Chapter Eight

Kyle

I sat up slowly, my legs trembling beneath me as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, trying to steady my breathing. My knees felt weak, used, and a little sore from pressing against the cold tile for so long.

I rose to my feet and pulled myself together, brushing off my clothes and straightening out the parts of me that still felt wrecked. My lips tingled, and my heart was still thumping like mad.

Then I turned toward the door… and froze.

It was open.

My throat tightened. I stared at it for a long second before whispering, “Why is the door open?” My voice shook. “Has the door been open all this while?”

Maddox, standing there with his usual unreadable look, just gave a faint shrug. “Someone came over,” he said flatly, “but the person ran off before I could see who it was.”

My stomach dropped.

No. No, no, no.

I started pulling at my hair, fingers clenching the strands as panic rose in my chest. “What… what? Are you saying that someone saw me? Saw me… blowing you?”

My voice cracked. My face burned with shame that burrowed under the skin. My eyes darted back to the open door as if I could reverse time, shut it, lock it, undo everything that just happened.

Maddox, in typical Maddox fashion, didn’t even flinch. He looked like this was nothing. Like this wasn’t the end of the damn world.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said, calm as ever, and then walked out, leaving me standing there with my knees still weak and my chest caving in.

I couldn’t move.

I was frozen with humiliation, still in the men’s room, afraid to even peek out because I knew someone, whoever it was, had seen me on my knees. They had seen everything. That sinful, filthy thing I did. And now they knew.

One person in that crowd… they knew.

And that was enough to ruin everything.

I didn’t want to leave... yet.

Even after Maddox walked out like nothing had happened, I stayed frozen in that restroom, like maybe time would forget me there. I finally moved, stepping out of the stall, slowly, like a ghost. I walked to the sink, turned on the tap, and washed my hands, again and again. Then, I splashed water on my face. The cold helped. A little.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and didn’t even recognize myself.

I looked flushed, disheveled… like someone who had just sinned in a sacred place. I wiped my face with a tissue, hard, like maybe I could scrub away the memory, erase the shame, maybe even erase the memory of whoever it was that had seen me.

But who?

Who was that person? The thought alone made my stomach churn. My mind kept trying to match footsteps to faces, to recall if I heard a voice or sensed anything more. But there was nothing. Just the sight of the door opened widely and the horrible, gut-sinking realization that it hadn’t been closed.

Still, whatever happened in there… it had to be the last time.

No more giving in to the heat, no more letting Maddox do things to me that made my body ache and my soul coil in guilt. I needed to be better than this.

After about twenty minutes, I finally decided I couldn’t stay locked in the restroom forever. My mother would’ve started looking for me—or worse, Hayden would be wondering where this little lad disappeared to. I sucked in a breath, wiped my clammy hands on my trousers, and stepped out.

The wedding party was still ongoing. Laughter, music, clinking glasses—it all felt like a world I no longer belonged to.

I slipped back to my seat quietly.

Hayden was still there beside me, but he didn’t even look my way. His eyes stayed fixed ahead, a wine glass in his hand, his posture calm, detached. As if nothing had changed. As if he hadn’t noticed my absence at all.

I placed my palms on my lap. They were still sweaty, trembling slightly. My legs bounced under the table with restless nerves. I scanned the crowd slowly, carefully, trying to read faces, hunting for even the smallest clue about who it could’ve been. Someone in here knew. Someone had seen me.

Then Hayden’s voice sliced through my thoughts, low and clear.

“Where were you all this while?”

My heart slammed against my ribs, hard. I looked at him quickly, trying not to look guilty, but I knew I was already failing.

“What?” I turned to Hayden, trying to sound casual, but my voice cracked just a little.

He raised a brow. “Where were you all this while? You’ve been gone for over an hour. Where did you go?”

I swallowed hard and looked away. My hand instinctively rubbed my neck, and I just shook my head.

“Who cares anyway?” he said.

Hayden scoffed under his breath, turned away from me, and knocked back his entire glass of wine without another word.

Thank goodness the wedding eventually came to an end. I was counting the seconds. I couldn’t handle another look from anyone, another awkward moment, or another question that might expose what I had done. As soon as the last toast ended and everyone started dispersing, I practically escaped into the car that was waiting to take us home.

Home. Only that it wasn’t the usual house anymore.

Today, for the first time, we were moving into the Alpha Mansion—Maddox’s estate. A place so big, so regal, it looked like it had swallowed up three castles and mashed them into one.

Alpha Maddox, my brother and I had been staying with our mum back at the smaller house since Maddox came into the picture. But now that they were married, this was the new arrangement.

Hayden was the first to pick a room. He didn’t even say anything before he walked off with his bag and disappeared down the long corridor.

I wandered through the hallway, trying every door I could, but they were all locked. Every single one. I was starting to feel like I didn’t belong. But honestly, I didn’t mind. I hadn’t seen Maddox since we returned, and that alone was a relief. Maybe he was busy. Maybe he didn’t want to run into me either. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what I’d say if our eyes met again.

I eventually made my way to my mum’s room, trying not to look too lost. She was standing in front of the mirror while two house staff helped her out of her dress. Everything about her looked peaceful. Untouched by the chaos brewing inside me.

“Mom,” I called softly.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “What is it, sweetie?”

“I… I can’t find any rooms. They’re all locked.”

She let out a small sigh as one of the staff folded her gown to the side.

“Oh, right. The rooms haven’t been set up yet. Maddox will handle that, but for now, you’ll have to share with Hayden.”

My eyes widened. “Wait. You mean I’ll share a room with him?”

“Yes,” she said calmly. “Exactly what I said.”