Chapter 72 Pride

Chapter 72 Pride

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Elowen knew something was wrong the moment she walked into the gym the next afternoon.
It wasn’t anything obvious.. Nothing she could point to immediately.
The heavy bags still swayed gently from another team’s earlier session. 
The stale scent of leather and disinfectant still hung thick in the air. The fluorescent lights still buzzed faintly overhead.
Everything looked normal and yet for some weird reason the atmosphere felt… off.
Lucian was already there, sitting on the edge of the ring apron with his elbows braced against his knees.
Waiting.
He wasn’t wrapping his hands, wasn’t stretching, wasn’t half-smirking in that infuriating way he usually did whenever she arrived exactly on time while he pretended punctuality was beneath him.
He was simply watching the entrance, on the look out for her and the  moment their eyes met, a knot tightened low in her stomach because his expression was unreadable.
And after everything that had happened lately, Elowen had learned that Lucian’s stillness often meant danger.. Not the physical kind though.
Something worse.. The emotional kind.
She kept her face neutral as she dropped her bag by the bench.
“You’re early.”
“Could say the same about you.”
The reply was quiet and that alone unsettled her so Elowen quickly busied herself pulling out her wraps.
“Warm-up starts in five.”
Lucian didn’t move. “Before that,” he said carefully, “we need to talk.”
Every muscle in her body instantly stiffened and instinct screamed at her to deflect.
She tied her wraps tighter than necessary. “I don’t remember agreeing to gym therapy.”
His jaw flexed. “Elowen.”
The way he said her name made her pause.. There was no irritation there, not even  accusation, just quiet seriousness and somehow that made her pulse kick harder.
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “What?”
Slowly, Lucian stood as he reached into the pocket of his training bag and withdrew three folded papers.
The overdue notices.. The rent increase.
Her stomach dropped so fast it made her dizzy and for one suspended second, neither of them spoke.
The gym suddenly felt far too bright.
“You dropped these yesterday,” Lucian said softly and heat quickly flooded her face followed by a violent and immediate rush of humiliation.
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up as she crossed the distance between them and snatched the papers from his hand.
“You went through my things?”
The accusation came sharper than intended but Lucian didn’t flinch.
“They fell out of your bag.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to read them.”
His eyes darkened. “I didn’t exactly have to conduct forensic analysis, Elowen. The words past due were pretty hard to miss.”
Shame twisted violently inside her.. She hated this.
She hated all of this.. Hated standing here exposed, hated that he had seen the cracks she’d worked so hard to conceal.
Most of all, she hated the way his expression held no judgment.. Only concern and somehow that felt infinitely worse than any judgement.
“It’s none of your business.”
Lucian’s mouth tightened. “Maybe not. But it becomes my business when you’re running yourself into the ground and pretending everything’s fine.”
“I’m handling it.”
“Are you?”
The simple question landed like a slap because they both knew the answer.
Her chest burned. “I don’t need this.”
“No, what you need is help.”
The words hit something raw and her anger flared, hot and defensive.
“Don’t.”
His brow furrowed. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t stand there acting like you understand.”
Lucian’s expression shifted…Hurt flickered there briefly before hardening into something quieter.
“I don’t but I’m trying to..”
“I know what you’re trying to do. You found out I’m struggling and now suddenly you’re what? My savior?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” she laughed bitterly. “You think this is about fairness?”
The humiliation had become unbearable now. It clawed its way through her chest and sharpened every word that left her mouth.
“I don’t need your pity, Lucian.”
Something in his face changed.
“It isn’t pity.”
“Then what is it?”
He hesitated and in that hesitation, Elowen’s defenses sharpened further because some part of her already knew the answer and she didn’t want to hear it.
Lucian took a slow breath then stepped closer.
“When I saw those notices,” he said quietly, “do you know what my first thought was?”
She folded her arms tighter. “I’m sure you’re dying to tell me.”
His jaw flexed at the sarcasm but his voice stayed calm.
“My first thought was that you’ve been carrying all of this alone.”
The words hit harder than they should have and Elowen looked away but Lucian continued.
“My second thought was that you’re so used to surviving by yourself that asking for help probably feels like failure.”
Her throat tightened… Too accurate.
“I don’t need psychoanalysis.”
“No,” he said softly. “You need support.”
The gentleness in his voice made something dangerous crack open inside her and because vulnerability terrified her more than anger ever could, she lashed out again.
“You don’t get to decide what I need.”
“I’m not deciding anything.”
“Then stop acting like I’m some charity case.”
His expression sharpened. “That’s not what this is.”
“Really?” Her laugh came out in a  brittle and ugly tone. “Because from where I’m standing, this feels an awful lot like pity wrapped in sweet expensive concern.”
The words landed.. Hard.
For one terrible second, Elowen thought she had finally pushed too far.. Thought she would see anger, resentment or retreat instead, when he spoke, his voice was painfully steady.
“It isn’t pity Elowen if you remove your pride for a second you’d see that...”
She swallowed. “Then what is it?”
This time, he answered immediately. “Concern.”
The word hit the center of her chest with devastating precision.
Concern.. Because he cared?.
The realization unsettled her so deeply she couldn’t breathe and Lucian held her gaze.
His expression was stripped bare now. “I’m concerned because you matter to me.”
Her pulse thundered and that terrified her even more so she did the only thing she knew how to do when things became too real.. She shut down.
“This conversation is over.”
She turned sharply and grabbed her bag. Lucian didn’t stop her, he didn’t argue, he didn’t even reach for her.
His silence followed her all the way out of the gym.
That night, Elowen sat cross-legged on her bed with her laptop open, trying once again to force impossible numbers into submission or atleast to magically decrease the numbers.
The screen blurred and her thoughts drifted repeatedly back to the gym, to Lucian’s face and to the quiet certainty in his voice when had said I’m concerned because you matter.
The memory made her chest tighten and just as she was about to sigh and annoyingly call it a night her phone buzzed but ignored it then it buzzed again.
Out of annoyance, she snatched it up only to see a banking notification.
Her stomach dropped as she opened it and then she froze as in she literally froze because a transfer had been deposited into her account.
Double.. No triple..
Exactly triple of her usual training payment and for a moment, her brain refused to process it… Then fury ignited within her.
Her fingers flew across the screen as she began typing like a typewriter.
‘What the hell is this?’
The reply came almost instantly.
‘What I should’ve paid you weeks ago.’
‘Take it back… No Infact I’ll send it back’
Three dots appeared then disappeared then appeared again then finally..
‘No.’
Another message followed almost instantly.
‘This isn’t pity, Elowen.’
Her pulse kicked painfully and then the final text appeared.
‘It’s concern.’