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Chapter 9
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The Countdown Above My Fiancé Chapter 10
The next morning, Chicago was finally clear. The cold snap that had trapped the city for a month seemed to end on that exact day. Sunlight broke through the clouds and spilled over the stone steps of Rosalind’s office building.At eight fifty, I stood below the steps and watched a black Bentley pull up by the curb. Lucian got out. He had lost weight.His cheekbones stood sharper than before, and the suit that once fit his body perfectly now hung a little loose. He had no driver and no bodyguards. When he saw me, he stopped.For several seconds, we stood a few yards apart and looked at each other in silence. The number above his head was still there.[3648 days.]I smiled faintly. It no longer meant anything to me. “Let’s go.”I turned first and walked into Rosalind’s office. Lucian followed, each step heavy as lead. There weren’t many people in the hall.Rosalind was waiting in a small conference room.Lucian stood beside the table, his fist clenched tight. The back of his hand was sti
The Countdown Above My Fiancé Chapter 9
Lucian developed arrhythmia after staying too long in the cold. He lay unconscious in the Bellandi private clinic for a day and a night. Marco, his underboss, called me with anger barely leashed in his voice.“Elena, do you have a heart at all? Mr. Bellandi nearly died for you, and you won’t even come look at him?”“He kept saying your name while he was out. Do you have to kill him before you’re satisfied?” I held the phone away from my ear until he finished shouting.“Marco.” My voice stayed calm. “He’s a grown man. Standing in the snow was his choice. If something happens to him, that’s on him. Not me.” Marco sucked in a breath. “You’re cold.”“Yes. I am.” Then I hung up. In the end, I still went to the clinic. Not because I was softening. Because I knew that if I didn’t cut the last thread cleanly, Lucian would keep staging this pointless martyr act. In the private room, Lucian lay in bed with an IV in the back of his hand, his face drained of color.Marco sat beside him. When he
The Countdown Above My Fiancé Chapter 8
Lucian went rigid. “Elena…” His voice shook with disbelief and fear.“I was protecting you.”“Protecting me?” I gave a small laugh and stepped out from under his umbrella. “You weren’t protecting me. You were trying to cover up your own stupidity.”“You brought her in. You gave her fantasies she had no business having. Now you want to prove yourself to me by grinding her into the snow.”“Lucian, the cruelty you showed her and the cruelty you showed me come from the same place.”“You only care about how you feel in the moment.” I didn’t look at him again. I turned and walked into the snowfall.Five days before my planned departure from Chicago, Lucian seemed to finally understand that meal baskets, trailing cars, and small acts of service couldn’t pull back a woman whose heart had already shut its doors.So he chose something more extreme. That night, Ava went downstairs to pick up a package. After a while, she rushed back up, pale and unsettled. “Elena. You need to come down. That luna
The Countdown Above My Fiancé Chapter 7
Three days later, Rosalind confirmed that my name had been removed from the accounts, property access, and private arrangements tied to the Bellandi family.Lucian refused to accept that I had walked away, and during the weeks that followed, he became a different man.Every morning when I opened Ava’s front door, a thermal meal basket sat on the handle. Lucian had cooked it himself. Smoked salmon bagels I used to love.Thick tomato beef soup. Cinnamon rolls with the edges baked a little too dark, exactly how I liked them.He even knew Ava hated onions and prepared two separate portions every day. I didn’t eat any of it. I threw every basket into the garbage downstairs.Ava watched me dump the polished little containers without mercy and clicked her tongue. “Damn. A Don doing the groveling-fiancé routine. Didn’t know they came in domestic.” I dusted off my hands. “Late love is worth less than bad debt on the docks.” I thought Lucian would give up after a few days. He had been raised a
The Countdown Above My Fiancé Chapter 6
The scene in the gallery lobby ended when security stepped in. Lucian was escorted out. He stood outside the building for a long time, until I disappeared completely from his line of sight.He sent me dozens of messages every day like a man losing his mind.[Passed that old bookshop you love today. Bought the out-of-print art book you always wanted.][I had the greenhouse repaired. The white rose will be there when you come home.][Do you really not want me anymore?]I didn’t reply to any of them. The concern I once treasured now looked ridiculous. On Friday afternoon, I left work early to pick up a few things at the market near Ava’s house.The moment I stepped out of the office building, I saw a familiar black Bentley parked by the curb. The window rolled down. Lucian sat in the driver’s seat, haggard and hollow-eyed.“Elena, get in. We need to talk.”His voice held deep exhaustion and something close to begging. I ignored him and headed for the corner. He got out quickly and blocked
The Countdown Above My Fiancé Chapter 5
Lucian spun toward the master bedroom. The door stood half open. He strode in and yanked open the wardrobe.Part of it was empty. My nightgowns, work suits, deep green suitcase, and my mother’s old photograph were gone. The perfumes he’d bought me still sat on the vanity. I had taken nothing from him. Only what was mine.Lucian stood there, chest rising and falling hard. Then he pulled out his phone and called me. Once. No answer came. Twice. Straight to voicemail.That was when he finally realized I had blocked him.At three in the morning, Ava’s townhouse doorbell rang like someone was trying to break it. I sat on the sofa with a mug of hot tea, so exhausted I felt numb. Ava checked the peephole and laughed without humor. “Chicago’s most dignified Don is at my door.” I didn’t move. I only took another sip. “Don’t open it.” Ava gave me a quick got it sign and went back to her bedroom. The knocking grew heavier. Lucian’s strained voice came through the door. “Elena. I know you’re i
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