Chapter 3 : The House That Never Felt Like Home

Kael unlocked the front door quietly.

The mansion lights were dim — intentionally. Selene was sitting on the edge of their pristine living room sofa, hands clenched in her lap, still in the clothes she hurried into.

Her mascara had smudged.

Her eyes were swollen.

She stood the second she saw him.

“Kael, I—”

“Sit,” he said simply.

She obeyed, fear replacing pride.

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t slam the door.

Silence from Kael was always more frightening.

He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, studying her.

“That apartment,” he started, voice flat, “isn’t yours.”

Selene’s breath caught. “Kael—”

“It’s his.”

Kael’s gaze sharpened.

“And you moved into his life like it was yours to own.”

Her eyes spilled with guilt again. “I’m sorry.”

“Why him?” Kael pressed. “Out of everyone… why him?”

Selene opened her mouth—then closed it again. She didn’t have the words. She didn’t have the right.

Kael clicked his tongue, expression unreadable.

“You’re lucky,” he muttered.

“We’re tied. Legally. Socially. We both know what’s expected of us.”

Her tears fell harder at that—because forgiveness from Kael wasn’t compassion.

It was obligation.

He pushed off the wall and turned to leave the room.

“Kael…” she whispered, voice trembling. “Are… are you going to divorce me?”

He paused.

Not because of her question.

But because a face flashed into his mind—

Tear-streaked cheeks.

Moonlit skin.

Eyes that begged without speaking.

Garven.

“…No,” Kael said without looking back. “Not yet.”

Selene covered her mouth, sobbing silently as Kael disappeared into his study.

📍 Scene — Curiosity… or Something Worse?

Kael shut the door behind him and collapsed into his desk chair. The house was quiet — but his mind was noisy.

He unlocked his phone.

His thumb hesitated only a second before typing:

Garven Kaslow.

Search.

Images loaded.

A graduation photo.

Hospital ID badge.

A full-body shot at a nursing event — lean physique, fitted scrubs hugging muscle he didn’t remember.

A smile that looked too bright for someone who’d cried like that tonight.

Kael stared longer than he meant to.

“Damn…”

It slipped out before he could stop it.

He scrolled further.

Academic awards.

Photos with friends.

Selfies — glasses hiding those eyes again, but still…

Still beautiful.

Then he spotted a photo from a year ago:

Garven in a hoodie, holding a cake Selene must’ve baked.

She was behind him, arms around him, her chin on his shoulder.

His smile was real.

Kael’s jaw tightened.

He had never looked at Kael like that.

Back then, Kael had never given him a reason to.

His chest felt tight.

He locked his phone and tossed it onto the table.

“This isn’t my business,” he muttered.

But then…

He picked the phone right back up.

He searched deeper.

Found Garven’s Instagram.

Private.

Kael hovered over the follow button.

His finger actually trembled.

“No,” he grunted, dropping the phone again.

But his pulse was still racing.

Why did seeing another man make Garven smile bother him?

Why did he want to be the reason Garven smiled now?

Kael leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

He didn’t like this feeling.

He didn’t like that a man he once discarded…

Now haunted him.

“Kaslow, can you take Room 305? Patient needs meds before discharge.”

Garven nodded automatically.

His scrubs were perfectly pressed.

His glasses hid his tired eyes — mostly.

But nothing could hide how hollow he felt inside.

He hadn’t slept.

Barely spoke.

His hands still shook when he thought no one was looking.

He walked through the brightly lit hallway — everything too loud, too bright, too alive for someone so broken.

Co-workers whispered when they thought he couldn’t hear.

“Wasn’t today his anniversary…?”

“His sister dropped him last night, I think he cried…”

“He looks like he’ll collapse any second…”

Garven kept his head down.

If he kept moving, maybe his heart wouldn’t stop completely.

📍 Scene — Kael Enters the Hospital

Kael hadn’t expected to walk into a hospital today — but his father had collapsed during a business meeting, and he was here to deal with the fallout.

He didn’t care about hospitals.

He didn’t care about people bustling around him.

He definitely didn’t care about—

Garven?

There he was.

Scrubs hugging his lean frame.

Hair neatly styled.

Professional… yet fragile.

Kael froze.

His pulse kicked up — so sudden it startled him.

“...Shit.”

He took a step forward.

Then another.

He didn’t know what he planned to say — maybe “Hey” or “About last night” or “Why do I keep thinking about you?”

None of those made sense.

But someone reached Garven first.

A male nurse.

Tall. Friendly. Familiar with him.

He touched Garven’s shoulder gently.

Garven flinched — then forced a small smile.

“You okay?” the co-worker asked. “You look pale.”

Garven tried to laugh it off.

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

The man leaned closer, voice soft with real concern.

“If you need a break, I’ll cover your round. Seriously.”

Kael’s jaw clenched.

Why was that guy so close?

Why was Garven letting him be?

Jealousy flared — sharp and irrational.

No one should get to touch him like that.

Kael took another step, ready to cut in—

But Garven turned, and their eyes met.

His entire body went rigid.

Shock.

Pain.

Fear.

He looked away instantly — pretending Kael wasn’t there.

Like Kael was a ghost from trauma.

Like Kael was the last person he wanted to see.

Kael stopped walking.

His chest felt like someone had grabbed his heart and twisted.

“Damn,” he whispered to himself.

“Did I hurt you that bad?”

The co-worker guided Garven toward a bench to sit.

Garven’s hands trembled.

And Kael felt rage bubble under his skin.

Not at Garven.

Not at the co-worker.

At himself.

At the realization that he didn’t want someone else to be Garven’s comfort.

He wanted it to be him.

Kael turned his head away and forced himself to move toward his father’s room.

But his mind stayed behind.

With Garven.

With those broken eyes.

With jealousy that felt too real to ignore.

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