Chapter 6

Fiona narrowed her eyes at Lucas, looking completely unconvinced.

Pain stabbed through Lucas’s chest, so sharp he could barely breathe.

So she knew.

She had always known he had loved her for so many years. She had known he was willing to do anything for her.

And still, she had thrown his love away again and again like it meant nothing.

He knew his background wasn’t good enough for the Shaw family.

But the Shaws had been the ones who chose to take him in.

Strictly speaking, he didn’t owe the Shaw family, or Fiona, anything.

When Fiona was eighteen, she had been kidnapped by one of the Shaw family’s business rivals, who demanded a ransom of one billion.

Lucas had nearly died getting her out.

He had taken a bullet to the stomach and spent half a year recovering in the hospital.

That day, he had repaid the Shaw family for taking him in.

After turning eighteen, Lucas never used another cent of the Shaw family’s money.

He worked part-time whenever he could and gave Mr. Zimmer money every month for rent and meals.

In college, his grades were excellent. His professor had even secured him an opportunity to study abroad.

When Fiona found out, she came to him herself and asked if he could stay for her.

At the time, Fiona had just taken over the family company.

Because she was a woman, the board looked down on her. They joined forces to seize power, leaving her attacked from all sides.

Lucas felt sorry for her.

In the end, he gave up the chance to study abroad.

During his junior year of college, he joined Shaw Corporation as her assistant and helped her fight the board.

To gain a foothold in the company as quickly as possible, Fiona often traveled for business negotiations.

Whenever clients pressured her to drink, Lucas stepped in and drank in her place. Once, he drank so much he ended up with a bleeding stomach.

When Fiona stayed up late working overtime, he stayed up with her.

Fiona didn’t want children too early because of her career, and she disliked using protection. So Lucas took the initiative and got a vasectomy.

Back then, he had loved her deeply.

That was why he had been willing to do anything for her.

Even when everyone around Fiona looked down on him, mocked him, and belittled him, he had never given up.

But now, he had finally come to his senses.

Why should he keep hurting over someone who didn’t love him?

He was done suffering for love.

Lucas looked at Fiona with absolute seriousness.

“I’m sure I want to break up. The vow I made that day was real. Every word of it.”

Fiona studied his face inch by inch, trying to find some trace of a lie.

But there was none.

Not even the slightest hint.

Lucas was serious this time.

Only then did it finally hit Fiona.

When she was eighteen, Lucas had rescued her from the kidnappers and been gravely injured.

While he was recovering, she had been the one to suggest they get together.

Lucas had been overjoyed, but he still asked her again and again if she was sure.

He didn’t want to use the fact that he had saved her life to pressure her.

She had nodded and said she was sure.

Their relationship had lasted eight years.

Whenever he was with her, Lucas had always been steady, calm, and endlessly patient. Like the ocean, he took in all her moods, her coldness, and her neglect.

She had truly believed they would go on like this forever.

Even if one of them eventually walked away, she never thought it would be Lucas.

Yet here he was, calmly telling her it was over.

The cold, distant look on his face made him feel like a stranger.

Panic suddenly flared in her chest, as if something important was slipping through her fingers.

The rush of emotion sent a dull ache through her lower abdomen, and the color slowly drained from her face.

She reached out and braced herself against a nearby locker.

“Lucas, that’s enough,” she said, her voice tired. “I’ve already taken a step back. Don’t push this too far, okay?”

Fiona had always been strong-willed.

Everyone saw her as a powerful career woman, a workaholic.

To bring Lucas back, she had even cleared her entire schedule for the day.

After finding out he had come to an underground fight club, she had rushed over without wasting a second.

She had already shown more than enough sincerity.

Why was Lucas still refusing to go back with her?

Lucas only shook his head and took a few steps back, putting distance between them.

“Fiona, I don’t need you to take a step back. This is where we end.”

He glanced at his phone.

It was almost eight. He needed to get ready for the match.

He turned and left the locker room.

He had only taken a few steps when a pained cry suddenly came from behind him, followed by the sound of someone collapsing.

Lucas spun around.

Fiona had passed out, her forehead slick with cold sweat and one hand pressed tightly against her lower abdomen.

“Fiona, what’s wrong?”

By the time Lucas realized what he was doing, he was already beside her.

After so many years together, some reactions were still instinctive.

Mandy, who had been waiting outside, heard the noise and rushed in.

“Ms. Shaw, why are you bleeding?”

She saw the bloodstain on Fiona’s white skirt suit and immediately panicked.

Thinking back to Fiona’s earlier reaction, Lucas quickly calmed down.

“She got her period.”

Fiona had spent years burying herself in work, and her health had suffered because of it.

Every month, her period was especially painful.

Lucas had seen it happen too many times not to feel sorry for her. He used to remember her cycle better than she did.

He would buy medicine in advance, make her something warm for her cramps, and remind her to keep warm.

Lately, he had been so busy looking for work that he had forgotten.

Even if he had remembered, he no longer had the right to remind her the way he used to.

Fiona, however, had long since grown used to his care. She hadn’t expected her period to start today, and the pain had been bad enough to make her pass out.

“Mr. York, Ms. Shaw looks like she’s in a lot of pain. What should we do?”

Mandy was starting to panic.

“She needs to go to the hospital. Did you drive here?”

“Yes. The car’s in the parking lot outside.”

Lucas hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he lifted Fiona from the floor and strode out of the locker room.

Mandy followed close behind, and the heart that had been lodged in her throat finally settled.

Sure enough, feelings built over so many years couldn’t disappear overnight.

Lucas had still softened.

Once this little fight was over, they would probably go back to the way they were, right?

In the parking lot outside Dragon Gate, Mandy opened the car door first.

Lucas placed Fiona in the back seat, then bent down and fastened her seat belt.

Mandy had already gotten behind the wheel when she saw through the rearview mirror that Lucas had stepped out of the car.

She froze.

“Mr. York, aren’t you coming to the hospital with us?”

Lucas stood outside the car, his voice calm.

“I’m not going.”

He had carried Fiona out for two reasons.

First, Mandy was too small to carry her.

Second, even though he and Fiona had broken up, they weren’t enemies. He wasn’t cruel enough to stand by and watch something happen to her.

Mandy tried to persuade him.

“Mr. York, you should come with us. Ms. Shaw cleared her schedule just to come pick you up. She still cares about you.

“When Ms. Shaw wakes up, I’m sure the first person she’ll want to see is you.”

Lucas smiled faintly, but his tone didn’t soften at all.

“No. I have a match. It’s about to start.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

“Mr. York!”

Mandy had no choice.

She glanced at Fiona’s pale face in the back seat and bit her lip.

Then she hit the gas and drove Fiona to the hospital.