Page 23 of I Replaced His Husband
"Thanks, Rain. I won’t push. I just think Storm would really appreciate it. He lost his job, you know. You remember how much he liked it. His boss said keeping a criminal on staff would damage the company’s image."
I let out a soft curse. Damn. It was worse than I thought.
"Shit. Storm loved that job. And he’s not a criminal. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?" I muttered it, but only to comfort Dad.
Storm had worked at a matchmaking agency that also ran a fair-and-auction house for marital contracts. He considered himself a solid matchmaker, always bragging about his success stories. He really loved what he did. But now… it looked like his whole world had crumbled.
"Even just being accused is enough these days. They arrested him right there at work. That’s all it takes to ruin someone’s reputation."
He paused. The silence crept up on the line, and I could only hear his breathing, a bit shallow and shaky. It all had to hit him hard.
Finally he whispered.
"Anyway. Changing the subject. How are things with Kay?"
Right. Not exactly a relief topic. More like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
"It didn’t go quite the way I thought it would. But it’s too early to really sum it up. Let’s just say Kay isn’t all sunshine and rainbows."
Dad responded after a short pause, cautious and gentle.
"He lost his husband not that long ago, Rain."
"I know! But Kay’s just… different than I imagined. Probably my fault for building up some kind of fantasy version of him in my head."
"Are you disappointed?"
"I’m not even sure yet. My head’s a mess. I’ll call you when I sort it out. Right now it’s all super fresh. I need things to settle first."
He gave a thoughtful hum.
"Try to stay open-minded with him. Being flexible helps. Give him space."
I rubbed my forehead, not wanting to get into it any deeper. "I’ll try, of course."
"Alright, I won’t keep you, son." Dad sighed. "Call me once you sort things out with Kay. And… remember Storm."
"Okay. Thanks for the update."
"I wish it were better news. Lately it feels like this dark cloud’s just hanging over the whole family. Take care, son. I love you."
"Love you too, Dad."
After I hung up, a strange feeling slowly set in. Like someone else was there.
I looked up toward the Juliet balcony just above me, Kay’s room.
And there he was.
Standing there like it was no big deal, casually staring out at the lake with this detached look. Just like I’d been earlier, watching him. I guess karma really is a bitch.
Shit. Had he been there the whole time? That was way too close. For an alpha or omega, it was totally possible to catch a voice through a headset, and he was only eight feet away. His expression didn’t change much, calm and maybe a little thoughtful, but I knew he had heardeverything.
It hung in the air between us. He didn’t even look sorry for eavesdropping.
I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. That he’d slept with someone whose brother might be a rapist? A violent criminal? A guy with a messed-up family and a bunch of baggage, who was also complaining about Kay himself to his dad, for fuck’s sake?
Kay’s just… different than I imagined.
