TERESA P.O.V.
"I don’t understand," I said, barely recognizing my own voice. It wavered sowhere between disbelief and confusion. "Why now? Why after all this ti?"
Lucian looked up, his piercing green eyes locking onto mine as his fingers curled gently around my hand, still resting on his head. "Because I’ve been searching for you, Teresa. Every single day. And now that I’ve found you..." His voice softened, almost trembling. "I can’t let you go. Not again."
Hold on. He couldn’t what now? My brain hit the brakes so hard, I could almost hear the screeching tires.
This couldn’t be real. Lucian Blackwood, the untouchable titan of arrogance and wealth, was kneeling before . Kneeling The sa man who’d kicked out of his mansion like I was a disposable fling, his voice echoing in my mory as he barked at Kenneth never to ntion my na again. And now? Here he was, in all his mighty glory, groveling at my feet.
Was this a prank? Maybe there was a hidden cara sowhere. My heart pounded, but it wasn’t from so long-lost hope or fluttering affection. No, this was sheer what-the-hell-is-happening adrenaline, mixed with a heavy dose of distrust. The Teresa standing here wasn’t the sa lovesick fool he’d tossed aside. She’d been burned, broken, locked up, and rebuilt into soone stronger. Soone who wasn’t buying this charade.
From the corner of the room, Luke cleared his throat—a not-so-subtle reminder that we weren’t alone in this bizarre soap opera. He sat by the twins’ stroller, casually adjusting a blanket as though this was just another Tuesday. Kenneth, ever the stoic assistant, was failing miserably to mask his shock. His mouth hung open, as if his jaw had suddenly forgotten how hinges worked.
And then there was Jennifer. Ah, Jennifer. The nuisance I didn’t even know why she was here in the first place. Leaning against the doorfra like a villainess in stilettos, her arms crossed and her brown eyes shaping into a glare sharp enough to cut glass. "Please tell this isn’t happening," she drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Lucian Blackwood, brought to his knees? What on earth did my evil stepsister do to you? She’s not worth the humiliation, Lucian."
Lucian ignored her entirely, his voice breaking through the chaos. "Teresa, please." His tone was low and gravelly, like he’d swallowed a handful of rocks for breakfast. "I was wrong. About everything. Just... forgive ."
I yanked my hand out of his grasp, crossing my arms as if the stance alone could stop them from shaking. "Wrong?" I echoed, the disbelief thick in my tone. "Wrong about what exactly, Lucian? Wrong to throw out like last week’s trash? Or wrong to pretend I didn’t exist? Or maybe you an the part where you told Kenneth you never wanted to hear my na again. Which one of those was just a little oopsie on your part?"
Lucian flinched, and for a mont, I thought I saw sha and mostly regret flicker across his face. His jaw tightened, and he looked up at , his once-srizing eyes now pleading. "I didn’t an it like that," he said, his voice cracking.
"Oh really?" I shot back, my arms tightening against my chest. "Because I was there, Lucian. I heard you say it with both ears. Don’t lie to my face."
"I’m not lying!" he burst out, sounding desperate now. "I wasn’t talking about you. I was yelling at soone who insulted you—soone who dared speak your na with disrespect. I told them never to ntion you again." He turned to Kenneth as if the poor man was his last lifeline. "Tell her the truth!"
Kenneth cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing between us like a deer caught in headlights. "Uh... he’s telling the truth, Miss Teresa."
My jaw tightened as I stared at them both. Was this so elaborate sche? A new lie stacked on the old ones? I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t falling for it.
Lucian had promised to protect , against my family and anyone else who would think of hurting , and like a fool I believed him, and then he turned around and hurt the most.
Jennifer, anwhile, was having none of it. "This is pathetic," she hissed, flipping her hair dramatically. "Lucian Blackwood, begging like so lovesick puppy? For her? It’s embarrassing, really."
Lucian shot her a glare, but before he could respond, Luke beat him to it.
"Jennifer," he said sharply, his tone colder than a January morning. "Maybe try shutting up for once?"
Her perfectly arched brows shot up in indignation, but she rolled her eyes and leaned back, clearly unwilling to step further into the fray.
