Omega In The Office - Aria Grace Page 0,30

up from shared experiences. Even if they didn’t see each other as mates until recently, they’ve got decades of trust between them. I’ve known them for only a few months, and there are times when I feel like a third wheel.

But it’s ridiculous to be jealous of the time they spend together. I just wish I could stop feeling that way.

It’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with them. I’d actually planned to bring it up last night. I was thinking of suggesting we start planning some date nights or one on one time to help strengthen our individual relationships. But I didn’t expect them to have such a strong reaction to my offhanded comment about meeting my parents.

Frowning, I retrieve the paper from the chair. My only intention is to set it on the table so Lucius sees it when he gets up. I don’t want him to lose an important piece of his bookkeeping materials. No matter how left out I feel, I’m not going to betray their trust and actively snoop on them.

But I can’t avoid noticing the numbers scrawled down the side of the ledger sheet. There’s a long string of debits and almost no credits. The account balance continually drops down until, at the bottom, it hits negative numbers. Someone has scrawled angry circles in red ink around the balance.

From the date at the top of the sheet, this sheet was just filled out yesterday. Meaning these numbers are current.

My eyes dart across the sheet in confusion. What account is this? The apartment complex? Are they really hurting this badly? Why wouldn’t they have told me about it?

The sound of movement in the backroom makes my heart dive to my toes. My stomach lurches like I’m a child who’s about to get caught doing something wrong.

Except, I’m not a child, and these aren’t my parents.

These are my mates. People I love and care about. If they’re in trouble, then I want...no, I need to help them. It’s not like I dug this out of the accounting books Lucius keeps tucked away in a side drawer. I have nothing to feel guilty about.

I steel myself and swivel my chair to face the hallway as sleepy footsteps stumble around in the bedroom. A few moments later, Lucius emerges from the hallway, stifling a yawn and running a hand through his messy hair.

“Candor?” He blinks through the sleep in his eyes and tilts his head in surprise. “Are you back already?” Lucius glances at the clock on the wall, clearly thrown by the change in my normal routine.

On a regular morning, both of the twins are awake by the time I get back. Lucius always has breakfast on the table, Leon is usually reading the newspaper, and then I join them for pleasant chatter as we discuss our plans for the day.

For a brief moment, I regret that this won’t be a normal morning.

“I haven’t left yet.” I set the paper on the edge of the table. “This was left out when I came to get my water bottle.”

Lucius frowns as he moves in to inspect the sheet. His expression slowly falls, like a snowman melting in the sun.

“Is this the account for the apartments?” I ask, my brows pinching in concern. “Are you in trouble?”

Lucius clears his throat and avoids my gaze as he picks up the paper. His eyes flick from side to side as he reads it over again. I know he’s trying to come up with a way to explain it all. Something to make it seem like it’s not as big of a deal as it looks.

I wait, not daring to breathe. I don’t want him to lie to me. I don’t want to hear some pretty story about how everything is fine. I need him to just trust me with the truth. Let me in.

Let me be part of the important things that affect our little family.

My chest is tight as these thoughts crowd my brain.

Before Lucius can speak, Leon leans around the corner. “I thought I heard your voice, Candor.” He gives me a sleepy smile. “Are you heading out?”

Leon’s expression shifts, and the sleep fades from his eyes as he picks up on the tension in the air. “What’s going on?”

Lucius says nothing but passes the paper to his twin. Their silent exchange only makes me feel even worse about the whole thing. It’s not just Lucius who has been hiding this from me. They both knew, and they both