Chapter Eigth: Unyielding
478 Words
Do you have any idea what you just did?" she hissed, grabbing his arm. "The investor meeting? About the drug scandal? You walked out in the middle of a presentation."
Lucien didn't look at her. His eyes stayed on mine.
"It looks like I had better things to do," he said quietly.
"Get in the car. Now. Before the press finds you in a nightclub hallway with a waitress."
"I'm not finished here."
"You are finished." The lady turned to me, with an awkward smile. "Miss...?"
"None of your business."
"Miss None of Your Business. My client is under stress. I'm sure you understand why he might... misbehave."
"I don't want your apologies. I want him gone."
Clara's eyes narrowed. She studied me, seeing something she didn't like. Then she turned back to Lucien, voice dropping to a venomous whisper.
"The investors are pulling out. Three more this morning. If you don't fix this, if you don't show them you're stable your career is over."
Something shifted in his expression. The hunger dimmed. The Ice King returned.
"I understand," he said flatly.
He let her pull him away. But at the hallway's mouth, he stopped. Looked back and mouthed.
"This isn't over, Ariana."
"Yes, it is."
He smiled. Darker this time. Something that made my stomach flip.
"We'll see."
Then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd, leaving me alone with my racing heart and the ghost of his fingers on my jaw.
I pressed my back against the wall and slid down to the dirty floor.
What the hell was that?
And why couldn't I stop feeling his eyes on me?
~Lucien Vale~
The car was silent except for Clara's furious typing.
"Completely unprofessional. Do you know what they're saying? That the scandal has broken you. That you're unfit—"
"Hire a private investigator."
She stopped. "What?"
"Ariana Cross. I want everything. Family. Finances. Medical history. Every secret."
"You cannot be serious right now."
"I'm always serious."
"Lucien." She leaned forward. "I know she got under your skin. But this is a distraction. You need to clear your name, not chase some student who insulted you."
I turned to her. "Do you know what she said?"
"That your brake bias was wrong?"
"She said I drive like a man with a death wish." I paused. "She's the first person in three years who looked at me and saw something real. Not the titles. Not the money. Just... me."
Clara's expression softened, barely. "Lucien —"
"Hire the investigator. Today."
She sighed, exhausted. Then she pulled out her phone.
"This will end badly," she muttered.
"Probably."
"She'll hate you when she finds out."
"Definitely."
"Then why?"
I watched the city lights blur past.
"Because I need to know who she is," I said quietly. "Before I do something stupid."
Clara didn't answer.
But her fingers kept typing.
- Writer
