The trip from the hospital started was thick with silence. Lucien wanted to pretend he was okay with her going back there, but inside he was fuming. As far as he saw it, there was no reason for her to go back. She belonged back in the city with him. If she didn’t want to live with him, fine. He could get an apartment for her and Bella to live in. But to be honest, he didn’t like that either. And there wasn’t any reason for her to continue to work for Damian. Or anywhere. He could provide and take care of her. All of their needs would be met, and Bella would never want for anything. He made more than enough money to ensure that Audrey every desire was catered to. When Bella grew up, she would have the finest of everything.But she refused him.Audrey wanted to continue to live her life away from him and then in the same breath tell him she wanted to be with him. It didn’t make any sense at all. Why couldn’t she understand what he was trying to do?“Our lives can’t be just about each ot

Oh my God,” Audrey whispered as a furious blush spread across her face.Bella finished her bottle. Audrey placed her in her little bouncy chair, and Bella happily batted at the arch of toys over her head. Audrey prepared breakfast for herself and Lucien. They really needed to sit down and hash out how they were going to work things out. She wasn’t going to quit her job. And he would have to ease up on whatever restrictions or precautions she knew he was plotting. There was every certainty that he was assembling some sort of crazy security team to escort her everywhere. And she’d be damned if she allowed that.They would really have to set the ground rules.***********Lucien was feeling the best he’d felt in a long time. He whistled as he went through his clothes picking something simple to wear. While he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay there long, he was determined to enjoy what time they did have. Memories of last night played on a loop in his mind, and he was already looking forwa

For the first time, Lucien mourned. Not because he missed her. He wouldn’t. He mourned her for who she used to be. For what she once meant to him. He mourned her because of what she had devolved to. What happened for her to spiral this way? There had to be more than what she said to him. He mourned her, she who was his first love. All she wanted was not to be forgotten. All he wanted was to forget.He opened the photo album. The first photo was from Lucien’s nineteenth birthday party. Gary had rented a smaller boutique hotel with a pool. The photo captured a silly moment between them.Mia was perched on Lucien’s shoulders while he flexed his muscles showing off how strong he was. Signs of a lively party were caught behind them. People dancing and splashing in the pool. Even Mark was in the photo.In the background, unnoticed with his back to the camera, was someone Lucien didn’t know. He wore a white t-shirt. A tattoo of a claw was visible on his neck.*************“I haven’t been on

No matter what happens in your life, you need to remember that you didn’t know happiness until you knew me.“That doesn’t make anything you did okay,” he said through clenched teeth to the ghost that plagued his peace. His phone rang, startling him. It was Audrey.“Hey baby,” he greeted.“Mmm,” she purred. “I love when you call me that.”Her voice was like a balm on his frayed nerves. A soothing, cool breeze whispering on a hot day.“You can’t talk to me like that when I’m at work,” he smiled. “I could get in trouble.”“In trouble? Aren’t you the big bad CEO?” she teased.“You need to stop before this big bad CEO goes over there and shows you just how big and bad he can be.”“Maybe that’s exactly what I want.”Lucien’s pants suddenly felt tight, and all his previous thoughts were forgotten.“Get ready,” he warned.“I’m always ready,” Audrey shot back.Every time you kiss her... That feeling. I taught you that.“Good,” Lucien answered, with a touch less fervor than before.“Okay, there

What did you say?” Audrey asked.“I didn’t say anything. What do you say to something like that?”“Well, what happened after?”“The gallery was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. We walked around and by the end, he held my hand. I felt like a little girl. I wanted to skip and sing. It felt amazing. He was the sweetest gentleman. We had our photo taken as we left, and the way he was looking at me made me want to melt. Afterwards, we went to dinner. But like… it wasn’t like a normal dinner. It was a private dinner on the rooftop of the museum. There was candlelight, and flowers, and soft music. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie. The food was amazing, we talked for hours, and he’s so interesting,” she gushed. “He’s so passionate about everything; I could listen to him talk forever. But then he listened to me and asked questions. I kept thinking there was no way it was real.”“Amazing,” Tracy cooed. “But enough of the romance. Get to the good stuff.”“Well…”Becca fel