Chapter 2

The Stranger Who Saved Me

Lucien’s POV

I hated charity galas.

They were nothing more than expensive lies wrapped in crystal chandeliers and designer suits. People smiled for cameras while stabbing each other in the back the moment those cameras turned away.

The Blackwood family had perfected that art.

I stood alone on the private balcony overlooking the ballroom, a glass of whiskey untouched in my hand. From up here, I could see everything without being seen.

Exactly how I preferred it.

I hadn’t attended a Blackwood event in nearly eight years.

Tonight was an exception.

Business had forced me here.

Nothing more.

I had no interest in speaking to my sister Margaret or her spoiled son, Adrian. The less I dealt with my family, the better my life remained.

Then I saw her.

Elena.

She stood beside Adrian in a silver gown that caught the light every time she moved. She wasn’t the loudest woman in the room or the one trying hardest to be noticed.

She never was.

She simply stood quietly beside her husband, smiling despite the loneliness written all over her face.

I had noticed that smile years ago.

It never reached her eyes.

Every family gathering had been the same.

Margaret criticized her.

Vanessa mocked her.

Adrian ignored her.

And Elena…

She always endured it in silence.

I tightened my grip around the whiskey glass.

She deserved better.

Far better.

The sound of applause pulled my attention back to the stage.

Adrian walked toward the microphone with that arrogant confidence he had inherited from his mother.

I already disliked the look on his face.

Whatever he was about to do, it wasn’t going to be good.

“I’d like to officially announce the end of my marriage.”

The words echoed through the ballroom.

I went completely still.

My gaze snapped toward Elena.

Even from where I stood, I saw the color drain from her face.

She hadn’t known.

The fool hadn’t even warned his own wife.

My jaw tightened.

Then Adrian kept talking.

He blamed her.

He humiliated her.

He accused her of failing as a wife because she hadn’t given him children.

Every sentence made my blood boil.

I watched the guests whisper behind raised glasses.

Some pitied her.

Most enjoyed the show.

Cowards.

Then Vanessa stepped onto the stage.

She slipped her hand into Adrian’s as if she had every right to stand there.

So that was it.

The affair everyone had quietly whispered about.

It was true.

I looked back at Elena.

She stood frozen in place, holding herself together with the last thread of dignity she had left.

No one moved to help her.

Not one person.

Margaret’s voice rose above the crowd.

“A woman from a poor family could never be a suitable Blackwood.”

I closed my eyes for a brief second.

Some people never changed.

When I opened them again, Elena was signing the divorce papers.

She wasn’t crying.

Not yet.

She simply signed her name before handing the papers back.

The applause that followed made me sick.

They were applauding the destruction of someone’s life.

Elena turned and walked away without looking back.

No one followed her.

Not Adrian.

Not her so-called family.

No one.

I set my untouched whiskey on the table.

“Mr. Blackwood?”

My bodyguard, Damien, stepped closer.

“Cancel the rest of my meetings.”

He frowned.

“You have investors waiting upstairs.”

“They can wait.”

Without another word, I walked away from the balcony.

By the time I reached the hotel lobby, Elena had already disappeared outside.

Rain poured from the dark sky.

Through the glass doors, I saw her stumbling across the pavement, her silver dress soaked against her skin.

She looked completely alone.

Something inside my chest tightened.

I had spent years convincing myself that she wasn’t my concern.

She was Adrian’s wife.

Now she wasn’t.

I pushed open the hotel doors.

The cold rain hit my face immediately.

She kept walking as though she couldn’t even feel it.

“Mrs. Blackwood.”

She didn’t stop.

Perhaps she didn’t hear me.

Or perhaps she no longer answered to that name.

I quickened my pace.

“Elena.”

This time she turned.

Her eyes were red from crying.

Mascara streaked her cheeks.

For a moment she simply stared at me, clearly trying to recognize my face.

We had met before.

Several family dinners.

A funeral.

A board meeting years ago.

But we had never actually spoken.

“You…” she whispered.

I nodded once.

“You shouldn’t be out here.”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips.

“Shouldn’t I?”

She looked toward the brightly lit hotel behind us.

“My husband just divorced me in front of half the city.”

She paused before correcting herself.

“My ex-husband.”

The word sounded painful.

“I don’t think anyone in there cares where I am.”

Before I could answer, the hotel doors burst open again.

A group of reporters rushed outside.

“There she is!”

“Mrs. Blackwood, is it true your husband left you because you’re infertile?”

“Were you aware of his affair?”

“Did Vanessa steal your husband?”

Camera flashes exploded around us.

Elena froze.

She looked like a frightened deer surrounded by hunters.

One reporter shoved a microphone inches from her face.

“Do you have anything to say?”

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

That was enough.

I stepped between Elena and the reporters.

“Move.”

My voice was calm. Cold.

The reporters hesitated.

One of them recognized me.

“Oh my God…”

“That’s Lucien Blackwood.”

Within seconds, every camera turned toward me instead.

Good.

Let them photograph me.

Not her.

I removed my suit jacket and placed it over Elena’s shoulders.

She looked up at me in surprise.

The jacket nearly swallowed her tiny frame.

“Come with me.”

She didn’t argue.

I guided her through the crowd while Damien and the rest of my security team finally caught up, creating enough space for us to reach the waiting car.

The driver immediately opened the rear door.

Elena stopped.

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“You know enough.”

She searched my face for several long seconds.

Perhaps she was trying to decide whether I was another Blackwood who wanted to hurt her.

Finally, she lowered her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For ruining your evening.”

The apology caught me off guard.

After everything she’d endured tonight…

She was apologizing.

Something dangerous stirred inside me.

Not anger. Something much worse.

Possession.

I wanted to make everyone inside that ballroom regret what they had done to her.

Every single one of them.

Elena looked up at me again, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Her voice was barely louder than the falling rain.

“Please…”

She hesitated.

Then she whispered the words that changed everything.

“Please don’t leave me alone tonight.”