Chapter 227: Caught, but no regret

For the past three days, Lucas had practically been living at the mansion, at Alex's insistence.

"Until the divorce is finalized, it's safer this way," Alex had told him. "If people notice we're spending too much time together, they'll start asking questions."

Lucas had reluctantly agreed.

The arrangement wasn't exactly difficult. Every morning, they shared breakfast. Every evening, they stole moments together whenever they could.

And every night, Lucas found himself falling asleep with a smile he couldn't seem to get rid of.

Unfortunately, happiness had a way of making people careless.

Three days later, Derby was supposed to be halfway to another city for a business trip.

Instead, she sat in the backseat of a taxi, frustrated beyond belief.

A technical issue at the airport had delayed her flight long enough for her to miss it completely.

The airline had rebooked her for the following day. Which meant she was going home unexpectedly.

The mansion came into view.

Derby sighed. All she wanted was a hot shower and a few hours of sleep before dealing with the mess tomorrow.

She entered through the front door.

The house seemed unusually quiet.

"Lucas?" she called.

No response.

She frowned. ”Did he go out again? His night outing was becoming a terrible habit, or did he have someone he was seeing behind my back?”

Derby gasped, “Oh dear, could he be meeting Alex in secret? Could it be why he was talking about divorce?” She muttered audibly.

"Lucas?" She called out again but still nothing.

Her heels clicked against the marble floor as she headed upstairs.

Then she heard a muffled laughter. It was coming from Lucas's bedroom.

Her brows furrowed.

Then Lucas's voice and another man’s voice. The voice was neither Jerry nor Marvis.

Who could be in there with Lucas?

She wondered as she walked slowly closer to the room.

The bedroom door stood slightly open. She pushed it wider. It was empty.

She looked around. The bathroom door was closed. That instant from behind it came another burst of laughter.

Derby's stomach tightened. A strange feeling settled over her.

Slowly, she approached.

Inside, Alex and Lucas stood beneath the showers, completely naked. They were chatting and laughing freely. They were completely unaware of Derby's presence.

The warm shower ran overhead while they stood together beneath it.

Alex had Lucas pinned lightly against the tiled wall, both of them laughing after nearly slipping moments earlier.

"See?" Lucas teased. "I told you that was a terrible idea."

"It would have worked if you listened to instructions."

"Oh, now it's my fault?"

"Absolutely."

Lucas rolled his eyes.

Alex grinned.

Before Lucas could fire back another remark, Alex leaned forward and kissed him.

Lucas immediately kissed him back. Neither noticed the bathroom door beginning to open, nor heard the soft creak.

Neither realized Derby had stepped inside. It wasn't until a shocked gasp cut through the room that both men froze.

Lucas's eyes widened.

Alex turned sharply as his eyes caught her.

There Derby stood. She was completely motionless and stunned.

The silence that followed was deafening.

For several seconds, nobody spoke or moved. Then Derby let out a short, disbelieving laugh. Not because anything was funny, but because she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Her gaze shifted from Alex to Lucas and back again.

"Wow." The single word landed like a bomb.

Lucas felt his stomach drop.

Alex dragged towels covering their bodies immediately.

"Derby…"

"Don't." Her voice was far too calm, and that was what made it frightening. Her eyes never left them.

"So this is what you both have been hiding. So you’d rather fuck your fellow man than fuck your wife?" She threw it to Lucas.

Neither man had an answer. And judging by the look on Derby's face, no one can predict his next action.

She turned and headed to her room.

Derby stood frozen in the middle of the hallway long after she had left the bathroom.

The image refused to leave her mind. Alex and Lucas were together, laughing, comfortably. “They were fucking happy as if they belonged to each other. As if she had never existed.

The moment she reached her room, something inside her snapped. She yanked off her heels and sent them flying across the floor.

One hit the wall with a sharp crack.

Her handbag followed. It landed heavily on the couch.

"How long?" she hissed, and began pacing furiously.

"How long have they been playing me?"

Her hands curled into fists.

"How long has Lucas had his memory back?" Every Lucas reaction from the past few weeks suddenly felt suspicious.

The distance. The coldness. The divorce papers. The endless arguments. A bitter laugh escaped her lips.

Of course it was Alex. He was the reason Lucas had wanted out.

Alex was the reason everything had fallen apart. The realization made her chest burn with humiliation. She stopped pacing.

Slowly, her expression hardened.

The hurt in her eyes transformed into something darker and dangerous.

"No." Her voice was low and cold.

"Alex, you don't deserve a happily-ever-after."

She grabbed her phone from the couch and immediately dialed Larissa.

The call connected after two rings.

"Wow, you arrived early," Larissa said cheerfully. "How was the flight?"

Derby laughed without humor. "I'm still in town."

"What happened?"

"Technical issues. The flight got delayed and I missed the connection. They've rebooked me for tomorrow morning."

"Oh. That's unfortunate."

"It wasn't altogether."

A brief silence followed.

Then Larissa frowned.

"Derby... you sound strange."

Derby closed her eyes. When she spoke again, her voice was tight with anger.

"I just found out the hard way that Lucas has regained his memory."

The silence on the other end was immediate. "What?" Larissa practically shouted. "Since when?"

"I don't know."

Derby rubbed her forehead. "I literally just found out."

"How?"

The bitter laugh returned. The sound was ugly and broken.

"I caught him and Alex showering together."

Another silence. Then…

"What?" Larissa's voice rose again.

"You mean in the house?"

"Yes."

Derby felt her jaw tighten as he completed. "In Lucas's bathroom."

She swallowed.

"They were standing there all naked laughing and talking like they belonged together."

The words tasted like poison.

Larissa cursed under her breath.

"Goddamn it."

Derby could hear the frustration in her voice. "This is a mess."

"You think?" Derby replied sharply.

Neither of the women spoke for several seconds.

Eventually Derby ended the call after Larisa said she needed to think of a way to stop them.

The silence of the mansion closed around her once more. As her thoughts spiraled, “Are they still there? Are they laughing or did Alex leave already?

She suddenly couldn't stand it.

Couldn't stand the walls,  the memories, the thought of Alex and Lucas upstairs together.

She turned abruptly and marched down toward the bar. The crystal bottles gleamed beneath the lights.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the nearest bottle.

The cork came out with a sharp pop. She didn't bother with a glass.

Didn't care about appearances or about dignity. She raised the bottle and took a long drink.

The alcohol burned its way down her throat.

For a second, she welcomed the pain. It gave her something else to focus on. Something other than the image that kept replaying in her mind.

Alex's arms around Lucas. The happiness on their faces. The certainty that neither of them had looked surprised to be together. As if this had been happening for a long time.

Derby lowered the bottle and stared into the distance. Her eyes narrowed. The anger that had exploded inside her was no longer wild.

It was focused, and controlled.

And somehow that made it far more dangerous.

"Enjoy it while you can," she whispered to the empty room.

Her fingers tightened around the bottle. "Because this isn't over."