Chapter 131 We're Done
Briar's POV
The Sterling Estate gates loomed ahead. Classical piano music drifted from inside—the same melody I'd heard over the phone when Lucian claimed he was handling something important. My heart hammered.
The cake box sat beside me. "Happy Birthday, L" in careful script. I'd stayed up until two a.m. perfecting it, imagining his surprise at the hospital.
Now the box felt like evidence of my own stupidity.
"Ma'am?" My driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "Should I announce you at the gate?"
"Just drop me here," I said. "I'll walk up."
The gates stood partially open, as if waiting for late arrivals. I walked through them, cake box clutched in both hands. The piano music grew louder with each step, and suddenly the path opened onto a scene that made my breath catch—string lights hung between trees, a fountain dancing in time with the music, well-dressed guests mingling with champagne glasses.
"Miss Vance?" A gentle voice spoke beside me. I turned to find an older man in butler's attire. "I'm Henry, the estate manager. Are you looking for someone?"
I couldn't form words. Henry seemed to understand anyway.
"You're here for the birthday celebration, yes? For Alpha Lucian?" He gestured toward the fountain, where a tall figure stood with his back to us. "He's just there, by the water feature."
Alpha Lucian. The words crashed over me like ice water.
"I thought this was Julian Sterling's home."
"Oh, it is, miss. Both of them live here." Henry smiled, completely unaware he was destroying my world. "Alpha Lucian and Alpha Julian, brothers working together to manage Sterling Pharmaceuticals. Alpha Dominic is quite proud of how they've taken over the company leadership."
Brothers. Sterling Pharmaceuticals. The pieces clicked into place with sickening clarity.
The figure by the fountain shifted, and I saw his face in profile. Lucian's face. Unmistakable even in the evening light, the strong jawline I'd traced with my fingers, the way he held himself with careful control.
My phone was in my hand before I consciously decided to move. I pulled up Lucian's number with shaking fingers and hit dial, my eyes locked on that figure by the fountain.
A phone rang in the garden. The man by the fountain reached into his jacket pocket.
"Hello?" Lucian's voice came through my phone speaker, warm and familiar.
"Hello?" The same voice echoed across the garden as the man by the fountain lifted his phone to his ear.
The world tilted. Selene let out a keening sound inside my mind, the mate bond twisting like something was sawing through it with a serrated blade. I watched Lucian scan the garden, phone still pressed to his ear.
"Where are you?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I needed to give him a chance to tell the truth. One last chance to explain before everything shattered.
"I'm..." He turned fully toward me now, and I saw the panic in his eyes. "Briar, I can explain."
The phone slipped from my numb fingers.
Lucian was already moving toward me, crossing the garden in long strides. Guests turned to watch, conversations dying as they registered the drama unfolding. He reached for my arm, his touch gentle even in his obvious panic.
I stepped back before he could make contact. The rejection made him flinch.
"Briar, please, just let me explain." His voice was low, urgent. "It's not what you think."
"Not what I think? You're Lucian Kincaid. Julian Sterling's brother. You work for Sterling Pharmaceuticals."
"I can explain all of it."
"You and your brother played me like a fool?" My voice rose higher. "Seven months, Lucian. Seven months of lies."
"It wasn't like that," he said, but the words came out broken, incomplete.
I needed to look away from his face before I lost control completely. I tilted my head back, staring at the darkening sky while I fought to keep my wolf from taking over.
"I came to give you something," I said, my voice eerily calm now. I picked up the cake box from where I'd set it on a nearby table and held it out between us. "Happy birthday, Lucian."
He looked at the box, then at my face, confusion mixing with panic. "Briar, what—"
I opened the box and turned it upside down, smashing the chocolate cake directly into his face. Cream filling and frosting splattered across his expensive suit while guests gasped. He stood there frozen, cake sliding down his features, and didn't try to stop me.
I set the empty box on the table, then met his eyes one last time.
"Don't ever contact me again," I said, my voice carrying across the silent garden. "We're done."
I turned and walked away, my spine straight and my head high, while every step felt like tearing myself in half.
---
Lucian's POV
Three hours later, I sat in Ash's hospital room.
"You're doing that thing again," Ash said without opening his eyes.
"What thing?"
"That thing where you sit in silence and torture yourself." He cracked one eye open. "Did something happen? Did you and Briar have a fight?"
Ash was quiet for a long moment. "You think protecting her from everything makes you a good mate?"
"I was trying to keep her safe."
"From what?" Ash shook his head. "You've been playing the protector role so long you forgot she might want a partner instead."
I'd told myself I was keeping secrets to protect her, but maybe I'd really been protecting myself from having to be vulnerable.
"Conflicts keep coming, Lucian. If she can't share your struggles, if you won't let her help carry the weight, are you really mates? Or are you just two people who happen to be attracted to each other?"
"I thought keeping her separate from all the drama was protecting her," I said quietly. "But maybe I was just being selfish."
Ash reached over and squeezed my shoulder. "You'll lose her for good if you keep this up. Happy birthday, by the way."
I managed a tired smile. "Your lecture was gift enough."
Ash settled back into his pillows, and within minutes his breathing had evened out into sleep. I sat there watching him, thinking about partnership versus protection.
I walked out into the corridor until I found a waiting area with uncomfortable plastic chairs. I collapsed into one, exhaustion finally catching up.
I pulled the lollipop Briar had given me from my pocket, the wrapper slightly crushed. I unwrapped it slowly and put it in my mouth, the artificial strawberry taste oddly comforting. Tonight was bitter enough already.
I'd spent so long building walls, convincing myself that keeping Briar separate was the right thing to do. But I'd been trying to protect her from storms without realizing she might want to face them together.
I'd thought I was being noble. Turned out I was just being a coward.
The lollipop dissolved slowly while I sat in that uncomfortable chair, thinking about all the moments I could have told Briar the truth. Every time she'd been vulnerable with me, trusting me with her fears, and I'd kept mine locked away.
If I got another chance, I needed to do it differently. No more secrets. No more trying to shoulder everything alone.
"But I hope I'm not too late," I whispered to the empty waiting room.