Chapter 17: I Love Him

Lucien didn't even remember how he reached the private medical ward. His hands were scraped. His knees burned. Maybe he had fallen. Maybe he had run through traffic. It didn't matter.

None of it mattered.

All that mattered was the moment he saw Arin on that hospital bed—small, pale, wires snaking around his body like shackles. His beautiful Arin, usually so proud and self-contained, now lying like a lifeless doll.

Lucien's legs gave out. He fell to his knees, clutching the cold glass that separated them.

"No," he breathed. "No, no, no, no. Please... Arin."

His heart was screaming. Not just breaking—ripping apart like paper soaked in acid.

Arin had always been the strong one. Cold, collected, sharp-tongued. He was like glass—cutting, flawless, dangerous.

Now he looked like porcelain. Fragile. Breakable.

Lucien pressed his forehead to the glass, tears sliding down his cheeks. He didn't care who saw. He didn't care that Arin's men were standing around in suits, watching him. Let them watch. Let them know what it meant to love someone.

Because he did.

He loved Arin. He had from the moment that cold, sarcastic man found him in the rain and didn't walk away.

He heard the footsteps behind him. He knew it was Arin's father before the man spoke.

"So. You're the one with the heart in my son's phone."

Lucien didn't move.

"He trusted you," the man said, voice laced with venom. "And now he's half-dead in a bed because of that trust. Because of you."

Lucien turned his head slowly, bloodshot eyes meeting the older man's piercing glare.

"You think this is my fault? That I wanted this?"

"You are a curse," Arin's father growled. "Before you, he was free. He was distant, cold, unfeeling—perfect. Now look at him."

Lucien rose to his feet slowly, shoulders trembling. His lips parted, but no sound came.

Then something inside him cracked.

He screamed.

"YES, I LOVE HIM! Is that what you wanted to hear?! YES, I MADE HIM LAUGH! YES, HE HELD ME AT NIGHT WHEN I COULDN'T BREATHE FROM THE MEMORIES!"

His voice echoed through the sterile hall.

Tears spilled freely now. His throat ached.

"Do you know what it means to be loved by someone like Arin? He gave me food when I was starving. He let me sleep in his bed. He held my hand when I couldn't even look at my own scars."

He looked at the man with hollow eyes.

"So yes, I am the one he called when he was dying. Because I'm the only one who sees him as more than your puppet."

The man didn't respond. His eyes narrowed.

But Lucien didn't care.

He turned back to the glass.

And that's when he heard it.

A voice. Soft, casual, from one of the nearby bodyguards.

"Confirmed. Silas Greer. The poison traced back to him."

Lucien froze.

Silas. That name.

The room spun. He clutched the wall for balance.

"What did you say?"

The guard blinked. "It was Greer. He was behind the poisoning."

Lucien felt like someone had punched the air out of his lungs.

"No..."

His hands shook. His mouth went dry.

Silas knew. He knew Arin was mine. He knew I was living with him.

"He didn't poison Arin to kill him..." Lucien whispered. "He did it to punish me."

The realization hit like a blade through the chest.

Lucien slid to the ground again, cradling his head in his hands.

"Arin got hurt... because he loved me."

It was unbearable. It was unforgivable.

He looked up at Arin's father again.

His voice was barely a whisper now.

"Your son gave up his freedom to protect me. He took your name back into his mouth. He entered hell again for me."

He paused, then added,

"So don't you dare look at me like I'm the problem."

Arin's father's lips curled. "We'll see how long your conviction lasts."

Lucien didn't respond. He turned again to the glass.

He placed his hand against it.

"Please," he whispered, barely audible. "Please come back to me. I don't care if you never love me the way I love you. I just need you here. Breathing."

His tears smeared the glass. The world faded around him. All that existed was the boy in the bed, and the hurricane inside his own chest.

And somewhere in that storm of grief, Lucien made a silent vow:

If Arin wakes up, I will kill Silas Greer with my own two hands.

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