The room was quiet in a way Avery wasn't used to. The distant chirp of evening birds outside, the faint whisper of pages turning as Noël read beside him, and, more than anything, the comforting pull of Noël's scent. That subtle sweetness curled into his senses, lulling the edge off his mind like a warm blanket. He hadn't realized how much tension he'd been carrying until it began to melt away.
It was strange. He hadn't taken an afternoon nap in years. His life didn't allow for them. But now, sitting there with Noël leaning against him, the faint rustle of the book and the warmth of the body in his arms made him feel… safe. Allowed to let his guard down, if only for a moment.
The events of the last twenty-four hours, the call from his father, the severed ties with the Cheng Corporation, still sat in the back of his mind, but they no longer felt like a threat pressing on his chest. If anything, there was a strange, intoxicating sense of freedom. With Noël here, close enough for Avery to feel the steady rhythm of his breathing, it was easier to believe that cutting himself loose might have been the right step.
At some point, without even realizing it, Avery drifted off.
When he finally stirred again, nearly two hours had passed. Noël had fallen asleep too, his book resting loosely in his lap. The two of them lay tangled together on the couch, their breathing slow and even.
_______
It was around 7 p.m. when the front door opened. The muffled voices of the guards filtered in, followed by the sound of measured footsteps entering the living room.
Jay.
Per Avery's earlier orders, the guards had brought him back from the other estate. He'd gotten suppressant injections that afternoon, so Avery had no concerns about having another omega nearby. But when Jay stepped into the living room, what he saw froze him mid-step.
Avery and Noël, asleep together on the couch, arms wrapped around each other like they had no intention of letting go.
Jay's brows knitted into a sharp frown, his lips pressing into a thin line. So this was the reason I was sent away? So they could lounge around, playing at being lovers?
The thought festered instantly. He had been treated like an afterthought—no, like an object, moved out of the way when he wasn't convenient to have around. The sour taste of displeasure rose in his throat.
Without a word, Jay turned and walked upstairs to his room. He closed the door behind him, pulled out his phone, and scrolled until he found a familiar contact. His thumb hesitated for only a second before pressing call.
The line clicked, and a voice answered.
Jay spoke quietly, his tone laced with something between irritation and calculation. His words were vague, but there was an edge to them, as if each sentence was a piece of a report. The person on the other end listened in silence, their responses short, almost non-existent.
By the time Jay hung up, his frown had deepened. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor for a long moment before placing the phone down beside him. Whatever he had just done, it wasn't something he intended Avery or Noël to know about. Not yet.
Avery stirred first, blinking himself out of the heavy haze of sleep. It took him a moment to register that the faint light in the room was from the lamps, not the sun, and that Noël was still leaning against him, his head warm against Avery's shoulder.
He sat up slowly, careful not to wake him, but movement made Noël shift anyway, letting out a soft hum before blinking awake.
Avery's first thought was how oddly quiet the house felt. He could tell, in that way you just know without seeing, that Jay was back. The air held that slight shift. More than scent, more than sound. It was the sense of another presence that didn't quite blend in.
Noël noticed the faint tightening in Avery's shoulders. "Jay's home?" he asked, voice still rough from sleep.
Avery nodded. "I think so. The guards were supposed to bring him back around this time." He paused, scanning the room as if expecting to see Jay lingering nearby. "But I didn't hear him come in."
Noël tilted his head, catching the subtle shift in Avery's expression. There was no anger there, but there was a kind of awareness, like Avery was already bracing for something.
"You're… tense," Noël said softly, studying him.
"Not tense," Avery replied after a beat. "Just… alert." His gaze flicked toward the staircase. "Jay can be unpredictable."
Noël didn't press, but the words stayed with him. It wasn't unusual for Avery to be guarded, but there was something sharper to it tonight. It made Noël quietly more alert as well, though he hid it behind the calm ease he always carried.
They both moved to the kitchen, deciding to heat something simple for dinner. Avery moved with the smooth precision of habit, but every so often his eyes flicked toward the hall, toward the stairs, as though listening for footsteps that never came.
By the time they sat down to eat, the silence in the house felt heavier. Noël didn't know the reason, but he could feel the undercurrent—an invisible thread pulling at Avery's focus.
When Jay finally came downstairs, it was without a word of greeting. He crossed the room with his phone still in his hand, glanced at the table, and muttered something about not being hungry. His tone wasn't openly hostile, but it carried an edge, a quiet coldness that seemed deliberate.
Avery didn't call him out. He simply nodded, his face unreadable, but his gaze followed Jay until he was gone.
Noël caught the look and felt that quiet, unspoken disagreement between them. Something was off. And though neither said it aloud, both knew they would need to keep a closer eye on Jay from now on.