CHAPTER 408: CONFUSION

Elais Jung returned to the apartment they were staying in and closed the door quietly behind him. Maxmilian Stone was proving to be quite a shrewd businessman—far more than his easy smile and flirtatious ways suggested.

In the span of a single day, he had managed to wear Elais down both physically and mentally. First, there had been the endless walking around the amusement park, the man insisting on showing him every corner of it as though it really were some grand tour.

Then came the relentless haggling over the newly registered patent for the medicine designed to help athletes cope with extreme stress-a topic Maxmilian refused to let go of until he had negotiated every last detail to his satisfaction.

It was exhausting.

With Adam Collins and Maxmilian Stone steering StormEdge together, it was no wonder the company had risen to the top so quickly, dominating the industry in a way that left competitors scrambling to keep up. Between the two of them, they seemed capable of driving anyone to their limits-physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Elais sighed as he set his keys down on the counter. The day had been so consuming that he hadn’t even been able to think about Cadence, not once, and that realization brought with it a faint, nagging frustration he couldn’t quite shake off.

Had he, too, kept himself so occupied just to avoid thinking about the kiss? Perhaps. But even if the memory of it hadn’t lingered in his mind throughout the day, somewhere along the way, he had come to a decision. He simply wasn’t brave enough to face Cadence after this.

For all the hopes that had been sparked—thanks to Melanie’s plan, for all the fleeting moments where he had let himself imagine a future with Cadence, his own fear now loomed larger than anything else.

Not a fear of rejection. That would have been simpler, easier to deal with. No, what held him back was the fear for Cadence himself—for his well-being, his stability. As his psychiatrist, Elais had forgotten something important: he was supposed to be the man’s safe harbour, the one place Cadence could come to when the rest of the world became too much. If that trust crumbled because of Elais’s own recklessness, what then? In the future, when Cadence needed someone, where would he turn if even this one constant had been taken from him?

No. Tomorrow, he would convince Melanie to abandon this plan before it went any further.

So deep was he in thought that Elais Jung didn’t even notice the large, indistinct shape waiting on his bed. Moving on autopilot, he set aside his things, slipped out of his clothes, and headed towards the shower, the weight of his decision pressing down heavier than the day’s exhaustion.

It was only when he was at the door of the bathroom that suddenly he felt something move that had him turn around swiftly.

"Cadence? What are you doing here?"

He frowned when Cadence only blinked at him before staring at him. There was an almost blank look on the man’s face that made him worried.

Hurriedly, he walked to him and checked his temperature. And frowned. It was normal.

"Cadence," Elais said quietly, his voice softening as he shifted almost instinctively into doctor mode. "Are you feeling unwell? Dizzy? Any headache? Nausea?"

Cadence didn’t answer right away. He just sat there on the edge of the bed, shoulders slightly hunched, his eyes fixed on some point past Elais as though his thoughts were somewhere far away.

Elais crouched a little so he could meet his gaze. "Talk to me," he urged, keeping his voice calm but firm, the same tone he used with patients who were on the edge of shutting down. "Did something happen? Are you feeling anxious? Chest pain? Shortness of breath?"

Cadence’s eyes flickered then, like he was pulling himself back to the present. Still, he said nothing. And his silence was unsettling to Elais. What could have happened. Had today’s incident sent him into shock?

"Cadence," Elais tried again, more gently this time, "if there’s something wrong, you need to tell me. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s happening."

He moved forward to check his eyes, in case he had a concussion or something. Max had mentioned something about Melanie preparing a surprise for Cadence.

And then as Dr Jung was frantically trying to think of what could have happened, without a word, Cadence leaned forward and kissed him.

Elais froze. His breath caught as his mind went blank, the weight of the day, the exhaustion, everything splintering into stillness at the feel of Cadence’s lips on his.

The kiss was tentative at first, like Cadence himself wasn’t sure if this was allowed. Elais felt the faintest brush of lips against his, light enough to be dismissed as a mistake if either of them chose to pull away. But Cadence didn’t.

Elais stayed frozen, mind struggling to catch up to what was happening. He wasn’t thinking like a doctor anymore, wasn’t thinking at all—just feeling the warmth of Cadence’s mouth and the unfamiliar rush of heat curling low in his stomach.

And then he felt it. Cadence’s tongue flicking against his lips, hesitant but demanding, a silent question for entrance.

Elais gasped at the unexpected sensation, the sound escaping before he could stop it. That was all the permission Cadence seemed to need. The kiss deepened immediately, his tongue sliding past Elais’s parted lips, taking more, pressing closer, like he wanted to leave no space between them.

Elais’s hands twitched uselessly at his sides, his thoughts a mess. He couldn’t seem to breathe properly, couldn’t seem to form a single coherent response as Cadence tilted his head, about to deepen the kiss further when Elais came back to his senses.

Wide eyed, he pushed him away.

But suddenly Elais pushed at his shoulders, breaking them apart with more force than he intended.

"What—what are you doing?" Elais demanded, breath uneven, eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at him.