CHAPTER 107: TYE’S ARRIVAL

I woke to pale morning light filtering through the hotel curtains, feeling more rested than I had in days.

For the first time since arriving in this city for the meeting, my mind wasn’t racing, my body wasn’t tense. I was wrapped in Axel’s warmth, his arm draped across my waist, his steady breathing matching the rhythm of sleep.

I didn’t want to move. I just wanted to stay here, in this moment, pretending the rest of the world didn’t exist.

I hate to admit it, but I might just get used to us sharing a bed.

I must have dozed off again, because the next thing I heard was the soft slide of the balcony door opening. Axel was already up, his phone pressed to his ear.

I watched him from the bed, trying to hear what he was saying. His posture was different: tense, alert, and careful. His voice was low, almost a whisper, the kind of tone someone uses when they don’t want to be overheard.

"Everything needs to be ready by tonight," he said quietly. "And make sure... don’t let her find out yet."

My stomach tightened. Don’t let her find out yet? Was he talking about me?

Before I could process further, he glanced back and noticed me stirring. He immediately ended the call with a curt "I’ll be in touch" and turned to face me, his expression shifting seamlessly into something lighter, more casual.

"Good morning," he said, walking back inside. "You slept well?"

"Who were you talking to?" I asked, unable to help myself.

He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead in a way that felt deliberately evasive. "Work. Don’t worry about it."

"Axel..."

"Come on. Let’s get breakfast. I’m starving, and I’m sure you are too."

He was deflecting, smoothly changing the subject before I could push further. I wanted to argue, to demand answers, but something in his demeanour discouraged it.

Instead, I let him help me out of bed and distract me with plans for breakfast at a nearby café. But deep down, I was feeling uneasy.

At breakfast, we ordered coffee and pastries at a small table by the window. I tried to act normal and focus on the food, but my mind kept circling back to that phone call.

"So, what’s our next move with Charles?" I asked, trying to ground myself in something concrete.

Axel sipped his coffee, considering. "We have a few options. We can confront him publicly, demand answers about your birth, and force him to issue a statement. Or we leak the information you have to the press first, control the narrative before he can spin it."

"Which do you think is better?"

"Depends on what we’re trying to achieve. Public confrontation puts him on the defensive and makes him reactive. But leaking gives us more control over the messaging."

I nodded, but I wasn’t really paying attention.

I was watching him. His eyes kept flicking to his phone. His responses were careful and measured, as if he were thinking three steps ahead of every word he said.

Then his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, and I caught fragments of the message he was reading: "... keep me waiting."

I hate to be the jealous or suspicious type, but something about this all kept making me feel like he was hiding something. Weird, considering we are only married and not in love, right?

"Who keeps texting you?" I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity.

"Just coordinating a few things," he said smoothly, setting the phone face down on the table. "Nothing important."

"It seems important. You’re checking it constantly."

"It’s someone arriving later today. A close friend. I wanted to make sure everything was in place for his arrival."

I blinked, caught off guard. "You have friends?"

Axel let out a quiet chuckle, the kind that sounded genuine enough to disarm me slightly. "Hard to believe, I know. But yes, I have one. His name is Tye. We go way back."

"Where’s he coming from?"

"Out of the country. He’s been occupied with his own business matters."

There was something guarded in his tone, something that made me want to push further. But the look he gave me, a blend of affection and something else I couldn’t quite name, made me hesitate.

"Why didn’t you mention him before?" I asked instead.

"Because he’s complicated. Our friendship is complicated. But he’s important to me, and he wanted to return for a little vacation."

I wanted to believe him. The explanation was plausible. But there was still something off, something he wasn’t telling me. I could feel it the way I could feel storms coming... that pressure in the air that precedes the rain.

"Okay," I said finally. "When is he arriving?"

"This afternoon. I’ll pick him up from the airport."

We finished breakfast in relative silence after that. Axel was attentive, solicitous, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was performing, that there was a script he was following, and I wasn’t privy to the ending.

—

The ride to the airport felt tense, but Axel was surprisingly calm. He appeared composed and focused, as if he was getting ready for something important, though I had no clue what that might be.

"Stay close to me," he said as we parked. "Security is tight, but I want you near me."

"Of course," I said, unease growing.

The flight back was uneventful, and when we landed, Henry and Helena left, leaving Axel and I in the private hangar.

We only had to wait a few minutes before a jet descended. The door opened, and a man emerged.

He was tall, confident, with the kind of smirk that suggested he knew exactly how to command a room. His dark eyes swept over me with frank appraisal, and something in that gaze made my skin prickle.

"Layla," Axel said, his tone shifting subtly. "This is Tye. A close friend of mine."

Tye extended his hand, eyes glinting with something between amusement and calculation. "I’ve heard so much about you."

I shook his hand, offering a polite but calm smile. "I wish I could say the same about you."

His smile widened, genuinely amused now. "Oh, you will."

Axel’s expression tightened just slightly; it barely noticeable, but I caught it. It was the kind of tension that spoke of the hidden dynamics between them.

As we got into the car, I glanced back one last time and caught Axel exchanging a look with Tye. It wasn’t just a look between friends. It felt like there was something deeper in that look, something I couldn’t quite figure out. It seemed to carry more weight than just friendship.

A look that felt like a secret.

I might be overthinking, I know, but I couldn’t help but ask myself. What the hell are you not telling me, Axel?