Avery sat at his desk, the city skyline stretching beyond the glass windows, but none of it registered.
His mind kept replaying the morning. Noël's soft voice, his hopeful eyes, and the way Avery had snapped without thinking. He had told him to do whatever he wanted. That he didn't care.
But he did.
God, he cared so much it scared him.
He pressed a palm to his forehead. His father's call, Yulan showing up unannounced, the pressure of the company, all of it had ignited something ugly inside him. He had lashed out at the one person who didn't deserve it.
It wasn't Noël's fault he was still feeling sick.
It wasn't Noël's fault he was trying to find some peace.
It certainly wasn't Noël's fault that Avery was feeling something deeper than he knew how to handle.
He sighed and pushed away from his desk, fingers already reaching for his phone. He typed, erased, typed again, then gave up.
Texting wouldn't cut it.
---
Meanwhile, Noël lay curled under the blanket, a pillow pulled close to his chest. He hadn't gone out. He knew it would only make things worse.
He had messaged Leo, telling him they'd have to postpone. Leo, always direct, asked why, then offered to come over instead.
Noël hesitated, then declined.
He didn't want to bring more chaos into the house. Avery already didn't like Leo, and this wasn't his home to invite people into anyway. Besides… it wouldn't feel right.
He left out the real reasons.
His stomach ached, but he forced himself to the kitchen, trying to distract his thoughts with something as simple as a sandwich. He was cutting tomatoes when the knife slipped. His hands too slow, too distracted.
"Ah—!"
The sharp pain in his finger snapped him out of the fog.
He rushed to the sink, rinsing the blood quickly before it could drip. It wasn't deep, but it stung. He rummaged through the drawers until he found an old bandage from his first week at university, wrapping it around the cut with slightly trembling fingers.
He finished the sandwich, took two bites, then gave up and left the rest untouched on the counter. He wrapped the leftovers in cling film and went to lie down.
The heat in his body was rising again.
Whether it was stress or disappointment, or maybe just the aftermath of an unresolved cycle, he didn't know. But he could feel the fever climbing again, his body aching in waves.
By the time Avery returned, earlier than usual, Noël was already drifting between consciousness and fever dreams.
---
Avery had spent the rest of the day battling with himself. He couldn't focus at work. Every time he looked at his phone, he debated calling. In the end, he left work an hour early and drove home without telling his assistant.
He needed to see Noël.
He needed to apologise.
The door to Noël's room wasn't locked. He knocked once, but there was no answer.
"Noël?" he called quietly, stepping inside.
What he found made his stomach drop.
Noël was curled under the blanket, cheeks flushed a deep red, sweat clinging to his temple. His breathing was shallow, uneven.
Avery rushed forward. "Noël, hey. Noël?"
He knelt beside the bed, pressing the back of his hand to Noël's forehead.
Burning hot.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath. "Not again."
He saw the bandage on Noël's finger, hastily wrapped, stained faintly red.
Avery's throat tightened with guilt.
"What happened?"
This wasn't just heat anymore. It was stress. It was depression. It was everything that Avery should've protected him from.
He stood, already pulling out his phone to call the doctor again.
But before he could, Noël stirred weakly, voice barely a whisper.
"…Avery?"
Avery leaned in. "I'm here."
"…Sorry…"
That single word, mumbled in delirium, broke something in Avery.
"No," he whispered. "Don't say sorry. I'm the one who should be apologising."
He brushed Noël's damp bangs away from his face, something raw in his eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong. I was just… angry. At everything. But I took it out on you. I shouldn't have. I didn't mean what I said this morning."
Noël blinked slowly, lips parting but the fever was too high. He couldn't stay awake long enough to respond.
Avery sat on the edge of the bed and reached for a cold towel, placing it gently against Noël's forehead. His hand lingered for a moment longer.
"I'll fix this," he whispered.
"I promise."
_____
The soft hum of the coffee machine filled the otherwise quiet kitchen. Avery stirred the mug absentmindedly, eyes a little glazed as he stared out the wide window. The morning light streamed in gently, warm against the marble countertops.
He hadn't slept much. Not out of discomfort, but because his mind wouldn't rest.
