CHAPTER TWELVE

"Sloan, I need this thing set up right now!" Sonny Kiriakis barked at his minion. "Where the hell are you?!"

"Mr Kiriakis, I have just left the apartment." Sloan informed. "Everything is settled!"

"Everything is not settled yet, until you get your ass down here to fix my laptop!" Sonny urged.

"You knew about it this whole time and you didn't say anything?" An elder of the Board asked.

"I just found out about this only days before the ordainment." Pastor Ernest Barrino defended. "Liam has been a faithful servant to the Lord. Everyone knows that he has contributed so much to the church. He should be an Elder."

"I'm sorry, but what part of homosexual do you not understand?" A deacon emphasized.

"That was his past, a past which he had completely no idea about!" Ernest justified. "He himself only gotten back all his memories recently."

Liam Robertson was at the church office. He was sitting on the couch across the reception, shaking his legs impatiently.

"This is all my fault." He sighed. "I got Ernest into this mess! Now he's in deep shit!" He muttered, recalling the event that happened a few days back.

Sonny Kiriakis stomped across the sanctuary.

"HOLD IT!" Sonny Kiriakis shouted from the back of the sanctuary.

Everyone turned their heads.

Liam Robertson's jaw dropped when he saw the man.

"This man is not fit to be an Elder!" Sonny railed.

"What the hell is he doing?" Liam glared at the brunette.

"Everyone, I want you to know that this man is a fraud!" Sonny announced while walking across the altar.

A few men started to enter the sanctuary. Causing a few members of the congregation to gasp.

"What the hell are you doing?" Liam stomped furiously towards Sonny. "Are you trying to kill everyone here!"

"Don't worry! My men come in peace!" Sonny raised two hands in the air. "We don't have guns, only flyers!"

The men began positioned themselves around the sanctuary and started to toss flyers in the air. Within seconds, the entire sanctuary was raining with pieces of A4-sized sheets of paper.

A member of the congregation took up a piece of paper.

"Wait a minute, Liam is with a man?" The lady spoke.

"Wait a minute, he is gay?" Liam could hear another voice from the pews behind him.

Everyone sitting on the pews were now murmuring and whispering to one another.

"Give me that!" Ernest snatched the flyer from one of his deacons. His eyes widened when he saw the photo.

The flyer had two photos. The first one of Sonny & Liam in their tuxedos locking lips and the other one of Liam feeding cake to Sonny. He read the text

A LYING HOMO!

"Everyone, I want all of you to look at this man!" Sonny Kiriakis broadcasted. "I want you to look at this man for who he really is! This man standing right before you is a LIAR! Everything about him, even his name, has been nothing but a bunch of LIES!"

Liam felt his heart getting colder.

"This man, your church's quote on quote, 'Resident White Boy'," Sonny mocked, "His real name is Will Horton! Before he came to New York, he was married to a man! This man is a homosexual!"

The commotion was growing louder.

"This man is not only gay. He cheated on me, TWICE!" Sonny emphasized. "He slept around with other men while he was married to ME!"

"What's going on, Li?" one of the church members sitting near Liam asked. "Is what he's saying true?"

Liam was dumbfounded, he could not answer the question.

"So members of the church, I'm telling you this today because I want you to think twice. I want you to know the entire truth about this man. Do you want to appoint a homosexual?" Sonny questioned. "Do you want to appoint an adulterer as your church leader? I want you think twice!"

Sonny turned his head towards the blonde, who was glaring back at him. He took a few steps forward and leaned in, whispering in his ear.

"I told you," Sonny said, "you don't return to Salem with me, this is the price you have to pay." Sonny pulled away and walked out of the sanctuary.

"I have got to do something." Liam stood up and marched to the conference room.

Liam opened the door, charging through.

"I'm sorry for interrupting this meeting." Liam apologized, "But I need you guys to know the truth!"

"Liam what are you doing here?" Ernest asked softly.

"Can't you see that we're having a meeting here?" A deacon reprimanded. "You can't just barge in like this!"

"If you want to blame someone, you should blame me." Liam pleaded. "I was the one who wasn't ready to come clean. Leave Pastor Ernest out of this!"

