The tension in the apartment was overwhelming.
Arthur sat at the edge of the couch, fingers clenched firmly around his phone, staring at it like it could burst. Nick paced back and forth beside the window, teeth tensed, eyes flashing to Arthur every few seconds. The formerly warm warmth between them had cooled, replaced with distance and hesitation.
Nick eventually stopped. "You met Ake again today, didn't you?"
Arthur looked up slowly. "I bumped into him outside the gallery. He was waiting. I didn't plan it."
Nick's expression didn't soften. "But you still talked to him."
"What was I supposed to do? He stood right in front of me. I wasn't going to cause a scene."
Nick turned aside, biting the inside of his cheek. Arthur loathed this—this unending circle of mistrust and quiet. They had fought so hard to get here. But now, with Ake forcing his way back into their life, it felt like all the progress they'd achieved was unraveling one thread at a time.
"He said we had something special," Arthur replied gently. "But I told him the truth. I told him, I love you. That nothing he says can change that."
Nick didn't answer.
Arthur stood and moved to him, placing a timid hand on his arm. "Nick... you believe me, don't you?"
Nick inhaled sharply, but his shoulders didn't relax. "I want to. But he's always been good at messing with people. You used him to make me jealous once, Arthur. That wasn't nothing."
Arthur dropped his hand. "I know. That was wrong. But it was during a time when I was confused, when we were both hurt. Ake might have thought it meant something more, but I never did. You know that."
"Do I?" Nick said coldly. "Because lately, it feels like I don't know anything anymore."
The words pierced through Arthur. He stepped backward, arms folding protectively around his chest. "If you really believe I'd betray you like that, maybe we don't know each other at all."
Nick flinched. The hush that followed was terrible.
Later that night, Arthur stayed awake in bed as Nick worked in the living room. The difference between them had become real now, and Arthur felt it deep in his bones. His mind strayed back to Ake's smirk earlier, the confidence in his voice.
"He'll start to question you soon, Arthur. It's only a matter of time."
And he had been right. Nick was grilling him. Doubting him. All the love they had restored was being chipped away by a man who had never genuinely loved him—only wanted to possess him.
Arthur pulled up his phone and scrolled to Pim's name. She answered on the second ring.
"You okay?" she inquired, her voice sleepy but anxious.
"I don't know," Arthur murmured. "I think I'm losing him."
The next morning, Nick found himself staring at a document he couldn't focus on. His mind kept going back to the way Arthur had appeared last night—hurt, distant, and fatigued. He didn't want to hurt him. That was never the aim. But the idea of Arthur and Ake having some unresolved connection gnawed at him.
He closed his laptop and strolled into the kitchen, only to discover Arthur sipping coffee, eyes swollen and red.
"I didn't sleep much," Arthur murmured, not looking at him.
"Me neither."
An awkward quiet stretched between them before Nick eventually replied, "I want to trust you, Arthur. But Ake... he's manipulative. Dangerous. He knows how to twist things."
Arthur nodded. "Then don't let him. Don't let him twist us. Please."
Nick examined him for a long minute, then reached for Arthur's hand. "Then promise me something."
Arthur looked up.
"No more secrets. If he comes near you again, tell me. If he says anything, show me. We fight him together this time."
Arthur gulped hard and nodded. "Together. Always."
But even as they clasped hands across the table, a small seed of doubt remained planted in Nick's heart.
And Ake was watering it.