All Chapters of Young Master Lucien’s Bride: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Lila’s POVI spent the entire next day hiding in my room, completely cutting myself off from the rest of the massive, lifeless house. I didn't even touch the high-tech tablet Lucien had given me the night before, leaving it face-down on the wooden desk like it was radioactive. Instead, I found an old tennis ball at the bottom of my suitcase, and I spent hours just throwing it against the far wall over and over until my arm physically ached from the repetitive motion.Thwack. Catch. Thwack. Catch.The sound was loud, sharp, and totally annoying, but it was the only thing keeping me from losing my mind. Every time the ball hit the wall, I pictured Jason's bloated, furious face yelling at me in the middle of that restaurant. Seeing Jason like that—drunk, reckless, and spitting completely disgusting insults at me in front of a room full of strangers—completely broke whatever lingering affection I had left for him. It was just gone, shattered into a million unfixable pieces. In its place w

Lila’s POVThe fact that Lucien didn't absolutely lose his mind over the yearbook thing completely threw me off my game. I spent the rest of that night tossing and turning in the massive bed, wrapped in his heavy college jersey, completely unable to sleep because my brain wouldn't shut up.I had been so certain I had him figured out. He was supposed to be the cold, ruthless, emotionless billionaire who bought my life to use as a corporate prop.But the guy who just stood there, smiling softly at his own embarrassing middle school photos? That didn't fit the script. Now I was stuck trying to figure out what his actual deal was, and I absolutely hated not knowing.The next morning, the confusion only got worse.There was a soft knock at nine, and Maya wheeled in a silver breakfast cart laden with pancakes, fresh fruit, and a tall glass of orange juice. But right next to the plate, stuck directly onto the metal dome cover, was a small, bright pink sticky note.I picked it up, frowning as

Lila’s POVI practically barricaded myself in my bedroom for two full days after the gym incident, refusing to cross the threshold for anything short of a direct medical emergency.I sat on the edge of the mattress, completely ignoring the rest of the world, just staring down at my bare hands because I could still feel the exact spot where Lucien’s large fingers had gripped my waist. The memory of it was like a brand on my skin.Every time I closed my eyes, the faint scent of his cedar-and-scotch cologne seemed to fill my lungs, and my stomach would do that stupid, violent flip all over again. It was infuriating. I was supposed to be his enemy, his hostage, his worst nightmare—not some flustered teenager hiding under the covers because a guy held her up so she wouldn't fracture her skull on a boxing ring mat.To make matters worse, my dad called me on the tablet on the second afternoon of my self-imposed exile.The screen lit up with his face, and the second the video connected, my ch

Lila’s POVThe next morning, the house was surprisingly quiet. The usual suffocating tension that seemed to follow Lucien around from room to room was completely gone, mostly because he actually had to fly out to Chicago at dawn for some merger. He was going to be gone for at least two days, leaving me completely alone with Arthur and the rest of the mansion's staff.For the first time since I arrived here, I felt like I could actually breathe without checking over my shoulder every five seconds. I decided to take full advantage of his absence by planning a movie night in the mansion's private theater room. I wasn't going to spend another day pacing my bedroom floor or throwing a tennis ball against the wall until my arm fell off.I found Maya in the hallway and gave her a direct order, demanding that she bring me an ungodly amount of hot buttered popcorn, a giant bowl of sour candy, and a glass of ice-cold soda. To her credit, she didn't even blink this time. She just nodded quickly

Lila’s POVBeing held by Lucien felt completely different than I thought it would. In my head, I had spent the last week painting him as this completely frozen, unfeeling statue, but wrapped up in his embrace, he was solid, warm, and he was holding me like I was the most precious thing in the entire world.The rough, frantic way his hands were stroking my hair didn't feel like the gestures of a warden checking his property; it felt like a man who had been genuinely terrified of losing something he couldn't live without.I hated myself for leaning into him. I really did. A small, stubborn voice in the back of my mind was screaming at me to pull away, to slap his hands off my shoulders, and to remind him that I was only here because a legal contract forced me to be. But after the terror of almost having my mom’s private medical crisis blasted all over the internet for millions of people to mock, I just didn't have the energy to fight him off anymore.My battery was at zero. So, I just