Betrayed By Husband, Stolen By Brother In Law

"I know she is pregnant with your child."

Elais Jung froze at those words. For a moment, he thought he had heard wrong. Then he coughed lightly, slipped his phone into his pocket, and walked slowly toward Cadence, who was now kneeling on the floor. His voice was calm but laced with warning as he realized what could have happened just now. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"What did you just say?"

"Why do you have to make me repeat it?" Cadence snapped, frustration and confusion twisting his expression. "Are you so thrilled at the idea of becoming a father that you’ve lost your mind?"

The words were barely out before Elais’s hand shot forward. He grabbed Cadence by the hair and yanked his head back sharply, forcing him to meet his eyes.

"The only way Melanie could be pregnant with my child," Elais said, his voice like ice, "is through some kind of black magic. Forget about sleeping with her—" his grip tightened as he leaned closer, "—I haven’t even entertained a thought that ridiculous."

Cadence blinked rapidly, stunned by the conviction in his tone. He stared at Elais as though trying to process the words one by one. Did he hear correctly? Or was there some hidden meaning he was missing?

"But... that Marianne person," Cadence muttered, voice cracking slightly. "She said Melanie might be pregnant. And if she really is... then the timing... it’s around when you brought her here. So how could she be with—"

Elais cut him off with a shake of his head, then smacked him lightly on the back of the head in exasperation.

"Cadence, you idiot," he said flatly. "I thought you were smarter than this. Have you forgotten Melanie is married and crazily in love with her husband? Did I not tell you that?"

The words sank in slowly, and then realization dawned.

"You mean," Cadence said, blinking rapidly, "that Marianne woman tricked me?"

Elais nodded once, folding his arms across his chest. "Looks like it. Only problem is, she probably thought you’d be jealous and start wondering if Melody cheated on you. Instead, you flipped the whole thing around and got worried about me."

Cadence shut his eyes tightly and bowed his head, shame twisting through him. He had been so sure of himself, so certain he was thinking clearly. But one small, poisonous doubt had been enough to throw him completely off balance.

When he looked up again, his voice was low, almost reluctant. "This is bad," he admitted. "I lost my senses... over nothing."

"Over nothing..." Elais repeated slowly, the words lingering in the air before he let out a heavy sigh. He didn’t really mean it. Honestly, it wasn’t over nothing at all. After all these years of maintaining the façade that they were nothing more than friends, it wasn’t so far-fetched for Cadence to feel this way. Insecurity didn’t need much to take root—especially when everything about their lives was already so tangled.

And the fact that they had to stay here, in this place, pretending day after day that there was nothing between them, that they were only friends in the eyes of everyone else... yes, that was bound to eat at Cadence sooner or later. Elais couldn’t even blame him for it.

He sighed again, softer this time, and reached out to cup Cadence’s face with both hands, forcing him to look at him. His voice was steady, almost quiet, but the weight behind it left no room for doubt.

"Cadence Sint," he said firmly, "listen to me. I’ve spent the last many years like a monk, alright? The day I cut you off from the rest of the world, I cut myself off too. The moment I realized I was in love with you, there was no one else. Not then, not now. So get this through your head right now—" his thumb brushed Cadence’s cheekbone as if to anchor the words in place, "—for me, you are it. You’ve always been it. Even before we said the words out loud, even before we admitted what we were to each other... you were it."

Listening to this, Cadence’s throat tightened. The storm of insecurity and jealousy that had been raging inside him just moments ago suddenly gave way to something raw and aching. His hands moved before he could think. He grabbed Elais by the neck and pulled him close, closing the distance between them with a fierce, almost desperate kiss.

Elais didn’t resist. For a moment, he let Cadence’s desperation speak for both of them, the kiss carrying all the confusion, regret, and buried need that words could never capture. His hand slid to the back of Cadence’s head, holding him there, steadying him as though to remind him he wasn’t going anywhere.

When they finally broke apart, Cadence’s breathing was uneven, his eyes searching Elais’s face for reassurance. But Elais had gone very still. A shadow crossed his expression as the words Cadence had thrown at him earlier replayed in his mind.

"Wait," Elais muttered, straightening slowly. His tone shifted, sharp with sudden realization. "If there’s even a chance that Melanie is pregnant... this is bad. Worse than I thought."

Cadence frowned, confusion flickering again. "What do you mean? If she is pregnant and with her husband, that has to be good right?"

Elais pushed a hand through his hair, pacing a short step before turning back. "It means things are moving faster than we expected. If she is pregnant then the risk to her multiplies, Cadence. It means, we need to move before they do. Whatever they’re planning, we can’t wait around anymore for things to come to a head."

Cadence nodded, then cocked his head and asked," Is that really bad?"

Elais looked down at his face. Sometimes, he could be naive like this and sometimes so shrewd," No. It is good. If things come to a head sooner, then we can go back soon. Let me go talk to Melanie for now and we will see..."