Chapter Ten :Alexander The Feeling I Couldn’t Control
835 Words
Alexander Hayes had always trusted his instincts.
In business, instincts kept him alive.
They helped him recognize opportunities before anyone else saw them. They helped him identify threats before they became problems.
Alex had built an empire by listening to that quiet voice inside him.
But tonight…
That voice was telling him something he didn’t understand.
He was sitting in his office when his phone received the update.
A simple message.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing that should have mattered.
Adam is at dinner. It appears to be a date.
Alex stared at the words longer than he should have.
A date.
The word itself shouldn’t have affected him.
Adam wasn’t his.
Adam didn’t belong to him.
They barely knew each other.
A few conversations.
A few moments.
A few paintings.
That was all.
So why did something inside him tighten at the thought?
He ignored the feeling.
At least, he tried to.
He returned to his work.
He read documents.
He answered emails.
He forced his mind back to the things that mattered.
But the information stayed there.
Adam.
On a date.
With someone else.
He didn’t know why it bothered him.
He had never been a jealous man.
Jealousy was irrational.
Emotional.
A weakness.
And Alexander Hayes was not controlled by emotions.
Except tonight, he was.
A few hours later, another message arrived.
The date is over. Adam has left and is heading home.
Alex looked at his phone.
And before he could even question himself…
He stood.
He grabbed his coat.
He left.
He didn’t make a plan.
He didn’t analyze the decision.
He simply moved.
And that alone bothered him.
Because Alex Hayes did not act without thinking.
But when it came to Adam…
The rules seemed different.
⸻
When Adam opened the door, surprise immediately crossed his face.
“Alex?”
For a moment, Alex simply looked at him.
Adam was dressed casually now, his expression confused.
Not afraid.
Just confused.
And somehow, that made Alex feel even more unsettled.
He stepped inside.
Adam moved back slightly.
“What are you doing here?”
Alex ignored the question.
His voice remained calm.
Controlled.
“Where are you coming from?”
Adam blinked.
“What?”
Alex looked directly at him.
“Where are you coming from?”
The calmness in his voice made the question feel heavier.
Adam stared at him.
“I was out.”
Alex waited.
Adam frowned.
“Alex, what are you doing?”
Again, the question.
Calm.
Cold.
“Where are you coming from?”
Adam looked at him like he was trying to understand him.
“From a date.”
The words landed harder than Alex expected.
“A date.”
Adam nodded slowly.
“Yes. A date.”
There was a pause.
Alex watched him.
The honesty.
The confusion.
The way Adam wasn’t hiding anything.
“Why are you even asking me this?” Adam questioned.
And Alex didn’t have an answer.
Not one that made sense.
Because the truth was impossible to explain.
He didn’t know what had happened.
He didn’t know why the thought of someone else sitting across from Adam, making him laugh, getting to know him, felt wrong.
He only knew he didn’t like it.
Before he could stop himself, he moved closer.
Adam’s eyes widened slightly.
“Alex—”
But Alex didn’t let the distance remain.
He kissed him.
Not carefully.
Not with the same control he used in every other part of his life.
It was intense.
A kiss filled with all the confusion he had been refusing to acknowledge.
All the curiosity.
All the frustration.
All the emotions he didn’t have words for.
Adam went completely still.
Surprised.
Shocked.
Like he couldn’t understand what was happening.
And maybe Alex couldn’t either.
Because this wasn’t him.
This wasn’t the man who calculated every move.
This wasn’t the man who controlled every situation.
This was something instinctive.
Something impossible to ignore.
When Alex finally pulled away, the silence between them felt heavier than before.
Adam looked at him.
Speechless.
His expression held a hundred questions.
Alex looked into his eyes.
And the words came out before he could reconsider them.
“I don’t want you going on dates anymore.”
Adam stared at him.
Still unable to speak.
Alex didn’t explain.
He didn’t know how.
How could he explain something he didn’t understand himself?
He turned away.
He walked toward the door.
Leaving Adam standing there.
Confused.
Frozen.
Trying to understand what had just happened.
Alex stepped outside.
The door closed behind him.
And only when he was alone did he realize something that unsettled him more than anything else.
He had spent his entire life controlling his emotions.
Controlling his desires.
Controlling his actions.
But one man…
One artist with paint on his hands and kindness in his eyes…
Had made him forget how.
And Alexander Hayes had no idea what frightened him more.
The fact that he had lost control…
Or the fact that he didn’t regret it.
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