Chapter 17

~Lucien~

I stared blankly at Ryan, trying to read him. Did he really want me to kill Leon Banks?

Ryan's mind was like a storm, I could never really tell what was going on inside him. He'd always been like that—cold and distant.

Killing Leon Banks was never the problem. I could end Leon’s life with just one phone call. The problem was what would come after. Blood never stayed hidden for long. One death would trigger another, and before long, the whole city would burn and our plan would be ruined. Ryan knew it too. He was not stupid.

He didn’t answer me, he only gave me that faint smirk of his, the one that never reached his eyes, and walked out of the room like he had already won.

The door closed, and I felt another presence. Selene stepped closer. Her perfume hit me first, sweet and heavy, clinging to the air.

“You should marry me, Lucien,” she said softly, brushing her fingers along my sleeve like she owned me. “When this is all over. When you are done with your revenge and Natalie is finally gone. I have been thinking about you the whole time I was abroad.”

My jaw tightened.

Her words dragged me back years ago. Ryan had sent her abroad because of the way she followed me everywhere. She was obsessed, reckless, and she never cared about her father’s empire. She only cared about me.

Now she was back, looking at me like I was her future. She thought I felt the same, that my silence meant love. She was wrong. I only kept my distance because I knew Ryan would not approve if I pushed her away too hard. And she wasn't my type of woman.

Selene stepped closer, tilting her head, her lips parting as if she wanted to kiss me.

“Don’t,” I said, but she didn’t listen.

When she leaned in, disgust tugged at me. I stood up so fast she blinked.

“I have work to do,” I muttered.

“Lucien…” she reached for me, but I was already walking out.

I didn’t look back, not even once.

By the time I got to my car, she was running after me, calling my name, her heels striking the floor. I started the engine and drove away before she could even reach me.

The last few hours had been stressful . Streetlights blurred past as I pushed the car faster, adding force to the pedal beneath my feet. My thoughts were a storm. Ryan’s smirk haunted me. He had raised me after my whole family died in one night. He was the only one left, the only one I owed. If he wanted Leon dead, there was a reason. But he was playing a game, and I was blind in the middle of it.

I hated feeling like a pawn in his game.

When I reached home, the driveway was quiet, the servants going about their business like nothing else mattered to them.

When I walked inside, I spotted a maid cleaning the furniture silently. She lowered her eyes when she saw me.

“Has Natalie eaten?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, sir. She has been locked in her room all day. She did not come out once.”

I sighed, would she be angry like that forever?

I dropped my heavy suitcase on the table. “Dish up some food. I will take it to her.”

“Yes, sir.”

A few minutes later, I was walking up the stairs with a tray of food in my hands. The events from last night flooded my mind, how she'd wanted me and how I'd also wanted her. I wondered how Natalie could hold on to her anger for so long.

I reached her door and knocked gently, hoping she'd open up this time.

“Natalie,” I said.

Nothing.

“You need to eat,” I added. “Stop punishing yourself.”

The silence on the other side of the door made my chest tighten.

I knocked again. “Natalie,open the door.”

Still nothing.

I stood there, waiting, trying not to let my frustration show.

“Natalie,” I said quietly, leaning my forehead against the door. “Please.”

After a long pause, I heard the soft sound of her feet on the floor. The door opened,but only a few inches, just enough for me to see her face.

Her eyes were red, her hair falling loose around her shoulders. She looked tired, like she hadn’t slept in days.

“I’m not hungry,” she said, her voice flat.

“You need to eat,” I told her. “You have barely touched anything since yesterday.”

She tried to close the door, but I pushed it open and stepped inside the room.

“Lucien, leave me alone,” she said, turning away from me. I set the tray on the table by the large window. “I can’t do that,” I said.

“You always do what you want,” she snapped. “You never listen to me.”

Her voice was shaking, and I hated how guilty and small it made me feel.

“Eat,” I said again. “Then you can yell at me all you want.”

She crossed her arms and stared at the floor. “Why do you even care?”

I walked closer, stopping just behind her. “Because I do,” I said simply.

She didn’t move. For a moment, I thought she would cry again. But she stayed still, not moving a single inch.

“You can’t keep me locked up like this,” she whispered. “I’m not your prisoner.”

I let out a slow breath. “You are not a prisoner,” I said. “You treat me like one,” she said, turning to face me now. “I don’t even know who you are anymore, Lucien.”

Her words stung more than I wanted to admit.

I stepped closer, lifting my hand to brush her hair from her face. She flinched but didn’t pull away.

“Eat something,” I said again, softer this time. “Please, Natalie.”

Her eyes met mine, filled with a mixture of anger, hatred, pain and something else I couldn’t  quite name. After a long pause, she nodded and sat down at the table.

I stood there, watching her pick at the food. She didn’t look at me again, and I didn’t push her.

But as I watched her, I thought of Ryan, Leon Banks, and the war I could feel building around soon. Something was coming, and I had no idea who I could trust.

But, I knew for sure that Ryan was planning something deadly.