INICIAR SESIÓNCORINNELucian’s family is a lot; not in a bad way. They’re just intensely affectionate.The amount of hugs and kisses I’ve received within the first hour alone probably outweighed every bit of physical affection I’d gotten in my entire twenty-nine years of existence combined. I enjoy meeting them, enjoyed the warmth, enjoyed watching Lucian become progressively more possessive every time another family member stole my attention. Everything was overwhelming, exhilarating and surprisingly sweet—right up until the door to this suite clicked shut, sealing me inside with the one man who makes me feel crazy everywhere.I had been coasting on the adrenaline of the day, that I forgot to account for this. The fact that I now had to somehow survive sharing a mattress with a man I’d spent the entire day secretly fantasizing about.I stared at the bed, the red petals looking like drops of blood against the snowy linens. “I can just take the sofa while we’re here,” I pointed to the said fu
LUCIANMy focus remained on her from the moment we stepped out of the plane till our driver pulled into the massive coastal resort that was a labyrinth of white stone and blooming bougainvillea.Corinne sat quietly beside me in the backseat with one hand resting in mine and her gaze fixed on the amount of persons standing outside our SUV. I hate how nervous and how pale she looks. She insisted she was fine but she’s quiet, and her hand drifted occasionally toward her stomach like she didn’t even realize she was doing it.I was equally troubled by the sudden skittishness in her eyes, it feels like she’s trying to hide something from me which is almost ironic considering I’m the one keeping secrets from her right now.Maya’s investigation escalated quickly over the past few days and until I know exactly how dangerous Nathan planned to become, I’m not dragging Corinne into any of it.Still, the guilt sit heavier every time she smiles at me.“Are you—”“I’m okay, Lucian,” she squeezed my
CORINNELucian’s eyes were still shinning with wrath and the second we step into the plane, his hands began moving in a blur of motion, traveling down my arms and gripping my elbows as he performed a frantic scan of my body.“Are you hurt?” The gentleness in his voice compared to the cold fury from seconds ago nearly gave me emotional whiplash. “Did anyone touch you?”I heard the question, but unfortunately my brain stopped functioning properly somewhere between him threatening an entire crowd for me and the concern etched on his face right now.“I’m fine,” I finally responded with a shake of my head. “Nobody touched me.”He let out a low curse and shoved a hand through his hair in pure frustration. The movement caused the dark strands to fall over his forehead and the ink winding along his forearm to flex and stretch against the dark fabric—a sight that made it increasingly difficult for me to maintain my composure.God help me…I want to climb the man like a tree.“Goddamnit,” he his
CORINNE“Are you sure that’s okay?”I looked up to find Shannon watching me closely, concern etched all over her face despite how calm she was trying to appear.Outside the SUV, camera flashes kept bursting like tiny explosions against the tinted windows while voices shouted over one another from somewhere beyond the barricades. It sounded chaotic even from inside the vehicle.I adjusted Lucas’ little bucket hat lower over his eyes before responding. “Yes, this is the best option.”“We can just wait for reinforcements,” Lucian voiced.He’s standing at the center of the vehicle with his arms crossed over his chest and a thunderous scowl directed at the windows, he look ready to tear the door off its hinges himself. His father stood beside him, equally grim, the two of them a wall of silent, protective fury.“That’ll just cause unnecessary delays,” I replied calmly before crouching in front of Eli to fix the tiny earmuffs resting around his neck. “And the longer we sit here, the more cr
CORINNELucian has been acting strange for the past few days. He’s more attentive than usual, which honestly should’ve been impossible considering the man already hovers around me like an overprotective shadow. But lately, there’s this tension sitting beneath everything he does, even worse is the way his eyes track me whenever I move too far away from him.My identity is still unknown to the public, thankfully. The tabloids are practically foaming at the mouth trying to figure out who Lucian Delacroix was hiding inside his house, but the closest anyone had gotten was a blurry back shot of Shannon and I during one of our impulsive shopping trips last week.Shannon had found the entire thing hilarious. I, on the other hand, nearly had a heart attack when I saw the photos online.“You should be grateful,” she’d said while sending me seventeen laughing emojis. “Your ass looked fantastic in those pictures.”Traitor.Tonight, the four of us were having dinner together because tomorrow morni
LUCIANIt’s been days since the news about Corinne and I broke out, and while the media practically tore itself apart trying to dissect our relationship and find her identity, I cleared the estate. I granted the entire staff—George included—a paid leave for the remainder of the week.And somehow, the days blurred together in the best way possible for the four of us.The twins turned every hallway into a racetrack, every couch into a fortress, and the kitchen became a battlefield of flour and laughter. Corinne fit into it all so naturally that I sometimes catch myself staring in awe, trying to understand how and when that happened.And asides from playing and helping with the boys, she sits with me in my office, reviewing documents with an attention that rival my executive team. Now that she no longer has to pretend she wasn’t Lyra, she’d stopped holding herself back, and the results are terrifyingly impressive.In less than three days, she reorganized projections my finance department
CORINNE Lucian handed the twins to the driver, making sure they were buckled in safely before turning his full attention to Charles and I.He was all dark edges and brooding energy, and the way his eyes remained locked on me made my skin crawl. It was a look of pure accusation, as if he’d just cau
CORINNEIt’s Monday.And I’m currently standing like a sacrificial lamb in front of the Delacroix building. One hand grips the strap of my bag hard enough to leave dents in my palm while the other balanced the ridiculous fruit basket Stella had framed as a ‘token of appreciation’ for Lucian’s appea
CORINNEI pushed a hand through my short, disheveled hair and tried pulling my emotions back together but my mind was spinning faster than I could think straight.“Who was that?” Benny’s voice came from behind me, tinged with curiosity and concern.I picked up the package and bouquet from the porch
CORINNECity streets blurred past and cab lights reflected off the windows, but I haven’t been able to stop laughing the entire drive back to my apartment. The paper bag containing his shirt and that ridiculous file was tightly clutched in my hand even when my mind was completely tangled in him—Luc







