The Omega Knight's Secret Baby Daddy is A PRINCE?!

Chapter 214: Is It Love?

"That Helios loves you."

Ezra could only stare at Kaelis as he said that.

At first, Ezra’s eyes widen in shock.

But then—

"Ha...haha..." Ezra laughs quietly at first.

Because it was funny.

It was an absolute joke.

"Hahahaha." Ezra kept laughing as if it was the funniest thing in the whole entire world.

Too hard, actually.

The kind of laughter that felt forced the longer it continued.

Even when Kaelis just stared at him, not laughing, not amused in the slightest.

If anything, Kaelis looked pitiful.

Like he was watching someone slowly realize something painful in real time.

Ezra kept laughing though.

"Out of all your jokes, Kaelis. That one is by far the—"

"I am not joking, and you know that." Kaelis says seriously. "You’re laughing but I can see it in your eyes that you don’t find this funny."

Ezra’s laughter dies down immediately.

Not slowly.

Abruptly.

Like someone had suddenly cut the sound out of him.

"Yes, I was lying. It’s not funny at all, but I laughed for courtesy." Ezra says flatly.

If anything, Ezra was uncomfortable.

Deeply uncomfortable.

Masking the awful feeling twisting inside his chest with fake laughter because it felt easier than actually acknowledging what Kaelis was implying.

But in reality, his chest was aching.

Because the more Kaelis spoke, the more certain memories started rearranging themselves inside Ezra’s head in ways he didn’t like.

"Saying such things..." Ezra exhales slowly, trying to regain control over himself. "You know, that isn’t a good thing to theorize."

"You already realized the possibility that your pregnancy was planned, yes?" Kaelis asks quietly.

Ezra hesitates before answering.

"Yes...?"

"Helios was the only one who knew you were an omega, yes?"

Ezra immediately didn’t like where this conversation was going.

At all.

"...yes?"

"And we both highly suspect Helios at this point, right?"

Ezra doesn’t answer verbally this time.

Instead, he slowly nods his head.

The fountain water suddenly sounded far too loud in the silence between them.

"If Helios planned it, why do you think his motive was?" Kaelis asks carefully. "And Ezra, why do you think he lied to you all this time?"

Kaelis’ gaze stays fixed on him.

"Showing you a carefully curated version of himself tailored only to you."

Ezra’s stomach twists painfully.

Because now that Kaelis said it out loud, Ezra realized something horrible.

Helios was different with him.

Painfully different.

Kinder.

Softer.

More patient.

Ezra used to think that was because they were close.

Now?

Now it almost felt manufactured.

No, it DID feel manufactured, and that’s been proven.

"But he has a fiancée—" Ezra immediately argues, clinging onto the first thing that still made sense in his head.

"Who came to you because she claims Helios doesn’t love her," Kaelis cuts him off immediately.

Ezra goes quiet.

Because that was true too.

Alyce did come to him.

And she looked miserable when she talked about Helios.

Even mentioning that she felt that Helios loved someone else.

And because of that...

Every memory felt different.

All those times Helios would say things that Ezra always felt were easy to misunderstand.

All those small gestures of affection that Ezra told himself were simply kindness.

Their secret meetings.

Their secret garden.

Those secret glances.

The way Helios always seemed to know where Ezra was.

The way his mood shifted whenever Ezra spent too much time with someone else.

How intensely Helios looked at him sometimes when he thought Ezra wasn’t paying attention.

’No...’ Ezra thought weakly. ’No, no, no...’

Because if Kaelis was right—

Then Helios hadn’t simply manipulated Ezra politically.

It was personal.

And all this time, he didn’t notice.

Or maybe...

Maybe he did notice, somewhere deep down, and simply refused to acknowledge it because he used to love Helios too.

Because admitting it now meant admitting something uglier.

That Helios’ affection may have never been as pure as Ezra desperately wanted it to be.

"He loved you at first sight. No..." Kaelis corrects himself quietly. "He felt like he owned you at first sight, so he took you in."

Ezra slowly looks at him, his chest tightening harder.

"The brooch you helped get back for him was mine."

"What?" Ezra says immediately, his eyes widening in shock.

Kaelis looks down slightly.

"My mother had it made for me as an heirloom."

Ezra’s stomach drops.

Because he remembered that brooch clearly.

Helios looked furious when it went missing.

Almost desperate to get it back.

At the time, Ezra thought it was simply sentimental.

Now?

Now the memory made his skin crawl slightly.

"And when I told him that I was going to tell you the truth the first day you arrived at the palace..." Kaelis says more quietly now, "he threatened me."

Ezra immediately stiffens.

"Threatened...how?"

Kaelis doesn’t answer immediately.

Which somehow makes Ezra dread the answer even more.

Then quietly, Kaelis says,

"He told me that if I told you the truth, he would have you kicked out or executed."

Ezra froze.

Actually froze.

For a second, the entire world around him felt distant.

Helios did that?

The same Helios who used to gently brush hair out of Ezra’s face.

The same Helios who told him he was safe in the palace.

The same Helios who looked at him like he mattered.

It was worse than Ezra thought.

No, not just worse.

It was inhumane.

Because Helios didn’t just lie to Kaelis.

He used Ezra himself as leverage.

And suddenly Ezra understood why Kaelis looked relieved earlier when Helios walked away instead of getting angry.

’How long has he been dealing with this...?’

