Unmasking Love

Chapter four

Lucy woke up the next morning, “oh no! I’m late.” She quickly got dressed and made her way to Ethan’s office, her mind racing with possibilities.

When she arrived, Ethan’s assistant greeted her with a tight smile and led her to his private office. The tension in the air was palpable. As soon as she enters the room, she saw Ethan standing by the window, his back to her, staring out at the city below.

“Ethan?” Lucy called softly, closing the door behind her.

He turned around, his expression unreadable. “We have a problem,” he said, echoing the words he’d spoken the previous night.

Lucy’s heart sank. “What is it this time?” She asked.

Ethan motioned for her to sit, but she remained standing, too anxious to settle down. “After Greg’s stunt last night, my PR team has been working overtime to manage the fallout. But it’s worse than we thought. He’s been talking to reporters, giving them a very detailed version of your relationship-one that paints you in a very bad light.

Lucy felt her stomach drop.”what do you mean, detailed?”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Greg has been spreading rumors about you-claims that you were unfaithful, that you used him for his money, and now you’re doing the same thing to me. The media is eating it up. And that’s not all.”

Lucy’s breath caught in her throat. “There’s more?”

Ethan nodded grimly. “He’s been digging into your past. He has found something and he’s threatening to leak it unless we call of the wedding.”

“Wow!” Lucy exclaimed.

Lucy’s mind racing as she tried to think of what Greg could possibly have on her. She’d lived a relatively quite life before all of this. Sure, she had made mistakes, but nothing that would justify this kind of attack.

“What did he find?” She asked, her voice trembling as she looked down.

Ethan worked over to his desk and handed her a folder. “Take a look.”

Lucy hesitated as she tried to open the folder. Her hands shaking. Inside were photos grainy, poorly lit, but recognizable. They were of her, years ago at a party. She was younger, more carefree, and in the company of a man she vaguely remembered from her college days.

But the photo told a different story. They were taken at angles that made it look like she was involved in something illicit-—drugs, possibly, or worse.

“This is absurd,” Lucy said l, her voice rising in panic. “These photos are taken out of context. I was just at a party. I didn’t even know that guy well.”

Ethan’s expression softened slightly. “ I believe you, Lucy. But the public doesn’t know you like I do. Once these photos are out there, it’ll be hard to control the narrative.”

“We have to look for a solution on time,” Ethan said.

Lucy felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. “What are we going to do now?” She questioned.

Ethan sighed and leaned against his desk. “We’ll, for now, we only have two options. One, we call Greg’s bluff and go ahead with our weeding, knowing that this could all blow up in our faces. Or the second option, we delay the weeding, try to get ahead of the story, and deal with Greg’s threats directly.”

Lucy shook her head,feeling overwhelmed. “If we delay the wedding, it’ll look like we’re hiding something. The press will have a field day with that.”

Ethan nodded. “That’s my concern too, But if we go ahead as planned, we’re walking into a potential disaster. Greg won’t sleep until he’s destroyed you, and by extension, me.”

Lucy felt a cold chill run down her spine. This was all too much. She had never imagined that her life would spiral so far out of control. “Why is he doing this to me? He’s the one that cheated on me after everything we’ve been through and went ahead to break up with me for another woman.” Tears ran down her eyes.

“Because he’s a vindictive bastard who can’t stand the idea of you moving on so quickly,” Ethan said, his voice filled with anger. “But he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. We’re not going to let him win.”

Lucy looked up at Ethan, seeing determination in his eyes. “What do you suggest we do?”

Ethan paused, considering his words carefully. “We fight back. But we do it smartly. We need to find out what else Greg has on you and neutralize it before he can use it against us. And we need to find a way to discredit him, make him the unreliable narrator of the story.”

“How do we do that?” Lucy asked, feeling a flicker of hope.

“We start by digging into Greg’s past. He’s not exactly a saint, and I’m sure there are things he wouldn’t want to be made public. My team will handle that. In the meantime we stay United. We show a strong front, make public appearances, and let the world see that we’re truly together.”

Lucy nodded feeling a surge of determination. “Okay let’s do it.”

Ethan gave her a reassuring smile. “Good. We’re in this together, Lucy. And we’re going to win.”

