Chapter 50 The Only Answer
Lucian's POV
I looked down at Briar, her eyes wide and uncertain in the dim glow of the emergency light. Then her expression shifted, confusion flickering across her face. "Say what?"
She'd already forgotten. The question I'd been waiting for her to answer had slipped away entirely. I exhaled slowly and shifted my weight, offering my hand to help her up. "Let's go back," I said, keeping my voice gentle.
She took my hand, and I pulled her to her feet. She brushed off her dress, her movements quick and nervous, already moving past the moment.
When we reached the door to the private room, Briar stopped and pressed her ear against it.
I raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Listening," she whispered. "Making sure there are no weird sounds."
After a few seconds, she straightened and pushed the door open. Rowan was sprawled on the couch, her cheeks flushed and her hair disheveled. She looked up as we entered. "Where did you two go?"
"Just talked," Briar said quickly, glancing around the room. "Where's Garrett?"
Rowan waved a hand dismissively. "He said he had something to deal with and left."
Briar's shoulders visibly relaxed, and I watched the relief wash over her features. She was clearly grateful she hadn't walked in on anything awkward. I felt a faint smile tug at my mouth.
---
Half an hour later, I was driving them both home. Rowan was slumped in the back seat, mumbling incoherently. Briar sat beside me, her hands folded in her lap, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.
The silence broke when Rowan suddenly sat up. "I kissed Garrett."
Briar twisted in her seat. "Rowan—"
"His lips are softer than I thought," Rowan continued dreamily.
"Rowan, stop talking," Briar hissed, shooting a quick glance at me.
Rowan leaned forward suddenly, draping her arms over Briar's seat. "So, how does Lucian kiss?"
Briar's hand shot out, clamping over Rowan's mouth as her face turned red. "Rowan!"
I didn't react, keeping my gaze fixed ahead, though the corner of my mouth finally curved upward as Rowan continued to mumble against Briar's hand.
When we pulled up outside Briar's building, she practically threw herself out of the car, hurrying to help Rowan out. She paused at the door, glancing back with a hesitant smile. "Thanks for the ride. Drive safe."
I nodded, watching as they disappeared inside.
I leaned back against the car door and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it in the cool night air.
I thought about the storage room, about the question and the answer I hadn't gotten. The moment of impulse had passed too quickly. But maybe that was for the best. Pushing Briar when she wasn't ready would only drive her away.
I exhaled slowly, smoke curling into the air. Even if it started as calculation, so what? I had all the time in the world to wait for her, to clear every obstacle in her way.
The restless tension in my chest finally eased. I crushed the cigarette under my heel and was about to get back in the car when I heard footsteps.
"Lucian?"
I turned to see Leah jogging toward me, a tripod in her arms. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright as she stopped in front of me.
"I'm so sorry about the other night," she said quickly. "I was drunk, and I shouldn't have called you like that."
"It's fine," I said, cutting her off gently. I could see the hope in her eyes. I needed to end this now.
"There's someone I care about deeply," I said, my voice steady. "She's the only answer to all my questions. I've found who I'm looking for."
Leah's POV
The words landed like stones dropped into still water, and I felt them pull everything under with them. I stood there clutching the tripod, and my entire body went cold despite the warmth of the night air.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out at first. I had to force the words past the sudden tightness in my throat, past the ache that had lodged itself somewhere between my chest and my stomach. "You're not together yet, right? So I still have a chance?"
Before Lucian could answer, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and answered without hesitation. "Jason."
I heard my brother's voice on the other end, tinny and slightly annoyed through the speaker. "Is Leah with you? I need to ask her something."
Lucian handed me the phone without a word. I took it, my fingers trembling slightly as I pressed it to my ear. "Yeah?"
"Where's the manual for that old film camera?" Jason asked.
"It's in the closet," I said automatically. "Top shelf, in the box with the lens cleaner."
"Got it. Thanks."
The line went dead, and I lowered the phone, staring at it for a moment before handing it back to Lucian. My hand brushed against the screen as I did, and the gallery app opened, displaying a photo I hadn't meant to see.
It was Briar.
She was standing in a garden somewhere, sunlight catching in her dark hair as she laughed at something off-camera. The image was bright and unguarded, her face tilted up toward the sky, her smile wide and genuine. It was the only personal photo in a gallery otherwise filled with work-related images. She stood out like a single wildflower growing on a meticulously trimmed tree.
My chest tightened, a sharp, acidic sensation rising in my throat as I stared at the screen.
I handed the phone back to Lucian, my movements stiff and mechanical, and watched as he slipped it into his pocket without offering any explanation or trying to soften the blow. He just turned and walked toward the lamppost near the building entrance, his figure illuminated by the soft glow of the octagonal light above.
A moth fluttered around the bulb, its wings beating frantically against the glass in a desperate, futile attempt to reach the warmth inside. Lucian reached up and crushed it between his fingers without hesitation, the small body crumpling under the pressure before he flicked it aside like it was nothing.
The gesture was so casual, so effortless. He stood there under the light, his sharp features softened by the warm glow, and for a moment I couldn't breathe. He looked like something carved from marble, distant and untouchable, and I realized with a sinking clarity that I'd never stood a chance.
My eyes burned, the edges of my vision blurring as tears threatened to spill over. I blinked them back, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached. Someone I'd been thinking about for years was being taken by someone else.
And not just anyone. Briar. She was still entangled with Julian, still caught up in her own mess of debts and dangerous games. How could she deserve his feelings? How could she be the one he chose when she didn't even seem to care?
Lucian turned back to me, and I quickly looked down, pretending to adjust my grip on the tripod. He didn't say anything for a moment, just stood there.
"You should go inside," he finally said, his voice even and detached.
He took the tripod from me, then handed it back in one smooth motion. A dismissal. I clutched the cold metal and nodded, afraid my voice would crack if I spoke.
He didn't wait for a response. He turned and walked back to his car, his movements smooth and unhurried, like a cold gust of wind sweeping across ice. He didn't look back, didn't pause, didn't give me anything to hold onto. The car door opened and closed with a soft click, and then he was gone, the taillights disappearing down the street.
I stood there for a long time after he left, the tripod heavy in my arms, my vision blurring as the tears I'd been holding back finally broke free. The questions circled in my mind, sharp and bitter, but there were no answers. There was only the hollow ache in my chest and the realization that I'd lost something I'd never really had to begin with.
I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand, pulling in a slow, shaky breath as I tried to collect myself. The night air felt colder now, or maybe it was just me. I forced myself to move, to put one foot in front of the other as I walked toward the building entrance.