57 (Lucian’s POV) Dealing With It 2
Lucian
Everyone greeted Mara and me as we entered the breakfast lounge. Mara responded to them all, including Martha, who gave her a smile so fake it could’ve been printed on porcelain.
She was disappointed, no doubt. She’d expected Mara to walk away. Instead, we showed up stronger-united.
“I heard there was a lot of noise in your wing last night,” Martha said, voice dripping with venomous charm as she glanced
at Mara. “I’m sure Tina got the message.”
Mara didn’t flinch. Didn’t respond. Just sat with quiet, measured calm-the kind that unnerves people like Martha.
But Martha wasn’t finished.
“Lucian,” she said, turning to me with that same sugar-laced bite, “I must’ve underestimated your talents. Your ability to tame a woman and-how shall I put it-screw her into submission is impressive. Your… prowess is-”
“Enough, Mother,” Darian cut in sharply, surprising the entire table. “Enough of the bullshit. It’s none of your business how they choose to handle things. And you have no business listening in on what happens in Lucian’s wing.”
The room fell silent.
I blinked, genuinely taken aback. I hadn’t expected that from Darian. His tone, his anger-it was the first time in a long
while he sounded like a true Alpha.
Before anyone could recover, my father entered. His presence always shifted the room, and this time, he didn’t waste a
second.
We stood, greeted him. He nodded in return. Then his eyes locked on Tina-and the look said it all.
Disdain.
“Miss Livingston,” he said, tone firm and cold, “you are not a member of this family, and I don’t expect you at this table
again.”
Tina’s lips parted, stunned.
“You’re wasting your time here,” he continued. “Lucian has moved on. And so should you. If the child is his, Martha and I will take the baby and raise it properly-so you can start fresh. You were better off in your apartment.”
He looked her dead in the eye.
“Let me be clear: no one in this house is your friend. You manipulated your way in. That does not sit well with me. You demanded justice-even after Lucian’s wife stepped up to ensure you were cared for. But a claiming has taken place. That
bond is sacred. There is no room for you in that marriage.”
He paused, then leaned forward.
“I won’t kick you out-the law won’t allow it-but if you had any self-respect, you’d leave of your own accord. Lucian will ne ver look at you again. Your days of bleeding him dry are over.”
Everyone at the table was stunned. No one dared speak.
I noticed Tiffany smirk quietly across the table. She glanced at Mara, and the two of them exchanged a knowing look. I couldn’t help but be grateful Mara had support-even if silently shared.
My father wasn’t finished.
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67 (Lucian’s POV) Dealing With It 2
“You’ve done a great disservice to your unborn child,” he said. “They will be unwanted here. They will never carry the Nighthorn name, Never inherit from Lucian and Mara. You miscalculated, Miss Livingston.”
Martha, pale and rattled, tried to intervene. “Vander, please. The girl’s in tears.”
He pulled his hand away from hers.
“She needs to hear this. Face it.”
His voice grew harder.
“She and Lucian were together for seven years-since they were nineteen. Not once did she push for marriage or a
claiming. She never got pregnant. She bled my son dry, used him, and suddenly, now that he’s ascending and owns Steel
Corp, she’s conveniently pregnant? No. This wasn’t an accident. This was strategy.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You want in on the power? The title? The wealth? It’s over. Lucian has moved on, Tina. And I suggest you do the same.”
Then came the final blow.
“If the children are his, we will take them. Raise them. Give them a good life. And I will pay you-handsomely-so you can
start over. Far away from here.”
Tina sat frozen. Pale. Silent. Her face was blank, but her eyes were glassy.
There were no more tears.
Only the realization that the game she thought she could play had already ended.
The rest of breakfast passed uneventfully.
I spoke business with my father while Darian pitched a new venture. I told him to draft a proposal-I’d review it. The truth was, other than his idiocy with women, Darian wasn’t like his mother. But he was still hung up on Mara, and even the mark
on her neck hadn’t killed the obsession. That bothered me more than I let on.
Through it all, I kept my attention on my wife-subtle touches, whispered links, the kind of look that made her squirm just enough. And I knew Tina was watching. I wanted her to see.
Mara tried to hold it together, but I could tell-she barely touched her food.
After breakfast, we didn’t waste time.
Instead of driving ourselves to the office, I asked for a driver. I wanted the backseat to ourselves. Mara needed a reminder of who she belonged to-of who she was now.
She rode me with desperate need, and I met her just as hard. I made the driver take the longer route to the office. Worth every second.
When we arrived, everyone greeted us with the deference they owed us. They now knew-I was their next Alpha, and Mara
was their Luna. That respect mattered.
Inside the office, Mara headed straight for the couch with the file my father had given us. I hadn’t had time to go through it yet. She had-because that’s who she was. Reliable. Focused. One step ahead.
She scanned every page into the system-smart move. No need to carry the originals around. Her instincts were sharp. I
liked that.
While she worked, I sat at my desk, booted up the computer, and opened the property listings. It was time to find that holiday home-our escape from the circus.
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Whitelan Fay) eating With R2
Thirty minutes in, the intercom buzzed.
I pressed the button “Yes?”
“Bir,” Mary’s voice cams through. “You have a meeting scheduled with Danied Horthwood from Winston’s Corp. Two pm?
Of course I did.
This was going to be a long day,
I leaned back in my chair and glanced over at Mara, who was still cross-referencing files like she’d been running this place for years.
Whatever the day brought, I knew one thing for sure we were building our world now.
And no one not Tina, not Martha, not anyone was going to shake it.
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