Chapter Text
In this world, destiny was not a quiet ,invisible thing. It was carved into your skin the moment you came of age.
The universe ,carved a mark-a symbol of a past life-onto their body. With the mark came the pull: an undeniable ,magnetic gravity towards the person who bore the exact same mark. When you found them you didn't just fall in love; your souls bled into one another. You feel their joy ,their panic ,and their sorrow as if it were your own.
Easter was just weeks away from his eighteenth birthday and he was terrified.
He didn't want a stranger to be his soulmate. He already had Hill. They had been secretly dating for a year, stealing quiet moments between classes and sharing breathless kisses in the shadows of the park nearby.
Every night, Easter prayed to whatever cosmic power that was listening when his time came, his skin would bear the same mark that had bloomed on the side of Hill's neck a few months prior-a small, perfect crescent moon with mini roses surrounding it, woven together like a masterpiece. It was the only way they would ever be allowed to be safe.
"Baby ,what are you thinking about? You look like you're going to explode any moment," Hill murmured, his fingers gently tangling in Easter's hair as they lay on the grass behind the school.
"Just...the future," Easter whispered, resting his head on Hill's chest, listening to the steady, reassuring heartbeat beneath his ear.
"There's nothing to worry about," Hill smiled. Pressing a kiss to the top of Easter's head. "I already know it's you. Even without the mark, I feel the pull." My soul knows yours,Ter."
He wanted to believe him.
He wanted to drown in that certainty. But reality had a cruel way of shattering fantasies.
That evening, the illusion of safety completely vanished. The heavy oak door of the main study slammed shut behind him,the sound of echoing like a judge's gavel. Easter's father stood behind his imposing desk. With dark eyes, de-voiding of any paternal warmth as he stared down at a stack of candid photographs scattered across the polished wood. They were pictures of him and Hill, hands intertwined, laughing together outside a cafe, sharing a jacket in the rain, looking entirely without a care in the world.
But how on earth did they get caught? They did everything with caution and even discreetly planned their moves.
"Dad, I can explain-"
"Save it," his father's voice was dangerously low, freezing the air in the room.
"I have turned a blind eye to whatever this is...assuming it was a phase that would pass. A rebellion. But now you are reaching the age of 18. You are on the verge of getting your mark and I will not have you tying your fate to a boy."
"You can't control fate!" Easter snapped ,his chest heaving as a desperate, defensive anger flaring inside him."If Hill is my soulmate-"
"Then you will lie," his father interrupted. "Fated or not, this ends now. I have worked my ass off to where we are now. Do you think the media will respect this? They will turn this into a spectacle-a daily scandal for the tabloids to feast on. I will not allow my heir, or your future, to be dragged through the mud over a childish attachment."
Yeah, you heard it right.
Easter Jittangkul ,heir to East Media. Thailand's biggest, most ruthless media conglomerate. his family controlled the narratives of the entire country, which meant their own narrative had to be utterly flawless. A male soulmate was a PR nightmare his father would never tolerate.
Up till now, Easter had been a phantom. His father had kept him guarded from the public eye, meticulously curating and polishing the "perfect heir" in the shadows before his inevitable grand debut. The world didn't know or heard of a Jittangkul heir. Yet.
But more importantly , Hill didn't know his biggest secret.
To Hill, he was just Easter- a quiet boy with an overly strict dad. Hill had absolutely no idea that the boy he kissed in the park was the sole heir to a billion-dollar empire. Easter had spent the last twelve months terrified of the day he would have to confess his true lineage, but he never imagined his own identity would be used as a weapon against them. If his father made a move, Hill wouldn't just be ruined; he would vanish.
"I love him."
"Then you will save him," his father challenged, leaning forward. "Because if you continue this, if you humiliate this family, I will destroy his entire life. You and I both know that his little company that his parents have is on the verge of bankruptcy right now. You don't want that to happen don't you? End it, Easter."
The ultimatum hung in the air, absolute and immovable. Easter looked at the photos on the desk-at Hill's bright, innocent smile and felt his heart break.
For the first time in his life, Easter realised that love wasn't enough to conquer the world. Love was a weapon that his father had just loaded and pointed directly at Hill's head.
Tears burned the back of his eyes, refusing to let them fall. He looked up, meeting his father's cold, calculating gaze.
"Okay."