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chapter 56

Auteur: Evie hydes
last update Dernière mise à jour: 2026-01-10 22:14:57

Marcus doesn’t push.

That’s the first thing Elias notices.

They’re sitting on opposite ends of the couch in Marcus’s apartment, late afternoon light slanting through half-drawn curtains. A pot of coffee sits untouched on the table between them, already gone lukewarm. Elias has been here for days now, drifting in and out of conversation, answering questions with shrugs or silence.

Marcus lets the silence exist.

He always has.

Elias stares at the wall across from him, tracing the faint crack in the paint with his eyes. His body feels tired in a way sleep doesn’t fix. Processing has taken the edge off the pain, but it’s replaced it with something heavier weight instead of fire.

Finally, Marcus speaks.

“You don’t have to tell me everything,” he says carefully. “But you do have to tell me one thing.”

Elias doesn’t look at him. “What.”

“Are you angry because you were lied to,” Marcus says, “or because you cared?”

The question lands softly and somehow hits harder than any accusation could ha
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  • unmasked desire    chapter 65

    The club feels different when Elias walks into it by choice.Not as a client. Not as someone searching for himself in the dark. Just a person standing in the threshold of a place that once held all his confusion and fear and, unexpectedly, his awakening.The lights are lower than during peak hours, the air quieter. No music pulses through the walls, only a soft ambient hum that makes the space feel almost reverent. Without the press of anticipation, Elias notices details he never allowed himself to see before: the clean lines, the intentional separation of spaces, the way the atmosphere feels held rather than overwhelming.Vincent greets him near the entrance.“You don’t have to be here,” Vincent says gently. “I mean that in the best way.”Elias nods. “I know. I want to be.”Vincent studies him for a moment, then gestures deeper into the club. “Come on. I’ll show you something.”They move slowly through the corridors. Vincent doesn’t rush, doesn’t narrate like a salesman. He explains

  • unmasked desire    chapter 64

    The first breakfast they share feels like walking into unfamiliar territory that used to be home.Elias arrives early, partly out of habit, partly because he doesn’t trust himself not to overthink if he lingers in his room. The dining room is bright with morning light, the long table set more simply than usual, no guests, no performance. Just family routine.Alexander is already there.Not at the head of the table.That alone tells Elias everything he needs to know.Alexander sits halfway down, jacket draped over the back of his chair, sleeves rolled to his forearms, a tablet resting untouched beside his coffee. He looks up when Elias enters, pauses, then nods in greeting. No forced smile. No tension disguised as ease.“Morning,” Alexander says.“Morning,” Elias replies.They sit across from each other, not beside. The distance feels intentional. Respected.Their mother enters moments later, glancing between them with a faint crease in her brow. She doesn’t comment, but Elias catches

  • unmasked desire    chapter 63

    The house is unusually quiet. Not the heavy, suffocating silence that follows an argument, but something more deliberate as if the walls themselves are holding their breath. Elias notices it the moment he steps into the sitting room at the back of the mansion, the one that overlooks the garden but is rarely used. The curtains are open. Late afternoon light spills across the polished floor, catching dust in the air. Alexander is already there. He isn’t sitting. He stands near the window, hands clasped behind his back, posture rigid in a way Elias has never seen before. No effortless confidence. No charm. Just tension held too tightly in a body that’s used to control. For a moment, Elias considers turning around. Not because he’s afraid of Alexander but because he’s afraid of what speaking might cost him. Because clarity has a way of burning bridges just as easily as it builds them. But he stays. “I don’t want this to be emotional,” Elias says, breaking the silence. His

  • unmasked desire    chapter 62

    Elias doesn’t intend to find Alexander.He tells himself he’s just walking, moving without direction, letting the tension drain from his body after a sleepless night. But his feet carry him somewhere familiar anyway, toward the quieter wing of the estate, where the old library opens onto a narrow terrace overlooking the inner gardens.Alexander is there.He stands with his back to the doors, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled to his forearms, staring out at the gray morning light as if trying to read something written into the fog.For a moment, Elias considers turning away.Then Alexander speaks without looking back. “You’re awake early.”“So are you.”“I didn’t sleep.”“Neither did I.”That admission feels like a bridge already built.Elias steps forward, stopping a few feet away. The space between them hums not charged with desire this time, but with something heavier. Something honest.They don’t look at each other at first.“I’ve been thinking,” Elias says.Alexander’s shoulders te

  • unmasked desire    chapter 61

    The night air is cool against Elias’s skin.He doesn’t remember deciding to leave the house only the suffocating pressure of walls, expectations, and words that couldn’t be taken back. He wanders the grounds of the mansion on instinct, drawn toward the far edge of the property where the lights thin and the stars reclaim the sky.Here, the world feels quieter. Less performative.Elias rests his hands on the iron railing overlooking the darkened gardens, breathing in slowly, trying to calm the residual tremor in his chest. Defending Alexander hadn’t been planned. It had risen out of him like a reflex raw, unfiltered.Terrifying.Footsteps approach behind him.He knows who it is before Alexander speaks.“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” Alexander says softly.Elias doesn’t turn. “I needed air.”A pause. Then Alexander moves to stand beside him, close enough that Elias can feel his presence without touching. The silence between them is different from before less brittle, more exposed.Th

  • unmasked desire    chapter 60

    Family dinners at the Vale house have always followed an unspoken script.Appear on time. Dress correctly. Speak when spoken to. Avoid anything real.Elias hasn’t sat at the long dining table in nearly a week, and stepping back into the room feels like walking into a play already in progress. The crystal glasses are perfectly aligned. The candles burn evenly. His mother sits at the head of the table, posture immaculate, while his father scans something on his tablet, jaw tight.Alexander arrives last.He looks composed in the way Elias has learned to recognize as deliberate suit impeccable, expression neutral, movements economical. He takes his seat across from Elias without meeting his eyes.The air is tense before anyone speaks.Dinner is served. Plates are filled. Small talk limps forward on obligation alone.Elias pokes at his food, appetite nonexistent. Across from him, Alexander eats mechanically, barely tasting anything. Their mother talks about an upcoming charity function, he

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