Young Master Lucien’s Bride의 모든 챕터: 챕터 61 - 챕터 70

Lucien's POVBreakfast in bed had somehow ended with Lila wearing more strawberry syrup than she'd actually eaten, and I still wasn't sure how that had happened. Something about a laughing fit and a fork gesture gone wrong, and by the time we'd both stopped laughing there was syrup on the pillow, on her wrist, and, inexplicably, on the corner of the nightstand. She headed off to finish her last midterm, and I made my way down to the study feeling lighter than I had any right to feel on a Tuesday.The morning light through the tall windows looked different somehow. Brighter. Or maybe I was just paying more attention to it than usual. I sat down, pulled up my email queue, and told myself I'd clear the whole thing before lunch so the afternoon was free.A double tap sounded at the door a few minutes in."Come in."Arthur stepped in holding a thin leather binder, his usual composure slightly dented by a small furrow between his brows."Pardon the interruption, sir." He set the binder on t

Lucien's POVThe board meeting wrapped two hours early, and for the first time in my career I had zero interest in staying behind to review acquisition metrics. The drive home felt too long, the afternoon sun throwing warm gold light over the hills as we came through the gates.Tucked in my jacket pocket: a small, heavy velvet box.I'd called our family jeweler three days ago, told him exactly what I wanted, and rejected his first two sketches outright. The first was too ostentatious — a design clearly built for a woman who wanted every room to notice her the second she walked in. The second was closer but still felt like something picked off a shelf for anyone. Neither one was her. On the third try he'd sent over a slim white-gold chain with a single diamond pendant, understated enough that most people wouldn't clock its actual value at a glance, and I'd approved it within the hour.Nothing flashy, nothing meant to impress the society columns. Just — quiet. A private thing. Lila had

Lucien’s POVThe lock clicked shut into the frame, and the muffled hysteria exploding in the outer hallway was silenced in an instant.Outside that door, my executive assistant was probably panicking, the legal department was scrambling to draft a janitorial transfer contract, and two security guards were currently reconsidering every life choice that had brought them to my floor.I didn't care. I didn't care about the quarterly reports sitting on my desk, I didn't care about the board members still milling around in the conference room, and I certainly didn't care about a high-strung secretary who thought she could treat my wife like trash under her shoe.I leaned my back against the locked door, taking a long, deep breath and tossing the tote bag onto a side table.Lila didn't even notice me standing there. She was already wandering across the plush Italian carpet, her eyes wide as saucers as she took in the towering floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the city skyline. Her j

Lucien's POVFor two straight hours, the CEO of Knight Enterprises didn't touch a single email, contract, or report.I just sat on the leather sofa in the corner of my own office, chin in my hand, watching my wife work.Lila was behind my desk, shoes kicked off, feet tucked up into my chair, hunched over a stack of foreign contract drafts with a red pen clenched between her teeth. Every few minutes she'd make this little frustrated noise, cross something out, and scribble notes in the margin like she was born to do exactly this.A few months ago I'd have called this girl a liability. A complication. Something to manage and contain behind enough security cameras that my family's chaos couldn't reach her.How the hell had I gotten that wrong.She didn't need protecting. She needed a seat at the table, and apparently she was better at this than half the lawyers on my payroll. I sat there running the math on that — how many billable hours my legal team had burned on this exact problem, ho

Lucien's POVMorning light poured through the dining room windows, and Lila sat across from me humming under her breath, buttering toast one-handed while scrolling something legal on her phone. The Zurich contract had cleared an hour ago. The board was practically writing me love letters. Life, for once, felt untouchable."You're staring," Lila said, not even looking up from her phone."I'm allowed to stare. You're my wife.""You're allowed to eat your eggs. They're getting cold.""I'll eat when I feel like it.""You're so difficult." She finally glanced up, smirking. "How does a board of grown men take orders from you every day?""Fear, mostly. And the fact that I'm always right.""Humble too. Great combination."Then the doors clicked open, and Maya walked in wrong.Not her usual bounce. No smile. Phone clutched against her apron with both hands, eyes glassy.Lila's knife hit the plate. "Maya? What's wrong?"Maya stopped a few feet from the table, swallowing hard like she was trying