LOGINSlowly, Kai turned around. Noah was standing near the edge of the foyer, a black suit jacket tossed over his arm. For a long moment, neither of them said a word. Two years hadn't changed him. Noah stood there with his hands in his pockets, his dark eyes fixed on Kai, openly sizing him up. Kai didn't flinch, matching his stare with a steady look of his own. Finally, Kai gave a small nod. "Hey." Noah looked him up and down once. "You're back." "Looks like it." The silence that settled between them wasn't exactly awkward, but it was heavy with the weight of two years of absolute nothing. Behind Kai, Kayla looked back and forth between the two of them, her eyebrows knitting together in total confusion. "Wait," she said, breaking the silence. Neither man looked at her right away, so she stepped into Kai's line of sight. "Nobody told me you had a brother." That actually got Noah’s attention. His eyes shifted down to her, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his face.
"You're back." Kai turned around just as Kayla ran up to him. She looked exactly the same as she did yesterday long dark hair, a massive smile, and way too much energy. Before he could even speak, she threw her arms around his neck. "There you are," she breathed. Kai caught her by the waist, laughing a little. "We literally saw each other yesterday." "Doesn't count," she said, pulling back but keeping her hands on his shoulders. She looked him up and down with a small frown. "You look tired. You work too much." "And you complain too much." "Yet you still haven't broken up with me." "It's a tragedy, really." Kayla laughed, punching his arm lightly. "Shut up and help me with my bag." The next few hours went by in a bit of a blur. They moved through the private lounge, waited out a short flight delay, and Kayla ended up drinking half of his coffee because she claimed hers was too sweet. She spent most of the wait teasing him about whether he could actually survive a whol
“Mr Kai?” “What is it Peter?” “You haven't responded,” Peter, Kai's Personal assistant murmured, he was holding a tablet in his hand. Kai didn’t look up from the report. "Move Singapore to Thursday." "Already done," his assistant replied, not missing a beat. "The investor call?" "Rescheduled for Tuesday morning." Kai scribbled his signature on the final page and slid the file across the desk. It was gone before it even settled, replaced instantly by a fresh folder. The office was quiet, insulated from the distant, muffled hum of the city twenty-nine floors below. Out there, traffic crawled through the streets like a line of ants. Kai barely glanced at it. "You’ve got about five hours before you need to head out," he added, checking his tablet. His pen stopped. For the first time that morning, he looked up. "Five?" "Your flight’s at eight, Mr. Singh." Eight. Five hours, then, home. The word hit a strange, heavy note deep in his chest. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten what
Kai barely heard the rest of the lecture.The professor’s voice was just background noise, a low hum that drifted over the rows of desks.Around him, students were already talking about weekend plans.Someone was complaining about a professor.Someone else was arguing about grades but Kai couldn't be bothered with any of that.Kai looked down at the blank page in front of him.If Mr. Singh wanted him out of the country, then this wasn't about school. No…he is not nice enough for that.It was about something else, but what? All around him, students were typing furiously or scribbling in their notebooks. Someone dropped a pen three rows behind him, the sharp clatter echoing in the large room.Kai sat completely still, his eyes fixed on his notebook. He had written the date at the top of the page, but nothing else. His phone sat face down right beside it, looking completely innocent.The words Mr. Singh had spoken earlier kept circling in his mind like a broken record.By the time c
Kai woke up slowly, still half asleep as he reached for his phone beside the bed—no new messages. “…hm.” He pushed himself up, dragging a hand through his hair before heading for the door. The moment he stepped into the hallway he paused slightly. Quiet, no rustling in the kitchen, no footsteps, no Noah's voice talking to whomever he talks to early in the morning, no sound of movement downstairs. No low hum from the coffee machine. No smell of strong coffee filling the house like it usually did every morning. Kai frowned a little. “…seriously?” Kai muttered. He leaned slightly against the railing, looking downstairs like Noah might suddenly appear from somewhere. The whole house felt empty. Kai stood there another second before scoffing softly to himself and turning back into his room. “Okay then…do you?” His phone buzzed just as he pulled his shirt over his head getting ready to take a bath. Kai glanced at the screen while walking toward the bathroom, Daniel’s message st
Kai was already half gone when Noah shook his shoulder slightly, enough to wake him up.“Kai,” Noah called, but got no response.Noah saw Kai passed out and almost smirked. A quiet, satisfied kind of pride he would never admit to.“We didn't even do much, why are you so tired”, Noah murmured almost to himself. “Why is he so hot…has he caught a fever?”Then suddenly the smirk wiped off his face…almost like he remembered something.“Kai. Wake up.” Noah called again, shaking him harder this time.Kai shifted slightly, face still pressed into the seat.“…five minutes.”Noah: “Now.”Kai groaned under his breath. “God…let me sleep, you caused this anyway.” “Get up,” Noah said, his voice cold and controlled, a total difference from what it was a few minutes ago.Kai noticed this; he opened one eye slowly, staring at Noah, trying to read him, but his face had gone back to its usual unreadable expression.“Not again”, Kai thought, then let out a soft sigh, already pushing himself off the bed.
Noah stared at the message for a second.Kai: Are you alive or did your father finally eat you?A short breath left his nose. Not quite a laugh.He typed nothing back.Deleted the empty line.Locked the phone.Unlocked it again.Then typed.Noah: Come upstairs.He sent it before thinking too much a
The dinner ended after a few minutes but people were still seated at the table. “Noah, a word.” Mr. Singh called out, “My study”. Noah nodded, standing up from the chair, Kai watched them both as they walked out of the dining area. Mr. Singh’s study was quieter than the rest of the house. Too q
The house felt… different after Noah left, it always does.Kai was still in the kitchen, fridge open, staring at nothing in particular while holding a bottle of water he hadn’t opened.His mind was still stuck somewhere between Noah’s hand in his hair and that look on his face when Kai slipped.“…s
“Trust me… I don't want you to be”.Something flashed in Noah's eyes at Kai's words.His eyes stayed on Kai's.Kai's breath remained ragged.Caught somewhere between his chest and his throat, like his body hadn’t decided what to do with it yet.Noah’s hand was still in his hair.Not pulling anymore







