Leave Me Alone, Big Brothers! [BL]-Chapter 140: How to Spend Their Money

When Nathan entered the room, he was surprised to find Nael inside reading his book. The boy was sitting casually on the sofa and immediately looked up when he heard the door open.

"I saw you at the gym earlier," said Nael, his voice cheerful as usual.

Nathan stood in the middle of the room with an unhappy frown on his face. "I don’t like intruders. Why are you here?" he asked coldly.

Nael immediately frowned, especially when Nathan quickly approached him and snatched his book.

"Sorry, I just..."

"If you want to say something, just say it and get out. I want to sleep," said Nathan. He didn’t mean to be rude, but his words sounded angry and unfriendly.

Nael stood up. "Why are you still so harsh to me? I thought I already apologized for my rudeness last time."

"It has nothing to do with you. Why is it?" Nathan tried to soften his voice.

"I was just thinking of asking you to visit our mom tomorrow after school," said Nael, because he wanted to see Natasha again.

Nathan stared at Nael intently, as if questioning whether the boy was serious. "She’s your mom. You can visit anytime you want. Why are you asking me to go?"

"That’s really rude. She’s your mom too. I just want to visit her with you, please."

"You can ask our brothers. I have a lesson tomorrow with Zane," replied Nathan.

"You can postpone it to another time. Let’s go to Mom."

Nathan sighed, then looked at Nael. "I have a solution. Tomorrow, after Louis takes me to Zane’s house, he can take you to her house. Good, right?"

"It’s not about Louis. I want to visit her with you. I want to spend time with you too."

"Why?"

"Because you are my brother."

"Trust me, you won’t like having me as your brother. I never saw you as a brother anyway. But I respect you now. I mean, you’re not bad."

Nael looked sad at that moment. "Our brothers really love having you here. Me too. I was always curious about you, and when you came, I was a bit overwhelmed. But now I can’t even think about you leaving. It would feel... different..." His voice grew weaker and weaker.

Nathan looked at Nael. The boy was a little taller than him, but he felt like Nael was still a ten-year-old. So childish.

Seeing his twin so close, he felt a little strange. It was as if he were seeing himself as a teenager in a body that had been well cared for since infancy.

Not skinny like him.

"I don’t know. I have no reason to stay here. I would prefer to buy a house for myself and enjoy my life with people who truly care about me," said Nathan. He remembered Alexander’s words, that he had to be strong if he wanted to get out of there.

Nael looked at Nathan again, then suddenly hugged his twin before Nathan could react.

"What happened to you?" said Nathan, trying to push Nael away. The boy was very strange today.

"Let’s go to Mom together tomorrow?" he whined.

"Nope. Let me go!" Nathan pushed Nael as hard as he could, a little surprised to feel Nael’s strength wrapped around him. Nael didn’t budge.

"I’m dirty! Seriously!"

"Uh-huh, you smell like sweat." Nael immediately let go of his embrace. He saw that Nathan was still covered in sweat. He regretted hugging him a little.

Nathan clicked his tongue. "Can you get out? I want to shower and sleep."

"Don’t shower with cold water, okay? And promise me we’ll go to Mom tomorrow?" Nael insisted.

"Nope."

Nael whined. "You always say Kim is very nice. Our mom isn’t bad either. She’s very nice and kind."

"Kim is nice. Nobody can compare to her. Your mom only comes once a year? Seriously?"

"Nathan, she’s your mom too! And she comes often, not just once a month."

"She didn’t come when I came here. She’s not my mom. She never will be. So stop your nonsense talk. I will never visit her. Now get out, please."

Nael fell silent, but his face was suddenly gloomier than before. Suddenly, his eyes filled with tears.

Nathan was surprised. It seemed like his words weren’t that harsh. "Why are you crying?"

Nael wiped away the tears that hadn’t fallen yet. "I just heard that Mom might die soon. I just... I just..." Suddenly, his tears flowed so profusely that he had difficulty speaking.

Nathan furrowed his brow. "Nobody knows when they will die. What are you talking about?"

Nael shook his head, now sobbing. "Maybe this year is our chance to see her. I just want to spend more time with her."

"Just do it then. Why are you forcing me to go?"

"But I’m sure she wants to spend more time with you."

"Nope. If she really wanted to see me, she would."

