Chapter 30 30
Lucas stood in front of the mirror, fixing the cuff of his suit jacket.
He’d barely slept, but he hid it well — or at least he tried.
His phone was on speaker as he spoke to the man on the other side.
“So you traced the street address … what about her home address?” Lucas asked quietly, eyes fixed on his own reflection as if the mirror could answer him.
“Not yet, sir,” the voice replied. “We checked the old district, everywhere. Most files from five years ago were corrupted or erased. Whoever covered her tracks… they were good.”
Lucas tightened his jaw.
He hated that sentence.
Whoever covered her tracks.
“She has to be here,” Lucas muttered, adjusting his tie, frustration slipping through. “This city isn’t that big. Someone must’ve seen her. Someone must’ve—”
The door suddenly opened.
Lucas immediately straightened, pressing the phone to his ear and turning slightly away, pretending the call was strictly business.
“…yes, keep me updated,” he said, lowering his tone. “I want results before the end of the week.”
The voice on the line kept talking, but Lucas barely heard it now.
Olivia was standing in the doorway.
She leaned one shoulder against the frame, watching him with a tight little smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Morning,” she said softly.
Lucas forced a neutral expression and pretended to wrap up the call.
“Yes. Handle it. Goodbye.”
He tapped his phone screen even though the call had already ended.
Olivia pushed off the door and slowly walked closer.
“You’re up early,” she said, eyes scanning him sharply — almost suspiciously.
Lucas cleared his throat and reached for his wristwatch on the dresser.
“I have things to handle.”
“Oh?” Olivia’s voice was sweet, but the look in her eyes wasn’t.
“What kind of things?”
Lucas slid the watch onto his wrist, refusing to meet her gaze.
“Business,” he said simply. “Just business.”
Olivia stepped closer.
Close enough that he felt her perfume wrap around him like a noose.
She smirked.
“You pretend I don’t notice when you lie,” she whispered. “Lucas… you only talk like that when something’s bothering you.”
He finally looked at her — but his eyes were distant.
“Liv… not now,” he murmured.
She tilted her head, inspecting him like she was searching for a crack.
“Then when?” she asked. “Because you’re slipping again. You barely sleep. You avoid me. You shut your door on me. And now you’re… what? Making secret business calls first thing in the morning?”
Lucas turned away, grabbing his suit jacket.
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he said quietly.
“You do,” Olivia whispered, stepping forward, her fingers brushing lightly against his arm. “If you’re going somewhere… if you’re looking for someone… I deserve to know.”
He froze.
But before she could read his expression, he walked past her, opening the door.
“I have a meeting,” he said. “We’ll talk later.”
Olivia watched him go, her smile slowly fading as the door softly clicked shut behind him.
Her jaw tightened.
“Looking for someone…” she whispered to herself.
Her fingers curled.
“No,” she said, eyes darkening. “I won’t let you.”
⸻
Lucas sat in his office, staring blankly at the stack of documents he wasn’t reading.
His pen hovered above the page… unmoving.
He’d been trying to focus for the past hour, but the guilt kept crawling back, choking him.
The image hit him again like it always did — her body sprawled on the road, blood on her forehead, eyes almost closed.
He could still hear his own voice from years ago, tearing out of his throat:
“MOM, please— don’t close your eyes—”
Then the doctors rushing.
The oxygen mask.
The desperate whisper:
“Sir, there’s a blood donor. She’s a match.”
Everything after that was a blur… except one thing.
Olivia.
Standing at the doorway of the emergency room, pale, weak and a bandage on her arm.
Their eyes met, and he would never forget it.
Because that day, he’d made a silent promise to himself:
“She saved my mother. I owe her everything.”
The guilt slammed into him again.
His chest tightened.
Lucas stood up so fast his chair scraped loudly across the floor.
He gripped the edge of his desk.
“What are you doing, Brooks…” he breathed, shaking his head.
“She gave everything for you. She deserves everything from you.”
He hit the wall with his palm —
He looked down at his phone, jaw clenched.
A thought flashed in his mind —
Something he’d been avoiding for years.
Something he needed to do.
He grabbed his phone.
“Get me the ring catalog,” he said sharply to someone on the other end.
“And call the event planner. I want something… private. Tonight.”
There was a pause.
“Yes. Tonight.”
He ended the call.
But the moment his thumb left the screen, his stomach twisted hard.
His hand trembled.
Because even as he tried to force this decision — even as he tried to do what he owed…
A different memory pushed through.
Warm skin.
Soft breath.
A girl’s quiet sobs.
A butterfly tattoo at the base of her back.
And him — touching her like she was the only thing in the world he wanted.
His breath caught.
He squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the desk harder.
“Don’t start this again,” he muttered under his breath.
“Focus. You know what you owe Olivia. Focus.”
He tried to steady himself—
But it was too late.
His heart had already gone off beat.
His mind already drifting somewhere it shouldn’t.
His phone buzzed again — pulling him back sharply.
“Sir, the catalog is ready… should we proceed with the setup?”
Lucas inhaled heavily.
“Yes,” he said.
But the word didn’t sound sure.
Not even to him.
Blair walked in quietly with the tray, trying not to meet his eyes.
Lucas stood behind his desk, sleeves rolled up, suit jacket hanging on the chair. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
She placed the coffee gently.
“Your coffee, sir.”
She was about to leave when his voice stopped her.
“Miss Rivers.”
She froze.
“What… what did I do again?” she muttered under her breath, forcing a tiny smile before turning back.
Lucas wasn’t even looking at his coffee.
He was staring directly at her.
“What color,” he asked slowly, “do you think a girl would want to wear… for an intimate engagement?”
Blair blinked.
Her hand tightened around the tray.
“E–Engagement?” she repeated quietly.
Lucas nodded once, jaw tight.
“A private one.
Blair’s throat went dry.
Every word felt like a knife.
He was talking about Olivia.
Obviously.
She forced a breath and looked anywhere but his eyes.
“Umm… I don’t know, sir,” she whispered, fingers trembling around the handle. “Girls like… pretty colors, I guess. Maybe white… or red. Something simple.”