Knot me on ice, Captain(BL) Chapter 272: Chaos

Kayden

"Absolutely fucking not. There is no way in hell I am letting you stay here," Rhys disagreed imdiately, his eyes widening in pure disbelief as he pointed a sharp finger toward the entrance. "I am not letting you stay here."

Raymond dropped to his knees right there on the floor, reaching out and grabbing Rhys’s leg. "We have always been at odds against one another. Can’t we just beco good brothers, Rhys? You and I never did things that brothers do, and I want to get to know you."

"You think I don’t know what gas you are playing?" Rhys scoffed.

He crouched down to Raymond’s level, his face twisting with rage as he grabbed Raymond by the collar of his shirt, hauling him up. "I know grandfather sent you here to spy on us! Tell , what the hell did he promise you to agree to this? Tell !" Rhys demanded, tightening his hold around Raymond’s neck until Raymond’s breath caught. "Did he promise to put you on the team if you ca here and spied on us?"

Raymond choked, his face flushing as he shook his head frantically. "That’s... that’s not what happened. I am not here because of grandfather," he struggled to speak, clawing weakly at Rhys’s hands. "I truly wanted to get to know you as my brother."

From across the room, Miller finally spoke up in a calm tone. "Rhys, the boy doesn’t seem to harbor any ill feelings. Why not let him stay if he wants to? You never know, you both could be great brothers together and—"

"Hell no!" Rhys yelled, cutting him off without looking back.

I let out a low groan, pressing my palm against my forehead as the shouting started to get to . My skin felt flushed and feverish, a sudden wave of exhaustion hitting so hard that I had to sit down heavily on the couch.

I understood both of them, honestly. They had been at odds since the very beginning. Rhys hated Raymond because Raymond had taken all the attention and privilege growing up, and Raymond had hated Rhys because of whatever lies Linda had probably fed him over the years. They were both victims of a ssed-up family, but the real enemies here were their grandfather, their father, and especially Linda.

"I am not letting you stay here no matter what, Raymond Calder," Rhys growled.

"But I have nowhere else to go, Rhys Calder! Can’t you just spare a room for your brother here?"

"Hell no! Take your luggage and get the hell out of here. I see right through you, and trust , it’s not going to work," Rhys retorted angrily, his chest heaving. "There is no way I am letting you stay here."

Raymond groaned in frustration, realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with Rhys. He turned his eyes toward , his expression softening into worry. "How about you, Kayden? You... are you alright?"

As soon as he finished saying this, Rhys’s attention snapped completely toward . He instantly let go of Raymond’s collar and rushed to my side. He grabbed my hand, his brow furrowing deeper the mont his skin brushed mine. He began rubbing my hand gently, his anger flipping into pure panic. "You are burning up. Your temperature is way too high. That’s it, I am going to call Leo."

I turned my head slightly toward Miller, trying to read his expression, but his face was a stoic mask, completely devoid of any emotion.

"You can call Leo if you want to," Miller said quietly, his voice neutral. "Don’t stop yourself because of ."

I heaved a deep, ragged sigh and looked back at Raymond, who was still staring at with deep confusion and growing suspicion. The absolute last thing I wanted was for him to find out about my pregnancy.

"Raymond, I know you want to get to know us," I started, but a sudden, violent shiver racked my entire body, cutting my words short.

Seeing shiver like that got Rhys acting purely protective. Without a second thought, he pulled tightly into his arms, wrapping his warmth around .

A mont later, he began releasing his soothing pheromones, filling the living room with the thick, comforting scent of pine to help ground my racing pulse.

"You need to leave, Raymond," Rhys said, his tone no longer screaming, but dangerously low and commanding. "Kayden is not fine. You need to go. Now."

Raymond looked between us, seeing the state I was in, and finally nodded. "Okay. Okay, I’ll go," he agreed softly, backing away toward his luggage.

He looked at one last ti. "I hope you get better, Kayden."

"I promise... I’ll invite you back once I feel better," I managed to say through my chattering teeth, trying to offer him a small reassurance.

Raymond nodded gratefully, picked up his bags, and finally left the apartnt, closing the door behind him.

The mont the door clicked shut, Rhys pulled out his phone and dialed Leo’s number.

It only took two rings before Leo picked up.

"Leo, Kayden is not fine," Rhys said imdiately, his voice tight. "He’s burning up with a fever, and he’s been throwing up."

