Chapter 3

Lucien's POV

Little did I know, as soon as I boarded the jet, I'd run into Jaden Ellington, the male flag bearer who had pushed me down the stairs.

Eira was nestled in his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world as she announced nonchalantly, "I'm pregnant, and based on the timeline, it's Jaden's. I only agreed to this vacation as a reward for him. He's a picky eater, and he doesn't know how to take good care of himself. Since you're good at cooking and domestic chores, you'll just have to work a little harder on this trip."

Without uttering a single word, I looked at her as if I was looking at a stranger.

When we were young, she would always come home covered in a patchwork of new and old injuries.

Back then, I was blind and unable to help her shoulder the burdens of life. All I could do was silently bandage her wounds and massage out her bruises before groping around in the darkness to cook her a plate of spaghetti with hands covered in countless burns and blisters. Over time, I had become skilled at it.

How ironic. The skills I had learned out of love had now become the means she used to please her lover.

Eira grabbed me by the arm as I turned to leave. "I'm sure you know how badly I've wanted a child. Yet, after all these years, you couldn't give me one. Since you lack the ability, and someone else has done it for you, shouldn't you repay him?"

I looked at her in utter disbelief. My nose prickled, and my voice became hoarse. "Eira, if you had bothered to ask the doctor, you would've known why we couldn't have a child."

Eira was taken aback, but before she could say anything, Jaden, who was standing beside her, dramatically covered his mouth. "Lucien, you're not going to say it's Eira's fault, are you? Eira's always so eager to please in bed, and the doctor has confirmed she's in good health. It's hardly reasonable for you to saddle her with the blame, don't you think?"

His eyes gleamed with triumph and provocation. It was the same look he had two months ago when he pushed me down the stairs.

At the time, he had stood in the pool of blood beneath me and mocked me. Eira had actually been pregnant with my child, but he paid off the doctor to secretly terminate it.

Recalling how the child we had finally been blessed with had been stolen from me just like that, rage roared through me. I raised my hand high and slammed my fist into his face.

Instead of stopping me, Eira gently ran her fingers over Jaden's swollen left cheek. "I told you, anyone who makes a scene in front of my husband is at his mercy."

Noticing the blood drain from his face, she let out a low chuckle. "Still, you're my child's future godfather. He ought to show you the respect and dignity befitting my husband. How about this? He'll make it up to you with that obsidian necklace around his neck. What do you think?"

I looked up in disbelief, no longer able to suppress the anger surging within me. "Eira Primrose! Do you have any idea that he's the one who pushed—"

However, before I could finish speaking, her bodyguard stepped forward on Eira's orders and yanked the necklace from around my neck. The burning pain from the friction felt like a slap across my face, rendering me speechless. I could only watch as Eira fastened the necklace—named Star—around Jaden's neck.

Drinking in this scene, I lost all desire to argue. What was the point? This woman was no longer the Eira who would risk her life to win a prize for me.

Yet, even when I closed my eyes, scenes from the past still replayed in my head against my will.

Eira had stood on her tiptoes in front of the burning race car to clasp the necklace around my neck. Her eyes had been shimmering as she looked at me. "Luc, as long as it's something you want, even if it's a star in the sky, I'll try to pluck it down for you!"

Unfortunately, that star now hung high in someone else's sky.

…

The jet landed smoothly on the tarmac.

The moment I sent my location, a reply came almost immediately from the other end. "Luci, did you come over ahead of schedule?"

I typed back a response.

After wrapping up the conversation, a voice suddenly came from above me. "Luc, who are you chatting with?"

Eira looked down at me with an unreadable gaze.