Cane23

This line brought tears to my eyes - heartbreaking and emotional, yet so honest, and somehow still touched with a hint of optimism.

1) The stage is Anger (and understandably so). 2) Dad was right all along - well, takes one to know one. 3) Dad is going to kill Jace (assuming his mother doesn’t get to him first). 4) Jace and Matteo deserve each other - though I doubt they’ll ever be happy together. Love and obsession aren’t the same, and two selfish men can hardly coexist without destroying one another. 5) Most importantly, Noah deserves someone who can love him fully and unconditionally. Jace was never “the one,” not even before Matteo came into the picture. 6) The real question is - who might be Noah’s ‘prince charming’? And why do I have a feeling it could be Chris?

Instead of manning up, Jace tries to smother us with the phrase "my love" - classic deflection. Cheaters get off too easy, which is exactly why he’ll do it again. Rather than leaving with dignity, Noah turns into some dark "avenger," desperately trying to preserve a dead marriage. And Matteo? He’s become a selfish beast, chasing what he wants at any cost.

I believe her sons' lives are her red line. If she ever decides to "keep it in the family," there's a good chance she'll take the law into her own hands and serve her husband his "last supper." However, the time she spent with the people from Lincoln Academy has taught her what truly matters in life. She’s realized she’s not alone - and it raises the question...is the family name even worth saving? So, she might let the legal system deal with her husband after all.

Yes, Brad definitely likes to brag about the people he “knows.” Just like he told Lyn and Alexander about Luke - his future brother-in-law, great guy, and the D’Artagnan to their existing trio of Musketeers - he was probably hyping Luke up with stories about his “successful,” “badass,” “hot” friends- the surgeon and the lawyer. Brad loves to show off his acquaintances. So by the time they were all at the pub, Luke already knew who the “smart ones” were supposed to be - and he made a comment that left both Brad and Alexander fuming… with Lyn stepping in like a one-man UN peacekeeping force.

Ah, you mean that fateful last night of college. I’m beginning to think that each of the three of them remembers it differently - and maybe even experienced it in completely different ways.

Isn’t that always the case - children end up as collateral in adult conflicts?

The first battle was Danny’s; this one is Ryder’s - what a powerful team they make!

I think you’ve hinted before that Luke might be the catalyst, and @Laura S. Fox confirmed there’s ‘something about it.’ The masks could fall through Luke’s unintentional push rather than any dramatic confrontation. Often, the most effective catalysts are those innocent of malice - they provoke change simply by not realizing the power they hold.

It's all the part of the grief cycle! There are five stages: 1) Denial (refusing to believe - it protects victim from being overwhelmed, 2) Anger (emotions explode), 3) Bargaining (if only...maybe we can fix this...), 4) Depression (sadness, loss of energy, hope, will...), 5) Acceptance (basically, it's moving forward). People jump back and forth - someone may feel anger one day, acceptance the next, then slip back into depression. It's the process. Right now, Noah is firmly at number two (anger), having burned through one and three very quickly. Finding the necklace killed denial (1). Seeing them together intimately detonated all that bottled suspicion. Driving the car at them and flooring the pedal - pure anger, a physical outburst (2). The suspicions, the searching for proof, the “maybe I’m wrong, maybe it’s not what it looks like” - that was his brush with bargaining/obsession. But once the necklace and the scene confirmed everything, bargaining collapsed (3). People often cycle back. Even after this rage, Noah could later slip back into bargaining (“What if I misunderstood? What if we can fix it?”) or denial (“Maybe it wasn’t that serious”). That looping is part of the grief process. In Noah’s case, since he exploded in anger and fled, the very next “phase” might be crash into despair - the exhaustion and grief after the adrenaline fades. Finally, forgiveness... Forgiveness is for the self, not for the cheater. Forgiveness wouldn’t mean getting back with his husband or best friend, it would mean reaching a point where he no longer feels the need to punish, obsess, or replay the betrayal. It’s part of moving on but not required for reconciliation...and in Noah’s case, it could be his way of finally closing the story without letting anger rot him from the inside. But we are still far, far away from that part of the story!

Or maybe she just saw through him - just like Alexander did. Not everyone’s wearing the same rose-colored glasses as Lyn! And paradoxically, if he were actually in a relationship with Brad, he might lose those glasses too.

Nope, at least 20 more - 10 past and 10 present!

That said, once I finish posting Jamie's story, I will try to post most often updates for this one, so the wait between chapters feels less torturous. By the way, how many chapters are there altogether? 😇

Talking to Chris was gathering the evidence!

Too bad Noah didn’t catch them in flagrante – that would’ve been priceless! Honestly, Chris has shown some integrity here. Although he initially covered for Jace, he did it to protect their marriage, not to shield a cheater. He even threatened to expose him if the infidelity continued.

Yes, this is amazing line, I think I analyzed it in my comment. It holds contradictory shades. As you say @LeeSA - Jealousy ...as if Brad doesn’t like sharing Lyn’s loyalty. Even if he wouldn’t name it jealousy in romantic terms, he’s possessive of Lyn’s attention. There's also bitterness in that line. Brad is hurting from the breakup, drunk, and lashing out a little. Calling Lyn and Alexander “two assholes” shows resentment. And finally, Brad's triumphant - “But you love me more” is self-satisfied. Brad assumes his primacy in Lyn’s life as a given. He claims Lyn’s devotion as if it’s a prize he’s earned just by being himself.

