Hey guys, I threw quite a bomb on you all in the last chapter lol.

For all those who haven't read A Hundred Fears, here's a flashback of Noah's and Emily's conversation that you might wanna read to avoid getting any more confused than you guys already are lolll.

Six years back

"Cupcake when I was young, when I was a kid my father used to go to different states every month for business purposes. My mother.....my mother," Noah's voice broke like he was in pain.

"Hey it's okay, you don't have to do this," I gave his hand a squeeze and he opened his eyes and shook his head.

"I want to," he said, and I nodded.

"My father has a brother, whenever dad would go out for business trips my mother would call his brother and they would........she- she cheated on him," a tear slid down Noah's cheek and my heart clenched in my chest.

"He loved her so much. So fucking much yet she betrayed him. She betrayed the man who could've died just for her smile. It broke him, beyond repair. After that, he was never the same man he used to be, even unto his name. He acts all happy and jolly but I know it hurts him. I know he wakes up in the middle of the nights and cries, cries that he wasn't enough, that he couldn't give her what she wanted. He blames himself. Even after fourteen years, he's still not over it. She broke him, she broke my dad, she broke a three year old's hero," pools of tear came rolling down Noah's cheeks and I hugged him to my chest, stroking his hair and silently biting back my sobs.

He seemed so fragile, so pained that I wasn't even sure I was talking to the same Noah who acted all careless and reckless in front of everyone. I hugged him closer to me and he cried in my neck.

"It's going to be okay," I whispered.

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Present time

"You are WHAT?" Emily broke into a fit of coughs and stared at us wide-eyed, probably hoping to tell her that she had been pranked.

"Half brothers," I corrected Noah and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah well whatever, screw you too," Noah gave me an eye roll and looked at Emily who looked like she was about to either slap someone or pass out.

"Look Cupcake, there's a lot of history between Ace, me, and well....dad and those wounds were buried a long time ago, never to be brought up again," Noah rubbed his hands on Emily's arms and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"But that's not even possible, I mean-" she furrowed her eyebrows together, trying to put two and two together.

"Remember when you asked me that if Ace and I were school friends then why was he two years older than me and I told you that we weren't exactly school friends but close neighbors and we sort of grew up together and became good friends?" Noah asked Emily about whatever story he fed her.

"Yeah...." she trailed.

"Well, I lied.....I mean sort of," Noah said and she huffed, leaning back on the chair, she eyed both of us with a calculating gaze.

"Noah told you about the man whore our mother was cheating William on with, right?" I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Um yes...." she reluctantly answered.

"Well, that man whore is the man who unfortunately is my biological father. I mean he was, until today," I shrugged, not caring about him or anything for that matter.

"Ace, man look I know you're—"

"Damn it, Noah, I'm fine. The fact that he's dead does not hurt me so stop trying to condole me about anything. You and I both know he was just the guy way who had sex with a married woman and as a result, I was born," I half yelled at him and sighed and ran a hand down my face when I realized that taking my anger out on him was not fair.

"Look Noah, I'm sorry. I just..."

"No, it's fine, dude. We're good," he assured me and I nodded at him and leaned back on the headrest, closing my eyes and trying to keep my irritation at bay.

"Our mother was pregnant with Ace and she didn't tell my dad that it wasn't his child because that would have exposed her and Dave—Ace's biological father. My dad brought up Ace, loving him with no bounds. A year and a few months later, our mother was pregnant again, this time with my father's child, and resultantly, I was born," Noah explained to Emily about our messed up family while I just sat there with closed eyes, trying not to roll my eyes at how pathetic one can get.

"Well, three years later, I was three and Ace was five when my father found out about Dave and mom and that Ace wasn't his blood. He couldn't bring himself to believe that Ace wasn't his own son so when he told my mother to get out of his life, he asked to keep both of his sons with him. Never for a minute considering Ace as not his own. But of course, Dave had other plans so he practically stole Ace from my father and took him away along with my mother," Noah sighed and Emily silently sat there, digesting everything she kept nodding once in a while.

"I left those abusive excuse of parents when I was thirteen. After all those years, I still hadn't forgotten about the love William gave me so I somehow found myself at his place after I left my own, and as good as he is, he welcomed me with open arms once again. And when they moved to your town, I was eighteen and had already joined college so I stayed back and told them not to mention to anyone about our past, including you," I added and opened my eyes, sadly smiling at Emily who seemed to be on the verge to tears.

"Woah," she blinked her eyes and lightly shook her head.

"I can't believe you guys have been through this much. No wonder I always had this feeling of family around you Ace," Emily smiled at me and I returned the gesture.

"So now my biological father is dead," I lifted the glass high and Noah and Emily looked at me with uncertain expressions.

I believe they were expecting some kind of reaction from me. Well too bad I couldn't care less about his death.

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"No Alex, I am not planning to attend the funeral and no one is going to convince me otherwise. Would you shut up now?" I blustered at Alex angrily and he threw his hands up in surrender.

"Fine man, I get it. Calm down," he said and I leaned back on the chair and closed my eyes.

I was doing that again.

Taking my anger out at people who didn't deserve it.

Apparently, my sources told me that Dave's funeral was tomorrow morning because they expected me to attend or pay my respects but I knew better.

"I'm going out for lunch, you're coming or do I ask Isabelle to bring lunch here to you?" Alex said after a while of uncomfortable silence and I opened my eyes.

"No I'm good," I told him and he reluctantly nodded and left.

After a while of burying myself in work, I heard someone knock and I hated that I knew who was it.

She had a different way of knocking.

"Come in."

"Good evening Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Kingston told me that you needed a cup of coffee," Isabelle said in her timid voice and put the cup down.

"Thanks," I tiredly replied and took a sip of it, the anger and rage I was feeling was turning into exhaustion.

Isabelle stood there for a short while, noticing me and my messed up attire before she spoke up again,

"Are you okay?" she asked in a voice so small, like she was afraid that I might lash out at her.

"I'm fine," I lied and faked a smile. Her expressions told me that she didn't buy it one bit but nevertheless nodded her head and walked out, leaving me with my distressing thoughts once again.

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