Chapter 10: Realization
899 Words
Chapter 10: Realization
The house had never felt this empty.
Lucas stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the door Ava had just walked out of.
For a long time… he didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
Didn’t think.
It was as if time itself had paused—just to force him to feel the weight of what had happened.
Then the silence hit. Hard. The kind of silence that wasn’t peaceful—but suffocating. The kind that echoed with everything that was no longer there.
Ava’s laughter. Her voice. Her presence. Gone.
Lucas exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
“She’ll come back,” he muttered.
It sounded empty.
Even to him.
Because deep down… he knew.
Ava wasn’t like the others.
She didn’t stay where she wasn’t valued.
He walked toward the kitchen.
For a brief second, he expected to see her there—leaning against the counter, arguing with him about something trivial.
Instead—Nothing.
Just a cold, untouched space.
Lucas clenched his jaw.
“This is what you wanted,” he told himself. “No complications. No attachments.”
So why did it feel like something had been ripped out of his chest?
His phone buzzed.
Isabella.
He stared at the screen for a moment before answering.
“Yes.”
“Lucas,” her voice was calm, composed. “We need to finalize the deal. The board meeting is tomorrow.”
Lucas closed his eyes briefly.
“I know.”
“And your wife?” she asked. “Is she going to be a problem?”
A pause.
Lucas looked around the empty room again.
“No,” he said finally.
“She won’t be.”
But the moment he ended the call— something inside him shifted. Because the words didn’t sit right. They didn’t feel true.
That night, Lucas couldn’t sleep.
He walked through the mansion aimlessly, as if searching for something he had already lost.
Her room.
He stopped in front of it.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then he opened the door.
The room was neat.
No scattered belongings. No signs of life.
Like she had erased herself completely.
Lucas stepped inside slowly.
His gaze landed on the dresser.
There, sitting alone, was something small.
A hair tie.
Simple. Ordinary.
But it was hers.
He picked it up, turning it slightly between his fingers.
And suddenly— memories flooded in.
Ava tying her hair up while complaining about him.
Ava laughing when it snapped once and hit her hand.
Always Ava.
Lucas exhaled sharply, gripping the small object tighter.
He sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly ahead.
And for the first time in years — Lucas allowed himself to think about something he had been avoiding.
All of it was meant to protect him.
To make sure no one could hurt him again.
And it worked.
Until Ava.
She didn’t follow his rules. She challenged him. Annoyed him. Argued with him.
And yet — She stayed. Not because she had to. But because she chose to. Even when he pushed her away. Even when he gave her nothing in return.
Lucas let out a quiet, almost bitter laugh.
“She chose me…” he whispered.
“And I treated her like an obligation.”
The memory of her face earlier hit him again. The hurt in her eyes. The disappointment. The quiet way she said, "It never even began.” His chest tightened. Because that wasn’t true. He just refused to admit it.
Lucas stood abruptly, pacing the room.
“This is ridiculous,” he muttered. “It’s just attachment.”
But even as he said it — He knew it wasn’t.
He stopped in front of the mirror.
For a moment, he barely recognized the man staring back at him.
This wasn’t the controlled, composed CEO everyone feared and respected.
This was someone else.
Someone who had just lost something important.
And then it hit him. He loved her.
Lucas stared at his reflection, as if waiting for it to deny what he just thought.
But it didn’t.
The way she spoke without fear.
The way she brought life into spaces he had long turned cold.
The way she looked at him—not with expectation, but with understanding.
And he broke her.
A sharp wave of regret hit him.
“I was wrong…” he said quietly.
The words felt foreign.
Lucas Herrera was never wrong.
He didn’t make mistakes.
He controlled outcomes.
But this—
This was something he couldn’t control anymore.
He walked out of the room, his steps more purposeful now.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Just clarity.
His phone was still in his hand.
He dialed a number.
“Find her,” he said immediately when the line connected.
There was a pause on the other end.
“Sir?”
“My wife,” Lucas clarified, his voice firm. “Find Ava.”
Because this time — He wasn’t going to let her walk away.
Lucas looked out the window, his reflection faint against the glass.
For the first time — He wasn’t thinking about the contract.
Or the deal.
Or the consequences.
Only her.
“I’m not letting this end like this,” he said under his breath.
“No more contracts.”
“No more pretending.”
This time — He was going to fight.
For real.
- Writer
