Noah, waking up in the morning, only noticed after a while that Anton was gone.
He went down to the living room in one of his work suits, where he met Gregorej with Luka. The boy pleaded with the man, squeezing his hand.
"Please, Daddy. Agree, this once. Just you and me. Father never let me travel anywhere except that last time I ran away with him. But...it wasn't pleasant...I thought you..." The boy's eyes glazed over, threatening to cry, and his lower lip trembled dangerously.
Noah immediately understood what the boy wanted to achieve. And one could say he was doing it brilliantly.
Of course, Gregorej, famous for his intelligence, cunning, with unfailing intuition, couldn't resist the young son he had taken in.
He quickly grabbed the phone and dialed a number.
"Two tickets, right now. I want to visit several countries, starting with ocean views and beaches. Away from people, of course. The car will be waiting in front of the house in half an hour."
After the conversation, Gregorej looked proudly at Luka's beaming face, who immediately threw his arms around the man's neck.
"Thank you! Thank you! You're the best dad in the world! I'll go pack my things!"
The overjoyed boy ran out at lightning speed. Gregorej laughed to himself and slowly got up from the couch.
"I'm leaving everything in your hands. Don't let me down," The older man said to Noah, looking at him with a serious expression.
If anyone could convince this stubborn donkey to go back, it would be Noah.
After these words, he went to his room to gather a few of his things for the trip. He actually liked the idea. He wanted a break from it all, and doing it with Luka sounded appealing.
Noah, knowing what Anton's father had 'asked' for, spent the entire ride to work wondering how to even bring this topic up.
But to his surprise, it turned out that he didn't even have to. As soon as he entered the office and saw the pile of documents on his desk, he sighed heavily and got to work.
Fortunately, a few documents had accumulated that needed to go to Anton, and time hadn't been kind to them.
Before he knew it, it was time for lunch. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he grabbed the documents and quickly headed to Anton's office.
He found him cluttered with papers, clicking away angrily on his laptop. The man was even mumbling something under his breath, and it wasn't anything pleasant.
"Anton," Noah asked quietly, approaching the desk.
Anton reacted immediately to his beloved's voice. He closed the laptop with a slight click and spread his arms, waiting for Noah.
"You're acting like a child." The man laughed but quickly moved into his arms.
"Ahhhh...My oasis of peace and solace. Why are you only coming now? You know how long I've been waiting for you?" Anton complained, snuggling into Noah like a puppy craving a cuddle.
All those numbers, reports, emails, and orders made his head throb painfully. But one touch was enough, and everything stopped immediately. Anton knew he couldn't afford a longer rest, so he quickly got to the point.
"Noah, sweetheart. I have to go back in three days to take care of my father's affairs. It will take a few days at most, but I'll try to get everything sorted out as quickly as possible. I know I'm leaving you with a lot of work...but if I don't return, I'm afraid my father will come up with something I definitely won't like. So try to endure it, eat, and rest whenever you can. It will all be over soon, and we can enjoy each other, okay?" Anton explained everything to Noah, still cuddling him.
Even now, they'd only seen each other twice a day, so he decided to tell him everything now.
Sophie had learned the news as soon as she arrived at the office that morning. Surprised to see Anton in her office, taking some of her work, she heard what her father had ordered.
She wanted to take the papers back to her place, but her brother wouldn't let her. All she could do was hug him tightly and promise him she'd talk to their dad about it.
"Anton... I'm worried about you," Noah said quietly in the man's ear. "Something could happen to you from overwork. You're not a machine. You need rest too."
"I can handle it. After all, that's what I was trained for."
These words deeply saddened Noah. He knew, like no one else, what Anton had gone through all those years to become who he was now.
"If you say so, then I'm not going home to sleep either. After all, this supposed to be a branch run by me. The boss has to make sacrifices."
"Noah." The man heard the anger in Anton's voice.
"Don't test my patience like that. This is no time for sulking. You're not in my position and never will be. Understand that I'm doing this because I want to be with you without any interruptions. And please..." Anton looked at Noah's worried face with his penetrating gaze and knew he would do anything for him. "Allow me to make this final sacrifice. After that, you can manage me however you want, okay?"
Noah knew Anton wouldn't give in. A loud sigh of agreement could be heard in the office.
"If anything happens to you because of this, I won't forgive you."
After issuing a final warning, Noah kissed the surprised Anton on the forehead and left the room. The man couldn't afford any slip-ups now. He had little time and too much to do, not to mention what awaited him at their institution.
The days passed very quickly for everyone except Anton, who hadn't left work for several days.
Fortunately, Noah made sure the hothead ate and drank enough fluids to avoid fainting. Until the day of departure arrived...
"I'll try to arrange everything as quickly as possible. You don't have much left to do, so you should take your time. I'll let you know when I get back. Don't miss me too much." Anton, gazing lovingly at the tired Noah, explained everything to him carefully.
The night of the third day was approaching, so Anton had to leave so his father wouldn't do something terribly stupid in front of Noah.
And unfortunately, he was capable of that.
Besides, when they returned to their apartment together, a car was already parked in front of their house.
This annoyed Anton, but luckily, his sedative was nearby.
So, with a passionate farewell in front of the driver, who didn't even flinch, the lovers were separated.