40 (Lucian’s POV) Turmoil 2
Lucian
When I got home, the first thing I noticed was Mara’s eyes-red and puffy. She’d been crying.
My heart dropped.
Had Tina already told her?
“Mara,” I said carefully, stepping toward her. “Are you okay?”
I reached for her shoulder, but she pulled away and held out her phone instead. My stomach twisted as I took it from her,
unlocked the screen, and saw exactly what I feared.
A video.
Tina at James’ Cafeteria. Her standing, stepping into me. The hug. The kiss. It happened so fast, and now I understood why. It wasn’t a moment-it was a setup.
Someone had been filming. Someone had sent it to Mara.
Tina had planned the whole thing.
“Mara, please… let me explain.”
She wiped at her face, angry and hurt all at once.
“You promised me, Lucian,” she said, voice cracking. “That morning in the tent… you looked me in the eye and promised.”
My chest caved in. I knew what that moment meant to her. I knew because it had meant the same to me.
“I guess you never meant a word of it,” she whispered, tears falling freely now.
I moved toward her again, this time gently wrapping my arms around her. To my surprise-my relief-she didn’t push me
away.
She let me hold her.
And I did. I held her like my life depended on it. Because it did.
“I was coming home to tell you the truth,” I said softly, my face buried in her hair. “I swear to you, it’s not what it looks like.
I’m not seeing her. I haven’t gone back to her.”
She said nothing, but she didn’t let go either.
“She called this morning,” I continued. “Said something that completely threw me off. I didn’t know how to tell you, Mara. We just started trying, and I didn’t want this-her-to ruin that.”
I felt her arms slowly wrap around my waist, tentative but real.
That one gesture steadied me. Gave me the courage to go on.
“I was scared. Of what you’d say. Of losing you. I was scared of hurting you. I’ve never cared about protecting someone’s heart the way I care about yours.”
I pulled back slightly to look at her. Her eyes were still glassy, but she met my gaze.
“I’m going to tell you everything,” I promised. “No more delays. No more hesitation. But please, just… hear me out before you decide what to feel.”
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Cap (Lucian’s POV) Turmoil 2
She nodded-just barely-but it was enough.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
But she hadn’t walked away.
And that meant there was still something left to fight for.
Points
“Tell me what it is, Lucian,” Mara said, pulling away from me. Her voice trembled, but her eyes were clear-locked on mine.
“And don’t lie. I want the truth.”
I took a breath, grounding myself.
“I broke up with Tina a week before the wedding,” I said, quickly, cleanly. “We had breakup s*x that day. She said she was
safe. Now she’s claiming she’s three months pregnant-and that it’s mine.”
She stared at me, frozen.
Then-she laughed.
A broken, empty laugh, like she couldn’t decide whether to cry or scream. And as she laughed, the tears came. Silent, uncontrolled. Her body shook as she backed away from me.
“Mara, please,” I said, stepping toward her. “Calm down. Talk to me-”
She turned and walked straight into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
My heart sank.
I stood there, helpless, listening to the sound of her crying behind the door. Thirty minutes passed-every second of it
agonizing. I didn’t knock again. I didn’t speak. I just waited. Hoping.
When the door finally opened, she stepped out with swollen eyes but an eerily calm face. That calm scared me more than
the crying had. Mara was a Gamma-a trained fighter. She knew how to mask pain. That look wasn’t peace. It was
restraint.
She looked at me, eyes glassy but steady. “Do you think it’s yours?”
I didn’t sugarcoat it. “It might be.”
She nodded, slow. Her jaw clenched once before she exhaled.
Then she said something that stunned me.
“Tell her she deals with me from now on. Anything to do with the pregnancy goes through me.”
I blinked, trying to process her words. “Wait-what?”
“You heard me,” she said, voice low and even. “She keeps the baby. She’ll be taken care of-completely. No one’s taking
her child away. But if she wants help, she deals with me. If she refuses, we file for custody and take the baby. The child is innocent. But I won’t let her weaponize it to manipulate you.”
Then she turned, walked calmly to her closet, and began sorting through her clothes like we hadn’t just had the most
gut-wrenching moment of our marriage.
I stood there, speechless.
Mara hadn’t screamed. She hadn’t accused. She hadn’t collapsed.
She took control.
And in that moment, I realized what kind of woman I’d married.
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40 (lucian’s POV) Turmoil 2
Tina thought she could cause chaos. Thought she could break us.
She didn’t realize she was messing with a Gamma.
And my wife wasn’t going anywhere.