Chapter 72: Chapter 71: You’re mine Enigma

The main estate was completely quiet when the cars returned. The rain was still falling, but it had slowed down to a soft drizzle. Inside the house, the lights were turned down low.

Daniel and two other bodyguards had to help Harrison walk up the stairs. His body was incredibly heavy, his skin pale and freezing cold to the touch. He woke up later in the car but he was incredibly weak.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Harrison used his remaining strength to push Daniel away. He leaned against the wall, his breathing uneven.

"Leave me," Harrison rumbled, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "Go check on Julius and his mother. Do not let anyone come near this hallway."

"Boss, you are bleeding again," Daniel said, his brow furrowed with deep worry as he looked at the dark stains on Harrison’s collar. "You need the doctor to look at your core."

"I said leave," Harrison ordered, his dark eyes flashing with a small, weak spark of his usual anger.

Daniel knew better than to argue when Harrison was like this. He stepped back slowly, nodding his head. "Yes, sir. I will be downstairs if you need me."

Harrison dragged himself into his private bedroom and immediately turned the lock on the door. He did not turn on the lights. He walked over to the edge of the large bed and sat down, his head dropping into his hands.

The air in the room was cold, but inside his chest, his Enigma core felt like it was on fire. Every breath he took felt tight, and the scent of his pheromones was heavy, dark, and filled with pain.

He did not want Julius to see him like this. He had spent his whole life being the strong one, the one who protected everyone else. Seeing himself break down was something he could not handle, and he certainly could not let Julius witness it.

Downstairs in the medical wing, Julius was sitting on the edge of a bed while a doctor bandaged the small cuts on his wrists. His mother was resting quietly in the next room, completely safe and asleep.

But Julius could not sit still. His mind was spinning with the words Victor and Arthur had told him at the factory.

He has been carrying your heavy grief, your tears, and your past in his own mind all these years.

Every time Julius thought about it, his chest tightened. He stood up suddenly, pushing the doctor’s hands away.

"Julius, you need to rest," the doctor said, trying to hold his arm. "You have been through a lot of trauma tonight."

"I am fine," Julius said, his voice shaking with a mix of anger and sadness. "Where is Harrison?"

Daniel walked into the medical wing just as Julius was heading for the door. "Julius, stop. Harrison is in his room. He locked the door and told me to keep everyone away. He is in bad shape, and his Enigma pheromones are too unstable right now. It is dangerous for you to go up there."

"I don’t care about the danger, Daniel," Julius said, his eyes bright with tears. "He went into that trap for me. He is bleeding because of me. Move out of my way."

Daniel looked at Julius for a long moment, seeing the absolute determination in his face. He let out a long sigh and stepped aside. "He is in the main suite at the end of the hall. Be careful."

Julius did not waste another second. He ran up the stairs, his heart pounding hard against his ribs. The hallway upstairs felt thick and heavy with Harrison’s scent.

It was a dark, suffocating smell that made Julius’s head spin, but he did not slow down. He reached the heavy door of Harrison’s suite and knocked hard.

"Harrison!" Julius called out, banging his fist against the wood. "Harrison, open the door!"

There was no answer from inside. The room was completely silent.

"Harrison, I know you are in there!" Julius shouted, his voice cracking as the tears finally started to run down his face. "Open this door right now, or I swear I will break it down! You cannot keep hiding from me after what happened tonight!"

Inside the dark room, Harrison closed his eyes tightly. He could hear Julius crying outside, and every single sob felt like a knife cutting into his mind. He gripped the edge of the mattress, trying to force his body to stay still.

"Go away, Julius," he called out, his voice rough and deep. "Go to your mother. I am fine."

"You are a liar!" Julius yelled back. He grabbed the handle and shook it violently. When it didn’t budge, he stepped back and threw his entire weight against the door.

The heavy frame rattled. He did it again, his shoulder bruising against the wood, until finally, with a loud snap, the old lock gave way.

The door swung open, and Julius stumbled into the dark room.

The air inside was incredibly thick. The Enigma pheromones were so strong they felt like a heavy weight pressing down on Julius’s shoulders, making it hard to breathe.