Lucian rose slowly to his feet, towering over in a way that once might have made falter. But not anymore. I stood my ground, arms crossed, chin high, and heart shielded.
"You’ve got a lot to prove, Lucian," I said, my voice steady, though my insides felt anything but. "And I don’t trust you. Not anymore."
Jennifer snorted from her corner. "He has nothing to prove to you."
Lucian ignored her completely, his eyes never leaving mine. "I’ll prove it, Teresa, I don’t expect you to trust again," he said, his voice softer now. "I don’t even expect forgiveness. But I need you to know—I was a fool. I let my pride, my fears, my... everything, blind . You didn’t deserve what I did to you."
My laugh was bitter, a sound that felt foreign even to . "No, I didn’t. But you didn’t just hurt , Lucian. You shattered . And now you think a few words can piece back together? That’s not how this works."
For a mont, the room felt like one of those awkward pauses in a bad sitcom, except no one was laughing. Silence stretched, broken only by the faint rustling of papers on Kenneth’s desk and the rhythmic squeak of the stroller wheels as Luke adjusted the blanket over the babies.
Lucian hadn’t noticed yet. Oh, but when he did...
It started innocently enough—a soft whimper from the stroller. Harmless, right? Wrong. That tiny noise detonated in the room like a bomb. I spun around, instinctively reaching for Ollie, who was awake and unleashing his displeasure at the world. I cradled him to my chest, murmuring soothing nonsense while rocking back and forth like so harried mother in a diaper comrcial.
The air in the room thickened, the kind of tension that makes your palms sweaty and your heartbeat painfully loud.
Then ca the gasp.
"Is that a baby?" Lucian’s voice cracked like he’d just been punched in the nut. "Teresa, whose baby is that?" His tone was part disbelief, part accusation, and 100% Lucian Blackwood drama. He was totally different from the man that was just begging for forgiveness seconds ago.
I froze but refused to look at him. Nope, not today, Satan.
"Teresa," he barked, stepping closer like so corporate predator circling a negotiation table. "I asked you a question. Whose baby is that?"
Before I could even begin crafting a response, Luke intervened like a protective guard dog. He rested a firm hand on the stroller where my other child still slept like an angel amidst this chaos. "Back off, Lucian," he warned, his voice low and dangerous.
But Lucian wasn’t having it. His piercing gaze was locked on like I was the last puzzle piece in his ssed-up jigsaw. "Is he... is he mine?"
I tightened my grip on Ollie, pressing my lips against his downy hair. Tears prickled the corners of my eyes, but I forced them down. If Lucian thought I’d crumble like a poorly baked cookie, he had another thing coming.
"What difference does it make, Lucian?" I shot back, feeling petty and totally forgetting the reason I brought them in the first place. My voice was steady but sharp enough to cut steel. "You made it clear you wanted nothing to do with . Why should it matter now?"
For a mont—a fleeting, vulnerable mont—his face crumpled. The Lucian Blackwood, master of control and cold detachnt, let his mask slip. But as quickly as it cracked, the wall went back up. Too late. I saw the pain lurking behind those forest green eyes.
Jennifer, of course, chose this exact mont to channel her inner drama queen. "Oh my God, Lucian, are you the father? Please tell it isn’t true. Besides, Teresa isn’t even trust worthy. "Her voice was pleading and desperate.
"Jennifer!" Kenneth’s voice cut through like a whip, his usually calm deanor finally showing cracks.
Lucian, however, paid her no mind. His entire focus was on —and by extension, Ollie. "Teresa," he said, his voice raw, almost pleading, "please. Tell the truth."
The weight of his words weighted down on lik a bolder. It wasn’t just about anymore. It was about my babies—our babies. My heart clenched at the thought of what this mont ant for their future.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, I finally t his gaze. His expression was a storm of emotions—hope, fear, desperation—all wrapped up in that maddeningly handso face.
"Lucian," I began, my voice barely above a whisper as I gently swayed with Ollie in my arms, "et Ollie, and the sleeping baby is Mai...they are your children. "
And just like that, the room imploded.
Reviews
All reviews (0)