"That’s why he walked away." Kaelis says quietly, glancing toward Ezra again. "You...are the love of his life, Ezra. That’s his motivation. It hasn’t just been about being king anymore."

Ezra didn’t know how to feel.

No, that was a lie.

He did know how he felt.

Betrayed.

Completely betrayed.

But beneath the betrayal, something even uglier twisted painfully inside his chest.

Guilt.

Not for Helios.

Never for Helios now.

But for the possible people Helios hurt because of him.

Kaelis most of all.

All because Kaelis happened to be the one who gave Ezra bread that day.

All because Helios decided Ezra belonged to him.

Ezra suddenly felt sick.

"Helios forbade me from ever telling you, and it led up to a point where I just accepted it." Kaelis says with a bitter smile. "At that point, I was already busy with the investigation, and I couldn’t get myself to risk it."

Kaelis laughs softly after that, though there was no humor in it.

"But I knew from the first moment he took you in that he thought he owned you."

Ezra’s throat tightens painfully again.

Because looking back now...

There really were signs.

Helios decides things for him without asking.

Subtly isolating him from others.

Always wanting Ezra close, but never fully letting Ezra see every part of him in return.

And the worst part?

Ezra used to think it was the best thing in the world.

"No wonder you kept shaming me for how I thought of him."

Ezra laughs weakly to himself, though there was no amusement in it anymore.

And once they were out there, hanging between them in the quiet garden air, Ezra suddenly felt embarrassed.

Not because Kaelis was judging him.

But because admitting it out loud made him feel pathetic somehow.

Kaelis watches him quietly for a moment before speaking again.

"Maybe Helios genuinely thought what he did was love."

Ezra slowly looks at him.

Kaelis shrugs faintly.

"I’m serious. I think in his own twisted way, he convinced himself everything he did was for your sake."

"That doesn’t make it better," Ezra says immediately, his brows furrowing.

"I know." Kaelis nods. "I’m the last person who would be defending him. I’m just saying Helios has always been...possessive. Most likely because of what happened to his mother."

The word alone made Ezra uncomfortable now.

Especially because it fits too well.

"He never liked sharing things he cared about." Kaelis continues quietly. "And unfortunately for you, he cared about you the most."

Ezra’s chest twists again.

Because hearing it phrased like that somehow sounded worse.

Kaelis suddenly laughs softly under his breath.

"And no offense, Ezra, like I said, you were incredibly dense."

Ezra immediately looks offended.

"I was not that dense."

Kaelis gives him a look.

An actual look.

Ezra sighs.

"...Alright, maybe a little."

"A little?" Kaelis repeats in disbelief, clearly amused now despite everything. "Ezra, half the palace could tell Helios was obsessed with you."

Ezra’s eyes widened.

"Half the palace?!"

"I’m exaggerating," Kaelis chuckles. "Slightly."

’He better be exaggerating.’ Ezra thought in horror.

Because suddenly he was mentally replaying years worth of interactions wondering how obvious he looked to everyone else.

Kaelis’ expression softens slightly after seeing Ezra’s growing embarrassment.

"I knew you didn’t know," Kaelis says more gently now. "And I also knew you loved Helios too."

Ezra froze immediately.

Completely frozen.

He actually didn’t know how to respond to that.

He wanted to lie.

He wanted to be defensive but instead–

"...Was I that obvious?" Ezra asks weakly after a long pause.

Kaelis just chuckles softly.

"You looked at him like he hung the stars in the sky. It didn’t help that you would kill to defend his honor."

Ezra immediately looks away after hearing that.

His ears burning now instead.

Because unfortunately...

Kaelis wasn’t wrong.

’God, was I really that obvious?’

"I know you’re smart, Ezra," Kaelis continues. "Whether or not you still love Helios—"

"I don’t." Ezra cuts in immediately.

Too quickly.

Too firmly.

The answer came out before Kaelis could even finish speaking.

And strangely enough, Ezra realized he genuinely meant it.

Or at least...he wanted to mean it.

"My love for Lior is stronger," Ezra says more quietly now, finally looking back at Kaelis. "And the moment I found out everything was a lie..."

His chest tightens painfully again.

"My heart couldn’t even think of Helios that way anymore."

The betrayal hurt too much.

Every memory felt tainted now.

Every soft moment felt manipulated.

Maybe Helios truly loved him.

Maybe he didn’t.

But whatever Helios felt, it was tangled with lies, control, fear, and obsession.

And Ezra couldn’t separate those things anymore.

Kaelis watches him carefully for a moment before nodding slowly.

"But it’s still something we can use."

Ezra immediately blinks in confusion.

"What?"

What did that mean?

"Well–"

Before Kaelis could answer, the window in front of them suddenly slides open.

Both of them instinctively look up.

Love was standing there, smiling brightly. "Hello, Captain, Your Highness."

And beside her—

Lior.

Who was currently standing on top of a desk just to reach the window properly.

"Mama–Master! Kakay!!" Lior beams happily before sticking his head out even further. "Hello!!" he exclaims loudly.

Kaelis raises a hand to wave. "Are you willing to do whatever’s necessary to protect Lior?"

Ezra didn’t glance at him, he just stared at Lior who was waving happily at them.

As if he was so happy to see Ezra and Kaelis together.

He didn’t even need to think twice.

"Of course."

"Then I have a plan."