Chapter 58 Sharpened interest
As the staff started cleaning up, Zenith had left the kitchen for the locker room. But suddenly changed his mind, he didn't want to miss any detail of Alex and Lucas's show. Then again the way Lucas shut him down showed that he was pissed about something. It sharpened Zenith's interest the more. So he needed to find out what it was and use that opportunity to his advantage.
Suddenly a smile curled up his lips as he recalled what happened earlier.
It was almost evening already, when they were dealing with a late rush. The kitchen was buzzing, orders piling up, voices overlapping, heat rising. It was the perfect time. Zenith waited until Alex was pulled away into a brief talk. Lucas was beside the walk-in fridge. Zenith grabbed the opportunity immediately.
“Lucas,” Zenith said smoothly, appearing beside him at the walk-in fridge. “I need your help inside, now.”
It wasn’t a request. Lucas hesitated only a second before nodding. Saying no outright would raise questions from the staff around and Zenith knew it. Inside the fridge, the door shut behind them with a dull thud, muting the chaos outside.
The air was cold and too quiet.
“What do you need?” Lucas asked, arms folding instinctively over his chest.
Zenith didn’t answer right away. He leaned back against the metal shelves, studying Lucas openly without pretense. “Lucas, you’re different today. You're hurting and too guarded” he said with concern.
“Zenith, that’s none of your business,” Lucas replied evenly.
Zenith chuckled softly. “Everything concerning my friend is my business. I don't like your bright beautiful eyes being like this. It's too dull”
Lucas stiffened. “If your calling me here is about work, say it. If not, I'm leav...”
“It’s not about work,” Zenith said, stepping closer. “It’s about Alex.”
Lucas’s jaw clenched. “Just forget it, I don't...”
“But I can't my friend, you’re avoiding him,” Zenith continued, voice low, deliberate. “And he is unraveling because of it.”
“That’s between us,” Lucas snapped.
Zenith stifled a slow, knowing laugh. “Is it? Because from where I stand, I can tell that Alex messed up. And now you’re standing here, trying to be noble while hurting.”
Lucas’s heart pounded. “You don’t get to analyze me.”
“I get to offer alternatives,” Zenith said, closing the distance just enough to make the air feel tight.
“This has something to do with your friend Nathan right?”
Lucas’s eyes widened in surprise without reply.
“Let me help you, Lucas. Just try to be close to me. It will put him off you. You don’t owe Alex anything. You’re allowed to choose yourself.”
Lucas took a step back as he moved closer to him. “Stop it Zenith, don't come any closer.”
Zenith didn’t stop. Instead, he reached out, not touching, but close enough to be unmistakable. “Let me make this easier for you.”
“That’s inappropriate,” Lucas said sharply. “Step away.”
Before Zenith could reply, the fridge door swung open. Alex stood there and instantly, his eyes took in everything…the closeness, Lucas’s rigid posture, Zenith’s too-relaxed stance. Instantly, something dark flashed across his face.
“What’s going on here?” Alex asked, voice dangerously calm.
Zenith straightened, unfazed. “Just work.”
“That’s a lie, and don't do that again,” Lucas said immediately, stepping out of the fridge and past Alex. His voice shook, but his resolve didn’t.
He walked away without looking back as the silence stretched. Alex and Zenith's eyes followed him out.
Then, Alex turned slowly to Zenith. “Didn't I warn you not to cross the line?”
Zenith tilted his head, still unfazed. “I didn't cross the line. Stepping into an opening you left is not an offense. What the heck did you do to such an angel, hmm?”
Alex’s hands clenched. “Stay away from this and stay the heck away from him.”
Zenith smiled…cold, satisfied. “Or what?”
Alex stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Or this becomes a problem you don’t want.”
Zenith held his gaze for a long moment, then laughed softly.
“Careful, sweetheart. You don’t own him.”
Alex said quietly. “You don't know anything. He is my Lucas…and mine alone. Stay the heck clear.”
Across the kitchen, Lucas kept moving, hands unsteady, heart racing, knowing one thing with painful clarity. This wasn’t over and it wasn't going to be easy.
Zenith chortled and decided to shower, he needed to find out where Lucas lives.
Meanwhile, from Lucas’s side, he was breaking inside but it didn’t come loudly. It came later, when the kitchen finally emptied, when the noise faded and the adrenaline drained away, leaving only exhaustion in its wake. Lucas stood alone at the sink, hands submerged in lukewarm water, staring at nothing.
“So this is the price. This is how it feels,” he whispered to himself.
His chest felt hollow, like the sweetest thing inside it had been scooped out and left aching in its place. Doing the right thing was supposed to feel clean and clear. But instead, it felt like a loss…sharp, heavy, and undeserved.
He had walked away, set boundaries, chosen loyalty over longing, and still it hurt.
The image of Alex in the walk-in flashed through his mind, his expression when he had opened the door. The fear, the anger, the way his voice had dropped when he had asked what was going on.
Lucas swallowed hard. He would have fought for me, the thought came unbidden. And that was the cruelest part.
Lucas turned off the tap, gripping the edge of the sink as his breath hitched. He thought of Nathan…his laughter, his trust, the quiet pride in his voice the night before. Nathan hadn’t accused him of anything. He didn't even know there was something to accuse.
Lucas was doing the right thing so he thought. This is what loyalty feels like, he told himself. It hurts first. His shoulders shook but he tried to convince himself that it would be alright.
His heart was breaking badly. He pressed his forehead briefly against the cool metal, eyes burning with unshed tears. He straightened before the tears could fall. No one needed to see this. No one deserved to.
All the while he was at the sink, across the kitchen, Alex stood half-hidden in shadow, watching without being seen.
He didn’t move even though his heart was aching. He didn’t speak but he had come to understand the point finally.
Lucas wasn’t punishing him. He was paying a price of royalty.
And for the first time, Alex realized something that cut deeper than jealousy or fear. If Lucas walked away for good, it wouldn’t be because he didn’t care.
It would be because he cared too much and he was scared of how to handle it.
Lucas grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, steps steady despite the ache dragging at his chest. As he passed Alex, their eyes met for the briefest second, no words, no accusation, just shared understanding and quiet hurt.
Then Lucas was gone. And the kitchen, for the first time all day, felt unbearably empty.
Alex muttered, “Oh goodness, I need him with me so badly. Please help him to understand that it wasn't his fault.”