“Like you’d know how it is,” Brad said with unconcealed rancor. “You and Alexander never risk anything. You don’t date, so you don’t have to suffer.” What an irony - Brad accuses Lyn and Alexander of “never risking”, but in reality, both are risking in their own ways. Lyn risks his sanity by burying unrequited love. Alexander risks exposure every time his barbs toward Lyn conceal longing. Brad doesn’t notice either risk. He sees himself as the only one who truly suffers - the only one who dares to love and be hurt. Brad is used to thinking of Alexander as aloof, untouchable, maybe a bit of a “Don Juan.” So, when Alexander needles Lyn, glares, or hovers, Brad doesn’t read it as interest. To him, that’s just Alexander being his usual aristocratic, competitive self. Brad doesn’t imagine Alexander capable of genuine emotional investment, so he filters Alexander’s intensity toward Lyn as intellectual rivalry, not attraction. Brad himself has often teased Alexander for being a womanizer, someone with countless flings. But it actually tells us a lot about how Brad perceives Alexander, and it reveals his own emotional blind spots. “I’m not stupid” line shows that Brad is fully conscious of the intellectual hierarchy among them, and it festers. It’s why he sometimes acts out, why he needs reassurance, and why he clings to Lyn’s love with that triumphant “but you love me more, right?” For Lyn, this lands painfully. He has never seen himself as “like Alexander,” but Brad places him there - in the cold, intellectual camp - instead of recognizing Lyn’s emotional devotion. That’s the cruel irony: the very love that consumes Lyn is invisible to Brad, because Brad filters everything through that intellectual vs. emotional divide. Brad assumes Lyn doesn’t “risk” things because he’s detached and calculating, not realizing Lyn is risking everything by not confessing. But that line...“You and Alexander go together like a pair of gloves. But you love me more, right? that's...loaded! On the surface, Brad is drunk, post-breakup, teasing Lyn the way he always does. It looks like banter. So, in his own mind, Brad is just being playful, fishing for loyalty and attention from his friend when he feels low...but beneath that playfulness, what we see is that - Brad is playing dumb. It’s a classic Brad move: needing affection, intuiting its depth, but refusing to engage with its true form. Brad blurts out the truth (Lyn does love him more), but in a way that trivializes it. It’s not a confession, not an opening... it’s Brad using Lyn’s devotion as a cushion for his own bruised ego. For Lyn, this confirms the painful imbalance - Brad gets comfort, Lyn gets nothing but the torture of having his truth treated as a joke. The scene in Brad's room, crystallizes the tragedy of unrequited love - Lyn’s decency and restraint are invisible to Brad, mistaken for aloofness. Brad’s warmth keeps the flame alive, but his blindness keeps Lyn in permanent exile. The chapter ends with Lyn once again sacrificing himself - laughing at jokes, playing the part, because that’s the only way he can stay close to Brad. The 'peeking dilemma' actually defines Lyn’s moral core - he may fantasize, but he never betrays Brad’s trust...even at the cost of his own torment. Finally, it is amazing how the story mirrors two “domestic” scenes across time. The first one is College (Brad/Lyn). Lyn steadies Brad, undresses him, guards him in vulnerable moments. He’s performing the role of a partner - caretaker, confidant, intimate witness. But the core is tragic - Brad never names it, never reciprocates, never even imagines Lyn as that partner. For Lyn, the intimacy is a substitute for love he cannot claim. The second one is Present (Alexander/Lyn - my favorite ). Lyn irons Alexander’s shirt, undresses him, touches his body under the excuse of care. Again, this is domestic intimacy, but this time, it isn’t substitution. Alexander allows it, leans into it, even if obliquely. The tension is different - what Brad unconsciously denied, Alexander consciously permits, but colors with rivalry, silence, and unspoken longing. Those two “domestic” scenes aren’t just parallels - they’re reversals. The Brad-scene shows how Lyn loves unseen. The Alexander-scene shows how Lyn is seen while trying to pretend it isn’t love.

There's always the most boring possibility - that he just went to his fiancée. 😜

This is definitely a finished story, but it feels like just the first part of JJ’s life - like there’s still more to be told. Not in the sense that it feels like an unfinished chapter or that it needs an epilogue, like some stories do. It’s more of a feeling that there’s still so much left to say, some loose ends to tie up, and a few relationships that were only briefly touched on that could be developed further. @Mark Arbour, If you ever decide to come back to this story, I’ll immensely enjoy reading it!

It really depends on how the story develops. One line from the description actually made me hesitant to start reading: “Noah finds himself torn between fighting for his place as Jace’s legal husband or walking away from the life he built. Love, betrayal, and painful truths collide in this emotional journey of devotion, identity, and the brutal price of holding on to someone who may no longer be yours.” If Noah ends up humiliating himself - chasing after a cheating husband who’s practically laughing in his face - it’s going to be torture to read.

Well, in real life, I actually share some characteristics with all three of them. As for Brad… oh my, that whole scene is almost bizarre. Lyn is consoling Brad, thinking it’s about his grades… Brad is drowning his sorrow over a girl… and they end up chasing girls at some party - while deep down, whether consciously or subconsciously, all they really want is to end up in that bed together!

I don’t think it was anything that clever—but he’s definitely flirty!

The biggest issue here is that Jace isn’t feeling regret for what he’s done - he’s just sorry he got caught. We’ve yet to see any real reaction to the damage he’s caused. This is a double betrayal: not just as a cheating husband, but also as a cheating best friend. What would it even take to forgive something like that?

Because that’s not how social interaction really works. We’re all wearing masks, even when we think we’re being honest. Taking risks sounds brave, but most people are just trying to protect themselves - even from their friends.

True, though - by that point in their friendship, they’re already way too deep into the performance. I think Brad would just let it slide...or maybe play along with one of Lyn’s ridiculous excuses, like saying he was just checking if Brad was cold or something…