Chapter 74 Face off
Nathan's eyes widened in shock. He didn't just walk into the office, he stormed in.
The door slammed against the wall, the sharp bang slicing through the heat of Alex and Lucas’s kiss. Lucas jerked back, breath uneven, fingers still curled in Alex’s shirt. Alex turned, irritation flashing first. He was about to bark at whoever opened his door without a knock. Then he recognized him, his face twisted in surprise and he whispered, “Nathan.”
Nathan’s eyes were filled with devastation, rage, betrayal, and more as he glared at them.
Before Nathan's surprise appearance, it had started a few minutes earlier.
Zenith had been watching Lucas’s movement. He was still angry that he chose Alex. So the instant he saw Alex walked and Lucas followed, his jaw tightened.
He remembered days ago when he had told Nathan about them. He had laughed it off but instantly, Zenith decided to prove it.
So as they left the kitchen, he followed and saw them disappear toward the elevator, he didn’t hesitate.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Nathan. He picked up but before he could say hello, Zenith’s words tumbled faster.
“If you can make it to Alex’s office now, then hurry if you want the truth about your precious Lucas and Alex.”
Nathan had been ten minutes into his break time so without wasting time, he rushed to his car. He put the engine to live and in a few minutes, he was driving like a possessed man.
When almost at the office, he chuckled, as he recalled last night with Lucas when he mentioned Zenith talking about them smooching with each other. Lucas didn’t deny it, but he didn’t confirm it either. But since then,
Uncertainty had been eating at him.
Back in the present, the office air turned suffocating. Nathan’s chest heaved. His fists clenched at his sides.
“So it’s true.” His voice cracked, but the anger carried it.
Lucas stepped forward instinctively. “Nat, listen…”
“Don’t.” Nathan’s voice thundered. “Don’t call me that.”
Alex moved slightly in front of Lucas in a protective calculation.
Nathan saw it and laughed bitterly. “Wow, the boss is shielding his staff, how sweet.”
Lucas swallowed. “Nathan, it’s not what you…”
“I asked you days ago!” Nathan snapped, stepping closer. “I asked you straight to your face when Zenith told me you two were messing around! And you didn’t accept it.”
Lucas froze.
“You just smiled and changed the topic,” Nathan continued, voice shaking. “You let me look stupid.”
“Nat, calm down, it wasn’t like that…”
“Then what was it like?!” Nathan exploded. The hurt finally spilled over into his anger. “I told you how I felt, Lucas! I’ve liked you since culinary school before I even met Alex but you told me that you're straight.”
He moved closer, again. “You know how I feel about Alex and you” His eyes flicked to Alex. “You know he is my friend…and you chose him?”
Alex’s expression hardened. “Watch your tone.”
Nathan’s head snapped toward him. “Shut up, I won't. You know what, this doesn’t concern you.”
“It concerns me if you’re yelling at my boyfriend.”
The word hit like a gunshot and Lucas’s breath caught.
“Boyfriend?” Nathan stammered and his face went pale… then red.
He laughed shakily. “Boyfriend, hmm, so that’s it? That’s what this is?”
Lucas stepped forward again. “Nathan, I didn’t plan this. It's just…”
Before he could finish, Nathan rushed and shoved him, hard.
Lucas stumbled back, hitting the edge of the desk. Papers scattered around the floor.
“Don’t touch him,” Alex warned, stepping forward.
But Nathan wasn’t thinking anymore. “You used me!” he shouted, grabbing Lucas by the collar. “Do you know how humiliating this is? Everyone might be talking! Zenith talked but I defended you!”
“Nat, let go…” Alex tried to hold him.
“You let me fall for you while you were sneaking around with my friend!”
He withdrew from Alex’s grip and rushed back to Lucas. His grip tightened, shaking Lucas slightly. “You're supposed to be my friend. How could you betray me?” He threw a punch at Lucas face but he was fast to dodge it. Nathan’s emotions were spiraling out of control. And that was it.
Alex moved in with force and grabbed Nathan’s right wrist and yanked it away from Lucas.
“Enough.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it was lethal.
Nathan struggled against him. “Let me go!” His second hand is still gripping Lucas’s clothes.
Alex held the second wrist and yanked it out but it tore Lucas’s uniform.
“Let me go Alex,” Nathan grunted in anger.
“You don’t get to put your hands on him.”
“And you don’t get to teach my friend betrayal!” Nathan shot back.
The room vibrated with tension.
Lucas, shaken but steadying himself, stepped between them.
“Stop it!” he shouted.
Both men stilled.
Nathan looked at him, then at Alex, with glassy eyes. “Was I ever even an option?”
Silence.
Lucas and Alex hesitated and that hesitation was answer enough.
Nathan’s face crumpled for a split second before he masked it with fury.
“So Zenith was right,” he muttered. “You were never confused. You were just hiding.”
Alex’s jaw clenched. He made a mental note of Zenith’s involvement.
Nathan pulled free from Alex’s grip this time, but he didn’t lunge again. Instead, he looked at Lucas long and wounded.
“I would’ve fought for you, if I knew you lied about being straight,” he said quietly. “Not like this. Not in secret.”
Lucas’s voice softened. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“But you did, and you…” His eyes flickered to Alex. I would've fought for you, if he were someone else.”
The words were simple and final.
Nathan backed toward the door, shaking his head.
“You know what hurts the most?” he added bitterly. “It’s not that you chose him. It’s that you didn’t even respect me enough to be honest.”
His gaze shifted to Alex one last time.“Enjoy your victory.”
Then he walked out, to the door and stared back at Lucas. “Don't come home today. I would like to be alone.”
With that, he slammed the door so hard the frame rattled.
The silence afterward felt heavier than the confrontation. Lucas exhaled shakily.
Alex immediately cupped his face. “Did he hurt you?”
Lucas shook his head, though his collar was wrinkled, the torn part of the clothes made his chest bare as it rose unevenly.
His voice was distant as he muttered, “This is going to spread.”
Alex’s eyes darkened.
“And Zenith started it,” he murmured. “This wasn’t just about mischief, it's jealousy.”
“I'm not bothered about Zenith,” Lucas muttered. “My worries are Nathan, what will he think of me? He found out sooner and in the wrong way. I'm not ready to face him. He had been my best friend for three years. He will hate…” A lone tear dropped from Lucas’s eyes.
“Sweetheart, calm down.” Alex enveloped him in a hug. Hey, don't beat yourself over this. I will take care of this okay. Whatever that happened wasn't your fault.”
Lucas, encircled his hand around Alex and rested his head on his chest. That instant his phone buzzed.