My Soul card is a Reaper

"How the hell did you arrive before me?"

Leiza's eyes widened as she looked from Azzy to Orion. "When did you two meet?" she asked, her voice tinged with both surprise and confusion.

Azzy responded nonchalantly, "I was just too excited to wait, so I went ahead to meet him a couple of hours ago. Didn't expect the lad would just jump down from the chopper, though. The only difference was that you did it out of compulsion, while his act is more like resistance."

Leiza furrowed her brows, turning her gaze back to Orion. "What the hell were you thinking?" she shouted, her voice laced with anger. "You could have killed yourself!"

Orion stood his ground, his eyes burning with resentment as he glared at Azzy. Instead of replying to her, he growled at Azzy, "Wow, that's great. The moment you decided to return to our lives, you started turning my mother against me?"

Leiza rose from the couch in anger. "Orion, behave. That's your father."

Orion's face twisted in contempt. "I don't give a shit about that," he muttered, shaking his head. His gaze remained hard on his mother. "If you want to accept that bastard that abandoned us, fine. But I will never acknowledge him as my father. Never."

Without another word, Orion stormed off, heading for his room.

"Orion… wait…" Leiza ordered, but Orion didn't listen. He climbed the stairs and rushed off to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Azzy sat there on the couch, defeated, sighing deeply. Leiza reached for him, trying to offer comfort. "Give him some time," she said, her voice gentle but filled with concern.

Azzy shook his head, his gaze distant. "I'm the one to blame," he confessed, the guilt weighing on him like a heavy stone. "I wasn't there when you needed me. I should never have left both of you." He looked at Leiza with sorrow in his eyes. "But, it's alright. He is still my son, and I'm not going anywhere this time. I can afford spending effort and time to earn his trust and forgiveness."

"Oh, believe me. You should work a lot more than that." Leiza looked at him with a mixture of seriousness and playfulness. "It isn't just him you try to make up with, you know."

Azzy smiled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his hand around her waist. "So, what do you want me to do first, hon?"

Leiza turned to him, wrapping her hands over his neck and gazing into his eyes with a smile. "Well, I'm going to cancel all my appointments for the next week. So, we can discuss it."

Azzy chucked along.

Back in his room, Orion locked the door and collapsed onto his bed.

His mind was a maze of conflicting emotions, memories from his childhood resurfacing in waves.

He could almost hear the whispers of other children calling him "fatherless," which made him fight with them.

The taunts were like daggers, and the sympathy from relatives and family friends felt like pity rather than love.

They whispered about his father—some said he ran away with money, others said he was a corporate spy, and a few even claimed he was dead. But Orion never knew the truth. All he knew was that his father wasn't there.

He thought about the countless parent meetings he had attended alone, while other kids played with their fathers or walked into school hand in hand with them.

He had been accompanied by servants, by people who didn't love him the way a father should. His mother was always too busy with her work, building her giant business empire, while he was left to grow up in the absence of both parents.

And now, after all these years, his father had returned, expecting a happy reunion?

Why?

"Just to take more money from her," Orion muttered under his breath. "That bastard only came back because he knew that Mom is still stupidly smitten with him." His fist clenched tightly as he lay there, the anger consuming him. "Well, I'm not going to let this continue. I'll kick him out of our lives once and for all."

*

Later that evening;

The evening air felt thick with tension as Orion stood in front of the full-length mirror in his room. He adjusted his outfit one last time—a black shirt with dark jeans—before heading downstairs.

He had been through worse situations, but this one was different. Tonight, he was forced to play nice, to somehow fit in and pretend that things were okay, as he doesn't want his father to destroy his birthday.

As he descended the stairs, his gaze fell on his mother and Azzy.

Leiza, usually so understated, had gone all out tonight. Her makeup was flawless, and her hair was done up in an elegant style that made her look like someone going to a gala.

Azzy, in contrast, looked effortlessly handsome in a well-tailored black suit. His presence was magnetic, and his confident posture only made Orion feel more uneasy.

His stomach churned, but he kept it in check. If he acted out, it would only push his mother further into Azzy's arms.

And that's the last thing he wanted.

The three of them got into the chopper, piloted by Neo. As they approached their destination, Orion couldn't help but notice the swarm of reporters and photographers gathered outside the mansion.

Flashbulbs popped, and drones hovered above, capturing every moment as if this were some royal affair.

Yup, no one knows who spread the news. But it was already in the articles by the time of sunset. The return of Leiza's missing husband.

The chopper landed atop the Avian Hotels, the only 8-star hotel in the city. Inside, the finest delicacies were laid out, and everything screamed opulence. Orion could barely keep his emotions in check as he sat down at the table with his parents. Despite the extravagant setting, the tension between them all was obvious.

As they dug into their meals, Azzy tried to make small talk. "So, Orion," he began, "I heard that you were the top of the class in everything, from studies to sports. Tell me about your academic life."

Orion remained aloof at first, but then, in a snobbish tone, he answered. "Nothing much to say. The same as everyone else. Going to the academy, attending the lessons, playing sports, and returning home. Other than that, my interests are in archery. Runner-up last year in the National Youth championships, hoping to win this time."

"What?" Azzy raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How is it possible to lose against a mere human?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Human?" Orion frowned and a bit surprised by how his father used the word human as if he wasn't one. Then, is it really not his father and an android in disguise that his mother pulled up, or something? Orion couldn't help but wonder for a moment. However, before he could say anything, his mother gently patted Azzy's arm. "Honey, winning and losing are just part of life," she said with a calm smile.

Azzy blinked, realizing his blunder. He quickly corrected himself. "I didn't mean it like that," he said, his voice softer. "It's just… I've heard you're stronger and smarter than the average person. Your mother told me you're in the top 1% of everything. I was just surprised. That person must be really special to defeat someone like you."