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Lucien didn’t move. His grip on the phone tightened as his gaze slowly rose to Kendall. “Did he say that?”

“Yes!” Sabrina huffed. “Dad, this is insane. I always knew she was from a crazy rich family… but she’s a Cross?! Kendall Cross?!”

“It’s a lie, so calm down and keep it quiet before rumours spread.”

“Why would it be a lie? He said—”

“Where is Cross now?”

“I got security to throw him out. I know how much you hate him.”

“Good. Well done. Give orders not to let him back in unless they all want to end up jobless by the end of the day.”

“Yes, Dad. But where is Kendall? And where are you?”

“I’ll call you later.”
He pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up.

Kendall waited, body tense with unease. But, without a word, Lucien went back to scrolling on his iPad.

She blinked. “Lucien?”

He scoffed, a slight smirk curving one corner of his mouth. “I love it when you randomly say my name.”

Her brows rose. “Oh. Uhm, sorry, it’s become a habit…”

“I don’t mind, Kendall. I just told you how much I love it, it electrifies me.”

“I…” She swallowed hard. “I thought you were being sarcastic.”

With a sigh, he looked at her. “Why don’t you finish your food, sweetheart? Since we’re taking an impromptu day off, we might as well do it right. Lay in bed and read books all day.”

That was the description of Kendall’s hypothetically perfect day, but she couldn’t muster up the confidence to be excited. Not with the echo of Eliott Cross’s name hanging over her head.
Sighing, she leaned in. “Sir, I heard you mention Eliott Cross. Is anything wrong?”

His brows rose, his expression softening with innocence. “Nope. What could possibly be wrong?”

The look in his eyes was complicated. She couldn’t tell whether this was just perfectly hidden sarcasm or if nothing really was wrong.

A sigh parted her lips. “It’s just… ever since the weekend in D.C., I get nervous when I hear his name.”

He studied her. “Why?”

Kendall stared at him. “Hm? I… I don’t know.”

He said nothing, nodding slowly at her. Her heart instantly dropped, stomach clenching. Panic set in, and she was clutching her pants under the table. Had… had Lucien found everything? What had Eliott told him?

Surely not the truth? It wouldn’t be in Eliott’s best interest for Lucien to know about the deal he’d made with Kendall when she’d been sixteen. Her breathing trembled in and out of her nostrils as she fought to keep it steady.
Suddenly, Lucien stood. He walked calmly around the table until he came to her side, sitting down beside him.

Kendall was staring at the table. Taking her hands, Lucien held them both. He didn’t miss how they’d been clutching her pants. She was scared.

“Kendall. Look at me.”
Stiffly, her head turned to look at him.

He sighed. “You look scared. You scared of Cross?”

Swallowing hard, she stared at him.

Lucien smiled. “Why’re you scared of him when I’m here?”

She pursed her lips, lowering her gaze. “I… He’s a really powerful person, I… don’t want him to target me.”

“The best he can do is lie,” Lucien said.

That was his theory, and he was running with it.

So, his smile didn’t drop, nor did he fall apart with rage. Because Eliott had to be lying. Because it just couldn’t be true that Kendall was his daughter.

Not only because Eliott Cross was a pathological liar, but also because Lucien didn’t think Kendall was able to lie to him for so long. She knew how much he hated liars; he refused to believe that she’d deceive him for so long.
Being his enemy’s daughter? He nearly laughed. That would’ve been a class act of a lie from her if Eliott had been telling the truth.

“Listen to me,” he began. “Eliott Cross is a total sociopath, and nobody knows it. Nobody but me. At least, I’m the only one who openly calls him out on his bullshit. The only reason he’s paying so much attention to you is probably because I protected you. If you didn’t work for me, he probably wouldn’t care.”

She lowered her gaze, pursing her lips. She knew Lucien was wrong, but telling him so would expose everything she’d lied about.
Kendall wanted to scream; it felt like she had a massive weight sitting on her chest. She could hardly breathe.

“Let me talk to him,” she suddenly said. “Maybe if I talk to Mr Cross, I can figure out what he wants. What does he want?!”

Tears filled her eyes now, and startled, Lucien gathered her into his arms. “Hey, don’t worry. He can’t find you here. I won’t let him.”

She couldn’t stop the tears, caught up in the fear she’d been suppressing all along. “But you’re just saying that.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because you don’t know!”

Lucien held her tighter. “I know more than you give me credit for, Kendall.”

She sniffled, shaking her head against his chest. “If you knew… you would hate me.”

Lucien paused. Slowly, he eased away from her until he could turn her face up to face him. “I’d hate you? Why would I ever hate you?”

Trying to swallow the thick ball of tears in her throat, Kendall shook her head and turned away.
Studying her, Lucien raised a hand, gently brushing her hair over her ear.

Slowly looking at him, Kendall couldn’t hide her surprise. Why did he seem so resigned? What exactly had Eliott told him? He was acting like she could do no wrong, which only made her worry more.

“What did Eliott say?” she finally asked.

Gently stroking her hair, Lucien looked at her. “Have you eaten enough?” He kissed her temple. “I want you back in my bed.”

Her heart pounded at that, despite the circumstances. Ashamed that she could still get so aroused when her entire life was literally at risk, Kendall forced herself to shake her head. “We shouldn’t.”

He scoffed, grinning. “Wouldn’t that be too late?”

His lips pressed a gentle kiss to hers and briefly stole her breath.

Scrambling to reorganize her thoughts, Kendall shook her head. “No, s-stop distracting me. What did Eliott say about me? I know he said something weird, I could tell by the phone call.”

“Oh, it was nothing important,” Lucien murmured, hand sliding around her abdomen. “He only said that he’s your father.”

Kendall’s eyes went wide. “What? That he’s… he’s my what?”

Her body grew heavy, a dizzying flood of confusion filling her head. Why the hell would Eliott say that?
Was he insane?! She froze.

Unless… he was trying to coerce her into pretending it was true.

Because if he wasn’t her father, Lucien would want to find out how else she and Eliott could be connected. It was either she say he was her father… or Lucien would find out the truth.