The radio croons in his mom’s bedroom. Kade passes her door, heading downstairs. The living room is empty, and so is the kitchen. With a frown, Kade steps into the bedroom, grabbing a set of folded pants on the dresser.
Two corners of the sheets have been pulled up, exposing the quilted surface of the mattress. As though Felix was halfway through gathering the sheets to wash them, and—
The ring.
Kade swears, crossing into the room. If Felix pulled the sheets, then he must have found it. Shit. Something glints on the floor. Kade freezes, looking down.
The chain coils on the carpet like a snake. The ring’s gone.
Kade swears, his stomach plummeting. It had slipped his mind, when Felix has been snuggling in his arms the past few weeks. The ring hadn’t mattered anymore then, when Kade has been holding his bondmate so close. He hadn’t thought about worrying, when he wakes up in the mornings, burying his nose in Felix’s hair.
Kade drops to a crouch, gathering the cool chain in his hand. Felix is gone, too. Where did you go?
How could he have been so careless? Felix had been adamant about his reasons for breaking up.
Kade swallows hard, stepping into his pants as he strides out. He checks the garage, but the bike stands in the shadows, untouched. He jogs to the front door, but the street’s empty. If I asked, will you come back? You can’t just leave.
He hasn’t checked the backyard yet. Kade hurries to the kitchen door. Why would Felix head there instead, if he’s found the ring? But he has to check everywhere in the house, even if his hands are shaking. He can’t lose his bondmate again.
Kade pushes the door open, and almost trips over the huddled figure on the back porch.
He swears, heart lodging in his throat. Felix!
But Felix isn’t looking at him. He flinches as Kade stumbles across the floorboards. Then he pushes his face down against his knees, his limbs drawing tight against his body.
He’s here. He’s still here. Kade breathes out his relief, suddenly cautious. His omega hasn’t left, and maybe this isn’t such a big deal. Maybe Felix has decided to stay, unlike five years ago.
He kneels warily in front of Felix, needing to hold him. “Felix?”
“Go away,” Felix rasps, like he’s been crying.
Kade’s heart cracks. He clenches his fists, shuffling closer. The heavy lavender of Felix’s scent steals into his nose.
“You found the ring,” he blurts.
Felix whines, a low, helpless sound laced with agony. “Why? Why did you even... I told you to leave.”
But why would he be upset about it, when Kade’s the one who wasn’t good enough? Kade reaches for him, touching his arm. Felix flinches. It stings, Felix recoiling from his touch. Kade sets his hand down, swallowing. “But you stayed this time.”
“I should go.” Felix unfurls his limbs, trying to hide his splotchy face.
Kade tenses. He can’t let his bondmate leave again. Five years of separation was too long. So he grabs Felix by his underarms, hauling him onto his lap, into the circle of his arms. “Don’t go,” Kade says, holding him tight. “Please.”
He’s vulnerable all over again, like Felix has all the power to break him.
Felix sobs. He shakes against Kade, a fragile, beloved warmth. “You’ll hate me so much,” he says, his voice cracking. Kade doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. “Let me leave.”
“Tell me,” Kade says in his ear. It feels like déjà vu, except Felix knows his secret now. A weight slips of his chest. “Tell me how to make you stay.”
Felix shudders. “Y-You won’t w-want me if you know.”
“You don’t know that,” Kade says, because they’ve been through so damn much. He strokes Felix’s hair, pulling him closer, careful not to compress his belly. “If I’m leaving, I’m leaving either way, right?”
Except he won’t leave, and Felix should know that by now.
Felix tenses, hiding his face. “Your dad died because of me,” he says, voice muffled. “I caused the bankruptcy.”
“What the hell?” What bankruptcy? We’ve been good for... for maybe four years. You couldn’t have anything to do with the tenant mess. But Felix curls into himself, and Kade strokes a hand down his back, his pulse thudding in his ears. “You mean the one five years ago? You weren’t even here when it happened.”
“I knew it was coming.” Felix’s voice rises, thin and helpless. “Why do you think I left?”
Kade swallows. The bankruptcy can’t be what caused all this. “You said I wasn’t good enough. You said I was too poor.”
He hasn’t been saving up as much as he should, and he doesn’t have enough to buy them a new house, or anything like that. Should’ve saved more money. I didn’t think I had any chance left with you. Are you going to leave again? His throat constricts.
Felix shakes his head, his hair catching on Kade’s shirt. “It was never about that. I don’t care about the money either. Except my father—he evicted your family. Do you remember that? My father used my drawings to get new tenants. So he could rebuild and have lots of big names move into those old homes.”
Kade frowns. “Thought he was the mayor.”
“He owns half the properties here. I just never told you about it.” Felix huddles into himself. “Do you remember the first time you visited my father’s mansion? For months after that, you said you wanted to buy one just like it, and... I couldn’t persuade you away from that idea.”
Kade breathes out, slow and deep. So on top of that grand mansion, Felix’s dad is way richer than he thought. Great. “You’ve been hiding things from me.”
That feels like a betrayal, too, and he thought it was only the baby Felix had lied about.
Felix breathes out, slow and heavy. “Yes.”
Kade closes his eyes. He hadn’t realized that Felix had hidden this from him for years. It’s as though the earth beneath him has shaken loose, learning that about Felix. “Why?”
“Because I never wanted you to compare
