Reborn as a villain:Claim the omega, Kiss the beta, Kill the dukes Chapter 32: Pretty and radiant

Chapter 31

Ciel

"Ciel, what are you—" Nolan starts.

"Ssshhhhh." I press a finger to my lips, eyes glued to the glass wall.

Jack’s on the pool deck, a brown box balanced awkwardly in his hands.

Nolan pauses, confused, but he sits next to anyway. Smart man. He’s learned resistance is futile when I get like this.

"What’s happening?" he whispers.

"Jack got a package." I whisper back.

"Okay, and...?" Nolan’s brows knit, waiting for the point.

"He’s not opening it," I hiss, scandalized.

"...And that’s important because...?"

"Because he’s been staring at it for the past hour." I can’t look away. "He keeps picking it up and putting it down like it’s going to bite him."

We watch in silence as Jack paces, sets the box on the poolside table , walks away, cos back, hesitates. Like he’s having a full-on pep talk with himself. Then—finally—he rips the tape open in one swift motion.

We both lean closer against the glass like absolute creeps.

***

Nolan

When he finally tears into the box, my curiosity almost matches Ciel’s. Almost.

He pulls sothing out. Wrapped in bubble wrap. He peels it back carefully, reverently, and—

Oh.

A cara?

Not the shiny disposable kind. This one’s solid, matte black, with weight and history. A real cara. Jack’s hands move like he knows it intimately, like his fingers rember the pieces before his mind does. He assembles it with quiet urgency, snapping on the lens, adjusting dials.

And then heaven’s help , he smiles.

Not the crooked, teasing grin he uses when he’s tornting . Not the soft patient one he saves for Ciel’s mood swings. This is sothing else. His whole face softens, eyes bright in a way I’ve never seen. Childlike. Almost... shy.

He lifts the cara and snaps a few shots of the sky, checks the screen, and laughs under his breath. It’s barely audible through the glass, but his shoulders shake, and the sound—imagined or not—punches sothing loose in my chest.

I’ve seen Jack the provider, Jack the alpha, Jack the smug bastard who lives to get a rise out of . But this? This is Jack the person. Jack with a private life, private joys. Like he’s stepped out of the cardboard cutout I thought he was and into full color.

And I hate what that does to .

Especially the way my gaze won’t leave him. Especially the way my stomach flips when he tilts his head back to capture a shot of the clouds, his curls catching the dying light.

Beside , Ciel exhales softly. "He’s so pretty."

I don’t argue. For once, I can’t. Because he is.

***

Ciel

Pretty’s not even the right word. Pretty is delicate, polished, safe.

Jack is... glowing. Radiant in a way that makes my chest tight. The sunset paints him in molten orange, and the joy on his face is unguarded, almost boyish.

Mother always said I was like the sun. She was wrong.Jack is the real sun out there, burning bright and effortless, and I can’t stop staring. Like the moth I am I keep staring at sun and yearning to get closer.

He crouches to take a photo of so wildflowers poking through the deck. Then he laughs to himself again, checking the shot, completely oblivious to the fact that two people are watching him.

My sweet, broken heart we’re not going to survive this one, are we?

***

Nolan

I should look away. God knows I’ve done a good job pretending I don’t notice things.

But my head turns anyway—only it doesn’t turn toward Jack. It turns toward Ciel.

And that’s when it hits .

He’s staring at Jack like the rest of the world has dissolved. It’s like watching a train speeding into a crash, unable to stop it, only this ti... I think instead of watching on the sidelines, I’m on the train too.

***

Jack

I may have gotten carried away.

The cara’s mory card is already half full—shots of the pool glinting like glass, the sky split into streaks of gold and lavender, waves curling like they’re posing for . Even the house got a mini photoshoot. It’s been years since I felt this itch in my fingers, and damn, it feels good.

I scroll through the images, a stupid grin on my face. Not bad, Jack. Not bad at all.

For the first ti in forever, it feels like I’ve taken a step forward. Like maybe this new life isn’t just hiding out; it’s actually... living.

And yeah, I’ll admit it—if I hadn’t caught their sweet little mont down on the beach yesterday, I probably wouldn’t have dug out a cara at all. Sothing about seeing them frad in that sunset cracked sothing open.

So I guess I owe the duo a thank-you for accidentally rekindling my long-buried passion.

Sliding the glass door open, ready to share the warm fuzzy mood... I stop.

On the couch: Nolan and Ciel. Cuddled. Like, seriously cuddled.

Ciel’s head on Nolan’s shoulder, Nolan’s arm draped in that "I’m not hugging, but I am" way. They look like an advert for "dostic bliss starter packs."

Instead, my mouth gets ahead of my brain.

"Space for one more?" I grin, leaning on the doorfra.

The reaction is instant. Nuclear.

Nolan jerks upright like I’ve announced a police raid. "I have to go... shine the windows." His voice cracks halfway through windows. He doesn’t even look at , just bolts, nearly tripping over the coffee table on his way out. Gone. Like a ghost.

"...Shine the windows?" I repeat to no one.

Before I can even process that, Ciel is also struggling to his feet, less graceful but twice as panicked.

"And I have to start preparing for lunch," he blurts, like we don’t have leftovers in the fridge. He waddles toward the kitchen at high speed, robe flapping like a cape of sha.

And then I’m alone. In silence. Cara dangling uselessly at my side.

What just happened?