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CHAPTER SIX — THE SURPRISE VISIT
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2026-02-11 14:07:24Aria's POV.
Emma led me to a set of double doors and knocked softly.
"Come in." Lucien's voice, muffled through the wood.
Emma opened the door, and my breath caught as I looked inside the office with my mouth wide open.
Lucien stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his back to us, phone pressed to his ear. He looked tired but still devastatingly handsome. His jacket was draped over his chair, his shirt sleeves rolled up, revealing those strong forearms that had carried me so many times.
"Mr. Blackwood, your wife is here to see you."
Lucien instantly went completely still. Then, slowly, he turned around.
The look on his face was complicated, surprise, wariness and something that might have been hope flickering in those grey eyes before he carefully controlled it.
"I'll call you back," he said into the phone, his eyes never leaving mine. He ended the call with deliberate precision. "Aria. What are you doing here?"
I held up the lunch bag with what I hoped was a bright smile. "I brought you lunch! Chen helped me make it. Well, mostly Chen made it while I tried not to burn down your kitchen."
A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips before he caught himself. "You made me lunch."
"Don't sound so shocked. I'm capable of basic human kindness, you know." I walked further into the office, my nervousness manifesting as false confidence. "Besides, Marcus told me you skip lunch most days, and that's terrible for you. So here I am, being a responsible wife."
Lucien's eyes tracked my every movement as I set the bag on his desk. I could see him trying to figure out my angle, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"Emma, Marcus, Chen," he said quietly. "Give us a moment."
They left, and suddenly it was just us in this massive office with its view of the entire city.
"You really made this?" he asked, opening the bag and pulling out the containers.
"Well, Chen supervised heavily. I almost gave us food poisoning twice, but he saved us." I perched on the edge of his desk, swinging my legs like a child. "Try it! Tell me if it's edible."
Lucien picked up a lump of food with his chopsticks, studying it with that same intense focus he brought to everything. Then he took a bite.
I watched his expression anxiously, waiting for his verdict.
His eyes widened slightly. "This is... actually really good."
"Really?" I beamed, genuine pleasure flooding through me. "You're not just saying that?"
"I don't lie, Aria. You know that." He took another bite, and I watched his shoulders relax incrementally. "This food... It's perfect."
"Chen said they were your favorite." I leaned closer, dropping my voice conspiratorially. "He told me your mother used to make them."
Something soft and vulnerable flashed across Lucien's face before he masked it. "She did."
We sat in comfortable silence for a moment while he ate. It was strange, after five months of fighting, this simple act of sharing a meal felt almost surreal.
"So," I said brightly, determined to keep this light mood going, "are you going to show me around or am I supposed to just sit here and watch you eat?"
Lucien paused mid-bite. "Show you around?"
"Yes! Your office, the building, all of it." I gestured grandly at the windows. "I've never actually seen where you work. I want to see what the great Lucien Blackwood does all day while I'm at home plotting elaborate escape attempts."
His lips twitched. Was that almost a smile?
"You want a tour of Blackwood Industries?"
"Obviously. Unless you're embarrassed to be seen with me?" I tugged at my casual sweater self-consciously. "I know I'm not dressed like a proper CEO's wife..."
"You look beautiful," he said quietly, and the sincerity in his voice made my heart skip. "You always do."
Heat flooded my cheeks. "Well then, show me around! I want to see everything."
Lucien studied me for another long moment, and I could see the war playing out behind those grey eyes. Suspicion battling with the simple desire to have one normal moment with me.
Finally, he stood. "Alright. But we're taking Marcus and Chen."
"Obviously. I know the rules." I hopped off the desk, grinning. "Lead the way, Mr. Blackwood."
The tour was actually fascinating. Lucien showed me the different departments, marketing, finance, development, introducing me to key team members. I could see the surprise on everyone's faces, the poorly hidden shock that the mysterious Mrs. Blackwood had actually appeared, looking happy and cheerful instead of miserable and trapped.
Lucien was in his element here, confident and commanding. People respected him, even admired him. I could see it in how they looked at him, how they spoke to him.
But I also noticed something else.
The women.
They looked at him with more than just professional respect. There was hunger in their eyes, desire barely concealed behind polite smiles. The way they tried to touch his arm before being blocked off by Marcus, laughing just a little too hard at his comments, positioning themselves just a little too close.
And Lucien, oblivious as most men were, didn't even seem to notice.
But I noticed. Oh, I noticed.
"And this is our design department," Lucien was saying, guiding me into an open office space filled with sleek computers and mood boards.
A stunning woman in a pencil skirt and silk blouse immediately approached us, her eyes lighting up when she saw Lucien.
"Mr. Blackwood! What a pleasant surprise." Her voice was breathy and her smile predatory. Then her gaze slid to me and her smile tightened. "And you must be Mrs. Blackwood. We've heard so much about you."
I bet you have, I thought darkly.
"Aria, this is Jennifer, our head of design," Lucien said, completely missing the way Jennifer's eyes lingered on him.
"It's so lovely to finally meet you," Jennifer purred, though her eyes said otherwise. "Mr Blackwood talks about you constantly."
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Aria's POVLucien was still standing by the darkened television, his silhouette cast in jagged red by the emergency lights. He looked like a king standing amidst the ruins of his palace. His chest was heaving, his hand still white-knuckled around the grip of his gun."Lucien?" I stopped in my tracks as I called out.My voice was cold, filtered through the new layer of distrust I felt. I still had the wooden box tucked behind my back, the silver compasses biting into my palm. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to demand the name of the boy in the photo.But Lucien didn’t turn around.He stayed frozen, staring at the black screen where Vane’s face had been moments ago. Then, a strange sound came from him, a harsh, wet wheeze that sounded like air being forced through a crushed pipe.His gun slipped from his hand. It hit the thick carpet with a dull thud."Lucien!"My suspicion vanished, replaced by the sharp, electric jolt of my
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Aria's POVThe library was too cold. The air felt thin and clinical, like everything else in the high-tech prison Lucien called a home. I stood against the mahogany shelves, my fingers tightening around the small wooden box. Inside, the silver compasses clinked. The sound was soft, but in the dead silence, it sounded like a warning.I turned the bent compass over and I felt the tiny, jagged engraving on the back.J & A.The letters were old and faded. A was for Aria. That was me. But the J was like a hole in my life. My mind searched for a name, a face, or a voice but I found nothing. The amnesia was a solid wall, cold and unyielding.Lucien had told me I was alone. When I woke up in that hospital bed, he was the only thing I had. He told me my parents were dead. He said I had no siblings. He said he was the only anchor I had left in a dangerous world.Liar.The thought didn't come from my brain. It came from my
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