Chapter 279: He Thought I Was Leaving
Miller
"What triggered the escalation?" Leo asked while leaning slightly back into his chair.
Jace stayed silent for several seconds while staring down at his hands.
Tears slowly streamed down his face.
Then eventually, he laughed bitterly beneath his breath.
"It sounds stupid now."
"Try us," I muttered quietly.
Jace looked toward the ceiling before finally speaking again.
"He was not always like that," he admitted softly. "Honestly, when I first met him, he was probably the gentlest person I had ever known. He hated crowds. Hated attention too. He barely spoke to anybody outside me."
He smiled weakly afterward.
"I guess that is the fate of most Enigmas."
Something uncomfortable twisted inside my chest hearing that, and immediately my thoughts drifted toward Leo.
Was that how it had been for him all these years?
Was that why he hid his identity for so long?
"Adrian used to cook for me," Jace whispered softly while a fragile smile crossed his face. "Like... actual meals. Every single night."
Hearing that somehow made everything sadder.
"He remembered everything too," Jace continued quietly. "The things I liked. The things I hated. The kind of tea I drank whenever I got stressed." His eyes softened slightly. "He was the perfect boyfriend. To Adrian, I was somebody he never expected to have in his life. He looked at me like I was the only thing keeping him alive."
The room became quiet again before Leo eventually broke the silence.
"When did the possessiveness begin escalating?"
Jace’s fingers tightened slightly against the sheets.
"After I found out he was an Enigma."
My eyes instinctively shifted toward Leo again.
His expression remained calm, but I still noticed the slight tension returning to his shoulders.
"At first," Jace continued quietly, "he was terrified I would leave him after finding out."
"The fear response is common in concealed Enigmas," Leo explained calmly. "Especially in long-term emotional attachments where exposure threatens relational stability."
Jace blinked slowly before smiling faintly.
"Oh Doctor Leo," he muttered softly. "You really do flirt in medical terminology."
Leo scoffed immediately.
"I was not flirting."
"You never know," I muttered quietly beneath my breath.
Leo turned toward me immediately and pointed a warning finger in my direction while I threw my hands up innocently.
"At first, it was small things," Jace continued while his tone became serious again. "Adrian became more protective. More territorial. Then eventually, he stopped liking me around other people."
I frowned slightly while a cold feeling settled inside my stomach.
"He isolated you?"
Jace nodded slowly.
"He said other people made him anxious. Then eventually he stopped sleeping properly because he thought somebody would take me away from him."
Leo’s jaw tightened slightly at that.
"And when I tried creating space so we could get our shit together..." Jace swallowed hard before looking away. "That is when things started getting worse."
I released a slow breath while the silence inside the room became heavier afterward.
"He thought distance meant rejection," Leo murmured quietly.
Jace immediately looked toward him, his eyes widening slightly.
"How did you know that?"
Leo stayed silent for a second too long.
The quiet stretched awkwardly between them before he finally answered quietly.
"Because attachment dysregulation in Enigmas usually manifests through abandonment paranoia before escalating into aggression."
The words sounded like one of Leo’s complicated medical explanations, but somehow I understood exactly what he meant.
Then I noticed something else.
Leo completely avoided eye contact afterward.
And immediately, my chest tightened.
Jace noticed it too.
His eyes slowly shifted between both of us while realization crossed his face instantly.
"Oh," Jace breathed softly.
Leo immediately looked irritated.
"Oh what?"
"You are scared of becoming him."
Leo’s eyes widened slightly before he immediately stood up from the chair.
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
Jace shrugged weakly.
"No need to get your panties twisted," he muttered tiredly. "What I mean is that you are scared you could become that too." He frowned slightly afterward. "I do not detect any scent from you though. Which means you are a beta, right?"
Leo did not answer him.
I released a quiet breath afterward, relieved Jace still had no idea what Leo truly was.
"Adrian is not a monster," Jace whispered quietly afterward. "I just wish I had listened to him more."
"He stabbed you," Leo countered sharply.
"He thought I was leaving."
"That does not justify violence."
"I know that."
The room fell quiet again.
Jace rubbed tiredly at his face before continuing softly.
"The worst part is that I still love him."
Hearing that sent something painful through my chest.
Love really was terrifying sometimes.
"I sound pathetic, right?" Jace asked while laughing weakly.
"No," I answered quietly before I could stop myself.
Both of them immediately looked toward me in surprise.
"I think loving somebody who hurts you probably feels more complicated than people pretend it does."
Jace stared at me quietly for a long moment.
Then eventually, he smiled weakly.
"Oh Miller Reid," he muttered softly. "You really did become emotionally mature."
"Do not insult me during my own hospital visitation moment," I joked softly while trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere again.
That earned another quiet smile from him before he turned toward Leo.
"Thank you for coming," he said sincerely. "I hope I did not create problems for the two of you."
"It is nothing the public relations team cannot handle," I replied calmly while placing a hand against Leo’s shoulder from behind. "We will be fine eventually."
Jace nodded softly afterward.
"I hope both of you last a long time."
"Me too," I admitted quietly while staring directly at Leo.
"Adrian actually suggested something before everything got bad," he admitted softly while staring toward the ceiling again.
Leo frowned slightly. "Suggested what?"
"A couples’ retreat," Jace answered weakly. "Apparently there are private places hidden specifically for concealed Enigmas and their partners. Somewhere isolated. He said it was a safe place and they usually take people In every five months. Adrian had said this five months ago."
My eyes immediately shifted toward Leo.
And from the way his shoulders subtly stiffened, I already knew he was thinking about the exact same thing I was.
Nico. He had suggested this to him.
Jace laughed bitterly beneath his breath afterward. "He said we needed distance from society before everything swallowed him whole." His fingers tightened slightly against the blanket. "I should have listened."
The room became quiet again after that not because of what Jace said but because suddenly Nico’s ridiculous relationship advice from earlier no longer sounded ridiculous anymore.
Leo slowly adjusted his glasses afterward before looking away first.
Meanwhile, I just stared at him quietly.
Because now I could not stop wondering whether Nico somehow understood more about Enigmas than either of us originally thought.
And I needed to meet up with him.