Nael wiped his tears, breathing unevenly.

"Just go to sleep. I won’t skip my class tomorrow. My graduation is more important right now."

"You’re really heartless."

"Whatever. Get out, please," Nathan said dismissively.

***

The next day, in the cafeteria.

The school canteen was filled with a roar of voices and the clatter of silverware. Nathan felt the weight of Zane’s gaze on the side of his face. He knew Zane could sense the wall he had built, a subtle, invisible distance.

Nathan still spoke to him, still shared the space, but he kept his feelings from growing out of control.

Eli had already done his daily routine, arriving with a tray piled high with food for both of them. He was just about to dig into his fries when Gabriel appeared, sliding onto the bench at the table. He wasn’t empty-handed, he was clutching a brown paper bag that smelled faintly of cinnamon from afar.

"Nate," Gabriel began, ignoring the rest of Zane’s glare. "My mom’s been asking about you. She wants to know when you’re coming back to my house."

Zane let out a sharp, audible huff of annoyance, his eyes flashing as he looked at Gabriel. "We aren’t coming back."

Gabriel didn’t even flinch. He didn’t even look at Zane. "I don’t remember inviting you, Leinster. But my mom likes Nathan and Nael a lot. She keeps bugging me about it."

Zane’s jaw tightened, his gray eyes narrowing into a glare that could have withered stone. Nathan felt the familiar headache coming on. These two were like oil and water, and he was the one stuck in the middle.

"I don’t think I’ll be coming, Gab," Nathan said. "I need to focus on studying. Final exams are coming up soon, and I don’t want to waste time playing around. I have to pass."

Gabriel sighed, leaning his hand against the table. "I told her that, but she didn’t believe me. She thinks I’m just being a bad host. Anyway..."

He opened the package, revealing thick, homemade cookies. He began distributing them evenly, tossing one to Eli, one to Nathan, and even one to Zane despite the glare. He handed two more to the two lackeys who were always trailing a few steps behind him.

Nathan nodded his thanks. "I’ll try after the tests are done. Tell Kim thanks for the cookies."

"Can you give these to Nael too?" Gabriel asked, pressing two more cookies into Nathan’s hand.

"Why don’t you give them to him yourself? He’s right over there," Nathan said, gesturing with his chin toward the table where Nael was sitting quietly with Hale.

Gabriel shook his head immediately. "Nope. I don’t like going over to that table. Too much... whatever is going on with them."

Nathan sighed and tucked the cookies into his bag. "Fine. I’ll give them to him."

The conversation shifted then, the lightheartedness of the cookies fading into something more serious. Nathan found himself speaking about the one thing that had been haunting his thoughts lately: his departure from the Salazar mansion.

"Are you sure you’re really going to leave that family?" Gabriel asked, his voice lower now. "I mean, it’s a lot of money to walk away from."

"Yes," Nathan said, his voice hard. "I don’t like being there. Every time, it just reminds me that I was trash they threw away seventeen years ago. I don’t belong in that family."

Gabriel frowned. As the son of a loan shark, the idea of walking away from power was foreign to him. He’d be thrilled if a billionaire family claimed him. "If you’re really going to go, you need to be smart about it. Don’t just walk out with a backpack. Why don’t you start buying a house now? Use the money you have while you’re still a Salazar."

Nathan paused, his sandwich halfway to his mouth. He hadn’t actually thought that far ahead.

"You should start a business now, too," Gabriel continued, surprisingly intense. "That way, when the six months are up, you’re already standing on your own feet. Don’t just rely on the payout they give you. That money can vanish in a second if you don’t know how to grow it."

Nathan stared at Gabriel. He hadn’t expected this kind of strategic foresight from the boy who usually solved his problems with his fists. It was practical, cold-blooded, and exactly what Nathan needed to hear.

Even Zane looked stunned. He lowered his water bottle, eyeing Gabriel with a new shred of respect. "You actually used your brain for once."

Gabriel let out a loud, booming laugh, clearly proud of himself. "You have no idea how much I can do with this fresh brain of mine, Leinster."

Zane sighed. "Yes, a very fresh brain."

Nathan looked down at his cookie, a small, genuine smile tugging at his lips. For the first time, his plan to leave didn’t feel like a desperate flight into the dark,it felt like a tactical withdrawal.

He needed to spend their money!