97 (Lucian’s POV) It’s Clear
Lucian
I heard the shouting before I even reached the lounge.
Of course. The cursed breakfast lounge.
There wasn’t a single day drama didn’t erupt here. I should’ve expected this. I should’ve left Mara at home.
I paused outside the door, listening.
Darian was pressing Martha hard. She was holding out-scared, cornered, desperate. That man, whoever he was, must be dangerous. Or what he knew must be damning enough that she’d rather rot than confess.
Still, I admired Darian’s resolve. He wasn’t backing down. Not this time.
I stepped in.
“Mara,” I called.
She stood up instantly, her eyes meeting mine with silent relief. She looped her arm through mine, and I could feel the tension in her shoulders.
“I guess that’s our cue,” I said calmly. “Darian, take it easy on your mother.”
I turned to leave-until Martha’s voice lashed out behind me.
“You’re heartless, Lucian. I came to you. I told you my problem, and you refused to help me!”
I stopped and turned around, but my voice stayed cold.
“I told you to open up to your mate. I’m not stupid enough to get involved in a secret you won’t share. I won’t bankroll your silence, Martha. Whatever this man has on you, you gave him that power.”
She glared at me, but I didn’t flinch.
“You and Father are bound forever. He can’t cast you out. And now that he’s no longer Alpha, I won’t. But don’t think that means I’ll save you from your own choices. If you want protection-talk to him.”
Mara tugged gently on my hand, and I turned to leave again.
“I know you’ve moved out!” Martha shouted after us. “I know you’re not coming back!”
I laughed. Not bitter-just done.
“Watch your tongue, Martha. Solve your problem.”
And with that, we walked out-her curses following us, Darian yelling over her, the entire lounge erupting behind us like a
scene from a family that forgot how to love.
The moment Mara and I stepped out of the mansion, fate dealt me a cruel card.
Tina’s car pulled into the driveway.
Austin stepped out first, looking exhausted. He’d gone to pick her up from the hospital. She emerged slowly-joggers, a
hospital hoodie, skin pale, eyes shadowed with dark circles. She looked worn down, sickly… haunted.
But not remorseful.
“Lucian,” she called, voice trembling with manufactured hurt. “You left me. Just abandoned me at the hospital.”
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97 (Lucian’s POV) It’s Clear
I didn’t respond.
“I’m carrying your child,” she continued, her voice rising. “And you showed me no care. Then I find out you signed me up for psychiatric evaluation? Why? To impress her?”
She glanced at Mara, and I felt Mara stiffen beside me-but she stayed silent.
“Where was she,” Tina hissed, “when the world hated you? When everyone thought you were nothing? I was there. I kept your bed warm. I loved you. I still love you.”
Her tears came, but they felt like a performance. A final act in a play I was done watching.
I stepped forward.
“Look at yourself, Tina.”
She blinked, startled by the calm in my voice.
“Have you even looked in a mirror? You’re a mess-and not because I left you. You did this to yourself.”
Her mouth opened, but I didn’t give her room to speak.
“When Mara married me, I was at rock bottom. No title. No company. Nothing. She still stood by me-without asking for a damn thing. You? You treated me like a project. Like loving me was a favor I should be grateful for.”
Her expression faltered.
“For eight years, I chased your approval. Begged for your love. And now? You’re here, crying about loyalty while deliberately harming the child you claim to care about-for attention.”
“That’s not true,” she snapped. “I didn’t-”
“I found the drugs, Tina. In your room. I saw your browser history. The doctor ran your labs. They found the substance in your blood.”
She started shaking her head, but there was no more room to lie.
“If you cared-truly cared-you wouldn’t endanger a life just to keep me close. I didn’t ask for this pregnancy. I had moved on. I was trying to build something with my wife. Still-I paid your bills. I sent you money. I never abandoned you.”
She was crying now, but it was rage more than regret.
“I told you to move on. I warned you. I would never cheat on my wife, Tina. Never. And you repaid my decency by trying to chain me to you through pity and manipulation.”
I took Mara’s hand and turned to leave.
“I’m done. I will have no dealings with you from now on. I’m on vacation with my wife. You’d do well not to test what little
patience I have left. No one here is going to entertain your foolishness anymore.”
I took two steps before Tina’s voice rang out again, shrill and trembling.
“You know I’m supposed to live with you,” Tina said as I opened the car door.
I turned slowly, meeting her gaze.
“You are living with me, Tina. Why else are you in the Nighthorn mansion?”
She fell quiet.
“You’re supposed to be with me, Lucian,” she pressed, voice softer now. “Taking care of me. Following me to antenatal visits… picking out baby things.”
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37 Lucian’s POV) It’s Clear
That was enough.
Those are things I look forward to doing-with my wife,” I cut in coldly. “You made your choice the moment you got pregnant to trap me. You decided to do this alone. Don’t drag me back into a story I’ve already walked out of.”
I turned and headed straight for the car.
She kept talking behind me, desperate, pleading-but I wasn’t listening anymore. Whatever we had was long buried, and I refused to let her dig it up.
Mara and I got in. I started the engine, pulled onto the road.
“Eventful,” I said dryly.
Mara let out a short laugh. “Breakfast from hell.”
I chuckled too. “And still somehow not our worst one.”
We rode in silence for a moment, the car slicing through the quiet.
Then Mara turned slightly toward me. “Don’t you think we should look into the person Martha’s been paying?”
I glanced at her, then focused back on the road.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because it seems serious, Lucian,” she said, voice even but firm. “You didn’t see her face when Darian pressed her. That wasn’t pride. That was fear. She was terrified… and she still didn’t crack.”
I scoffed lightly. “Whatever it is, it’s not our business. She made her choices. Our focus is on catching Chase.”
Mara went quiet beside me. But I could feel her mind working.
She knew something wasn’t sitting right.
And the truth was… so did I.
But I wasn’t ready to go down that rabbit hole-not yet.
