Bonded to you

Episode 4

Kaiden - We must leave.

I was still in a daze from what had happened earlier. I knew these memories would be a part of my life that I would never forget. Being with Serena like this made me feel like the strong bond between us had just become the strongest one ever. She'll be my wife one day.

I wanted her to be the mom of my children and to grow old with her. She belonged to me completely and forever. As I rode on Eclipse, my happiness just went through my body. I felt like I could hug the world. Eclipse felt it, too. He was happy, too. I could feel it. As I got home, I pulled him into the stable. He didn't want to go in. I frowned.

"You wanna go back to Ivy? Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to be with her."

I pulled his head into a hug and kissed his forehead. I removed the saddle and quickly cleaned his hooves. I hugged him again, and then I closed the door behind me.

"Good night, Eclipse. I'll see you tomorrow."

He neighed, I smiled and left.

I went into the house and ran up to my room. I took my clothes off to shower, but I stopped at my bathroom door. I hesitated; I didn't really want to wash off Serena's scent. But then I thought it through, and I smiled. I could have her scent on me countless times from now on. I shook my head with a smile and went into the bathroom to shower.

When I finished and dressed up, our housekeeper Mary shouted at my door to let me know the dinner was ready. She has been with us since we moved here. I liked her very much. She was a little bit like a "mum" to me.

Actually, I didn't know what that word meant. She always asked me what I wanted to eat for lunch. I always hugged her after dinner and said she was a great cook, so I'd like whatever she did for me. And that was the truth. I grew up on the food that she made. That is probably why I loved the meals she made. When I heard her voice calling me for dinner, I felt hungry. So I went downstairs. As I stepped into the dining room, my father greeted me.

"Dear son. Have a seat."

I sat down. It was weird. My father never greeted me like that.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"Nothing, son. I'm just happy to see you."

"But you see me every day."

"True, true."

I frowned. I didn't understand his behavior. We ate dinner quietly. When we finished, he lifted his head to look at me.

"Son, I want to see you in the living room after dinner."

"Okay."

I nodded. We didn't have dessert yet, but Dad stood and left the dining room. I frowned but remained there as Mary put the plate in front of me with my favourite cake. I devoured it. I wanted to go to my dad's to find out what had happened, which he wanted to share with me so much. When I finished, I stood up and thanked Mary for the lovely dinner, then I went into the living room after my father. I found him pouring some whisky for himself. He noticed me. He looked at me.

"Do you want one?"

I shook my head. He had never asked me to drink with him. So I found his offer weird. But he ignored me and poured some in another glass and handed it to me. I took it, but I didn't want to drink it. I thought tonight I could sneak into Serena's room. I didn't want her to smell alcohol on me. I put my glass down—actually, I slammed it on the table. My father looked at me surprisedly. I couldn't hold it back any longer.

"What is it, Dad? What do you want to tell me? What's wrong?"

He drank his whisky, slammed the glass down, just like I did, and then looked at me.

"We have to go back to New York City."

My eyes opened wide. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I couldn't talk for a while. I needed a few minutes to get back to my senses.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Our businesses. I need to get back to work, son. I tried to delay it, but I can no longer do that. We must go back if we want them to work successfully."

I watched him in disbelief.

"No."

I shouted finally.

"You can't do this to me. The farm is my home; this is where I grew up. You cannot do this to me."

I shouted, I trembled from anger.

"Son, I understand you, but I have no choice. We must handle our business, otherwise we're going to break down. Do you want that?"

"I don't care. You can go if you want, but I'll stay here."

I could see how this sentence hurt him, but I didn't care. There was no way I could leave here.

"Son, you are not old enough. I'm sorry, but you're going to come with me."

"No, I won't."

I shouted. I think I'd lost my mind completely.

"Don't you think about me? Don't you think about her, Serena? I love her. I can't leave her."

"Son, young love can come and go. You are so young yet; you may have some other girls you'll fall in love with."

"No, and you know that well. I grew up with her, and she belongs to me. You cannot do that to us. You can't separate me from her."

I trembled with anger, feeling I could break something.

"I'm sorry, son. You'll get through if you two are in love so much and your bond is that strong. You can see each other on school holidays, and she can visit us anytime, but we must leave."

I couldn't believe what he said. He was like, "He's not my dad, who I knew so well. That was a different person." I wanted to punch something, to tear apart something. I couldn't believe it was happening to me. I felt helpless.