“You’re my wife. I said it the day I married you–this life, you belong to me. I’ll give you three days to cool off. But if you’re not back by then, I don’t care if you’ve run to the edge of the damn world–I’ll drag you home myself.”
He was stalling, clinging to false hope.
Maybe Celeste was just being impulsive, Maybe the divorce had been a heat–of–the–moment thing.
After all, she’d never suffered a day in her life–not since college.
Once she hit her first roadblock out there, once she missed him enough, she’d come crawling back.
Lucian convinced himself of that as he lay in bed, trying to rest.
But the space beside him was painfully empty. It was just one person missing, but somehow the entire room felt off–kilter,
The familiar scent that always clung to her side of the bed was gone. And to his own surprise, he couldn’t fall asleep.
He closed his eyes, only to be bombarded with memories–Celeste curled against him, dozing off with that peaceful look
on her face.
When he opened his eyes again, his arms were empty. He reached out instinctively and grasped nothing but air.
Three whole days passed. Lucian never left the house. Just waited–silent, stubborn–for a woman who was never
coming back.
Even Vanessa’s messages went unanswered. He texted her back with some vague excuse, “I’ve got things to handle. I’ll
make it up to you in a few days.”
Mrs. Lewis, watching him go sleepless and barely touch a single meal, finally couldn’t keep quiet anymore.
“Mr. Sullivan, if you keep this up, you’ll collapse. And if Mrs. Sullivan saw you like this… she’d be worried. Truly.”
“She’s not coming home. But maybe if you went after her, she might forgive you. Women aren’t as hard to win back as you
think–if you speak from the heart, maybe she’ll even agree to remarry.”
“Mrs. Sullivan has always had a soft heart. Sure, she’s got pride, but… that Miss Clarke doesn’t seem like someone with
pure intentions.”
Mrs. Lewis hesitated at the end, choosing her words carefully.
Lucian’s expression darkened. His eyes narrowed, dangerously sharp. “What, did Celeste pay you off to say all this?
Singing her praises, slandering Vanessa–hoping I’ll kick her out so Celeste can swoop back in? Is that it?”
“I knew it. This divorce–it’s all part of her little game. A tactic. She’s trying to push me into ditching Vanessa. Playing the long con.”
“Well, let me remind you–this is my house. You work for me. Not for Celeste.”
Mrs. Lewis bristled with indignation.
She couldn’t believe her genuine concern was being thrown back in her face like this!
She couldn’t take it anymore–someone had to defend Mrs. Sullivan. “I don’t care if you fire me today, Mr. Sullivan. I’m still saying this.”
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Tm not lying, and I certainly wasn’t paid off. Ten days ago, Miss Clarke care to this house and taunted Mrs. Sullivan, saying that all your joint projects would be here in the future. She even demanded Mrs. Sullivan do all the research while
she takes the credit
“And even then, Mrs. Sullivandidn’t say a word. But when you walked in the door, Vanessa faked some tears and claimed she was being bullied. That woman she twisted everything. If I hadn’t had an emergency back home that day, I would’ve stayed and exposed her lies myself!”
“If you don’t believe me, go check the surveillance footage, I’ve worked for this family for years, I’ve got no reason to make
things up.”
She pointed to the nearby security panel, chest heaving with rage.
Lucian studied her with cold, calculating eyes, searching for any sign of deception.
Yet beneath his composed exterior, an unsettling feeling began to creep in–a premonition that something unpredictable
was about to unfold.
After a long silence, he finally gave the order to pull up the footage.
The recording was crystal clear. And just like Mrs. Lewis had said, every detail was there,
Vanessa… wasn’t nearly as innocent or fragile as he’d thought.
Lucian sat in silence, his expression unreadable, playing the video over and over again.
Chapter 13