Lucy looked at her watch and noticed the time was already 12 noon. “I’ll have to go now, I have to attend the meeting at my office by 2pm.” She hugged Ethan and left.

Later that evening, Lucy returned home, her mind still buzzing with the events of the day. She was exhausted, but sleep was the last thing on her mind. She decided to take a shower, hoping the hot water would soothe her frayed nerves.

As she stepped out of the shower, she heard a noise—a soft thud from the other room. Her heart raced as she quickly wrapped a towel around herself and grabbed her phone. She was about to call Ethan when the light suddenly went out, plugging her apartment into darkness.

“Hello?” Lucy called out, her voice trembling.

There was no answer, only the sound of her own breathing echoing in the silence. She slowly moved toward the door, her hands shaking as she reached for the handle. Just as she was about to open it, she felt a cold hand clamp down on her shoulder.

Lucy screamed, spinning around, but there was no one there. The room was empty.

Her phone buzzed on her hand, startling her. She looked down to see a text message from an unknown number.

Unknown: This is just the beginning.

Lucy’s blood ran cold. She knew who it was. Greg wasn’t just trying to ruin her life, he was trying to scare her, to break her. But as dear gripped her, so did resolve. She wasn’t going to let him win.

Lucy took a deep breath, steeling herself. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

The following day, Lucy couldn’t shake the lingering dread from the events of the previous night. She hardly slept, every creak and whisper in her apartment amplified by her anxiety. But as the sun rose, she knew she couldn’t afford to let fear paralyze her.

She needed to stay strong, to push forward with the plan she and Ethan had devised.

Lucy arrived at Ethan’s work place early, her nerves tightly wound as she walked into Ethan’s office. He looked up from his desk, his expression shifting from focused to concerned as he saw her face.

“Lucy are you okay?” Ethan asked, standing up and walking over to her.

She hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I’m fine. But something happened last night. I think Greg was in my apartment.”

Ethan’s eyes darken with anger. “What do you mean? What happened?”

Lucy quickly recounted the events—the strange noises, the power outage, and the chilling text message. As she spoke, Ethan’s expression grew more intense, his jaw clenching with each word.

“This has gone too far,” Ethan said, his voice low and dangerous. “I’m not going to let Greg terrorize you like this. We need to increase security around you, till we’re certain he’s the one.”

“I’ll have someone watch your apartment 24/7, and you should stay somewhere else for the time being. Somewhere safe.”

Lucy shook her head. “I don’t want to run, Ethan. That’s what Greg wants. He wants me scared and hiding. If I do that, he wins.”

Ethan looked at her,admiration flickering in his eyes despite the gravity of the situation. “You’re right. But we still need to be smart about this. I won’t let him hurt you.”

Lucy reached out and took his hand, finding comfort in his strength. “We’re in this together, remember? We’ll fight back.”

Ethan squeezed her hand before letting it go. “I’ve already started digging into Greg’s past. My team found some interesting information. It turns out Greg’s financial situation isn’t as solid as he likes to portray. He’s been gambling heavily, and he owes a significant amount of money to some very dangerous people.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Gambling? That’s not something I would have expected from him.”

Ethan smirked. “People like Greghave a way of hiding their vices. But this could be the leaverage we need. If we expose his debts and the people he’s involved with, it could ruin his reputation—and most importantly, his credibility.”

Lucy nodded. “That might be enough to make him back off.”

Ethan nodded in agreement. “It’s the start. But we need to be careful. If we push too hard, he might do something reckless.”

Before Lucy could respond, there was a knock on the door. Ethan’s assistant poked her head in, looking slightly flustered.

“Mr Bennett, there’s Emene here to see you. She says it’s urgent.”

Ethan frowned. “Who is it?”

The assistant hesitated. “She says she’s your wife Vanessa York.”

Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. Vanessa York was the daughter of a powerful real estate tycoon—a woman Ethan’s family had been pushing him to marry for a business deal.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, “what does she want?”

“I’m not sure sir," his assistant replied. “But she seemed insistent on speaking to you immediately.

“Lucy I’m sorry but I need to take care of this,” Ethan said