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Chapter nine:The Anomaly

Author: Mel
last update publish date: 2026-05-17 16:28:21

~The Anomaly~

Lucien’s POV

The night wind howled across the private balcony, carrying the sharp bite of salt and the distant roar of waves crashing against the cliffs below. I stood at the railing, fingers digging into the cold metal until my knuckles turned white. The childish mask I had worn for weeks was finally gone, discarded like a suffocating skin.

For the first time since the wedding, I could breathe.

And all I could think about was her.

“Celine”.

The woman I had married as a calculated weapon was becoming something far more dangerous.

The door behind me slid open with a soft click. Lucas stepped out, closing it quietly behind him. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching me with that familiar sharp gaze.

“Still out here brooding?” he asked, voice low. “You’ve been quiet since we left the Laurent estate. That’s never a good sign.”

I didn’t turn around immediately. My jaw clenched as the memories replayed in my mind  Clara’s venomous insults, Xavier’s smug confession about their affair, the sharp crack of Celine’s slap echoing across the terrace, and then Clara shoving her down those steps like she was nothing.

“She slapped Clara today,” I said finally, my voice rough and low.

Lucas let out a low whistle. “Didn’t think the quiet little Laurent daughter had that kind of fire in her.”

“She has more than fire,” I muttered. “She has control. Even while bleeding from her arm and twisting her ankle, she didn’t scream. She didn’t cry in front of them. She just… endured. Like she’s been doing it her entire life.”

I finally turned to face him. Lucas studied me carefully, his easy charm replaced by the sharp strategist I trusted with my life.

“You’re thinking about the gala again,” he said.

I nodded once, slowly. “They humiliated her in front of hundreds of people. Xavier tore her apart on live microphone. Her own parents traded her away like she was worthless. And yet… they still sent her here. To me. Of all people.”

Lucas’s expression darkened. “You think it’s a trap?”

“I think it’s too fucking convenient,” I growled, the anger I’d been holding back all night finally leaking through. “The Laurents don’t do anything without layers of calculation. They know my reputation. They know I’ve been watching them for years. So why hand me their ‘burden’ daughter on a silver platter? Especially after publicly destroying her in the most humiliating way possible?”

I paced the length of the balcony, tension coiling tighter in my chest with every step.

“Either they’re trying to make me feel sorry for her and plant a weakness in my armor or they have another reason. Maybe they suspect I’ve been gathering evidence. Maybe they’re using her as bait. Or maybe…”

I stopped, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.

“Maybe Celine isn’t who they claim she is.”

The words hung heavy in the night air. Lucas straightened, his casual demeanor vanishing completely.

“You really think she’s not James’s biological daughter?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” I admitted, my voice dropping. “But she’s different, Lucas. The way she watched everything at that wedding. The way she analyzed the room even while bleeding. Most people would’ve crumbled after what Xavier did to her. She didn’t. She endured. And then she slapped Clara in front of everyone like she had nothing left to lose.”

A dangerous smile tugged at my lips despite myself.

“She’s not like them. Not even close.”

Lucas studied me for a long moment, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. “You’re getting attached.”

“I’m getting curious,” I corrected sharply, though we both knew it was a lie. “And curiosity is dangerous when it comes to a Laurent.”

“Or a Voss,” Lucas muttered under his breath.

The silence that followed was thick and heavy. I could feel the weight of twenty-two years of planning pressing down on me, all of it suddenly complicated by one quiet, green-eyed woman who refused to break no matter how hard they tried to destroy her.

“If they sent her here knowing what I am,” I said slowly, “then they’re playing a game I haven’t figured out yet. And if they don’t know… then Celine herself might be the biggest variable in this entire equation.”

Lucas pushed off the wall. “So what’s your next move?”

I turned back toward the dark, restless sea, my mind already spinning through possibilities, strategies, and risks I hadn’t accounted for.

“Watch her,” I said. “Test her. Push her limits. And find out why the Laurents threw her into a Lion's Den… and whether they expect me to devour her… or protect her.”

A soft sound came from inside the suite, the faint creak of the bedroom door.

Celine was awake.

I slipped the mask back into place with practiced ease, but as I moved toward the door, one final thought burned in my mind like a brand:

If the Laurents had made a mistake by sending her to me…

I might be the one making an even bigger mistake.

Because the more I watched Celine Laurent, the less I wanted to destroy her.

And the more I wanted to keep her.

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