Sebastian Hale wasn’t used to feeling this unsettled.
He was a man of certainty — of control. He made decisions with precision, carved his path without hesitation. In business, he thrived on strategy and order. There was no room for chaos. No room for doubt.
But ever since Marcus’s name had entered the picture, that certainty had been slipping through his fingers.
It was a foreign, unwelcome sensation — this helplessness. The fear of being replaced. Of standing on the outside, watching another man inch closer to the life he was still trying to reclaim.
And now —
Now he felt like he was waiting for something to break.
The house was quieter than usual that afternoon, the warm hum of everyday life softened by the weight of decisions neither of them had made yet. He paced the study, the
