His innocent wife is a dangerous hacker.

Chapter 802 Why didn’t you tell me?

"No!" Jay shouted, scrambling back to his feet. His voice was raw, pleading. "No, bro! Jace is Pablo’s son, but Pablo made his life hell! Pablo has two sons—Samuel is one, and Jace is the other! The abandoned son! The one who was never wanted! Pablo raped Jace’s mother and left her with nothing!"

Leo’s fist froze in midair.

His arm trembled. His breathing was ragged.

He looked at Jace. Jace was slumped against the wall, his nose bleeding, his eyes already swelling shut. He nodded weakly, his chin dipping.

Jay continued, his voice shaking, his eyes wet with tears he was trying to hold back. "Pablo made Jace’s life hell from the moment he was born. He never had a proper home. He was always running, always hiding. Pablo tried to kill him multiple times, bro. Multiple times. That’s why he was threatening us. That’s why we were scared. That’s why we kept it hidden."

Leo’s grip on Jace’s collar loosened, his fingers going slack. His breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling.

"Then why didn’t you tell me?" His voice was low and dangerous, but there was something else underneath it now. Hurt. Betrayal. "If you had told me, I would have helped you. I would have protected you. I would have killed Pablo myself."

Jay and Jace exchanged a glance, their eyes full of guilt and shame.

"He was scared," Jay said, pointing at Jace. "He was terrified you would see him as a threat. As an enemy. As Pablo’s son instead of your brother."

Jace nodded, his eyes fixed on the floor.

Leo stared at him.

He didn’t look convinced. He looked disappointed. Disappointed in them. Disappointed in himself. His jaw tightened and something ugly twisted in his chest.

Do I really look like someone who wouldn’t help? he thought. Do I really seem so cold, so unreasonable, that they couldn’t trust me?

He felt ugly and hollow inside. Like he had failed them without even knowing it.

"And there’s one more thing," Jay said, his voice barely audible, his eyes fixed on the floor. "Jace and I... we like each other."

Leo looked at him.

His gray eyes were tired, hollow, empty of the rage that had consumed him moments before.

Jay didn’t meet his gaze. His voice dropped lower. "I thought you wouldn’t accept me liking men. I thought you would judge me. I thought you would... I don’t know. I thought you would hate me."

Leo stared at him, his face unreadable.

"When did I ever say that?" His voice was emotionless, flat, like a stone dropping into still water.

Jay shrugged helplessly, his shoulders slumping. "You never said it. But I just... I assumed."

"God damn it!" Leo grabbed the nearest thing, a vase from the table, and threw it against the wall. It shattered, spraying porcelain across the floor like broken teeth. "Why would you assume that?"

His fist clenched, his knuckles white.

"Jay," he said, his voice tight and strained. "This is your life. Not mine. Why would I have any say in who you love? Why would I care? Why would I judge you for something that makes you happy?"

Jay’s eyes widened. His lips parted.

Jace looked up from the floor, his face swollen, his nose still bleeding, his eyes red.

Leo stepped back, his chest heaving, his hands shaking at his sides.

"I thought..." Jay started, his voice cracking.

"You thought wrong." Leo’s voice was deep and hard, like steel being forged. "You both thought wrong. You thought I would turn my back on you. You thought I would reject you. You thought I was someone who would judge you for who you are."

He turned away, his back to them, his shoulders rigid.

The room was silent except for the sound of his breathing, ragged and uneven.

"Leave," he said.

"Bro—"

"Leave."

Jay helped Jace up, his arm around his shoulders. They walked to the door, their footsteps heavy.

At the threshold, Jay paused. He turned back, his eyes wet. "We’re sorry," he said. "We’re so sorry, bro. We should have trusted you. We should have told you everything."

Leo didn’t answer.

The door closed.

He stood alone in the room, his fists still clenched, his heart still pounding.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then another.

I would have helped you, he thought. I would have done anything for you. Why didn’t you trust me?

⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹

Jay helped Jace walk to their room, his arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Jace stumbled once, his feet catching on the edge of the carpet, and Jay caught him, pulling him upright. They moved slowly, their footsteps heavy on the wooden floor, the silence between them suffocating.

Jay opened the door to their room and guided Jace inside. He helped him sit on the edge of the bed, his movements gentle and careful. Jace’s face was a mess, his nose still bleeding, his eye already swelling shut, his lip split and dark with blood. He looked like he had been through a war.

Jay closed the door behind them, the click of the lock loud in the silence. He stood there for a moment, his hand still on the handle, his forehead resting against the wood. He took a deep breath, then another, trying to steady his racing heart.

He grabbed a towel from the bathroom and wet it with cold water. The water ran over his fingers, cold and sharp, grounding him. He wrung it out and walked back to Jace, kneeling in front of him. He pressed the towel gently against Jace’s swollen eye, dabbing at the blood, cleaning the wound.

"Hold this," he said.

Jace took the towel, his hand trembling. He pressed it against his eye, wincing as the cold touched his skin.

Jay sat beside him on the bed, close enough that their shoulders almost touched. The mattress dipped under his weight, creaking softly.

The room was dark, the curtains still drawn. The only light came from the gap between them, a thin strip of gray morning that fell across the floor like a blade. Dust motes floated in the pale beam, drifting lazily.

Jay stared at the wall.

"What do you think will happen?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "If we tell bro about that mistake?"