"Alessandro and Maria adopted me and Iago."
"Oh. That makes sense. I'm sorry about your real parents," Des whispered.
"Don't be. I don't remember much about them." A look crossed his face, and Des could tell he was trying to recall a memory or two, but nothing of significance came to him. "Anyway, when they died, I was sent to a group home, which is where I met Iago." His face brightened at the mention of Iago’s name.
"You two are really close, huh?"
"He's my best friend, brother, and the only man I trust to watch my back," Othello explained. "We fight, we love, and encourage each other. Growing up, we were fucking hellions. It hasn't changed much. We just found a different way to terrorize people." He chuckled. "Iago’s about to be a father, and I'm happy for him."
"So you're going to be an uncle? Congratulations."
"Yup, and I plan on spoiling the kid rotten, no matter what Iago says."
It would have been the perfect time to ask if Othello wanted kids of his own. Instead, Des smiled at hearing Othello talk about his brother. "I'm kind of jealous of your relationship with him. Being an only child was hard enough, but being ignored and feeling unloved by my parents was worse."
"I don't think your parents hate you," Othello commented. "They were just trying to..."
"Stifle my creativity," he snapped, sitting up and ignoring the pain in his ass, but he was suddenly feeling fired up that Othello was taking his parents' side. "I told you just a little of what myparents did. But they lied to me for years, forcing me into a career I never wanted, and now I have to start from scratch to catch up to where I should have been. How can you take their side?"
"I'm not taking their side, Tesoro." Othello pulled him back into his arms. "Your parents were wrong with their approach, but answer me one question. Was being a doctor really that bad? And be truthful," he said, lightly tapping the tip of Des's nose.
Sighing, he shook his head. He'd always said that although he hated his job, he knew he was good at it. "It wasn't so bad."
"I think the reason you hated it was because your parents pushed you into it. If you had chosen it for yourself, things would be different."
Des couldn't argue with Othello's logic. "Why do you have to sound so sensible," Des told him. Othello chuckled, then kissed him on the forehead. "I'm not going back, Othello. I know I was good at my job, but I don't want to be responsible for another person's life that way again. And I won't forgive my parents. For years, I did what they wanted. Now it's time for me to live for me."
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Tesoro. You've made your decision, and now the only thing is to move forward. As for your parents, I won't comment on that." Othello pulled him close. "One day, you might forgive them, but there's nothing wrong with letting your anger out occasionally. If Alessandro and Maria did the same to me, I doubt I'd speak to them again."
Des looked at Othello and saw the truth in his eyes. "Thanks for listening."
"Anytime, Tesoro."
"I like that," Des told him between yawns, pressing his face into Othello's chest, as his eyes suddenly grew heavy, as if he'd been drugged. "I like it when you call me your treasure."
As he closed his eyes, a soft kiss touched his forehead. "That's because you are," Othello whispered as he fell asleep.
Cassio glaredat the man in front of him. "When you agreed to work with us, it was with the understanding that you needed to give us everything on Moor."
"And when have I gone back on that deal?" his companion stated.
Cassio went to slap the man in the face, but Antonio Greco stopped him.
"So you didn't know he was dating?" Antonio asked.
"Dating who?" the man said, standing.
"You really didn't know?" Greco said.
"No, but how did you find out?" the man said.
"We saw them tonight at the Celeste Grand Plaza," he said. "They were pretty cozy. It's a side of Moor I've never seen before. We almost didn't want to interrupt them. It's a shame Moor is probably fucking that little sweet body right now. I must say, Moor knows how to find good-looking companions." He smiled. "I can't wait to take this one away and ruin him like I did the last one."
"You better not let Stephania hear you say that." Greco chuckled.
"Man can't live on bread alone, my friend. Every now and then, he also likes a little meat." He chuckled and looked at their companion. "Find out who he is. I want to know all I can about him before I make my move."
"Yes," the man said with no hesitation.
