Chapter 97: Too familiar.

July 16 2026, 7:54pm.

To stop himself from continuously thinking about things that weren’t worth his time, Rhys buried himself in loads of paperwork relating to the business proposal that had arrived at their desk sometime this morning and he had been buried in that paperwork for the better part of an hour.

Business files were spread across his desk, some neatly arranged into piles while others remained open in front of him. Proposals awaited his approval, contracts needed reviewing, and there was still a full inventory he had to verify later before the deal with Vincent Lau Jian-Hao could go through.

It was tedious work, the kind that required his complete attention, yet for some reason, his concentration shattered the moment a phone began to ring.

His eyes lifted almost instantly, flashing with a fine blend of annoyance and irritation because that was not the sound of his ringtone.

And when he noticed that the sound came from the corner of the room, he rose slowly, walked up to it, and stilled.

It was Nyx’ara’s phone.

The phone had finally been repaired after getting smashed a couple of days ago, but they had refused to return it to her; not while she remained their prime suspect and not when everything— every ounce of misfortune they had faced these past few months pointed straight back to her.

Draven had decided that until they knew the entire truth, not the brushed-up, invented version they were being forced to believe, the device stayed in their possession, which was another precaution against whatever secrets she might be hiding.

That had been the plan... but what was the plan now that it was running non-stop? What was Rhys supposed to do about it?

He contemplated switching off the device then thought about taking it to her, but after careful thought, he decided against both ideas.

So he stared at it as it rang.

Once.

Twice.

Then the screen illuminated and a familiar name flashed across the screen. "Flynn."

As soon as he saw it, something unpleasant tightened in his chest and burned through his lungs until his breath became literal fire. His jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists so hard, his bones could crack from the force.

But did he feel it?

Of course not!

Rhys had tried to convince himself that he had no reason to care about who was calling her. None. He believed that whatever she did in his absence was none of his business. Yet the sight of that name alone irritated him far more than it should have and filled his chest with a feeling so foreign, if he didn’t know better then he would’ve called it Jealousy.

But he knew better.

In annoyance, Rhys reached for the phone and declined the call. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding and squeezed his eyes shut when silence settled in the room.

He then returned to the documents but as soon as he did, the phone began to ring again, making his anger simmer one more time beneath the surface of his skin.

His gaze flicked toward it even though he tried not to and then this time, he ignored it until the ringing stopped.

However, a few seconds later, it started again. Rhys’s pen paused between his stiff fingers and his eyes thinned into fierce slits.

When he saw the name still flashing across the screen and realized that it was still Flynn calling, he frowned.

Persistent bastard.

He declined it again... and again the phone rang.

By the fourth call, irritation had given way to curiosity, and Rhys found himself wondering what the hell Flynn wanted with Nyx’ara so desperately.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the name flashing across the screen, and goddess, he could have ignored it.

He should have.

Instead, curiosity got the better of him and he found himself picking up the phone and accepting the call before he could change his mind.

But he said nothing. He simply held it to his ear, waiting.

Flynn spoke almost immediately.

"Nyx, finally."

Rhys’s expression hardened and immediately, he decided that he hated that nickname.

"I’ve been calling you all evening. Why the hell have you been ignoring me?"

Silence.

Rhys remained quiet. On the other end, Flynn continued rambling on without waiting for a response. He sounded like a child who had been deprived of something for so long. The hope and excitement in his voice was palpable... and so was the anger that surged through Rhys’ veins as he listened to him talk.

"Listen, I know you’re angry, but you need to stop acting like this. I already told you what happened in the past had to happen because I wanted what was

best for Elara. It wasn’t what you think."

Rhys’s fingers tightened around the phone as the name rang a bell.

Elara.

So this was the thought process of the man who had betrayed her?

He had expected the words to mean nothing to him. Instead, every word Flynn spoke seemed to peel away another layer of Rhys’s restraint.

"I didn’t sleep last night because of you," Flynn continued. "You think I don’t feel guilty? You think I don’t regret what happened?"

Rhys’s eyes narrowed.

Regret.

Interesting.

"I know I hurt you, Nyx, but at the time, I thought three years was enough for you to learn your lesson. I felt that if you had gone to jail and learned something that you wouldn’t try to hurt or kill Elara ever again."

Something cold settled over Rhys’s features.

Three years?

He slowly leaned back in his chair. Flynn was speaking to Nyx’ara as though they were still lovers. As though he had every right to her. As though she still belonged to him.

And for some inexplicable reason, Rhys hated every second of it.

"I want to see you," Flynn finally said, his voice growing sharper. "Just once, please. Let me explain everything to you properly. Meet me tonight."

Rhys’s jaw flexed. He should have ended the call but for some reason, he remained silent.

A second layer, Flynn sighed on the other end of the phone, and when his voice came again, some of his earlier authority had dissipated. Gone was the man making demands, in was the fool who had decided that it was time to apologize.

His tone grew softer and Rhys could even imagine him lowering his head on the other side as he drawled; "Nyx, please. You can’t keep punishing me forever."

Rhys’s eyes darkened.

Nyx.

The familiarity of it grated on his nerves.

Then Flynn said something that made Rhys’s entire expression change.

"I still love you. I still care about you. I dream of you every night and the thought that you are with those men who want nothing to do with you but to inflict you with pain, bothers me."

Those men. My brothers and I are: ’those men’ Rhys thought to himself with a sardonic smile plastered across his face.

He was however jolted out of his thoughts when the blabbermouth continued to speak. He rasped; "I just found out today that you never pushed Elara from the rooftop three years ago. I just learned that you were framed."

Wait... what?

"Her mother, your stepmother knows this too, but your father seemed enraged when he found out today. I also know that you did not push the pri—"

"Alpha Flynn?" A different voice seeped through the phone, sounding a few steps away from Flynn. It made the latter abruptly end the call, and made Rhys’s rage boil over at the sudden interruption.

For a moment, he sat still in his chair wondering if he had just found out about something he was never supposed to— or was.

The thought made his body thrum with anticipation, and with the papers before him long forgotten, he rose to his feet and stepped out of the room.

Some questions needed answers. And they needed to be answered... now.