VELVET CHAINS REVIVE

Home wasn't quiet anymore.

Not after Paris.

Their phones never stopped buzzing.

Emails, invitations, interviews.

"Come on our podcast!"

"Feature in our editorial!"

"React to this TikTok of your runway kiss!"

Luca answered everything. He glowed on camera — charm sharp, laughter easy, warmth unmistakable.

Ayden watched him from the side of every set.

Silent.

Present.

But shrinking.

One morning, during a fashion channel interview, Luca was asked the wrong question.

"So, Luca — is Ayden the genius and you're the face? The muse?"

Luca meant to laugh it off. He really did.

But he smiled and said:

"I mean, sure. He's the obsessive genius. I just color outside the lines."

The host laughed.

The clip went viral.

The internet twisted it.

"Luca admits Ayden does all the real work."

"Ruinlace: The Vale Show?"

"Is Luca riding his boyfriend's talent?"

Ayden saw it before Luca did.

He stared at his screen, scrolling in silence.

Comment after comment.

Luca, who'd given his heart to the designs — reduced to an accessory.

A distraction.

A joke.

"Luca," Ayden said that evening, flat-toned, "you should read this."

Luca frowned, grabbed the phone.

His eyes widened.

"Shit. I didn't mean it like that. I swear—"

"I know," Ayden said quickly. "I know."

"But they don't," Luca whispered. "They think I'm your sidepiece in sequins."

"You're not."

"I wasn't."

That word landed heavy between them.

Ayden flinched. "Luca—"

"I don't care what they say about me," Luca snapped, pacing now. "But I care when it makes you doubt me."

"I don't—"

"You do!" Luca barked. "You looked at me today like I was one more weight to carry."

Ayden fell silent.

Because he had.

Just for a second.

He had.

They didn't sleep in the same bed that night.

Not out of spite.

But because Ayden stayed in the living room, staring at sketches.

Luca didn't call him in.

They both needed the space.

And it hurt.