Chapter 23 I'm Meeting Her
Lucas's pov
It was a Thursday morning, I was trying to dress around 8am and then my phone rang.
Chen. My PI.
I grabbed my phone immediately."Tell me you have something."
"I have something.”
I sat up in bed in haste. "What?"
"Montgomery Tech Innovations. Business registration filed two years ago. CEO: Lara Montgomery."
My heart stopped. "Montgomery? Not Ward?"
"She dropped your name. The company is based downtown. Tech district. And Lucas?"
"What?" I said.
"It's worth over three hundred million dollars."
The room tilted and my eyes began to turn.
Three hundred million.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. The recent valuation came out last month. She's been featured in Forbes, TechWorld, Bloomberg. Your ex-wife is kind of a big deal now and hot cake everywhere.”
I hung up.
I sat there staring at the space. I was so confused.
Lara. My own Lara. The woman I threw out with nothing.
Now worth three hundred million dollars.
I pulled out my laptop with shaking hands.
Typed in "Montgomery Tech Innovations."
The website got loaded. A sleek,professional and expensive-looking site to behold.
"Leading the Future of Ethical AI and Sustainable Technology."
I clicked on "About Us."
There was a photo of the team. Thirty people. Maybe more.
But no Lara in the picture.
I searched for her name.
"Lara Montgomery, Founder and CEO, leads Montgomery Tech with a vision for..."
I kept reading. Kept clicking on information.
Article after article.
"Tech's Rising Star: Lara Montgomery Rebuilds Her Father's Legacy"
"From Nothing to Everything: The Lara Montgomery Story"
"How One Woman Disrupted Silicon Valley"
My hands were shaking.
She did it.
She rebuilt everything I destroyed.
And she did it better.
Without me. Without my family. Without anything I gave her.
She did it on her own.
Rage burned through my chest.It was very hot and bitter.
How dare she.
How dare she move on. Succeed. Become someone without me.
I was supposed to be the successful one. The powerful one.
She was supposed to stay broken because I destroyed her already.
But she didn't.
She became everything I'd failed to be.
I kept searching. Looking for something. Anything.
Then I found it.
The company address.
Downtown. About thirty minutes from Honestly,I could go there. Right now.
See her. Talk to her. Make her understand that I—
I stopped.
I looked at myself in the mirror across from my bed.
I looked like shit.
Unshaven. Greasy hair. Wearing the same t-shirt I'd worn for three days.
My apartment was a mess. Pizza boxes everywhere. Empty bottles on every surface.
I'd been living like this for months.
Feeling sorry for myself. Drowning in self-pity.
While Lara was out there building an empire.
I grabbed my phone. Called my mother.
"Lucas? It's early—"
"I found her."
I was silent for a moment before I later voiced out.
"What?"
I later found her. She has a big company now called Montgomery Tech. It's worth over three hundred million dollars."
My breath got seized for a moment before I could speak again.
"Three hundred million?"
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
"She's in the downtown now, having her best life.I have the address."
"Then what are you waiting for? Go get her!" I yearned.
"I need to clean myself up first. I look like—"
"I don't care what you look like! Go and find her now. Apologize and beg her. Do whatever you have to do. We need that money, Lucas.
"I know–"
"Bring her back. I don't care how you will do it.Just bring her back."
She hung up.
I sat there for a minute, thinking around it and then I got up.
I showered first, then shaved and thereafter put on clothes that didn't smell like depression.
I had to look good. Had to look like the man she married, maybe she would take me back.
Not the mess I'd become.
Two hours later, I was in my car.
I have cut my hair, shaved my face, and am wearing my best suit.
Well, my only suit that still fits. I'd lost weight. Everything hung weird on me.
But it would have to do.
I rehearsed as I drove, how I was going to talk to her, what I would say to her, how I was going to manipulate her again. Maybe I could.
"Lara, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I made a mistake. Give me another chance."
No. That's too simple.
"Lara, I know I hurt. Please I'm very sorry.I '’'ve honestly changed and turned a new leaf. I've realized what I lost. Please, let me make it right with you again.”