On the other end of the line, Leo let out a heavy, stressed sigh. "What happened?"

Rhys quickly explained the sudden wave of sickness and how fast the fever had spiked.

Leo paused for a mont on the phone before speaking. "Alright, I’m on my way. Just try to keep him cool."

While we waited, Rhys did absolutely everything he could to lessen my fever. He rushed to get a damp cloth, gently pressing it against my forehead and neck, his hands trembling slightly as he tended to .

My body ached all over, the fever making feel trapped in a restless, suffocating heat, but I hated seeing him look so terrified.

"I’m fine, Rhys," I murmured weakly, leaning my head back against the couch. "Don’t worry so much. I’m fine."

"You’re not fine, Kayden, your skin is scorching," he muttered, adjusting the cloth with an anxious frown.

It didn’t take long before the front door opened and Leo arrived. He hurried into the room, checking my pulse and assessing my temperature.

"Morning sickness is completely normal during the early stages," he began to explain, trying to calm Rhys down. But then his expression turned grim as he looked over my chart and thought about my dical history.

Leo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "there is no way to know if everything is truly alright until you take another proper scan. My friend is arriving on Monday and until then, you need to rest and keep your stress levels at zero."

After Leo finished checking my temperature one last ti, Rhys leaned in close, his face pale with anxiety. "What should I do? What do I need to do right now?" he demanded, practically vibrating with nervous energy. "Is the baby going to be fine? Is Kayden going to be fine?"

Leo let out a long, exhausted sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Rhys, calm your nerves down. Panicking is not going to help him." Shifting into his usual pragmatic dical tone, Leo crossed his arms and began rattling off instructions. "You need to focus on mitigating any hyperthermia to prevent embryonic distress. Administer a lukewarm sponge bath—absolutely no cold water, as that will induce shivering and elevate his core temperature further. Keep him hydrated with small, frequent sips of an isotonic electrolyte solution to counteract the fluid loss from esis, and monitor his vitals every two hours. If his temperature exceeds thirty-eight point five degrees Celsius, you call imdiately."

Rhys groaned loudly, gripping his hair in sheer frustration. "I don’t understand a single word of what you just said! Speak English!"

Leo snapped, his patience wearing thin as he yelled back, "Keep him cool, give him water, and call if he gets hotter! Is that simple enough for you?"

Rhys muttered a defensive response, but finally nodded, clearly morizing the simplified version.

Leo adjusted his jacket, his expression flattening. "I am leaving now," he announced, turning toward the door.

"See Miller before you leave, Leo!" I shouted from the bed, my voice raspy loud enough for him to hear. "I know you also ca here for that."

Leo froze, his back stiffening. He didn’t turn around as he tried to deny it. "I ca here strictly to check on your dical condition, Kayden. Don’t project your theories onto ."

"Stop pretending," I countered, leaning forward despite the dull throb in my head. "For soone who is usually so perfect, your clothes look completely mismatched today. And look at the bags under your eyes." I let out a heavy breath, my tone softening just a bit. "Look, I won’t get involved in your business. It’s your own issue to fix. But I don’t want to see you looking this miserable."

"I am not miserable," Leo stated flatly, his voice tight.

"Oh, shut up!" I yelled at him, losing my temper for a second before letting out a tired sigh. "Just let go of your ego for once, Leo. Stop pushing everyone away, especially soone like Miller, who actually loves you."

Leo’s shoulders tensed, his posture turning entirely defensive. "I don’t care."

I threw my hands up in defeat, the exhaustion of the morning finally crashing down on . "You know what? Fuck you. Do whatever the hell you want. But just know that if you keep pushing away the people who actually care about you, you will definitely regret it."

Leo said absolutely nothing. He didn’t defend himself, he didn’t look back at the room and closed the door behind him.

The mont the door clicked shut, the anger drained out of , leaving behind a heavy, painful ache in my chest.

Tears burst from my eyes, hot and fast, blurring my vision. "I did my best," I choked out, my voice cracking as a sob escaped . "I really did my best."

Rhys imdiately sat down beside , pulling into a tight, fierce hug. He tucked my head securely against his shoulder, letting his pine scent wash over again to soothe my ragged breathing.

"I know you did, sweetheart," Rhys murmured softly, kissing the side of my head. "It’s left to them now. You did everything you could so just focus on yourself."

I sniffled against his chest, clutching at his shirt as I tried to let the warmth of his embrace quiet my racing thoughts.