Chapter 143: Finally Breaking Down.

Dave fell silent for a moment before admitting something he had never confessed to anyone, not even Bryce or Vincent himself.

"Finding out that Vincent was the man Bryce had been involved with completely threw me off balance. Vincent was powerful enough to take him away from me. I was afraid of him, even though I couldn’t let him see it. Around the same time, things with my supposed family became ugly. They tried to kill me and dad. The old man wasn’t lucky enough to survive, but I was, thanks to Vincent and Bryce. They saved my life, but I still hated Vincent with everything I had.

My leg was badly injured, and I had to spend some time in the hospital. Vincent’s men guarded me because my own guards were the ones who nearly killed me under orders from the very people I’d believed were my family.

While unconscious in the hospital, Vincent left with Bryce on some work trip or something. I knew Bryce was determined to leave me, and I was convinced he wouldn’t come back after getting away with Vincent. My whole world fell apart again.

But it turned out Vincent was just as obsessed with Bryce as I was, and Bryce was tired of being controlled by people who claimed to love him, so he escaped Vincent as well.

Vincent returned and saved me from the torture my supposed family was putting me through. He claimed he was doing it because he needed my help finding Bryce. That was actually true, but he also took care of me as though he genuinely cared, even though he hated me."

Dave’s expression shifted as he recalled how Vincent had treated him.

"I depended on him for everything, and he gave me what I needed without making me feel like a burden. We spent a night together trying to figure out where Bryce could be, because he was out there alone and my family could have harmed him.

We couldn’t find him, though. Eventually, everything became too much for me, and I broke down for the first time. Vincent couldn’t seem to stand seeing me like that. He swallowed his pride and comforted me, and I felt embarrassed about it. It was awkward, but I needed it so much."

He shook his head, still unable to believe how things had changed.

"Later that night, Jack, Jake and their men tried to attack us and drag me back to the prison they’d made for me, but Vincent stopped them and warned them never to touch me again. It wasn’t long before his actions started getting to me. Even now, I can’t believe I developed feelings for him because of something like that."

Dave fell silent for a moment before resuming.

"It’s a long story, Eli. Bryce eventually came back. I hadn’t stopped loving him. I loved him more deeply than I could explain, but at the same time, I was developing feelings for Vincent.

Bryce had to choose between us, and we were both terrified of losing him because neither of us wanted to let him go. Eventually, he confessed that he didn’t want to lose either of us, either. After everything that happened, we decided to be in a relationship, all three of us,

"But our relationship revolved entirely around Bryce. Vincent and I were there because of him, and neither of us was supposed to get romantically involved with the other. All our attention was meant to be on Bryce."

Dave’s voice became more subdued.

"Things have been going well, except for my intensifying feelings for Vincent, which I’ve been determined to keep from him. Bryce knows about them and has been persuading me to tell Vincent, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not until today."

He looked at Eli, his expression filled with certainty.

"With both of them, I feel like I have a family again. I have people who care about me and love me, and I don’t know if I want to lose that. I might still have unresolved feelings for you, but I’m not sure we can go back to where we left off. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to protect you, and I want to see you every day to make sure you’re okay. But how can I do that without hurting you?"

His voice faltered.

"I can’t bear the thought of you hating me because I’ve moved on from something that deeply muttered to us. But I can’t leave those two, either. They pulled me out of a darkness I wasn’t sure I’d ever escape. And now that you’re back, I’m almost certain they think I’ll walk away from them and return to you because they know how deeply I loved you.

I’m not certain about my own feelings right, but I know I want to go back to them and explain everything before they decide to interpret it another way."

Eli said nothing for a long time. He wiped away his tears, clearly struggling to come to terms with everything Dave had told him.

"I understand," he finally said. "I can’t blame you for moving on. You thought I was dead and that I’d never come back. Those two sound like they genuinely care about you, and you’re happy with them."

His voice trembled, and his hands shook as he struggled to hold himself together.

"It hurts like hell. I feel as though I’ve lost my purpose in life, but I can’t stop you from being happy. You’ve been through a lot, too, and you deserve that happiness. You can go."

"Eli..." Dave called, overwhelmed by his own emotions.

"It’s okay. You can go. I’ll be fine. This is worse than anything I’ve gone through, but I’m sure I’ll handle it just as I’ve handled everything else. If you let me stay here tonight, I’d appreciate it."

"You can stay as long as you want," Dave replied, hoping Eli would accept the offer.

"Thanks," Eli murmured.

There was nothing left to say. Dave needed to leave and return to Bryce and Vincent, to explain everything that had happened and face whatever awaited him. But even knowing that, he couldn’t bring himself to rise from the chair.

Eli looked at him, and he could see the hesitation in his expression, in the way he seemed unable to bring himself to leave. "Don’t worry about me. Go ahead," Eli encouraged him, clearly understanding that Dave’s reluctance stemmed from leaving him behind.

At last, Dave stood. He picked up his car keys and walked toward the door.

Before opening it, he looked back at Eli.

And even after stepping outside, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away immediately. He stood there, overwhelmed by everything that had happened and everything he was leaving behind.

Minutes later, he heard Eli break down inside the house.

The sound of Eli’s cries undid him. Dave fought every urge to go back inside, knowing that doing so would not make anything better.

He could offer Eli comfort now, but he couldn’t give him what he wanted. Besides, Eli had waited until Dave was gone before allowing himself to fall apart, which made it clear that he hadn’t wanted Dave to witness his breakdown.

Dave knew that if he went back into the house, he wouldn’t return to Vincent and Bryce that night. Which would worsen the situation there.

He forced himself to stay where he was, tears slipping silently down his face.

A minute later, Eli’s phone rang. Dave could hear it clearly from outside. The call went unanswered, with Eli still crying. When it rang again, he ignored it once more. It rang a fourth time before Eli finally stopped crying and picked up.

There was a brief silence before Eli spoke, his voice rough. "I’m fine."

Silence followed, and then Eli spoke again. "I’ve told you I’m fine. If you don’t believe me, that’s up to you."

For some reason, Dave was convinced that the person on the other end of the call was Eric.

Another silence followed, this one stretching much longer than the others. When Eli finally spoke again, his words pierced straight through Dave’s heart.