep within Rion's skin, as if peeling him alive inside his mind.

“B*tch!”

I mean, that was it? Rion asked himself. It was such a shallow reason. As much as he hated Augustus, it should not even be the singer's' fault for not loving his sister and deciding to accept the motives she was giving?

So, Augustus Immaculata must have ‘something’ with that girl, then? It did not have to be a special relationship, or a labeled understanding. But the fact that the girl was associated to him did mean a thing.

Do not get him wrong. It was not that Rion was curious— let alone jealous, hell, no f*cking way. He was just... surprised. Sure, Augustus Immaculata was charming and all. But with his ugly attitude, one of the most terrible Rion has ever dealt with, why would someone fall for him? Love really is blind, huh?

While delving deep in his thoughts, an infuriated hit planted by his left jaw brought Rion back to life in a millisecond. Surprising. Out of the blue. He was not even ready, nor was he paying attention.

Not that it would make a large difference if he was, though.

Rion fell hardly on the ground, almost sent flying. He was literally blown away, pushed by the excessive amount of force exerted by reddening fists against his now fractured jaw.

When the direct charge has finally registered to him, as he willed himself to open his eyes and sit up after a few seconds of spacing out in disbelief and shock, he immediately tasted a tang of blood in his mouth. His lips were swollen. The left side of his face felt broken.

He was too weak compared to this man. He would not compare. Even if he fought, it will be a hopeless case.

Noticing that the throw has pushed him to close the distance between him and Augustus Immaculata, he turned to the pop star with pleading eyes. He was willing to beg for help, kneel and fold his palms even, if that was what it would take.

To his disappointment, though, Augustus has turned away from the scene. He was not seeing any. Was not seeing Rion's bleeding face and teary eyes.

Augustus would not back him up, he realized. Even if the pop star could probably see his state, he supposed he would just shrug it off, he would probably even laugh at Rion.

He had no one. No one but himself. With a pained expression, he forced himself to stand back up in both of his feet. Slowly but carefully, when he did, he once again faced the stranger with a face that said, ‘what the f*ck is wrong with you?’

With the best he could, Rion faked toughness. How idiotic of him. He knew beforehand that if he could not defend himself, how would he defend someone else? And now, he was facing someone's grudge, carrying the madness that was supposed to be for Augustus Immaculata.

In one fast blow, all he was able to do was swiftly launch forward and put all his remaining strength to one attack. A straight punch right on the man's nose. He made sure that the action was enough to break the stranger's air passage.

Still, the man remained stead. He just winced and did not even show a little sign of damage, except from the subtle amount of blood he spat from inside his mouth after the blow.

That only spurred him further. Angrier, he grited his teeth while he looked at Rion.

“You know, what, f*g? That face of yours has been nothing but annoying, so irritating, since the very first time I saw you with Augustus-disgusting-Immaculata. Was that on the national television or a newspaper, I do not remember exactly. What I do reckon is wanting to break it until you are unrecognizable,” the man spurted, raising a hand to examine his broken nose.

“You look too angelic he my liking. Too innocent, too weak, too fragile. I hate to see such femininity take over a man. You are supposed to be standing strong, little boy. Embrace masculinity. Well, yeah, I hate how you look, how you f*cking act. Act tough! And now, show me what you got, little boy,” he said through curled fists, “And have I told you that you are as nasty as Augustus Immaculata? No? Now, I have.”

Rion looked back to Augustus, eyes still hoping for the bare minimum. One glance. Just one glance. With teary eyes begging for a single but of attention, his remaining time in that spot was utilized into its maximum.

The singer did not spare a single second to look for him and see what was going on.

Rion almost smacked himself when he felt a pang of yet another disappointment. D*mb*ss. He should have not hoped in the first place. And now, he was disappointed that Augustus Immaculata did not give a d*mn?

That was Augustus Immaculata. For f*ck's sake, he was the man Rion despises the most. In return, he was certain that Augustus hated him just as much.

Of course, the pop star would not care. Even if hw dies in front of his eyes, he would not give a f*ck.

Heck, Augustus might even giggle in triumph. Smile in victory. And throw a party for the world will lose one w***e when he is gone. One less gold digger.

When the stranger has reached him, he started to drag Rion out of the bar. As the latter tried as hard as he could to escape. He threw weak punches and kicks to get off the grip and shake off the man's strong hands off of him. Unfortunately for Rion, hw was buff. He was bigger. A lot more stronger. Like a body builder who would welcome him, a beginner and new member, by the gym's very entrance to show off how hard he worked to get such an amazing body.

He was pulled into the underground parking lot and he didn't even know it exists. In that place, even after his countless shouts for help, his growls of pain, and his grunts so the hits will stop, nobody was there to offer a hand and stop the man from beating him furiously.

Rion tried to fight back, he did his best to defend himself through his broken state, using an exhausted body that is near to collapse. It was a failed attempt.

He felt like his bones were already fractured, and it's getting broken in every attack he was receiving. His eyes were near to giving up and he felt like the grip he has on dear life is slowly detaching, like he was a drying leaf on one tree branch.

The man won't stop, and there wasn't anyone to stop him. No, not even a single soul.

Rion almost chuckled bitterly, if only he wasn't busy groaning because of pain. Maybe it was better to end like this than stay under one roof with the ruthless and evil pop star in Augustus's perfectly deemed figure. Maybe this was better than enduring more months with Augustus Immaculata...

“Rion?! F*ck, man, is that you?! Jesus!” Rion heard the familiar voice from meters away and when he opened one of his eyes, he saw a tall figure running his way towards him.

Shawn.

