h4Chapter 404: A Fight/h4

    Cadence stopped pacing only long enough to re at him, the wordsing fast, his voice low but edged with fury.

    "Elias, listen to me for once. This-this thing with Max- it’s not love. It’s not even close. You’ve barely met the man, and already you’re letting him take you out, letting him hang around you like he owns the ce. Can’t you see what he wants? He doesn’t care about you. He just wants the thrill, the chase. And you! You’ve been holding yourself back for so long that now, the first guy who shes you a smile and a bit of charm, you’re ready to hand yourself over to him."

    Elias froze, the words hitting one by one.

    Cadence wasn’t done.

    "You’ve been alone for ages, I get that. Maybe that’s why this feels exciting. But it’s not real, Elias. It’s just a man looking for one thing, and you-you’re acting like someone who can’t tell the difference anymore."

    Thatst line cut deep.

    Elias felt his jaw tighten, the hurt creeping in slowly, tightening around his chest before settling heavy in his gut.

    "So what?" he said finally, his voice cold now. "What makes you think I’m desperate for love? Maybe I don’t want love at all, Cadence. Maybe all I want is a good time. Did you think about that?"

    Cadence blinked, but Elias didn’t stop, his voice rising as the anger finally spilled over.

    "After all, ording to you, no man can love me anyway. Isn’t that right? So thanks for making it clear. But I’ll handle my life on my own terms. You can go back on your own, Cadence. I’ll be going with Max."

    Cadence stood frozen, his mind nk, Elias’s words echoing like they had been shouted in the middle of a canyon. iI’ll be going with Max./i

    It took him a moment too long to move, and by then Elias was already at the door, his hand on the handle, ready to walk out.

    "Elias, wait—"

    He crossed the space in two long strides and pressed his palm against the door just before Elias could pull it open. The door mmed shut with a thud that echoed through the small office.

    "You know that’s not what I meant," Cadence said, his voice rough, almost desperate now.

    Elias didn’t even turn his head. "I don’t care what you meant," he shot back, his tone t, trembling only at the edges. "Max is outside waiting for me and—"

    Before he could finish, Cadence mmed his other hand against the door, trapping Elias between the solid wood and his own frame.

    The movement startled him. Elias went still, feeling the heat of Cadence’s presence at his back, the tension rolling off him in waves.

    "What is wrong with you?" Cadence demanded, his voice breaking in frustration. "You know that isn’t what I meant. I wasn’t calling you desperate for love. I wasn’t—"

    "Then what were you saying?" Elias snapped, his voice low but sharp, still refusing to look at him. "Because it sure sounded like you think I’m pathetic enough to throw myself at the first man who notices me."

    Cadence leaned closer, his hands braced on either side of Elias now, blocking any escape. His words came fast, unsteady in a way Elias wasn’t used to.

    "I was saying he doesn’t deserve you, damn it. That’s what I meant. Not that you’re desperate, not that you’re pathetic—"

    Elias shook his head, his gaze fixed on the wall in front of him. "It doesn’t matter, Cadence. None of it matters."

    "It does matter," Cadence shot back, his voice rising. " I just... I don’t like Max. If it were someone else..."

    "And I never liked Melody! But you insisted on keeping her with you, to the extent of imprisoning her! So, see if I give a fu*k about whether you like him or not!" is snapped back, feeling even more angry that Cadence would be willing to like someone else...who pursued him.

    He watched as Cadence’s eyes darkened at the mention of Melody, his jaw tightening, and so before he could reply, Elias shoved at his arm, hard.

    "Move, Cadence," he snapped, his voice trembling with anger.

    But Cadence didn’t move.

    Instead, his hand slid right back to the door, blocking it again, his other hand catching Elias’s wrist when he tried to push him away a second time.

    "Let me go," Elias demanded, yanking at his arm.

    "Not until you listen—"

    "I’ve listened enough!" Elias shoved at his chest now, but Cadence barely shifted, his body refusing to budge as easily as Elias wanted.

    The tension snapped like a live wire. Elias shoved harder, Cadence caught his shoulders this time, steadying him but refusing to release him. It turned into a rough, graceless push and pull, Elias fighting to get free, Cadence keeping him pinned with that infuriating calm strength that had always made him feel smaller than he wanted to.

    "Stop it, Elias-"

    "No! Let me go!"

    "You’re not walking out to him like this!"

    Elias shoved again, angrier now, not even sure if it was about Max anymore or just the fact that Cadence was always so damn unshakable.

    "Why do you even care?" Elias snapped, breathing hard. "Why do you always get to decide what I do, who I see, who I—"

    "Because he doesn’t matter!" Cadence’s voice cracked like thunder as he finally grabbed Elias’s wrists and mmed them lightly against the door, caging him there. "He doesn’t matter, Elias!"

    "Then who does, Cadence? You?!"

    "Yes!" The word tore out of him before he could think better of it.

    Elias froze for a fraction of a second.

    Cadence’s breathing was rough now, his hands tight around Elias’s wrists but not hurting him, holding him there like letting go would ruin everything.

    "You said you only want to y," Cadence muttered, his voice low, rough, close enough that Elias could feel the heat of it against his cheek. "Fine. Then you can y with me."

    Before Elias could even form a reply, Cadence’s mouth was on his.