Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Maya

I felt like a child being caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

That was the first, stupid thought that flashed through my head when Tylon’s voice cut through the room, sharp and disbelieving, and I realized we weren’t alone anymore. It wasn’t even the words themselves that made my stomach drop, it was the way the air shifted, the way Leo stiffened beneath my hands, the way my own body went cold even though his warmth was still pressed against me.

I pulled back slowly, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure all three of us could hear it.

Tylon stood in the doorway, one hand still on the frame like he’d stopped mid-step and forgotten how to move forward. His gaze wasn’t on me at first. It was locked on Leo, sharp and measuring, taking in the way Leo was standing too close, the way his hand hadn’t yet dropped from my waist.

For a long second, no one spoke.

Leo was the first to move. He shifted subtly, putting himself just a little more in front of me, his posture protective despite the fact that he was still healing, still not supposed to be exerting himself like this. The instinct behind it made something twist painfully in my chest.

Tylon noticed. His jaw tightened.

“How long?” he asked, his voice low and controlled in a way that somehow felt more dangerous than shouting ever could.

The question wasn’t aimed at Leo. It wasn’t really aimed at me either. It hovered between us, heavy with implication.

I swallowed and stepped forward before either of them could answer for me.

“Just now,” I said quietly. “This wasn’t… planned.”

Tylon’s eyes finally shifted to me, and the look in them made my breath hitch. There was anger there, yes, but underneath it was something rawer. Something like disbelief.

“And yet it happened,” he said.

“Yes,” I replied. “It did.”

The honesty tasted bitter and terrifying on my tongue, but I didn’t take it back. I couldn’t.

Leo glanced at me then, his hazel eyes searching my face like he was bracing for something worse than Tylon’

s reaction. When I met his gaze, I saw the apology already forming there, the readiness to shoulder blame that wasn’t entirely his to carry.

“I didn’t intend for it to,” Leo said, his voice steady even as his fingers curled slightly at his side. “But I won’t pretend it meant nothing.”

Tylon let out a slow breath through his nose. He stepped fully into the room now, the door clicking shut softly behind him, and somehow that small sound made everything feel more enclosed.

“So that’s what this is,” he said. “Not an accident. Not confusion.”

“I didn’t say that,” I replied, my pulse racing. “It is confusing. All of this is. But it’s not nothing either.”

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.

Tylon dragged a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping near the foot of the bed. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, stripped of some of its edge.

“I knew this was coming,” he admitted. “I just didn’t expect to see it.”

Leo flinched at that, his shoulders tightening. “I’m not trying to take anything from anyone.”

Tylon’s gaze snapped back to him. “I know. That’s the worst part.”

I felt the bonds stir inside me then, all three reacting at once in a way that made my head spin. Leo’s presence Successfully unlocked!

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Chapter 101

was warm and steady, like a hand anchoring me in place. Tylon’s was sharp, restless, brimming with emotion he refused to voice. And beneath it all, Caden’s bond pulsed faintly, distant but unmistakably alive, carrying a wash of anger and hurt that made my chest ache.

“I’m not choosing anyone right now,” I said, my voice trembling despite my effort to steady it. “I need you both to understand that. I didn’t ask for this, but I’m not going to pretend my feelings don’t exist just to make things simpler.”

Tylon’s gaze softened for a fraction of a second before hardening again. “And what happens when Caden comes back?”

The question landed like a blow.

I didn’t answer right away, because I didn’t have one. The truth was, I didn’t know. I didn’t know how Caden would look at me when he saw this wasn’t just fate or theory anymore. I didn’t know if he’d see betrayal or inevitability, and the not knowing terrified me.

Leo shifted uncomfortably. “If she asks me to step back, I will.”

My heart lurched at that. “Leo-”

“I mean it,” he said, meeting my eyes. “I won’t fight you for her. I won’t fight him either. But I won’t lie and say this didn’t matter to me.”

Tylon studied him for a long moment, something unreadable passing across his face. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough.

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