CHAPTER 30: DID SOMETHING HAPPEN WHILE I WAS GONE?”

Across the room, Aiden’s typing stopped. "You’ve been staring at that phone for a while," he said, voice calm but edged. "You waiting for it to explode or something?"

Cassian jumped a little. "What? No, I was just... thinking."

Aiden arched a brow without looking up. "You always ’think’ like the world’s ending."

Cassian tried to smile. "It’s nothing serious."

"Cass," Aiden said, finally glancing over, "with you, ’nothing serious’ usually means very serious."

his throat went dry

Cassian sighed, pressing a palm to his forehead. "You really don’t miss anything, do you?"

Aiden smirked faintly. "I’d say that’s one of my many charms."

That earned him a weak laugh, but it faded quickly. Cassian exhaled, stood up, and walked toward him. "Okay. You’re right. It’s serious."

Aiden shut his laptop, curiosity flickering in his gaze. "I’m listening."

Cassian hesitated, then slid into the chair beside him. "It’s... about yesterday. When I went out to buy meat."

"Lucian," Aiden guessed immediately.

Cassian’s lips parted. "How -"

"You get that expression every time someone says his name," Aiden said dryly. "So, what did he do this time?"

Cassian picked at the edge of the table, his tone uncertain. "I bumped into him in the store. Literally. Dropped all the meat, and he helped me pick it up. I thought that’d be it, but then..."

Aiden leaned back, crossing his arms. "Then?"

Cassian swallowed. "Then he followed me to the counter. I tried to ignore him, but when I went to pay, the cashier said my card wasn’t working. And before I could pull out cash, Lucian told her -" He winced. " that he’d pay for me."

Aiden’s jaw tightened. "Of course he did."

"I told him no," Cassian rushed to add. "But he said if I didn’t let him, I could just ’pay him back with my time.’"

Aiden’s frown deepened. "That sounds exactly like him."

Cassian nodded, his voice softening. "I just wanted to get out of there. But when we walked out... he -" He took a shaky breath. "He took my hand and kissed it."

Silence.Aiden’s fingers froze mid-tap on the desk. His expression didn’t immediately change, but something in his jaw flexed sharp, restrained.

Cassian noticed and quickly continued, "It wasn’t like I wanted it, Aiden. He just did it before I could move. I pulled my hand back and told him to stop."

Aiden still didn’t say anything. His eyes were darker now, gaze fixed somewhere on the desk. "And then?" he asked finally, voice quieter than before.

Cassian hesitated again. "...He messaged me later. Said, ’Did you tell leonel that I kissed your hand?’"

Aiden’s eyes shot up to his. "Leonel?"

Cassian nodded miserably. "Yeah. He’s trying to make it sound like I’m hiding something. Like he’s... threatening me, somehow."

Aiden clenched his jaw. "He is threatening you, Cass. That’s what he does."

Cassian looked down, voice barely a whisper. "I didn’t want Leonel to know. He already hates Lucian, and I thought it would just make everything worse."

Aiden exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "You shouldn’t have to keep things like that secret just to protect someone else."

"I wasn’t protecting him," Cassian said softly. "I was protecting us."

That made Aiden pause. His expression softened slightly, but the jealousy under the surface didn’t fade. He hated how Lucian always found ways to insert himself into Cassian’s life to stir things just enough to make him doubt, to make Cassian feel cornered.

Aiden looked at him, his tone low. "And what about you, Cass? Who’s protecting you in all this?"

Cassian blinked, caught off guard. "I... I don’t know."

Aiden leaned forward a little. "You need to start to put more faith in us we aint gonna let us fall ."

For a long moment, the only sound was the soft hum of the desk lamp and the faint rustle of pages as Cassian nervously fidgeted with Aiden’s notebook. Finally, he muttered, "I hate this feeling. Every time I see him, it’s like he’s playing a game I can’t win."

Aiden’s voice turned sharp. "Then stop playing."

Cassian smiled faintly. "I am not even trying to play it it just..just idk how its like i am playing."

Aiden sighed. "It could be. If you let me help."

That silence again thick, heavy, charged. Cassian looked at him, their eyes locking for a moment longer than they should have. Aiden’s hand was resting on the desk, and Cassian’s brushed against it accidentally. Neither pulled away.

The warmth between them was quiet the kind that made Cassian’s heartbeat slow down for once. No chaos, no sharp edges. Just this calm.

Cassian leaned in slightly, his voice barely above a whisper."I don’t want things to change between us no matter what happens."

Aiden’s lips twitched into something almost like a smile, but his voice carried a faint ache. "Maybe they already have, Cass."

Cassian blinked, unsure how to respond. Aiden turned back to his laptop, pretending to type something, but his fingers hovered over the keys unmoving.

