89

Lucien

"But I'm cooking," Moore protested, her voice clipped, eyes fixed on the floor as if she were speaking to herself rather than me.

The sheer audacity of her response made something snap inside me. Cooking? That was her excuse?

My jaw clenched as I took a step closer, towering over her. "Did I ask?" My tone was sharp, edged with something dangerous.

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and I saw it—the hesitation, the defiance she wanted to suppress but couldn’t completely hide.

She was angry. I could see it in her. And it wasn't because I interrupted her cooking session or whatever hobby she picked up in my absence, but because Athena was there. She thought I invited Athena, to possibly humiliate her.

But Alas does she know I wanted her, her pussy and not that of Athena's.

No offense but I find it hard to fuck Athena anymore. I have this insatiable hunger to end our contacts, but that would only mean I wanted Moore. More than I had intended. I can't risk finding that out.

“No.” She replied, a little sternly.

A part of me knew Moore to not be one to just go down without a fight. And that is what makes it interesting.

A part of me wanted her to argue. I wanted her to lash out, to fight back, to prove that the woman who had haunted my thoughts for weeks wasn’t just a figment of my imagination. But Moore had been careful, too careful, ever since that night at the launch in London.

She was acting all up. Like she wanted to please me. To thank me..

“Now so do the needful.” I let out colly, my gaze still very fixed on her.

When she realized I wasn’t going to let this go, she exhaled slowly, her hands curling into small fists. “Fine,” she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. She turned sharply, her long hair whipping behind her as she walked toward the stairs.

I didn’t miss the way her shoulders tensed when Athena’s voice cut through the air. Not tensed with fear, but with victory.

I fight the urge to chuckle at the cuteness.

Now that's absurd.

“Are you avoiding me now?” Athena’s voice dripped with frustration the moment Moore was out of sight, she walked towards me, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she moved toward me. “Is that it, Lucien? You’re choosing her over me?”

I turned to face her, my expression unreadable. Athena had always known her place. She had never questioned me, never dared to overstep the boundaries I had set. But tonight, she was pushing her luck.

She did that over two weeks ago.

“What exactly was my offense?” She threw up her hands, her voice rising. “What did I do that was so unforgivable?”

I leveled her with a cold stare. “Go home, Athena.” My voice was low, final.

She recoiled slightly, but the shock quickly turned into anger. “That’s it?” she scoffed, stepping closer. “That’s all you have to say to me?”

I turned away, dismissing her, but before I could take a step, she grabbed my wrist.

Big mistake.

"You will not walk out on me like some discarded, used object, Lucien!"

I spun on her in a flash, my grip latching onto her wrist with controlled force. Her eyes widened as I peeled her fingers off me, my voice lowering to a dangerous whisper. “Don’t touch me, not until I give you the fucking order Athena!”

She flinched. She wasn’t used to this version of me—the one that had no patience for games. The one who doesn't strive in desperation.

“I have tolerated your presence out of convenience, Athena,” I continued, my tone clipped and sharp. “But don’t ever mistake convenience for attachment.”

Her lips parted, her breathing shallow as she processed my words. “I—”

“You were never free,” I cut her off mercilessly. “You were paid. For your time. For your company. For your services.” My gaze darkened. “And I no longer require them.”

Silence.

For the first time, Athena looked genuinely rattled.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, struggling to find words. “Lucien… I—”

I didn’t wait for her to recover. “You heard me.” My voice was like steel. “Until I need you, don’t come here. Don't overstep your boundary or these will be cut off ”

She let out a shaky breath, blinking rapidly. “You’ve never restricted me from coming here before.” She took a step forward, desperate. “What changed?”

I narrowed my eyes, already tired of this conversation. “Moore is here now.”

Her breath hitched. “No…” She shook her head, her hands trembling. “No, don’t say it.”

But I did. “In the past, there was no one to take my punishment.”

A strangled sound escaped her throat. “Punishment?” She let out a bitter laugh, blinking rapidly. “Is that what this is?” She took another step forward, her voice breaking. “You’re doing this because of her?”

My silence was her answer.

Athena let out a sharp breath, her hands shaking. “It’s the news, isn’t it?” she suddenly blurted out. “You think I betrayed you.”

I said nothing. I had no intentions to ask her that or know about her personal business.

She nodded to herself, her laugh hollow. “I didn’t kiss him, Lucien. I got drunk, okay? I was upset after that night… after you ignored me. And that guy took advantage of me.”

I studied her. She was desperate. She had never begged before.

And yet, I felt nothing.

No anger. No sympathy. No guilt.

Only impatience.

And an inexplicable urge to walk past her and find Moore.

Athena must have sensed it because, before I could move, she dropped to her knees right there on the stairs.

“Punish me,” she whispered, her voice raw. “Please. Punish me for my disobedience. Punish me for kissing another man, just do something and not leave me.”

She lifted her chin slightly, her lips curving into a tiny smirk, as if she thought she still had some kind of hold over me.

I tilted my head, studying her. Then, with a slow, deliberate exhale, I turned my back to her.

“Go home, Athena.”

And without another word, I ascended the stairs.