CEO loves me with all his soul.-Chapter 150. Where the Roses Grow

Chapter 150: 150. Where the Roses Grow
Two months.
That’s all it took for the quiet emptiness Jesper left behind to become something deeper.
Two months since the greenhouse lights dimmed. Two months since the orchids began to wilt without their keeper’s soft voice. Two months since Cain stopped laughing with his children and started simply sitting in silence—hands folded, as though waiting for something, or someone.
And on a quiet morning—clouded, still—
Cain Sebanil died
.
It was peaceful.
He was found in the greenhouse, beside Jesper’s resting place. His coat was draped around his shoulders, and his fingers rested on a folded photograph of them both—Jesper smiling, his head resting on Cain’s chest, their hands intertwined, one of the children peeking from the background.
There was no note.
But the moment Adrian saw the body, he didn’t need one.
"He went to find him," Adrian whispered.
Ethan caught him before his knees gave out.
.
They buried Cain beside Jesper.
The graves were shaded beneath the twin sycamore trees Cain had planted the year Adrian was born. The ground was soft with spring, and blossoms fell as if mourning with them.
Adrian didn’t cry at first. He simply knelt, one hand on each grave, head bowed.
Ethan stood behind him with a hand on his shoulder, giving him quiet space.
The rest of the family gathered in solemn silence.
Diana stood at the front with her two children, holding Argos’ hand so tightly her knuckles turned white. Jaya leaned into Savas’s chest, their son clutching her leg and asking where Grandpa Cain had gone. Yuin and Luri stood behind them with Isha, who was silent for once, fingers entwined with Eira’s.
Even Isaac—stoic, unreadable—wiped a tear when he thought no one was looking. Lucas held him without a word.
Augustin knelt beside Leclair, brushing soil off a flower bouquet that had tilted in the wind. "Two parents gone, one after the other."
Leclair nodded stiffly, his eyes shadowed. "They were one soul in two bodies. He couldn’t live without Jesper."
"They’re together now," Augustin whispered.
Back at the manor, the halls were quiet.
There was no feast this time. No formal gathering. Just warm food, soft blankets, and memories filling the air like ghosts of yesterday.
Adrian sat on the couch in the family room, his youngest son curled against him, asleep. The boy hadn’t spoken, hadn’t cried—but he hadn’t left Adrian’s side since the news broke.
Seraphina and Aurelius sat cross-legged nearby, flipping through old photo albums, searching for images of Cain planting trees or hugging Jesper.
"He always called Papa a storm wrapped in light," Seraphina whispered.
"He always gave us peppermint after we cried," Aurelius said.
Eira sat quietly at the hearth, writing in her leather journal. On the corner of the page, she had drawn two stars—one for Jesper. One for Cain.
.
Late into the night, Ethan brought a sealed envelope into the room.
It was addressed to Adrian.
He passed it over gently.
Adrian took it with shaking fingers and opened it carefully.
To my Little Brushstroke,
If you’re reading this, I’m gone.
But don’t be afraid.
Don’t let grief consume you like I almost did all those years ago when I lost Isaac. You brought me back, Adrian. You—and your Papa—were my stars in a blackened sky.
I loved Jesper. With all my heart. More than I loved breathing.
So when he went first, I knew I’d follow. Not because I gave up—but because part of me had already left.
I want to say thank you.
For being the son I never deserved but always cherished.
For growing up kind.
For building a life of peace after so much war.
You were always Jesper’s miracle child. But to me, you were hope.
Tell your siblings to love each other fiercely. Tell Ethan to protect you but also let you fall when you must. Tell your children... that they come from love. And love is worth everything.
I’m planting myself beside Jesper now.
Where the roses grow.
Forever yours,Dad
Adrian folded the letter and pressed it to his lips.
And finally, he wept.
Not the sharp grief of a boy. But the long, trembling ache of a man who had lost both sky and soil in the same season.
Ethan wrapped his arms around him.
"I’ll take care of you," he whispered.
"I know," Adrian said. "But I think... I need to take care of all of us now."
.
Weeks passed.
A new garden was built in the back fields—Cain’s Garden. A space for meditation, for quiet, for memory. The children helped plant it. The youngest son, wordless as always, arranged a perfect circle of white stones around the oak sapling planted for Cain.
Every morning, Adrian would walk out with a cup of tea and talk to the trees.
"Papa," he’d whisper. "Dad. Are you watching?"
The wind always answered softly.
The petals never stopped falling.