Then Cassian’s phone buzzed again.

He almost didn’t look at it. Almost. But then the notification glowed, and his stomach dropped.

A picture.Of him and Lucian outside the store. Lucian kissing his hand.

It was taken from a distance behind a bush, grainy but clear enough.

Cassian’s blood ran cold.

Aiden leaned over. "What’s that?"

Cassian’s voice cracked. "It’s from Lucian."

Aiden’s face hardened immediately. "He took a photo of that?"

Cassian shook his head. "No someone else did. He sent it to me just now."

Underneath the image was a message:

Guess secrets don’t stay secret forever.

Cassian’s hands trembled. "Why is he doing this?"

Aiden’s jaw set tight. "Because he wants control. Because he likes watching people panic. Cass, don’t -"

Cassian was already typing. Did you make someone take this? What do you even want from me?

The reply came fast. You’ll find out soon.

Before Aiden could say anything else, the front door clicked open.

Cassian froze.

Leonel’s footsteps echoed in the hallway before he stepped inside, his expression tighter than usual. The corners of his mouth barely lifted into a half-smile, but his eyes were sharp, still carrying that lingering frustration from earlier.

He held his phone in one hand, a grocery bag in the other, and kicked off his shoes with a bit more force than necessary. "You guys still awake?" His tone was casual but had an edge, the mood from before clearly lingering.

He scanned the room and his gaze softened just slightly when he saw Cassian and Aiden on the couch, but the tension didn’t leave his shoulders. "Wow... what’s with the long faces? Did something happen while I was gone?"

Cassian swallowed hard, phone trembling in his hand. He knew he had to tell Leonel, even if it meant admitting everything.

Leonel’s eyes swept the room, sharp and cold, clearly still irritated from earlier. "You two look tense," he muttered, his tone clipped as he dropped the grocery bag on the counter.

Cassian glanced at Aiden, who was sitting close by, arms crossed, jaw tight. He’d already known about Lucian kissing his hand yesterday he didn’t need to be reminded but the possessive energy radiating off him made Cassian’s chest tighten. and leonel noticed that enery off aiden

Cassian’s chest tightened as he held his phone, the image still glowing on the screen. He glanced at Aiden, who sat close by, calm but protective, and then at Leonel, who was pacing near the counter, his expression dark and sharp.

"Leonel..." Cassian began, his voice trembling slightly. "There’s... something you should know."

Leonel stopped, narrowing his eyes. "What is it?" His tone was low, dangerous, like a storm barely restrained.

Cassian swallowed, hands shaking. "Lucian... he... he kissed my hand yesterday."

For a heartbeat, the room went silent. Then Leonel’s shoulders stiffened, jaw clenching, eyes blazing. "What?" His voice was sharp, edged with something Cassian had never heard before jealousy, protectiveness, fury all tangled together.

"I-I tried to pay for the groceries, and he... he grabbed my hand... and kissed it," Cassian added, words tumbling out faster now. "He said... he said I should pay him back with... with own time."

Leonel’s fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles whitening. He didn’t speak at first, just stared, a deep growl threatening behind his throat. His gaze flicked to Aiden, who only shrugged subtly, almost silently saying, "I also just got to know.."

Cassian’s heart hammered in his chest. "And... then he messaged me. He wants to know if you knew about it sending me the picture. It felt... like a threat."

Leonel’s hands flexed, trembling slightly with barely restrained anger. "That little -" He stopped abruptly, taking a deep, shuddering breath. His eyes snapped back to Cassian. "You didn’t tell me this this afternoon when we got to know about him meeting you?"

Cassian shook his head, biting his lip. "I-I didn’t want you to feel bad, or... I thought you wouldn’t like him... I didn’t want to upset you."

Leonel’s gaze softened, but only a fraction. His jaw remained tight. "Cassian... not this again do you know how that makes me feel? Knowing someone else had the audacity to..-" He paused, swallowing, then took a steadying breath. " ...kiss your hand?"

Cassian’s chest felt tight. "I-I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should tell you..."

Aiden’s hand brushed Cassian’s knee, grounding him, protective. "Hey... we’ve got you," he said quietly. "Just... breathe. He’s... upset, but he’s not going to hurt you."

Leonel ran a hand through his hair, pacing slightly, still tense. "Upset? Cassian, do you even understand what jealousy feels like? Seeing someone else touch you like that?" His voice cracked slightly, his frustration barely held in check. Aiden is diffrent i feel jealous but its not like how its with Lucian you also know this!

Cassian swallowed, words caught in his throat. He reached out instinctively but stopped short. "I... I didn’t mean for it to happen. I never -"