[BL] Oops! I Seduced My Sister's Fiance (And Now I'm Pregnant)-Chapter 47: You’re Late

*Bael’s POV*

"You’ve been avoiding me."

The office has been quiet all morning, only the sound of pages turning and a pen moving across paper. It’s only when the door opens that the stillness finally breaks.

Bael flips another page without looking up.

Xue Lian is standing across his desk, both hands pressed flat against the surface, leaning forward in that way he does when he wants attention.

Bael doesn’t give it to him.

"I’ve been busy," he says.

Not entirely a lie. The merger paperwork has been taking up most of his time, along with the tightened security around the estate after Uncle Ming’s little stunt at the wedding.

But that isn’t the reason he hasn’t gone to see him.

"Too busy to see me when I got back?"

Xue Lian’s voice carries that edge of hurt that used to work on him without fail, the kind that used to make him drop everything just to fix whatever was wrong.

Bael glances up.

He’s doing it now, that look. Soft eyes, slight downturn of his mouth, like Bael is the one being unreasonable here.

Three years abroad, and he still thinks this works the same way it used to.

"You got married quickly," Xue Lian says, and without waiting for permission he moves around the desk, settling himself on the edge of it, angled toward Bael.

Close enough that his scent reaches him.

Light, familiar, the same one he’s always worn.

"I didn’t think you would actually go through with it."

Bael leans back, putting a bit more distance between them.

"Why not?" His voice stays level. "You were the one who said I should."

Xue Lian’s expression shifts, something flickering beneath the surface before it smooths out.

"But you were going to marry that girl." The hurt is gone now, replaced with something sharper. "Why did it turn into that boy instead?"

That boy.

Runze.

Bael doesn’t answer, he just watches him.

"And you even let him embarrass me yesterday," Xue Lian says, leaning in slightly. "Tell me, Bael. Since when did you let outsiders interfere?"

Bael’s pen pauses for a fraction of a second against the paper.

Outsider.

The word doesn’t quite fit.

But he doesn’t dwell on it.

Bael picks up his pen and goes back to the contract, scanning lines he isn’t actually reading anymore.

The silence stretches between them.

He can feel Xue Lian watching him, waiting for an explanation, for reassurance that nothing has changed.

Bael doesn’t give it.

Then Xue Lian moves, sliding off the desk and stepping around behind his chair, arms wrapping loosely around Bael’s shoulders, his cheek pressing against the side of Bael’s head.

"Bael," he says, softer now. "Can you tell me why you’re mad at me?"

Bael keeps his eyes on the document.

Xue Lian’s breath is warm against his ear.

"I missed you."

The words should do something.

They used to.

Bael reaches up and pulls his hands away from his shoulders, firm but not rough.

"You’re late, Xue Lian."

Xue Lian’s hands stay in his grip for a moment before Bael lets go.

He doesn’t move away immediately. He lingers there a few seconds longer than necessary, like he’s waiting for Bael to say something else.

Bael doesn’t.

Eventually, Xue Lian walks back around to face him, that small, knowing smile appearing like he thinks he understands what isn’t being said.

"So you’re angry because I came back late?"

Bael gathers the papers on his desk, straightening them with slow, deliberate movements.

"You should go. I have work to do."

Silence follows.

Then, quieter, "... okay. Promise you’ll return my calls and texts from now?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Bael looks at him.

"Mm."

Xue Lian’s smile widens, satisfied.

Then his footsteps move toward the door.

He stops just before opening it.

"I’ll text you tonight," he says.

Then he’s gone.

The door closes with a soft click.

Bael doesn’t move for a moment.

His phone sits dark on the desk beside the contract he’s no longer reading.

Xue Lian will text tonight.

Something about missing him, about wanting to meet properly.

And Bael will answer.

Because he said he would.

Because he wants to see what Xue Lian will do now that he’s back and realizing things aren’t the same as when he left.

Bael picks up his pen again.

The contract blurs in front of him.

You’re late.

Three years late.

Late enough that he had to find another solution.

Late enough that the wedding already happened.

Late enough that Runze is already carrying his child.

But not late enough that Bael has stopped wanting to see if Xue Lian will finally choose differently this time.

He sets the pen down and closes his eyes briefly.

This is still fixable.

Xue Lian is back now. Once he realizes what he’s losing, once he sees Bael won’t wait forever, he’ll come around.

He always does.

Runze is useful for that, if nothing else. A reminder to Xue Lian that his place isn’t guaranteed, that Bael moved on when he wouldn’t come back.

Bael exhales slowly.

The bite mark on his collarbone throbs faintly beneath his shirt.

His fingers lift without thinking, pressing lightly against the spot.

Runze is more trouble than he expected.

But that works in his favor.

The more Runze pushes back against Xue Lian, the more Xue Lian will be forced to face what he stands to lose.

Bael lowers his hand.

His gaze shifts to the contract in front of him.

Unfinished.

Just like everything else.

Xue Lian’s return, the marriage, the arrangement with Runze—

None of it has settled yet.

But it doesn’t need to, not immediately.

Bael picks up his pen again, flipping to the next page.

The numbers line up the way they should.

Predictable, controlled.

Unlike people.

His hand pauses for a brief moment.

Then continues.

His phone remains dark at the side of the desk.

But it won’t stay that way.

Xue Lian never leaves things unfinished.

And neither does he.