Kai

Kai shows up at the house just after six.

I am in the living room trying to read when the front door opens and his familiar voice carries down the hall. Deep, easy, threaded with the same quiet confidence Adrian carries, but warmer.

“Adrian texted me to stop by,” he says as he walks in. “Something about the Singapore contracts needing a second set of eyes.”

I look up.

Kai stands in the entrance to the living room in a dark button-down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and black trousers. His hair is slightly windblown. When his eyes land on me, they pause for a fraction longer than necessary.

“Aria,” he greets, voice softer. “Didn’t know you’d be home.”

“I live here,” I answer, closing the book.

He smiles, small and genuine. It is the same smile he has given me for years—Adrian’s best friend, always polite, always careful around me. Tonight it feels different. Or maybe I am the one who is different.

Damien appears from the home office a moment later.

“Kai,” he says, tone mild. “Didn’t expect you.”

“Adrian asked.” Kai’s gaze flicks between Damien and me, sharp for half a second, before it smooths out again. “He said he’d be back by eight. Figured I’d wait.”

The three of us end up in the living room. Damien pours drinks. Kai sits on the opposite end of the couch from me. The space between us feels deliberate.

Conversation stays surface-level—business, the weather, a mutual acquaintance’s engagement. But underneath it, something else moves. Every time I shift, I feel the residual soreness from last night. Every time Damien looks at me, I remember his voice telling me to leave the door unlocked. And every time Kai’s eyes land on me, I wonder how much he can see.

Adrian returns earlier than expected.

He walks in still in his suit, tie loosened, expression tired. His gaze moves over the three of us and settles on me for a beat too long.

“You’re all here,” he says.

“Kai came to look at the contracts,” Damien answers.

Adrian nods once, then looks at me again. “Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll have something sent up.” His voice is calm, but there is an undercurrent I can’t read. “You look like you need rest.”

The concern in his tone makes my chest tighten. I stand, suddenly desperate to leave the room.

“I’ll be upstairs.”

I feel three sets of eyes on my back as I walk out.

An hour later there is a knock at my door.

I expect Damien.

It is Kai.

He stands in the hallway with his hands in his pockets, expression carefully neutral.

“Can I come in for a minute?”

I step aside. He enters but stays near the door, as if he is already calculating how quickly he can leave.

“I won’t stay long,” he says. “I just… are you all right?”

The question catches me off guard. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Kai studies my face. “You seem different. Quieter. And Adrian’s been on edge since I got here. So has Damien.” He pauses. “If something’s going on in this house, you don’t have to handle it alone.”

The sincerity in his voice is dangerous. It makes me want to tell him everything—the unlocked door, Damien’s hands, the way I keep saying Adrian’s name while another man is inside me.

Instead I force a small smile. “I’m fine, Kai. Really.”

He doesn’t look convinced. He takes a step closer. The scent of his cologne—cleaner, lighter than Damien’s—reaches me.

“I’ve known you a long time,” he says quietly. “Long enough to know when something’s wrong. If anyone is pressuring you—”

“No one is.”

The lie tastes bitter.

Kai’s eyes search mine for another moment. Then he nods once, slow, like he is filing the conversation away for later.

“All right. I’m around if you change your mind.”

He turns to leave. His hand is on the door handle when he speaks again, voice lower.

“Be careful with Damien.”

The warning lands hard.

Before I can answer, he is gone.

I close the door and lean against it, heart beating too fast.

Two men in this house already know too much—one because he has been in my bed, the other because he is starting to see the cracks.

And Adrian, the one I have wanted for years, is watching all of it without knowing the truth.

I walk to the bed and sit down slowly. My body still carries the memory of last night. My mind keeps replaying Kai’s quiet warning and the way he looked at me when he thought I might be in trouble.

The door is still unlocked.

I do not lock it.

Somewhere in the house, Damien is waiting for the lights to go out.

And for the first time, I am not sure which of them I should be more afraid of—or more drawn to.