So Unexpected

So Unexpected
Derek's POV

I lay awake, listening to Rachael's soft breathing beside me. We had made love throughout the night, and I had only let her sleep when it was past midnight. But I couldn't sleep, my mind racing with thoughts and emotions. I counted the seconds and minutes until Rachael fell asleep, and then I gently moved away from her, careful not to wake her.

I put on a robe and left the room, making my way to the kitchen to make some tea. As I entered the kitchen, I saw Peter already there. We exchanged a knowing look, and I slid open the glass door that led to the backyard.

Once we were outside, Peter turned to me with a serious expression. "Boss, I have some information to share with you," he said. "Everyone believes you're dead, including the underworld. They think you died during surgery."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. This was the outcome I had been hoping for. By faking my own death, I had been able to throw everyone off my trail, including my enemies.

I nodded, a sense of satisfaction washing over me. My plan had worked perfectly. Everyone believed I was dead, and I had been able to use that to my advantage. I had taken the time to receive treatment for my cancer, and I was now cancer-free. It was a new lease on life, and I was determined to make the most of it.

As I stood there, surrounded by the peacefulness of the backyard, I realized that I didn't need to be the king of the underworld anymore. I didn't need the power, the money, or the stress that came with it. All I wanted was to live a quiet, peaceful life with Rachael. She had become my responsibility, and I was determined to take care of her.

I had enough money to last me and my future generations a lifetime. But I knew that I was too deep in the underworld, and the only way to escape was to lie low and give up my position. It was a difficult decision, but I knew it was the right one. I was ready to leave the underworld behind and start a new life, free from the violence and corruption that had defined my past.

I turned to Peter, my curiosity piqued. "Is there something else?" I asked, and Peter nodded, handing me a file.

"What's this?" I asked, taking the file from him.

"It's everything we could find on Rachael," Peter explained. "Her background, her family, her accomplishments... everything."

I opened the file, scanning the contents with pride. Rachael was an amazing woman, and I was proud of everything she had accomplished. Although I had given her some opportunities, she had still worked hard to achieve her goals, and I admired her for that.

As I read through the file, I couldn't help but think about how much I missed Rachael. I had been longing to come back to her, to hold her in my arms and never let her go. But I had a task to complete, and I couldn't let my feelings get in the way.

Her absence had tortured me, but I knew I had to do this. I was doing it for us, for our future together. I wanted us to be together, forever, and I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

I asked Peter if he had anything else for me, and he nodded, his expression serious. "The file also contains information on the former underworld king," he said.

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What did you find out?" I asked.

Peter hesitated before speaking. "It took me a while to dig up anything, but... I think I found a connection between you and the late underworld king."

I felt a surge of curiosity. "What kind of connection?" I asked.

Peter took a deep breath before answering. "I think the late underworld king might be your uncle... and Daniel's father."

I felt a pang of shock, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. I had always known that my family's history was complicated, and that my father and Daniel's father were brothers. But what I had never told anyone was that my father had forced himself on his brother's wife, resulting in my birth. Daniel was my stepbrother, and my mother, Vivian, hated me because of what my father had done to her.

She had been pregnant with two brothers' children, one her husband's and the other, her rapist's. I was the outcome of my father's crime, and I was hated for it.

I understood Vivian's pain, and that was why I had let her attack my company without fighting back. I knew she needed to lash out, to punish someone for the pain she had endured. And I was willing to take that punishment, to absorb her anger and her hate.

I wondered if Daniel knew why Vivian and I never bound, but either he knew or just didn't concern himself with it.

He probably knew it was smart not to include himself. He already had a terrible relationship with her.

Vivian wasn't a perfect mother, but I understood her anger towards me, and it had shaped me to the person I was now.

"I thought Daniel's father died in a plane crash?" I asked, purely curious.

"That was what they recorded, but I think he had been alive, and also he was responsible for your father's untimely death," Peter added.

And the death he deserved. I added inwardly while simply amazed by the fact that Daniel's father had been smart enough to fake his death as well. It was utterly incredible, and now I could understand why the man willingly gave himself up.

This was just so... Unexpected.