“Get off of Rion, Guiller,” he said in a commanding tone, using a deep and stern voice that sent chills down Rion's spine while he suffered loss of strength. “I said get off of him.”

Guiller. The name sounded a bit familiar to Rion. But he could not remember where he heard it. On the other hand, he has quite a lot to focus on before trying to reckon this man's identity.

“Oh f*cking please. Just stay out of my own business and mind yours, Shawn. I am not interfering with yours, do not do it to mine. Moreover, I am not yet done with this annoyingly disgusting f*cker. What an irritating face he has. I have to make sure to erase this one until I do not recognize him anymore. So that when I see him again I will not feel the urge to beat the sh*t out of him,” Guiller grunted in response. He did not move away. He stayed sitting above Rion's stomach as he looked at Shawn with a bored expression while throwing small jabs and hooks by the nearly unconscious Rion on the ground.

“It is either you get away from the poor guy, or I will be calling the cops. Mark my words. Guiller, you know me as someone who stands by my vows. We have worked before, no? Before you fell off quickly. And I bet this will be the very end of your already non-existing career as a forgotten action star, hmm?”

As if on cue, a heavy weight left Rion's body as Guiller seemed to have picked up on Shawn's threat. Surrendering, Rion could only hear mad echoes of stomping heels by the silent bay, a sign of the man leaving them unabashed as if he has done nothing heinous.

By the time it was over, Rion did not know what to feel forst. Whether he should sigh in relief that Guiller was gone, or breakdown in annoyance that he was not able to put up a fight, or just cry because of the drilling pain on his abdomen, crawling toward his head, literally felt all over his frame.

All his life, he has never been in such intense physical pain. He did not know it hurt that much.

“Dude, are you... okay?” Shawn asked, but hen hissed as soon as the stupid question was out of his mouth, “Well, sh*t. That sounds so wrong to ask a man in your condition. Of course, you are... not okay.”

Drowsy and lifeless, Rion did not respond. He did not even have the confidence to look up to Shawn, even though he still had enough voice to reassure the singer that he was still alive and breathing.

Instead, he used his strength to raise two hands and clasp them by his head, covering his face from Shawn's sight in shame of getting seen in that fragile and beaten state.

“Jesus. F*ck that Guiller, really. Why is he still around,” Shawn keened, “I am... glad I left work. Thank goodness I followed you here in Veronia when Cait called and Calyx told us you will be the one to get to Augustus. Ah, where the hell is that f*cker?”

Rion was still unresponsive.

“Dude, can you... like, stand? Rion... oh my God. Do not sleep hmm? Refrain from closing your eyes on me. I... I will bring you to the nearest hospital, hmm? Listen, just... endure it for a while,” in Shawn's voice was absolute panic, a strong sense of urgency to attend to him and make sure he would not lose consciousness before they get to seek first aid, “I will get my car and you just wait here. Is... is that all right? Rion?”

Rion nodded silently and weakly in response.

As much as he could, he kept his swollen lids open, although the gap was nearly a single millimeter. He then forced himself up with aching body, grunting from time to time.

After a few while full of groans out of pain, he has successfully sat up. He let the metal door of a nearby car carry the weight of his back.

“Hey… Rion, I am here. Come on now. Let us get you checked. God d*mn it. I… let us… ah, f*ck this… Rion Nathan, can you stand?” Shawn said, stuttering as he hopped off his car.

His nerve only went more tense as before when he observed and realized how bad Rion actually looked. The guy was too damaged. Too weak to even move a muscle again.

It seemed like moving one of his limb might cause more severe injuries that would take him a long time to recover from.

“Dude, I... I am so sorry this has to happen. I... I know a sorry will not take away the pain, but still, I want to apologize. For Augustus, for all of us. If you... do not want it, though, I promise that nothing will be released to the press, the public will not know. However, if you do wish for it to be broadcasted, we will make sure that motherf*cker will be humiliated in public. We will make sure to take care of Guiller and tell Augustus and the management about this so we can advance for legal offenses.”

Rion did not respond.

“Now, do not do any extra moves and just... f*ck, you look ruined. Just... stand up slowly and carefully, all right? Here, let me help you,” Shawn stepped forward, “D*mn, your bones... D*mn that man, he is about to kill you…”

Still, he stayed unresponsive by the ground. Only when Shawn got to him did he exert the remainder of his strength to help himself through the other boy's arms.

Tears started to run down his cheeks. He did his best to keep himself from sobbing and letting Shawn hear him breaking. He gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Why was he so physically weak? Why was he unable to fight and defend himself? Why was he struggling emotionally? Why could he not stop his pain from overflowing out of his chest.

His whole body was aching so bad, hurting unbearably, that he just wanted to die on the spot. He can also feel his bones crack every time he tries to elicit some force.

Rion's whole body was aching tenaciously. Hurting unbearably. He felt like wanting to just die on the spot. He swore his bones were cracking every time he tried to exert a little force for work.

It now seemed logical how he was not able to put up a fight until the last moment, or even when it started. Aside from being physically weaker, he also realized how the first blows itself has left him badly injured.

And that was it. That was f*cking it.

He had enough. He has endured this more than he shou have done.

He could earn money everywhere else, just not near Augustus Immaculata. He could do anything, just not this contract sh*t with that j*rk of a singer.

If the only thing he could do is bury himself under piles of debts, then he would. Any job will do. Any possible way will be better. He will bite every other thing just so he could step out of this. Even if he works his life out until his last breath.

He had enough. Of this. Of the industry he now belongs to. Especially of Augustus Immaculata.

The contract can f*ck itself. Augustus Immaculata can f*ck himself.

The only person he would owe an apology to were his group mates. And Cait Emmanuel. Aside from them, the rest could expect nothing else from him.