The Overlooked Wife
733 Words
Lucien Hathaway burst out of his room, his heart racing and his mind racing with questions but lacking any answers. He couldn't recall her name, but her eyes were etched in his memory, and her scent lingered on his skin. Was she truly... his wife?
He quickly made his way to the conference lounge where Victor Lancaster awaited him, with his assistant, Gregory, trailing behind. “Sir,” Gregory said cautiously, “Isabelle arrived a little earlier. She may have stepped out, but Mr. Lancaster is here.”
Lucien acknowledged this without slowing down. His thoughts were in turmoil. Inside the lounge, Victor stood rigidly, clutching a file and appearing more aged and hesitant than Lucien remembered. Lucien shut the door behind him. “Mr. Lancaster,” he said in a calm tone, even though his mind was anything but. “What brings you here again?”
Victor cleared his throat. “I didn’t want to come, believe me. But the banks are putting pressure on me. My company is about to close, and I hoped… your family might be able to assist again. Just a temporary loan.”
Lucien narrowed his eyes. “And you brought your daughter with you?”
Victor seemed taken aback. “Yes. Isabelle thought it would be best for her to speak with you personally before I arrived.”
Lucien’s stomach sank. So he hadn’t considered her feelings. She was his wife. He maintained his composure. “Where is she now?”
“I believe she’s taking it easy. She mentioned she wasn’t feeling well,” Victor replied. Lucien nodded slowly. “I understand.”
Their conversation about the business proposal was brief, but Lucien struggled to focus, his mind preoccupied with the events of the previous night—the girl who had shivered under his touch, cried out his name, and allowed him to take something profound without even knowing his true identity. His wife. His contractual wife. And he had never once looked her in the eyes.
Meanwhile, Isabelle sat quietly in the guest room upstairs, gazing out the window. Her bag was packed; she hadn’t intended to stay.
Her body ached from the previous night, filled with shame and confusion. All she meant to do was talk to Lucien, but things spiraled out of control. She didn’t even know if he recognized her, and now she couldn’t face him.
He had looked at her as though she were a stranger. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and she blinked them away. She refused to show weakness. “I made my choice,” she reminded herself. “Now I have to live with it.”
She left a brief note on the bedside table and slipped out of the room quietly.
Lucien entered shortly after, his heart racing as he sought her out. But the bed was empty, with only the lingering aroma of her perfume remaining.
He spotted the note:
"Thank you for last night. I’m sorry. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll disappear, just like you’ve always wanted.”
He held the note carefully. He had never wanted her to vanish—he just hadn’t taken the time to truly see her.
Back at the Hathaway estate, Lucien sat in his study, glancing at the wedding contract he had signed three years prior without any emotional connection, just ink on paper. But now it felt painfully real.
He recalled the softness of her skin and how her voice resonated when she called his name. She was a virgin, and he had taken that from her without even knowing who she was.
What kind of man does that? He chastised himself over it.
Meanwhile, Isabelle boarded a train back to Vienna without returning home. Instead, she found a small hotel near the city center, using her savings for a few nights while ignoring her father’s calls.
She didn’t want to discuss what had happened.
She didn’t want to remember how Lucien had looked at her as though she were merely another woman in his bed. But deep down, she understood her desires.
She longed for him to know her—beyond her body, into her story and her heart. Three days later, Lucien called Gregory. “Find Isabelle Lancaster. Immediately.”
“Sir?”
“I don’t care how you do it. I need to speak with her. Right now.”
- Writer
