80 (Lucian’s POV) Emotional Joumey
Lucian
As Tina’s cries faded down the hallway, Mara turned and went to get dressed for breakfast. The calm after the storm.
Later, in the shower, her scent wrapped around me like a balm. I kissed her neck, and she leaned into me.
“What if it’s serious?” she whispered.
I didn’t answer right away. I just held her closer.
Because maybe it was serious.
But some things had to hurt before they could heal.
“I really can’t do anything for her,” I said, my tone hard but steady. “If I were a doctor, I’d be at the hospital. But I’m not. I have nothing left to give Tina. Whatever she’s going through now-whether it’s fallout from the poison or something she cooked up for attention-it’s not my burden anymore.”
Mara stood still, her face unreadable. “I don’t trust her,” I continued. “She’ll do anything to stay relevant in my life. Last
time, I panicked and rushed her to the hospital like a fool. But that ship sailed. She needs to understand-I’m not her man
anymore.”
At that, Mara flinched. Just a flicker. But I caught it.
“Will you feel that way about me one day?” she asked quietly. “If I mess up… if I disappoint you?”
I understood the fear in her voice. The shadow of Tina stretched long. I’d been with Tina for eight years-long enough for
people to believe we were soulmates. We weren’t. We just got used to each other. Things only fell apart when I stepped
out of the spotlight. When I didn’t take the Alpha position and my father dropped me to the bottom of Steel Corp, she flipped.
No more luxury, no more status. Just a man with a basic salary and bruised pride. Still, I gave her everything-my allowance, my time, my loyalty. And she repaid it by trying to turn me against my own father, pushing me toward rebellion,
manipulation laced with charm.
In those moments, she reminded me of Martha.
I didn’t leave her, not because I loved her, but because I was tired. Starting over felt like too much. The idea of a new relationship, of opening up again-that weight kept me stuck.
But then came Mara.
And suddenly, I understood what it felt like to truly belong to someone.
I stepped behind her in the shower, water cascading over both of us. I kissed her neck, slow and sure, then wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her to me.
“My love for you will never change,” I whispered against her skin. “No matter what happens, no matter what you do. You’re the only one who truly gets to me, Mara. I swear it-my love will never fade.”
She exhaled, and the tension in her shoulders softened.
Then she turned to face me, eyes searching mine, steady and full of something that made my chest tighten.
“I love you, Lucian,” she said.
She rested her head against my chest, and I held her as the water washed over us-two souls standing still in a world that
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< POV) Emotions Journey
can stay wherever she wants.”
I felt Mara stiffen beside me.
Martha saw it. Smiled like a vulture circling fresh weakness.
+ Points)
“Welcome to my world, Mara,” she said, her voice a quiet poison. “The first child always gets everything. Pray it’s not a boy. Pray he’s not strong. Because Tina’s already got the head start. And when the children grow up, you’ll be left with scraps. That’s the price of being second.”
I gripped Mara’s hand under the table. Squeezed tight. A silent apology. A promise. But I knew she’d felt it-every word. And there was nothing I could do to unhear it for her.
Martha had just dropped a blade between us.
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And it would take more than a private conversation to pull it out.
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