Chapter 5: Step Into My World

LUCIAN POV

I kept my arm out steady and deliberate. I had waited a long time for this moment, and I was not going to back down.

She looked at my hand like it was something that could hurt her. Tears were stuck to her eyelashes. I saw the struggle in her eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked finally. Her voice was shaking while trying to sound strong. 

I did not answer. 

Her eyebrows came together. The silence between us was uncomfortable. Her suspicion turned into something dangerous.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked loudly. Her pain was turning into anger. "Have you been following me? Are you a friend of Stevens?"

She pushed herself up a little. Her hands were on the floor. She was trying to hold on to reality. Then her voice broke.

"Are you here to laugh at me too?" she asked. This time it was not anger. It was sad. It was real.

For a moment something inside me woke up. If Steven was here I would have hurt him. He was not here. I reached into my coat. Pulled out a handkerchief. I took a step forward, but not too close.

"Take this, " I said quietly. My voice was low and steady. I held out the handkerchief.

She did not take it immediately. She looked at my face and my clothes. She thought I might be hiding something, but she took the handkerchief.

Our fingers touched for a second.

She wiped her tears quickly. She was so angry. She did not want me to see her cry. I let her have that moment.

"Crying will not change anything,” I said after a while. I looked at the church doors. The sunlight was too bright. It was a place of sadness now. "It will only let others see your pain."

She looked confused at first. Then she understood. She saw the people watching her. She saw the whispers. She saw curiosity in the air.

She stood up straight, was humiliated and that’s when she realized she had been crying in front of strangers.

"I..." she started.. She did not finish.

"Stand up, " I said. It was not a command. It was a reminder. She had forgotten her dignity.

For a moment she looked like she might argue. Then she took a deep breath. She stood up.

She swayed a little. I wanted to help her, but she caught herself and I let her.

She looked at me one more  time. Her expression was softer. She was still careful, and then walked away.

"I don't know why I'm listening to you,” she said quietly, as she was already walking.

I did not say anything. I just followed her.

The air outside felt cooler and quieter than the chaos we had just left. It was less suffocating. I could still feel the tension coming from her as she walked ahead of me.

She did not look back. I knew she was aware that I was there. Her steps were a little uneven. It was like she was trying to decide if she should run or stay.

Then she stopped. The sudden stop was so sharp that I almost caught up to her. I stopped just behind her, and gave her the space she clearly needed.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. Her voice was quieter now. I could still hear the suspicion in it.

I looked at her profile as the wind blew against her hair. For a moment time seemed to stand. It made my chest feel tight.

I have seen her die before. I have lost her already. I did not want to lose her. She did not know any of this yet.

"You are asking the wrong question, " I said instead. I was careful with my words. I did not want her to disbelieve me.

She turned to face me. There was something in her eyes that looked painful. 

"What is the right question?" she asked.

I looked her in the eye. "What do you want to do,” I asked.

My question caught her off guard. It made her think about her choices. It made her think about her power.

She blinked. She seemed unsure. "I do not know, " she said.

Of course she did not know. He had made sure of that.

I stepped a little closer to her. I wanted to keep her attention. "Then I will ask you something, " I said. My voice was a little lower,  just enough to keep her still.

"Do you want to remain the woman he threw away?" I asked and took a pause, watched as the hurt crossed her face.

 "Or do you want to become the reason he regrets it?" I asked.

There was silence. It was heavy. It was charged. In that silence I saw something. It was a shift. 

Her pain was still there. Something else was rising up.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she asked. Her voice was a little stronger now. It was still fragile.

That was the moment I knew. She had not taken my hand earlier. She was already stepping into my world.

I allowed a smile to touch my lips. It was not a smile. It was not a smile. It was a smile.

"By not standing alone, " I said.

Her gaze changed and narrowed a little. I could see the moment she started to suspect something. This was because she was not the kind of person to trust people easily, not after what she had been through.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, folding her arms a bit like she was protecting herself even though her posture showed how tired she really was. "You talk like you know what I need. You have not even told me who you are."

Before I could say anything the sound of engines got louder in the street. Her attention changed instantly as the sound got louder.

She turned her head a little looking confused. I looked in the same direction without moving because I already knew what was happening.

One car showed up first. A Rolls-Royce that was really shiny and caught the light in a way that made it hard to ignore. It slowed down as it got closer to us moving smoothly.

Then another car came.

A Lamborghini appeared, it was sharp and aggressive and even when it was not making a sound it seemed loud. A Porsche followed, moving precisely and each car fell into place like they had practiced it.

Anna's eyebrows came together as she watched the cars, her confusion turning into something to not believe what she was seeing. She looked at me again. This time her expression was completely different.

"Why are these cars coming here?" she asked, her voice quieter now. She sounded unsure because something about the scene did not make sense to her. 

I let the silence go on for a moment. Then I looked back at Anna.

"Well," I started, my tone calm, almost casual even though what I was about to say was important. "Since you did not give me a chance to introduce myself properly earlier..."

The cars stopped smoothly behind me and their presence created a kind of barrier between her old life and what was in front of her now.

"...I suppose I will do that now."

Her eyes stayed on mine. I could see the tension building in her shoulders because she was starting to feel like something big was about to happen.

I took a step closer, not too close but close enough so she could hear every word clearly.

"My name is Lucian Sterling,” I said, my voice even with so much confidence.

There was a pause not because.

"I am the owner of the Sterling Cross Empire."

Her breath was loud and her eyes got wide in a way that told me she knew exactly what that name meant even if she had not expected to hear it from me.

"It is good to have you in my territory, Miss Anna Storm."

The words were simple. They meant more than just an introduction. 

She stared at me still like her mind was trying to catch up with what she had just heard and then her hand slowly went up to cover her mouth.

"You... You mean the… the Sterling Cross?" she stuttered, her voice breaking a little because she could not believe it.