And inside Levistis Manor, a home that had once held secrets, sorrow, war and now peace—
life continued.
.
Ethan Levistis was in the middle of reading a quarterly when his phone buzzed with the fury of someone possessed.
He checked the caller ID:
Middlemist Academy – Administration Office
His brow twitched.
Only three people in the world could make that name pop up on his phone — and they were all his children.
Sighing, he answered with the professionalism of a man used to managing multibillion-dollar empires and small, emotionally volatile humans.
"Ethan Levistis speaking."
"Mr. Levistis," a voice said sternly — too sternly. "This is Principal Ryker from Middlemist Academy."
"I know who you are, Ryker. What happened? Did someone try to hurt my children?"
Silence.
Then a long sigh from the other end.
"No, sir. The issue is that your children—Seraphina, Aurelius, and Eira—were
illegally abducted
from school grounds."
Ethan’s hand gripped the pen so hard it snapped.
"...what."
"Your... brother-in-law, Isaac Sebanil, apparently posed as their ’emergency guardian’ and took them without authorization. They left during lunch period and missed their last two classes."
Ethan stood up from his office chair, sending it spinning into the glass wall behind him.
"He
what
?"
"He claimed it was a ’genetically inherited crisis of boredom’ and said, and I quote, ’I’m liberating them from math.’"
Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I will handle it. Personally."
"I should hope so. Your family may be... influential, Mr. Levistis, but rules apply to everyone."
"I’ll pay the fine."
"There is no fine."
"Then I’ll donate a new lab wing and call it even."
A long pause.
"...I’ll send you the invoice."
Click.
Ethan stormed out of the company building, ignoring Mathew’s questions, two board members waving charts, and someone offering him coffee. He was already texting Adrian.
Ethan:
Did Isaac come home with the kids?!
A pause.
Adrian:
Yes, just now. Eira is telling him how to spell "abduction." Seraphina is giving a TED Talk on ethics. Rell is building a potato cannon.
Ethan:
A WHAT.
Adrian:
A small one. It’s for "science."
Ethan:
I’m leaving early. Keep Isaac in the house. I’m going to kill him.
Adrian:
Okay. Wear your soft shoes so you don’t wake the baby.
By the time Ethan arrived at
Levistis Manor
, the household was suspiciously quiet.
He stepped into the marble foyer and immediately noticed something was off. For one, no children came sprinting toward him demanding snacks or revenge for sibling injustice.
The house was
still
.
Too still.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Adrian?"
No response.
"I’m serious. I smell conspiracy."
Still nothing.
He rolled his sleeves up.
"ISAAC!"
Suddenly, the lights flickered off.
Ethan turned sharply toward the staircase — just as confetti
exploded
from the second-floor railing.
"Happy birthday!" voices shouted in a chorus.
Ethan blinked.
The chandelier lit up with soft golden lights. Children popped up from behind the bannisters. Adrian stood on the landing in a soft gray sweater, smiling shyly. Leclair was holding a cake. Augustin was adjusting the decorations. Lucas and Isaac were leaning dramatically on the stairs like two gremlins in matching "SURPRISE" hats.
Eira tossed more glitter directly into Ethan’s face.
He choked.
"You people—" he coughed. "I was going to murder someone. You tricked me."
"Wasn’t hard," Isaac said cheerfully. "You’re like a boss battle with a glowing weakness."
"I
glow
because I’m furious."
Seraphina held up a handmade sign:
’Happy Birthday, Papa. Please don’t kill Uncle Isaac.’
Ethan rubbed his eyes. "I don’t even know how to process this."
Adrian descended the stairs, holding a candle that refused to stay lit.
"You work too much," he said. "You forgot it was your birthday, didn’t you?"
"...No." Ethan lied poorly.
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
Ethan sighed and reached for his husband’s waist. "Okay. Maybe. But I
was
about to commit fratricide. You stopped a crime."
Augustin chuckled from across the hall. "Technically, Isaac isn’t your brother."
"He’s
everyone’s
problem," Ethan growled.
Isaac shrugged. "To be fair, I didn’t lie. I
am
their emergency guardian. I just forgot to tell the school about the emergency."
"What was the emergency?"
"They were bored."
Ethan turned to Leclair. "Hold him down."
But Leclair—ever the calm eldest—stepped in front of Isaac like a trained bodyguard.
"Let’s not ruin the birthday cake with blood," he said politely.
"I’ll bleed
after
cake," Isaac added.
Eira clapped her hands. "Papa, open presents now before you go to jail."