Chapter 9
The plane took off steadily, rising higher and higher until the entire city of Ashbourne shrank into nothing more than a
distant dot.
Celeste let out a long breath, slowly withdrawing her gaze from the window. A faint, relaxed smile tugged at her lips.
From this moment on, Lucian would have nothing to do with her. She was free. She was starting over.
He could spend forever with Vanessa all he wanted–she didn’t care anymore.
She closed her eyes, tuning out the view and quietly savoring the feeling of freedom.
Meanwhile, Lucian was out shopping with Vanessa, doting on her every whim.
Anything she paused to admire–even just for a moment–he bought without a second thought.
Vanessa, her arms full of designer bags and glittering boxes, smiled sweetly but spoke with faux hesitation.
“Mr. Sullivan, are you sure Professor Adams won’t be upset?”
“She’s never liked me, and today’s your anniversary… and you’re here with me, buying all these gifts. She’s probably already
in a bad mood about it–I don’t want her thinking I’m stealing you away.”
She looked down, biting her lower lip as if torn.
“Maybe I should leave. If I’m out of the picture, she won’t be so angry. You two should be happy. I don’t want her to hurt
me anymore.”
Before she could even finish speaking, Vanessa dropped the bags and turned to leave, dabbing at her tears.
Lucian rushed to pull her into his arms–holding her tight. “Vanessa, don’t go!” His voice trembled.
“I told you–so long as I’m around, she’ll never hurt you again. If she dares, I swear I won’t forgive her. Just stay. I need
you.”
What he couldn’t see was the smug curve of Vanessa’s lips, her eyes gleaming with triumph.
Aside from the faint redness around her eyes from all the fake crying, she looked perfectly composed.
Covering her face, she gave a few soft sniffles, then looked up at him, all dewy–eyed innocence.
“Thank you, Mr. Sullivan. It means everything to know you’ll protect me.”
“But… I don’t know how much longer I can take her targeting me and picking on me like this. If this keeps up, it’s going to
wear me down.”
“I mean, she’s your wife, and I’m just someone you’re pursuing. Obviously, I’ll be the one cast aside eventually. If you don’t plan to have a future with me, maybe you shouldn’t keep pulling me back in.”
“I’m scared, Lucian. Scared I’ll fall too deep… and lose everything. Maybe it would be better if we’d never started this at all.”
Seeing her eyes brimming with tears, Lucian’s heart tightened.
He frowned thoughtfully, then gently ran his hand through her hair, softly comforting her, “I’ll talk to her. I’ll make sure she stops treating you this way. We do have a future, Vanessa. I promise.”
Chapter 9
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Another vague, noncommittal promise. Vanessa smiled sweetly but inwardly scoffed, her teeth clenched.
He claimed to care. Claimed to love her. Yet he still hadn’t divorced Celeste, still hadn’t married her. Was this what he
called love?
She refused to be his kept woman forever, his dirty little secret. Refused to fight for crumbs of affection.
She wanted everything. The title. The life.
If he wasn’t going to make the decision, then she would.
So if he couldn’t take the final step, she would push him to it.
With her plan now taking shape, Vanessa excused herself briefly during their dinner at the romantic restaurant. When she
returned, she had slipped a small packet of powder into her purse.
Across the table, Lucian sat frozen, staring at his phone. The glaring red exclamation mark beside his message to Celeste made his expression darken by the second. He was so absorbed in his phone that he didn’t notice what Vanessa had
done.
Message failed to send. Blocked. Not just on messaging apps–his calls, texts, everything. She had completely shut him
out.
What kind of game was she playing?
Just because he wasn’t there for their anniversary and missed whatever surprise she had planned?
After all these years of marriage, was it really worth getting jealous over this? It’s not like he never celebrated with her before–just missed this one time.
His face grew colder by the minute. He finally dialed the housekeeper.
“Mrs. Lewis, is Celeste home? Put her on. I need to talk to her.”
