CHAPTER 2
1415 Words
Elena’s heels echoed sharply down the marble hallway, each step faster than the last, driven more by instinct than thought. Her breath caught in her throat as she reached the elevator bank and stabbed the call button with trembling fingers.
Behind her, she heard Lucas call her name again.
“Elena, wait please, just give me a minute.”
She didn’t turn. Couldn’t. If she did, she knew she’d break all over again.
The woman had stepped out of the elevator like she owned the place—elegant, tall, dressed in a fire-red cocktail dress that clung to her like a second skin. Every bit the type who graced tabloids and society pages. Her eyes had flicked to Elena with practiced disdain.
"Who is she?" the woman had asked coldly, her perfectly sculpted brows raised.
Lucas hadn’t answered.
And that silence that damn silence was louder than a confession.
The elevator dinged.
“Elena!” Lucas’s voice was closer now, rushing after her.
She stepped inside and hit the ground floor button, her finger shaking over the smooth silver panel.
He caught the door before it could close, shoving one arm inside. His eyes met hers, raw and desperate.
“Let me explain.”
“Explain what?” she snapped, voice rising. “That you got engaged while still haunted by the woman you claim to love? Or that you kissed me five minutes ago and now someone else is calling herself your fiancée?”
“It’s not what you think,” he said, breathing hard.
Elena’s eyes filled with tears again, this time with fury. “You’re right—it’s worse.”
“Please, just”
The woman’s voice rang out behind him. “Lucas, darling. Are you seriously chasing after her right now?”
He turned, his face darkening.
“Elena, stay,” he said without looking back. “Just give me five minutes.”
She hesitated. Her heart screamed to leave. But her soul whispered that maybe, just maybe, she needed to hear it.
The elevator doors slid shut without her making a choice.
She backed into the corner, chest heaving. When the doors opened again, she wasn’t in the lobby.
Lucas had overridden the system. The elevator stopped at the penthouse once more.
He stood there, alone.
“Come inside,” he said quietly. “Please.”
Against her better judgment, she stepped out.
The woman in red stood by the bar, swirling a glass of wine as though she hadn’t just detonated a bomb. Her smile was a blade.
“Well, this is awkward,” she said lightly.
Lucas shot her a look. “Vivian. Not now.”
Vivian’s smile didn’t fade. “But I just arrived, darling. And you’re being rude to our guest.”
Elena crossed her arms, her voice razor-sharp. “Why is she calling herself your fiancée?”
Lucas rubbed a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping in front of both women. “We’re not engaged. We never were.”
Vivian let out a soft, amused scoff. “That’s funny, because I distinctly recall a proposal.”
“There was no ring, no formal engagement. It was a conversation. One I never confirmed.” He turned to Elena. “She’s exaggerating.”
Vivian stepped forward. “Excuse me?”
Lucas didn’t flinch. “Vivian, we’ve been on and off for a while. You know that. I made it clear months ago that I didn’t want anything serious.”
“You made it clear?” Her voice was ice now. “Because I remember your assistant booking us a honeymoon suite in Maui.”
“For a business retreat,” he snapped. “I never proposed to you.”
Vivian turned her venomous gaze on Elena. “So this is why you’ve been distant. A ghost from your past finally decided to haunt you in person.”
Elena stepped back, but Lucas moved protectively between them.
“That’s enough,” he said firmly. “Vivian, you need to leave.”
The woman laughed sharp, angry, hurt. “I see. You always chase the impossible, don’t you? That’s what this is. A fantasy. She’ll leave again, Lucas. People like her don’t stay.”
Elena stiffened. “You don’t know me.”
“I know the type,” Vivian hissed. “I’ve spent enough time cleaning up after his heartbreaks to recognize a mistake when I see one.”
Lucas grabbed Vivian’s coat from the nearby chair and held it out. “We’re done. Don’t make this uglier than it already is.”
Vivian’s eyes glistened, but her pride held firm. “You’ll regret this,” she whispered. Then she took the coat, her heels clicking like gunshots as she stormed into the elevator.
The doors shut.
Silence reclaimed the room.
Elena stood frozen, a war of emotions raging inside her—anger, disbelief, relief. “That was…”
“A disaster,” Lucas finished, his voice low. “I’m sorry.”
She turned on him. “You should’ve told me.”
“I didn’t think it mattered. I haven’t been serious about anyone in years. Vivian... it was convenient. Comfortable. But never real.”
Elena blinked hard. “You kissed me like I was still the center of your world. And then she walks in claiming a future with you. That doesn’t just not matter.”
He stepped closer, the regret in his eyes raw. “I didn’t plan for any of this, Elena. You showed up, and I felt everything again. All at once. I didn’t even know I was still capable of feeling like that.”
“Lucas…”
“I should have told you,” he admitted. “Not just about Vivian. About everything.”
She looked at him, unsure. “What else is there?”
He hesitated. Just for a second.
“I’ve changed,” he said instead. “You saw me when I was young, hungry, still dreaming. But this world? The one I built? It’s colder. I’m colder.”
“You’re still the man I loved,” she said quietly.
“I don’t know if I deserve that love anymore.”
They stood close, so close, the storm outside now just a whisper. His hand reached out, almost involuntarily, brushing her cheek.
“I missed you every single day,” he said. “Even when I tried not to.”
Elena’s eyes shimmered with something soft, hopeful. “Then tell me what we are now, Lucas. Not what we were. Not what you’re afraid to be. What are we… right now?”
He looked at her, visibly struggling between hope and caution.
“I don’t know yet,” he said honestly. “But I want to find out.”
She nodded once. “Then start by telling me the truth.”
Lucas took a breath. “There’s something you need to know. About the night you left. About your mother…”
Elena’s heart stopped. “What are you talking about?”
Lucas stepped back, guilt flickering across his face. “I didn’t just let you leave, Elena. I—someone from my side made sure you stayed gone.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I never knew until a year later, but someone intercepted your letters. The ones you sent after she passed. I never got them.”
Her world tilted. “What?”
He nodded, shame coating his words. “My father. He thought you were a distraction. He made sure you’d never come back.”
Elena’s legs gave way, and she sat hard on the couch.
“I thought you didn’t care,” she whispered. “I thought you just moved on.”
“I never even knew you tried to come back.”
Silence stretched between them. Then, Elena stood, looking toward the elevator.
“I need some air.”
Lucas nodded. “I’ll take you home.”
She hesitated, then nodded once.
As they stepped into the elevator together, the air buzzed with everything unsaid.
But as the doors began to close, Lucas’s phone vibrated.
He glanced down at the screen and froze.
Elena noticed. “What is it?”
His face went pale.
“It’s my lawyer,” he said slowly. “There’s a problem with my company. A leak.”
“A leak?”
He looked up at her, something dark settling in his eyes.
“It’s Vivian. She just filed a claim… for half of Thorne Enterprises.”
- Writer