"You were running to become an elder! Do you have any idea the amount of chaos you have caused?" Another deacon reprimanded. "As an elder, heck! As a servant of God, you need to be able to come clean and be right with the Lord. How can you hide this from us?"

Feeling remorseful, Liam exhaled through his nose. "Look, I know what I did is wrong. But I just request you to leave Pastor Ernest out of this. He's innocent in all of this."

"And you all need to understand that the Liam you know." Ernest interrupted. "The Liam you have seen grown over these past 6 years, is no longer the man he used to be. He shouldn't be punished for the crimes he committed in literally another lifetime. Please, don't take away his eldership."

Everyone's eyes were now fixated at them. They board seemed to be in a dilemma.

"Both of you should go home." The Head of the board stood up. "I think there's a lot for us to talk about."

Sonny Kiriakis sat comfortably on the armchair, observing his minion focusing intently on the laptop.

"There! All set!" The minion pressed the 'Enter' button on the laptop confidently before turning the laptop towards Sonny's direction.

"So tell me how do I operate this thing?" Sonny ordered.

"So, if you noticed I have bugged every single room in Liam Robertson's house. If you look at the camera on the top right corner…." The computer genius went on with the brief.

"Will Horton, let's see how much you're hiding!" Sonny Kiriakis grinned devilishly.

"Don't blame yourself Li." Ernest Barrino said. "None of this is your fault!"

"It is my fault. If I knew this would happen, I would've pulled out. Being an elder in not much a deal for me but now you're in trouble with the board!" Liam lamented.

"If there's anything I know," Ernest placed a hand on Liam's shoulder, "God works in mysterious ways. Maybe something good will come out of this whole fiasco."

"How are you still so optimistic?" Liam never understood his father-in-law in this aspect. The pastor was on the verge of losing his job and he was still smiling.

"When God is for us, who can be against us?" Ernest assured. "Besides, I'm getting older. I've been preaching for over 20 years. Maybe God's telling me to take a step back and dump all the work to Assistant Pastor Linus!"

Liam sighed. Ernest should not be the one who's making him feel better. If anything, it should be the other way round.

"Sonny, you've been staring at your laptop the whole night. What exactly are you doing?" Justin Kiriakis proceeded to sit beside Sonny on the couch. He look at the screen and saw two men sitting on the couch. His eyes widened when he finally noticed the blonde man. "Wait a minute, why is Will on your screen? Where is this place exactly?"

"His apartment." Sonny answered.

"You bugged his home?" Justin was astonished.

Sonny ignored the question.

"Sonny, this is getting out of hand!" Justin slammed the laptop screen down. "What are you thinking? You honestly think that you can get Will back by spying on him?"

"I will do whatever it takes to bring him back to Salem." Sonny said firmly. "Even if it means spying on him, I will bring him back to Salem."

Knowing Sonny would not change his mind, Justin relented.

"Look Li, there's nothing we can do. We just have to wait until tomorrow afternoon when the board finally comes to a decision." Ernest said. "It's been a long day. I should go." Ernest stood up from the couch.

Liam showed him the door while they said their goodbyes.

Liam quickly turned off the lights and went into Devon's room. He saw his boy sleeping so soundly.

"Devon, you have grown!" Liam realized. "I must buy a bed for you soon." Liam pulled the quilt up to cover his son's chest.

He gazed at his son lovingly. He thought about how Tameka would love to see him grow, how Tameka would sing lullabies to him every night.

"D, I promise to do everything I can to be everything you need." Liam smiled. "I will protect you from harm and make sure you grow up around people who love you and protect you." He placed a kiss of his forehead and left the room.

"Today we are going to see Mommy!" Liam told his son as he wore his coat. "It's been a while since…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" Liam proceeded to the entrance. When he opened the door, he saw Sonny Kiriakis standing opposite him.

"Hello, it's me." Sonny greeted.

"Goodbye, Adele!" The blonde slammed the door.

Liam quickly pushed the stroller back into his son's room.

"Can't I have a day of peace?" Liam grumbled.

The doorbell soon started ringing incessantly.

"Ugh!" He stomped out to the entrance once more and opened the door.

"Would you keep it down?" He barked, "I have a toddler in the other room."

"Not until you let me in." Sonny insisted.