I think this is better.
I kept practicing. I kept trying to find the right words to say.
The words that would make her take me back.
Because I needed her.
Not just for the money. Though yeah, that's the most important thing, the money would fix everything.
But because... because she was mine.
I married her legally and I owned her. In a way.
She wasn't supposed to move on without me.
The downtown traffic was hell. It took me forty minutes instead of thirty.
By the time I pulled up to the building, my hands were sweating.
Montgomery Tech Innovations.
The sign was right there. Everywhere was gleaming in the afternoon sun.
The building was so gorgeous,It was made with glass and steel. It was a modern and expensive building.
This was hers.
Everything and all of it.
I walked into the lobby.It was huge. High ceilings. Marble floors. A receptionist desk that probably cost more than my car.
The receptionist looked up.A young woman, looking beautiful and professional with her cold eyes.
"How can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Lara Montgomery."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No. But I'm… I stammered .I'm family. It's personal."
She raised an eyebrow. "Ms. Montgomery doesn't take unscheduled meetings."
"Just tell her Lucas is here. She'll see me."
"Sir—"
"Just tell her. Please."
She looked like she wanted to refuse and not do that.But she picked up the phone and reached out to her.
"Ms. Montgomery? There's a... Lucas here to see you. He says it's personal."
She paused.
Her face changed and got uncomfortable.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll let him know."
She hung up and looked at me.
"I'm sorry, sir. Ms. Montgomery says she's not available."
The words hit me like a slap.
"What?"
"She's not available. Perhaps you can schedule an appointment"
"No. No, tell her I'm not leaving. Tell her I'll wait here all day if I have to."
"Sir, I can't—"
"Tell her!"
People in the lobby were starting to stare at us.
The receptionist picked up the phone again. Her voice was quieter this time.
Then she hung up.
"Ms. Montgomery still says she's not available. Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"I'm not leaving until I see her."
"Then I'll have to call security."
I leaned forward and I'm so desperate now.
"Tell her it's about her father."
The receptionist froze.
"What?"
"Her father. Richard Montgomery. Tell her I have information about him. She'll see me."
The receptionist looked uncertain now, but she finally made the call.
This time, the conversation was longer.
Finally, she hung up.
"Tenth floor. Ms. Montgomery will see you."
I felt so relieved .
"Thank you."
I walked to the elevator on shaky legs.
I pressed the button for the tenth floor.
The elevator was nice.So nice. Glass walls showing the city as I went up.
My reflection stared back at me.
I looked nervous and desperate.
I tried to fix my face and look confident.Like the old me, the way I abused her then, the way I shout at her.
The elevator dinged.
And the door opened.
The tenth floor was so beautiful to behold. There was open office space. Modern furniture. People working at desks.
And at the far end, standing by a floor-to-ceiling window…
Lara.
My breath caught.
She was facing away from me. Looking out at the city.
But even from behind, I could tell she was different.
Her posture. The way she held herself.
The expensive suit she wore.
This wasn't the Lara I remembered.
"Hello, Lucas."
Her voice caught me.Cold. Sharp. Nothing like I remembered.
She turned around.
And I forgot how to breathe.
She was... stunning, except I wanna lie.
Her hair was longer. Styled. Her makeup was perfect. The suit probably cost thousands.But it wasn't the clothes or the hair or the makeup.
It was her eyes.
They were hard. Cold. Looking at me like I was nothing.
Like I was less than nothing.
"Hello, Lara," I managed.
We stood there. Staring at each other.Three years.Three years since I threw her out.Three years since I destroyed her.
And somehow, she'd put herself back together.
Better than before.Stronger than before and without me.
"You wanted to see me,"
she said. Still cold. Still distant. "You have five minutes."Just fve minutes, I have something important to attend to
Like I was on a business appointment.
I opened my mouth and everything I rehearsed was gone, I couldn't remember any single.
"I..." I started.
She raised an eyebrow. Waiting.
And I realized I had no idea what to say.