CHAPTER 134: A SIMPLE CAELUM

Caelum panted hard, hurling punch after punch into the sandbag like he was beating the hell out of a real enemy.

Sweat streamed down his back and chest, tracing the sculpted lines of his torso.

The gym’s bright lights caught the slick sheen on his bare skin, highlighting every tense ripple of muscle.

His sage eyes locked onto the bag with a deadly stare, his brow furrowed deep, sharp enough to make a hole in the poor sandbag.

Each blow flung droplets of sweat from his soaked hair, strands sticking to his forehead as his fists moved faster, heavier, more brutal.

Bam!

His final punch struck with such force that the chain snapped, the sandbag crashing to the ground like a corpse dropping on cold concrete.

Caelum stood there, panting hard, jaw tight, staring down at the fallen bag with a satisfied glare.

Lethia’s smiling face haunted the rhythm of his breath. He should’ve just claimed her, marked her that night.

Zeran had taken a scandalous risk by giving her power, and now he was even caging her.

Renar had gone selfless, sacrificing himself to run experiments to fight the death-cursed.

And he? He was here, stuck beating the shit out of a sandbag just to let out his frustration.

Why the hell wasn’t he as powerful as Zeran, free to do whatever the fuck he wanted?

Why wasn’t he as quick-witted as Renar, who always had a solution up his sleeve?

Why was he cursed with nothing more than a handsome face and a strong, sculpted body, when none of it meant a thing if he couldn’t even protect Lethia?

Caelum sat on the floor, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. Maybe Lethia only saw him as a fucking joke now; a horny beast who used his strength solely to please women.

His hands trembled as he pulled off his boxing gloves, his breath growing heavier with devastation.

After Lethia stayed with Zeran, he realized that his chances with her were slipping. He even tried to force himself back into the Playboy act, but it surprisingly failed.

Lethia’s taste lingered in his memory, stubborn and vivid, and he couldn’t bring himself to see any other woman since that.

Callista’s words echoed in his head, asking if he was just deluded by meeting someone from his childhood timeline.

He let out a weak, bitter laugh. If this was delusion, then fuck it; Caelum would gladly live in it for as long as he could.

He let himself fall completely, lying flat on the cold gym floor, eyes staring up at the dark ceiling that felt as black and suffocating as the fog in his chest.

"Cael!" A bulky young man burst through the gym door, shouting as he spotted Caelum sprawled out. He rushed over, eyes wide in concern.

"Cael! Are you okay?"

Caelum glanced at his manager, who gripped his arm hard enough to snap him out of his thoughts of Lethia’s face.

"Why am I like this, Joe?"

Joe let out a long sigh. This wasn’t the first time Caelum had broken like this lately.

"You’re sick, Cael." Joe dropped a bag of canned drinks onto the floor and sat down next to him.

"What should I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to see her smile every day." His voice cracked. "If I could trade all my strength and this stupid, good-looking face just to see her smile... I’d fucking trade it in a heartbeat."

"Crazy bastard!" Joe scoffed. "You’re a simple man, Cael. Stop overthinking shit. You know damn well you can’t compete with Zeran or Renar. So don’t."

Caelum shut his eyes and let out a long exhale. "You’re not helping at all."

"Just... be yourself. I don’t think she hated your last chaotic and impulsive stunt. If you wanna see her, then fucking see her. What’s with all this teenage-boy energy? You’re not like this."

"But—"

"And if she rejects you or says she doesn’t like you, that’s where you should draw the line," Joe smirked. "But even then... are you really the type to give up just ’cause someone told you to?"

"I wish she were my mate."

Joe flinched. That was the first time he’d ever heard Caelum say he wished someone were his mate.

The words landed hard, and Joe could only sit there, stunned, letting the weight of them linger.

"Can you even believe I said that?" Caelum gave a crooked smirk. "I should’ve said I’ll mark her, claim her. But no, I got fucking greedy. It’d be so sweet if she were my fated mate. My grandfather used to say, Fate-mate bonds taste like heaven and addictive as hell."

Joe’s tongue froze. No comeback. Just silence thick enough to choke on.

Then Caelum’s phone rang, shattering the quiet. His eyes narrowed at the caller ID.

"Cael... It’s Zeran," Joe muttered, holding the phone out to him.

Caelum cracked his eyes open lazily, taking the phone without urgency. He hadn’t done anything to jeopardise the company lately, so why the hell was Zeran calling?

"What is it?" Caelum answered, voice sluggish and heavy.

***

The suffocating air in the car made Lethia roll the window down, just to breathe in something that didn’t feel so heavy.

How the hell did Zeran suddenly announce that Caelum would accompany her to the countryside, when Caelum himself was sitting right there during breakfast this morning?

Lethia puffed out her cheeks and let out a frustrated sigh. If Zeran had just told her earlier, before Caelum showed up, she could’ve said she wanted to go with Chasey instead.

She glanced at the side mirror and saw a black van trailing behind Caelum’s car, keeping a close, deliberate distance.

Why still ask Caelum to come if he already assigned six bulky bodyguards to follow her?

"Are you not busy?" Lethia asked, trying to slice through the awkwardness thick in the air.

Ever since the day she’d asked Caelum to just be friends, they hadn’t spoken again.

Even when that whole mess with Caelum’s viral post happened, Lethia had messaged him to check his condition, but the reply never came.

"I wouldn’t be here if I were," Caelum answered flatly, eyes locked on the road.