But Julius did not back away. He looked through the dim light and saw Harrison sitting on the edge of the bed, his back turned away, his shoulders hunched over.

"Get out," Harrison rumbled, not turning around. "You shouldn’t be in here with me right now. My core is unstable. I could hurt you."

Julius walked into the room, closing the broken door behind him as much as he could. He walked straight toward the bed, his steps steady despite the shaking in his knees. "You think I am afraid of you? After everything I just found out?"

Harrison finally turned his head slightly, his dark eyes glowing faintly in the shadows. "You don’t know what you are talking about. Go back downstairs."

"I know everything!" Julius cried out, stopping right in front of Harrison. He looked down at the large man, his chest heaving with emotion. "Arthur and Victor told me. They told me why I don’t remember the night my father died. They told me why I never felt the pain of losing my family when I was a kid. You took it, didn’t you? You used your power and you took my memories away!"

Harrison stood up slowly, his tall frame towering over Julius, but he looked unsteady on his feet. He tried to step back, to put space between them.

"I did what I had to do to keep you alive, Julius. You were just a boy. The grief was killing you. Your mind was completely breaking from the sadness, and I couldn’t just sit there and watch you die from the pain."

"So you decided to carry it for me?" Julius asked, his voice dropping into a desperate whisper. He stepped forward, closing the distance Harrison had tried to make. "For twenty-five years, Harrison? You have been walking around with my tears, my bad dreams, and my childhood suffering in your head? Why the hell would you do that alone?"

"Because it was my job to protect you!" Harrison shouted, his voice echoing in the dark room. The sudden anger made him cough, and he had to press a hand against his chest as his breath hitched.

"You were soft and innocent. I was already hard. I was already built to handle the dark things in this world. It didn’t matter if it hurt me, as long as you could grow up and smile without carrying a ghost on your back."

"But it wasn’t your pain to take!" Julius screamed back, the tears flowing freely now. He reached out and grabbed the front of Harrison’s damp black shirt, his fingers twisting into the fabric.

"You thought you were saving me, but you just left me empty! I always felt like a piece of me was missing, Harrison. I always looked at you and wondered why you looked so sad, why you never let anyone get close to you. It was because of me. You became a monster because you were carrying my weight!"

"Julius, stop," Harrison groaned, his hands coming up to gently grasp Julius’s wrists, trying to pull his hands away from his shirt. But his grip was weak, his fingers trembling against Julius’s skin.

"The past is too dark for you. If you see what is inside my head, it will break you all over again. Let me keep it. I am already used to the weight."

"No!" Julius cried, refusing to let go. He pulled himself even closer until his chest was pressed against Harrison’s broad chest. The heat between them was intense, their pheromones mixing together in the quiet room, creating a powerful, desperate tension.

"I don’t want to be empty anymore, Harrison. I don’t want you to bleed in the dark while I live a normal life. The pain belongs to me too. My father’s death belongs to me. You cannot keep cheating me out of my own life."

Harrison looked down into Julius’s face, his own eyes filling with an old, heavy sorrow. He could feel the warmth of Julius’s body, the rapid beat of his heart through his shirt.

"You don’t understand what you are asking for. It is twenty-five years of pure hell, Julius."

"I don’t care," Julius said, his voice turning completely solid. He wrapped his arms tightly around Harrison’s neck, pulling the large man down toward him. He pressed his forehead against Harrison’s forehead, their breaths mingling in the dark.

"You are mine, Enigma. You belong to me, and I belong to you. If you are going to burn, then we burn together. Give me back my memories. Give me back my past."

Harrison let out a long, broken sound from the back of his throat. Hearing those words — You are mine, Enigma — broke down the very last piece of his defense. The wall he had built around his heart for over two decades completely crumbled down.

He wrapped his massive arms around Julius’s waist, pulling him so close there was no air left between them. He buried his face in Julius’s shoulder, his large body shaking as he finally let himself feel the full weight of his weakness.

"It will hurt," Harrison whispered against his skin, his voice thick with emotion.

"I am ready," Julius replied, holding him tighter. "Just bring me home, Harrison."