Chapter 8

Lia’s POV

I didn’t go home that night.

Instead, I walked.

Through the cold streets, past the glowing windows of restaurants and shops, past couples laughing and holding hands — all reminders of a world I no longer belonged to.

By the time I finally reached my apartment, the ache behind my ribs had turned into a hollow pit.

Lucien had worked for Ethan.

The man who shattered me.

And he hadn’t told me.

It shouldn’t have mattered — it was his past, not mine — but it did. Because he was the one person I’d started to trust again, and now that trust felt like glass under my feet.

I poured myself a glass of water, my hands shaking, and sat on the edge of the couch.

Then there was a knock.

I didn’t have to check who it was.

Somehow, I already knew.

I opened the door, and there he stood — Lucien. His shirt slightly undone, eyes heavy, tired. Like a man who’d been fighting himself all night.

“Lia,” he said quietly.

I folded my arms. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know,” he said. “But I couldn’t let it end like that.”

I laughed bitterly. “End? You make it sound like we even began.”

He winced, stepping inside despite my half-hearted resistance. “You’re angry.”

“Angry?” I repeated, voice trembling. “You worked for Ethan, Lucien. You were part of his empire. The same man who—” I stopped myself, chest tightening. “The same man who ruined me.”

“I wasn’t part of that,” he said quickly. “I left before he touched you. Before you became—”

“His fiancée?” I spat. “Before I became another one of his projects?”

His jaw clenched. “Don’t say that. You were never a project.”

“You don’t get to decide what I was,” I whispered.

He took a slow breath. “You want the truth? Fine. I did work for him. I was his right hand for two years. I built deals, erased debts, silenced competition. But when I realized what he really was—when I saw the way he treated people, used them—I walked away.”

“Walked away,” I echoed. “Just like that?”

His eyes darkened. “No. He made sure I paid for it. He blacklisted me, ruined every opportunity I had. I started over with nothing. Hayes Corp exists because I swore I’d never be that man again.”

I wanted to believe him. God, I did.

But the cracks in my chest were already bleeding.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered.

“Because I didn’t want to be another reminder of him,” Lucien said. “You looked at me like I wasn’t tainted by that world. I didn’t want to lose that.”

My voice came out softer than I expected. “You already have.”

He flinched like I’d struck him.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The city lights filtered through the window, painting him in gold and shadow. He looked broken. But then again, so was I.

“Do you still love him?” he asked suddenly.

I stared at him, stunned. “What?”

“Ethan,” he said quietly. “If he came back tomorrow, begging, would you take him?”

The question cut deeper than it should have. I wanted to say no instantly, but the silence that followed said otherwise.

“I don’t love him,” I said finally. “I love who I thought he was.”

Lucien’s gaze softened, something unreadable flickering there. “Then you understand why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want my past to ruin what we could’ve been.”

“We?” I repeated, voice shaking. “Lucien, there is no we. You can’t build something honest on half-truths.”

He exhaled slowly. “You’re right.”

He turned to leave, his hand already on the door handle when I spoke again — softer this time.

“Why did you really come tonight?”

He looked back at me, and for the first time, I saw past the calm and control. I saw the man beneath it all — tired, flawed, human.

“Because,” he said quietly, “I didn’t want you to think you were just another part of my story.”

He hesitated, then added, “You’re the first thing that’s ever felt real.”

And then he was gone.

The door clicked shut behind him, and I sank to the floor, pressing a hand against my chest like it could stop the ache from spreading.

For so long, I’d blamed Ethan for breaking me.

But now, I realized maybe I wasn’t shattered because of him anymore.

Maybe I was breaking again — because of someone new.

---

The next morning, I went to work early. The office was quiet, the kind of stillness that comes before a storm.

Lucien’s door was closed. He didn’t look at me when I walked past, and I didn’t look at him either.

But every heartbeat, every breath, felt like a battle between pride and longing.

By noon, I decided I couldn’t stay like that. I walked to his office, hand trembling slightly as I knocked once and pushed the door open.

He looked up, startled. “Lia.”

“I’m not here to argue,” I said. “I just wanted to say… I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel right now. But I know you didn’t deserve Ethan’s lies. And maybe you don’t deserve mine either.”

His expression softened, his voice barely above a whisper. “So what now?”

I met his eyes. “Now? I don’t know. But I’m not running anymore.”

And for the first time in months, I meant it.