"I thought he was dead, Severa."
I stared at him, my mind scrambling to make sense of the words.
I shook my head. "I don't understand. I remember clearly—you told me your father was Calibre. Your mother's husband." My voice wavered slightly, but I held his gaze, demanding an answer.
Calyx exhaled sharply, his jaw tight. "That's what I thought too."
A cold weight settled in my stomach. "Then explain."
He ran a hand through his hair, looking away for a second before meeting my gaze again. "I grew up believing my father was dead, that my mother was a widow." His voice was quieter now, but there was an edge to it, something raw. "My mother never talked about him much. She only ever told me his name—Calibre Lockhorst—and that he died when I was young."
I folded my arms tightly over my chest, trying to suppress the unease creeping up my spine. "So what, Alexander is just…some long-lost relative pretending to be your father?"
Calyx let out a bitter laugh. "No. He's real. And from what I've learned recently…he's my biological father."
The room seemed to shrink around me.
"Then who the hell is Calibre?" My voice was quieter now, but the question hung between us, heavy and demanding.
Calyx's expression darkened. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I intend to find out."
His words sent another ripple of unease through me. If Calyx was telling the truth—if his entire life had been built on a lie—then whatever this was, it went deeper than I could have imagined.
And something told me Alexander Lockhorst had every intention of making sure we unraveled it, whether we wanted to or not.
"When did you find out about him?" I asked, my voice measured but laced with urgency. I needed to understand. We still had a couple of hours before the workday ended, and after everything that had just happened, I knew there was no chance I'd be able to sleep again.
Calyx's fingers drummed lightly against the desk, a telltale sign of hesitation. Finally, he spoke.
"That night before we got married."
I inhaled sharply, my chest tightening. I felt the weight of his words settle over me, suffocating and disorienting all at once. That was…
"More than five months ago," I murmured, almost to myself.
I lifted my gaze to meet his, searching his face for any sign of hesitation, any flicker of regret. My mind struggled to process it—he had carried this secret for over five months. Five months of silence. Five months of withholding something this big.
"You've known for over five months?" My voice came out quieter than I intended, but the weight of my disbelief was undeniable.
Calyx's gaze flickered to the floor before he met my eyes again. "I didn't know for sure. Not then. I thought it was just some elaborate ploy—someone trying to mess with me before the wedding. But then… things started adding up."
A chill ran through me. "And you never thought to tell me?"
Calyx let out a long breath, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "What would I have said, Severa? 'Oh, by the way, there's a man claiming to be my father, even though I spent my whole life believing he was dead'?"
I took a step closer, my pulse thrumming in my ears. "Yes, Calyx. That's exactly what you should've said."
His lips pressed into a thin line before he let out a dry chuckle—one that held no humor, only exhaustion. "Right. And how would you have reacted?"
I opened my mouth, ready to fire back, but the words caught in my throat. How would I have reacted?
Back then, we had been caught up in the whirlwind of our wedding, tangled in fragile promises I was desperately trying to hold together. And he—he had been caught up in his own promise to my father to protect me. If he had told me then—dropped this revelation into our already unsteady foundation—would I have been able to handle it? Would I have even believed him?
But that wasn't the point.
"You still should've told me," I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself. "Instead, I had to wake up, walk into your office, and find you looking like you'd seen a ghost."
Calyx exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand down his face. "I didn't want you involved."
I let out a hollow laugh, shaking my head. "Well, too late for that now."
Silence settled between us, thick and suffocating, stretching longer than it should have.
Finally, I asked, "Why did he show up now?"
Calyx's jaw tightened, his grip firming against the desk. "I don't know. But whatever his reason is, I doubt it's anything good."
His words lingered in the air, heavy and unshakable.
I studied him. "You don't know?" I repeated, skepticism curling around my words. "A man who claimed to be your biological father who told you suddenly waltzes into your office, and you're telling me you have no idea why?"
His eyes darkened, frustration flickering beneath the surface. "If I knew, I'd tell you."
"Would you?" I challenged, stepping closer. "Because it sure seems like you have a habit of keeping things from me."
His jaw tensed. "Damn it, Severa—this isn't about us." He exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair. Then his eyes met mine, sharper now, laced with something unreadable. "And you're not even telling me everything. So why are you demanding honesty from me when you're not being completely honest yourself?" He paused, shaking his head as if trying to push back whatever thoughts threatened to spill out.
His words hit harder than I expected, making me take a step back. "Right."
Because he wasn't wrong.
I hadn't been completely honest with him either. He might know that I love him—he might have caught glimpses of my truth in last week's confession—but he didn't really know me. Not the parts I kept buried. Not the weight of everything I had never dared to say aloud.
"I'm sorry," I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. Then, without waiting for a response, I turned and walked out.
The air felt heavier as I stepped into the hallway, my heart hammering against my ribs. Our divorce was almost finalized. By next week, the judge would approve it, and we would no longer be husband and wife.
No longer tied together.
At least, not on paper.
But even then, I couldn't just walk away completely. Not when I knew he was in danger.
No matter what happened between us—no matter how much we hurt each other—I would still make sure he was safe.
-
At exactly 6:30 PM, I spotted Calyx stepping out of the elevator, his posture tense, his gaze sharp as he walked toward the car parked in front of the building.
I was already inside, seated in the passenger seat beside the driver, waiting.
He knew I was following him. There was no point in hiding it anymore, no need for secrecy. So instead of keeping my distance, I decided to accompany him home.
Calyx opened the door and slid into the seat beside me. His expression flickered with surprise before settling into something unreadable. "You're here."
"Yes, I'm here," I answered simply, my tone steady. As if to remind him—I never really left.
He held my gaze for a second, searching for something in my face before sighing and leaning back against the seat.
What I didn't tell him was that after I walked out earlier, I didn't just leave. I had gone straight to the security detail, making sure they were reinforcing every weak spot, ensuring that the earlier incident wouldn't happen again.
Because whether he liked it or not, I wasn't going anywhere.
The car pulled away from the building, slipping into the flow of traffic as we made our way toward Calyx's home.
Silence settled between us, heavy and unspoken. I didn't dare break it, and neither did he. His attention remained fixed outside the window, his expression unreadable, lost in thoughts I couldn't reach.
But as we continued down the road, something caught my attention.
A car.
It had been behind us for a while now—too long for it to be a coincidence. My fingers tightened subtly against my lap as I observed it through the side mirror.
It wasn't one of ours.
I knew our security detail, recognized their patterns, their vehicles. There were supposed to be four cars ensuring our protection, including this one. But when I checked, I only saw one trailing us.
Where were the others?
A prickle of unease ran down my spine.
I turned slightly toward the driver, keeping my voice calm. "Are you seeing this?"
His gaze flickered to the rearview mirror. A moment passed before he nodded, his grip adjusting on the wheel. "Yeah. I see it."
Beside me, Calyx finally shifted, his sharp eyes meeting mine. "What is it?"
I didn't hesitate. "We're being followed."