Noël had been so feverish, so pale. Even after the doctor had come again, after the IV drip was administered and the medication took effect, Avery couldn't relax. The doctor's words had been nagging at him all night.
"This isn't a normal cycle. He's too weak, too feverish. You should consider bringing him in for some full tests. There might be something else happening under the surface."
Avery didn't respond at the time. Just nodded tightly and stood watch until Noël fell into a proper sleep again.
Did I overwork him?
Was it the stress?
Did I do this?
The thoughts coiled like a storm in his chest.
He took a sip of the coffee, only to freeze at the sound of the doorbell.
It rang twice.
Avery frowned, setting the mug down.
Who's showing up this early?
He glanced at the clock on the oven.
10:02 AM.
Alright not early technically. But it felt early when your house was supposed to be silent, and your Omega was still recovering upstairs.
He made his way to the front door and opened it with a firm hand only to find himself blinking in quiet disbelief.
Standing before him was a young man, no older than twenty-three. He had tousled blonde curls that hung around his face like spun gold, and a natural boyish charm. He wore a pastel sweater and dark jeans, the kind of casual confidence that said he knew how good he looked.
The stranger smiled brightly. "Good morning! I'm Leo."
Avery's expression darkened instantly.
Leo held out a hand as if they were equals. "I'm looking for Noël."
Avery didn't move. Didn't shake the hand.
Didn't smile.
For a moment, silence fell thickly between them.
Then Avery's voice dropped cold and low. "How did you find this place?"
Leo blinked at the question, clearly caught off guard. "Um—Noël mentioned he worked for someone in this area. I… might have pulled a few strings and asked a few classmates. I know a guy in property records. It wasn't that hard."
This punk really showed up uninvited. Avery's jaw clenched.
"And your bodyguards didn't stop me," Leo added casually, "because they weren't at the gate. They were by the driveway. You should probably fix that security gap."
Avery felt the vein in his temple throb.
So not only had he shown up at his home, but he had studied the place?
"Did Noël call you?" Avery asked finally, folding his arms. "Did he ask you to come?"
Leo paused, just for a second.
"No. I was just worried. He didn't answer any of my messages yesterday. And when he finally texted me that he wasn't feeling well, I had a bad feeling. He doesn't get sick often. So… I came to check."
That made something twist in Avery's chest.
The possessiveness was instant. Ugly. Hot.
It wasn't just that Leo was here. It was that he looked like he belonged. Like he thought he had a place in Noël's life, a place close to him.
Avery hadn't even processed everything that had happened between him and Noël in the past 72 hours, and now this boy shows up at his door, looking like he was about to whisk Noël away on a picnic date.
He stepped forward, just enough to assert presence.
"Noël is asleep. He's been very sick," Avery said flatly. "He doesn't need to be disturbed."
"I won't stay long," Leo offered quickly. "Just want to see with my own eyes that he's okay."
Avery's eyes narrowed. "You can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so."
The tension between them sizzled. Leo looked like he was about to argue. His lips parted, brows slightly knit but something in Avery's cold gaze stopped him.
There was power there. Not just as a CEO, or a wealthy man, or even an Alpha but something deeper. Something territorial.
Leo clenched his jaw, trying to hide the sting. "...Tell him I came by. Please."
Avery didn't respond.
Leo turned and walked away.
Only once he was gone did Avery close the door, slow and controlled. He leaned against it for a moment, exhaling through his nose, trying to contain the wild emotions crawling under his skin.
That was the one from the report.
Leo, the Beta Noël met at university. The one who makes Noël laugh without effort.
How close were they?
He walked back toward the kitchen, but even the smell of coffee made his stomach turn now.
______
Upstairs, Noël stirred.
The fever had gone down slightly thanks to the IV, but his body was still sore and sluggish. He shifted under the blanket and frowned.
Did someone come?
He could've sworn he heard voices.
Slowly, he sat up. The light in the room made him squint. His stomach growled softly but more than that, his chest ached in confusion.
Did Avery leave again?
Why does it feel like something happened downstairs?
He sighed and sank back into bed.
Little did he know, the storm had just begun.