"I have nothing to say to you so just leave." Liam tried to close the door when Sonny stopped him.

"Come on! Is that any way to treat your husband?" Sonny feigned a wounded look.

"Husband?" Liam cringed at the word. "I said it the first time we met and I will say it now. My name is Liam Robertson and I am not your husband so leave."

"You know, when this 'family' of yours deserts you, you won't have any other choice but to come back to Salem." Sonny smirked.

"You honestly think they will abandon me?" Liam let out a sarcastic laughter. "They took me in with open arms. I was someone who lost all my memories and they believed me. The believed in me and they still welcomed me into their family. When I came clean about my past, they still accepted me. You honestly think that what you did at church the other day will change any of that?"

It was now Sonny's turn to see red. However, he needed to keep the poker face. His jaws tensed up, trying to ensure the smirk on his face does not fade away.

"You are delusional!" Liam shook his head. "You honestly think that outing me in front of everyone will drive them away. You are such a simpleton, you need to do a lot more than that to break us apart." He closed the door on Sonny's face once more.

"I guess Devon needs to see his mother another day." Liam sighed.

Liam Robertson and Pastor Ernest Barrino were sitting in the conference room on a round oval-shaped table. The head of the Board of Elders and Deacons, Elder Dennis was sitting at the opposite end of the table.

"The board has discussed this long and hard." Elder Dennis stated. "After you left last night, we spent hours deliberating about what we're going to do. Today, have come to a conclusion."

Liam's heart rate was increasing by the second.

"Liam, unfortunately we can't appoint you as an elder. As a child of God, you must not only live right by God but you must also be an example to the congregation. After what just happened on Sunday, we cannot make you an elder for the time being."

Liam nodded his head slowly. He knew this would be the outcome.

"You may have not been honest with us, but this is not entirely your fault." Elder Dennis continued. "No one expected for that incident to happen. So we'll let you remain as choir director."

Liam heaved a sigh of relief. He had grown to enjoy being the choir director.

"As for you Pastor Ernest," Elder Dennis turned his head to face Ernest. "you have also committed a sin by not coming clean to the Board about what you have found out. But then again, we understand that this was probably a huge shock to you. We have decided to suspend you from all pastoral activities for the next six months."

Ernest's eyes widened. "What? I'm not fired?"

"You both were also victims in this situation." Elder Dennis sighed. "We have to take that into account. However, this is a church and we need to take disciplinary action when necessary. We hope you understand our decision."

Liam was elated. Becoming an elder did not mean much to him. He was overjoyed that his father-in-law didn't lose his job. The guilt weighing him down the past few days has finally been lifted.

Ernest, Tamela, Zeke and Emoni Barrino were sitting down at the circular dining table in Liam Robertson's apartment.

"Li, thanks for preparing dinner tonight!" Tamela Barrino smiled.

"It's my fault that all of this has happen." Liam placed the food on the table before taking his seat. "This is my way of making it up to y'all!"

"It's also my fault that I kept this from the Board." Ernest shared the blame "If I had come clean with the board, you would've been an elder by now."

Sonny Kiriakis was sitting on the couch with the laptop on his thighs. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Will Horton, his husband having dinner and laughing away happily.

"You know it's funny because when Jackson Kiriakis first came to New York, I was terrified. This was what I was most afraid of. Letting everyone know about my past. But now," Liam smiled, "I wonder, just what was I so afraid of?"

Sonny glared.

"Jackson Kiriakis thought he would tear us apart if y'all knew the truth. But it has only made us stronger. Frankly speaking, I should thank him for spilling the beans." Liam laughed. "Now that everything's out in the open, I have nothing left to hide anymore. I actually feel free."

Sonny was now gritting through his teeth. He was sure that the Barrinos would walk out on him after creating that debacle in church. He never thought his plan would backfire.

"So let's give a toast to Jackson Kiriakis! Thank you for letting me breathe again!" The family of five raised their glasses and laughed heartily.

Sonny slammed the laptop screen and placed the laptop on the coffee table. He took the bottle of red wine and quaffed it down his throat.

A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating this! It was exam period and a student needs to study. I will try to update this as often as possible! 😃

As always, PLEASE REVIEW! 😃

THANKS FOR READING! 😃