Chapter 45: Dancing on Embers

MAGDALENA had imagined seeing him again a hundred different ways for the past few days.

She'd cursed him in her thoughts. Dreamed of his return. Rehearsed the words she'd throw at him when he finally came home. Everything except what she'd do if he saved her like this.

Nothing could have prepared her for the ache in her chest the moment she saw Lucian standing in front of her after he caught her.

She froze like she suddenly stopped functioning.

The man she missed for days, the one she tried so hard to forget by drowning herself in liquor tonight after a mistake at work, and lonely nights, was here. Flesh and bone. Silent and unreadable, like he didn't do something.

Her grip on the staircase railing tightened as if it were the only thing anchoring her in place.

Something inside her snapped. And suddenly, she felt completely sober.

The spirit of the alcohol she drank was banished by his presence.

Lucian didn't say a word. Didn't flinch. Didn't blink.

"Lucian," she breathed. Her voice was rough, hoarse from sleepless nights and words she swallowed back too many times.

He didn't answer. He simply stared. A wall of silence stretched between them, cold and sharp.

His face was unreadable, no warmth, no greeting, not even recognition in his cold eyes like he's become a completely different person.

Then he walked past her, not even letting their shoulders touch.

"Lucian!" she snapped, her voice slicing through the silence like a blade. This wasn't a call anymore, but a command.

He paused.

At the top of the stairs, his tall frame halted with control. He turned just slightly, just enough to glance over his shoulder. Lena remained on the bottom step, chest rising and falling, fists clenched, teeth almost buried in her bottom lip.

His gaze swept over her, slow, almost empty. He took in the glassiness in her eyes, the flush on her cheeks, the staggering way she stood. She could feel him cataloging everything. Judging.

"You're drunk," he said finally, flat and cold. A verdict, not a question.

"So what?" she snapped back, lifting her chin and taking a step up toward him. Her pride wouldn't let her back down, not now. "You can disappear for days, and I can't even drink?"

His jaw ticked.

He said nothing. Just turned and walked into his room, not even waiting for her to follow.

But she did. Like a moth to flame, like an idiot chasing warmth in a man made of ice

The air between them is heavy and electric.

"You haven't been home for days," Lena said while there was a hint of resentment.

Lucian tossed his jacket onto the sofa, his movements controlled, deliberate, like he's not interested in her. "I've been busy."

"Are you really?" She stepped farther into the room, her voice cracking just enough to betray the ache beneath. "Or you've been avoiding me because of that night."

He stilled.

She knew now. Lucian regrets what happened in the pool. Maybe because she didn't give him a better performance. Or her hunch was right. He just wants to get into her pants.

Slowly, he turned. The look in his eyes made her chest tighten. It was darker than she'd ever seen, like a storm barely contained, like a beast that was about to escape the forbidden cave.

"Maybe I am," he said at last, his voice low, dangerous. "So what?"

Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes welled with tears.

"That was it?" She growled, pain and hatred poured into words. "You'll discard me just because of that little thing?"

Lucian's brows furrowed. "Little thing? You call that little?" He growled angrily, exploding.

He couldn't believe that she called that little thing. She let his father kiss her the night she gave herself to him. Where's the 'little thing' in that?

Lena felt her lips trembled. Why do men always want to get physical?

"Then, is this the end?" Lena couldn't help but ask. She no longer cares about anything else. The spirit of the alcohol gave her enough courage to speak her mind and let her feelings free. She wants to be clear with him now.

Lucian just stared at her, eyes boring into her like dangerous daggers.

"You made me believe that you like me. You sent me messages, you called, you teased me, and even expressed your feelings," Lena said as her chest tightened even more. "I was scared you're just playing with me because you're young, rich, and free. I was insecure because my past could already define my ending. How cruel are you, Lucian? I gave myself to you, again, and just because of that thing you'll throw me like trash? You are a jerk!"

Her tears rolled down her cheeks as her chest rose and fell. It was probably the alcohol, she ended up breaking down.

Lucian's jaw ticked as his eyes sharpened even more. "Call me a jerk or whatever the fck you want, but it matters to me, Magdalena! It matters to me more than anything. It shattered my pride! It made me look desperate and fcking stupid!"

Lena's lips trembled again. Her tears fell like waterfalls. She couldn't believe he said that straight to her face. She shook her head. She heard enough. There was no reason to hope again. Lucian just wanted to get her again, and now that he did, she no longer matters.

"I hate you," Lena whispered with enough hatred and pain. " I should've never hoped."

Lucian just stared at her. His eyes sharp, his teeth gritted.

Lena wiped her tears and sniffed. She turned her back, and with a heavy heart, she walked out of his room she didn't realize she invaded.

She closed the door behind her, leaned against it, and let herself slide down until she sat on the floor, knees to her chest. Her arms wrapped around her legs as the tears began to fall endlessly.

It wasn't the alcohol now. It wasn't the hormones or the hurt pride.

It was heartbreak.

It was betrayal.

He never made promises in words, but Lucian had made them in his touch, in his gaze, in the way he held her that night. She believed it. She believed him.

And now he made her feel like a mistake.

She was crying painfully when she noticed her daughter sleeping soundly on the bed.

Not wanting to wake the little girl up, she crawled into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Her body shook as she sat on the cold tile, pressing her hand to her mouth to suppress her sobs.

Outside, she didn't hear footsteps.

Nothing.

Because Lucian didn't follow.

And maybe that was the answer she needed to stop this madness.

How could a man younger than her break her heart she protected so bad?