Chapter 159: Misunderstood

Lucas took a step forward, his voice softer and uncertain.

“Alex…”

“Don’t Alex me!” The shout exploded out of him. It was sharp, raw and loud enough to turn a few distant heads.

Lucas froze mid-step, the words hitting harder than expected. His eyes widened, confusion flashing across his face.

“Don’t even come close to me,” Alex continued, his voice shaking with restrained anger. “Not after what you did.” He let out a bitter scoff. “You had the nerve to betray me, here…at my father’s birthday venue.” His jaw clenched. “You didn’t even try to hide it.”

Each word felt heavier than the last.

“That’s the worst way to break what we had,” he added, his voice dropping, thick with pain. “And it’s… too painful to bear.” Alex turned, hiding his face.

Lucas just stared at him, completely thrown.

“I don’t understand,” he said slowly, shaking his head. “What are you talking about?” His voice cracked slightly. “You’re scaring me, Alex. What did I do?”

For seconds, silence stretched.

Then Alex burst into laughter. It wasn't amusement but something unstable.

“Oh, really?” he said between the laughter, eyes glinting with something close to madness.

“That’s good.” He stood up and staggered.

Nathan tried to hold him as he managed and stood up. “That makes two of us because I’m also scared out of my mind right now.”

Lucas didn’t move or speak. He just stood there, stunned, trying to catch up to something he didn’t understand.

Beside him, Nathan’s expression hardened. He was getting tired of the confused situation. He stepped away from Lucas and moved toward Dave.

“Dave,” he said, steady but firm, “do you really think we’re lying about this?”

Dave didn’t answer immediately.

So Nathan closed the distance himself. He reached out, grabbed Dave’s wrist, and placed his hand directly against the swelling on his head.

“Tell me,” Nathan said, his voice dropping, more intense now, “Did you believe, I will give myself this kind of pain?”

Dave’s eyes widened instantly at the contact. The bump was real and fresh.

He instinctively stepped closer, his attention fully shifting as he examined it properly, his earlier certainty faltering.

“Oh dear…” he murmured, brows knitting together.

The tension in the air shifted, just slightly. For the first time a doubt crept in.

Then a dry, disbelieving laugh slipped out of Alex again, cutting straight through the tension.

“Hmm.” He shook his head slowly. “Don’t tell me you actually believe them, Dave.”

There was irritation in his voice now, rising sharply.

Lucas turned to him, stunned.

“Alex…” his voice faltered, disbelief written all over his face. “Why are you sounding like this?” He took a small step forward despite himself. “Someone really hit us. We don’t know who or why, but it happened. You have to believe us.”

His voice cracked at the end.

That alone should have meant something. But Alex’s expression didn’t soften. Not even a little.

Meanwhile, Nathan didn’t back down. “Dave,” he said again, more firmly this time, pulling his attention back. “You know me. I can’t lie to you.”

Dave’s eyes flickered between them, uncertainty beginning to creep in, but he still didn’t speak.

Nathan took a breath and continued.

“We passed out after we were attacked,” he explained. “When I woke up, Lucas was still unconscious.” His jaw tightened slightly at the memory. “I tried everything to wake him, but he wasn’t responding.”

Lucas glanced at him briefly, surprised at how clearly he was recounting it.

“I had to call for help,” Nathan went on. “A waiter came in, I practically begged him. He brought a doctor.”

Dave’s brows drew together.

“He’s the one who woke Lucas up,” Nathan finished, his voice steady but heavy with sincerity. “Dave… I’m telling you the truth.”

Silence that  followed was thick and uncomfortable.

Dave looked at Nathan, really looked at him. Then at Lucas and then briefly at the visible swelling on both their heads. His certainty wavered. But before he could say anything, Alex scoffed loudly.

“Wow,” he muttered, clapping his hands once in slow, sarcastic emphasis. “What a story.”

His eyes locked onto Lucas again, colder than before. “You should’ve just told me you were tired of me,” he said bitterly. “It would’ve been easier than all this… performance.”

Lucas flinched, because that hurt more than the accusation.

The place suddenly felt too small for the tension choking it.

Lucas’s chest rose and fell unevenly as he struggled to steady his voice, but it cracked anyway. “Could you guys at least tell us what our offense is?” he said, frustration bleeding into every word. “Because being unconscious for hours is not a crime.”

Alex let out a sharp, humorless scoff. “Oh, you’ll see it for yourself.”

His hands trembled, not slightly, but enough that his phone nearly slipped from his grip. He caught it just in time, jaw tightening as he unlocked it. For a second, he hesitated, like he wasn’t ready to relive what he was about to show.

Then he turned the screen toward them.

The video played and silence fell. It was heavy and suffocating as

Lucas and Nathan froze.

On the screen were them. Too close with lips locked. A moment that looked deliberate, intimate and undeniable.

Alex’s voice cut through the stillness, sharp as broken glass. “Well?” he snapped, eyes blazing. “Are they your twins, huh?”

Neither of them spoke. They couldn’t because they could only recall the fragments of what transpired.

“Oh, your tongues are tied now?” Alex laughed bitterly, but there was no humor in it, only hurt, raw and exposed.

Lucas shook his head quickly, panic rising. “No…no, that’s not… I wasn’t myself,” he said, stepping forward. “I think our drinks were tampered with. Alex, please… just listen. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

A hollow laugh escaped Alex.

He staggered back a step, like the air itself had become too heavy. “Damn it…” he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. His voice dropped, breaking despite him. “Why does this hurt so bad, huh?”

No one answered, because they were all hurting.

He turned away abruptly. “I’m going home,” he said, and it sounded too cold. “Don’t bother coming back home. I don’t want to see your cheating face.”

“Alex, aren’t you going too far?” Jason cut in, anger flaring. “You’re not even listening…”

“No,” Alex snapped, spinning back briefly. “I’m not, Jason. He can go back to his father’s house, or you can take him yourself. I don’t care.”

That hurt more than the accusation. It was final.

“Alex, you’re making a mistake, you should find out why they knock us into an unconscious state. Something is not right.” Nathan put in angrily.

“You expect me to go on a wild goose chase when I have seen it all in CCTV footage?”

Nathan swallowed hard and turned to Dave, believing that it was still the kiss issue. His voice was softer and almost desperate. “Dave… the kiss wasn’t anything serious. I swear. I think our drinks were tampered with. Lucas even tried to call Alex. The call went through, but he didn’t pick up.”

“So you decided to mess up, hmm," Alex flared.