Chapter 39 The Girl He Searched For
Lucian’s POV
The moment Selene tried to pull her hand away, something inside me tightened instantly.
“Lucian, enough already,” she snapped angrily. “Let go of me. Who the hell is Teressa? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
Her resistance hit me harder than I expected.
Like cold water poured directly over my head.
The hope that had surged inside me only moments ago disappeared almost instantly, leaving behind a strange emptiness I couldn’t explain.
Slowly, I loosened my grip on her wrist and leaned back against my chair.
The office suddenly felt too quiet.
Too tense.
I looked at her carefully before asking in a lower voice, “Then why did my button end up with you?”
Selene rubbed her wrist immediately, glaring at me with obvious annoyance.
“Last night you were drunk out of your mind,” she replied sharply. “You refused to get off the floor, and while I was trying to pull you up, your button came off.”
I stared at her.
Every word made the memories from last night become clearer.
“So you were the one who helped me back to my room?” I asked immediately.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “But then Quin insisted on taking over. You two siblings really are close.”
There was sarcasm in her tone.
Obvious sarcasm.
But strangely, it didn’t bother me at all.
Because Quin had never mattered in that way.
To me, she was only family.
Nothing more.
Never more.
My thoughts drifted back to last night again.
The blurred memories.
The warmth of her hand.
The familiar scent.
The feeling of someone pulling me up from the floor while speaking softly to me.
Everything had felt painfully real.
Not like a dream.
Not like drunken imagination.
And now—
If Selene was the one who helped me upstairs…
Then the girl I saw last night…
Could it have been her?
But that didn’t make sense.
Selene was not Teressa.
Teressa was someone from my past.
Someone I had searched for over the years without success.
And yet—
Why did Selene give me the exact same feeling?
The same warmth.
The same comfort.
The same strange pull I could never explain.
Before I fully realized it, I had already stood up.
The distance between us disappeared in seconds.
I stopped directly in front of her, looking down into her eyes.
For the first time in a very long while, hope rose inside me again.
Dangerous hope.
My voice softened unconsciously.
“Selene,” I asked quietly, “are you absolutely certain you were never kidnapped before?”
Selene’s POV
I froze slightly.
There was something different in Lucian’s eyes right now.
Something softer.
Something I had never seen before.
His voice had lowered too, carrying a deep pull that made the air between us suddenly feel heavier.
For a second, I found myself staring back at him without speaking.
If I remembered correctly, this was already the second time he had asked me this question.
Why was he so obsessed with whether I had been kidnapped before?
His gaze stayed fixed on me, intense enough to make my heartbeat uneven again.
I straightened instinctively.
“Lucian,” I said seriously, “I don’t know why you keep asking me this, but let me make it clear one last time.”
I met his eyes directly.
“I have never been kidnapped. Not once.”
I answered firmly.
Clearly.
Without hesitation.
And the moment the words left my mouth, I saw it happen.
The light in his eyes faded.
The hope disappeared almost instantly, replaced by disappointment so obvious it almost caught me off guard.
For some reason, seeing him look like that stirred my curiosity even more.
I hesitated briefly before finally asking, “Who exactly is Teressa?”
Lucian stayed silent for a second.
Then he answered quietly, “She’s someone very important to me.”
Important.
The way he said it made the meaning obvious immediately.
This was a girl he loved.
Or at least someone he had never forgotten.
Since he clearly had no intention of explaining further, I decided not to push the topic anymore.
But then suddenly, his gaze deepened slightly.
“What?” he asked in a low voice. “Are you jealous?”
There was a faint teasing tone in his voice now.
Almost flirtatious.
I stared at him in disbelief.
Jealous?
Moon Goddess help me.
Did this man honestly believe every woman in the world was secretly obsessed with him?
Even if that was true, I definitely wasn’t one of them.
I crossed my arms and looked at him seriously.
“Lucian, stop being ridiculous,” I replied calmly. “I don’t care about your personal life. Whoever you like has nothing to do with me.”
His expression darkened slightly.
So I continued deliberately.
“You need to remember what this relationship actually is.”
I raised two fingers between us.
“A contract.”
My voice stayed calm and steady.
“We only agreed to three months. Actually, it’s already less than that now. Two months and three weeks left.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“After that, we become strangers again. Understand?”
The atmosphere in the office changed immediately.
“Selene.”
The way he said my name carried obvious displeasure.
Before I could react, his hand suddenly closed around my arm.
His grip was firm.
Too firm.
“Am I really just an irrelevant stranger to you?” he asked in a lower voice.
I glanced down at the hand gripping my arm.
“What else would you be?” I replied honestly.
Then I frowned slightly.
“You’re hurting me. Let go.”
But Lucian didn’t move.
His jaw tightened.
His brows furrowed deeply.
For a moment, several emotions flickered through his eyes so quickly that I almost couldn’t read them.
Frustration.
Confusion.
Something darker beneath both.
I tried pulling away again, but his grip only tightened slightly.
Neither of us spoke.
The office fell completely silent.
It felt as though time itself had frozen around us.
Then suddenly—
“Selene, what are you doing?!”
The sharp female voice shattered the tension instantly.
I turned toward the doorway.
Winnie stood there staring at us, her expression twisted with jealousy and anger. Yale stood awkwardly beside her, looking like he regretted being alive at this exact moment.
Honestly, Winnie’s timing was terrible.
I was already irritated enough.
Without hesitation, I stepped closer to Lucian deliberately and leaned lightly against his chest.
Then I smiled sweetly at her.
“What my husband and I are doing,” I said calmly, “is none of your business, Ms. Ashford.”
For extra effect, I turned toward Lucian and asked softly, “Right, honey?”
To my surprise—
Lucian actually smiled.
Not fully.
But enough.
The small curve of his lips shocked even me.
Winnie’s face turned bright red almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Yale stood frozen beside the door, looking deeply uncomfortable.
“Mr. Frostbane,” Yale said nervously, “I tried telling Ms. Ashford you were busy, but she insisted on coming in…”
I almost laughed.
Everyone in Epicmon knew Lucian hated women invading his space.
Seeing him standing this close to me without pushing me away was probably enough to terrify Yale completely.
Fortunately for him, Lucian only waved a hand impatiently, signaling him to leave.
Yale nearly sighed in relief before hurrying out of the office immediately.
“Winnie,” Lucian said coldly as he loosened his tie slightly, “what are you doing here?”
His expression returned to its usual distant coldness instantly.
Winnie forced herself to calm down.
Then she walked toward him with a sweet smile that looked painfully fake.
“Lucian,” she said softly, “I came because of the partnership project between our packs. We finished the preliminary proposal, so I wanted to bring it personally.”
Lucian frowned slightly.
“Isn’t your brother responsible for this project?”
“My brother was busy today,” Winnie explained quickly. “So he asked me to deliver it instead.”
She held out the proposal toward him carefully, almost reverently.
Lucian accepted it casually before glancing toward me from the corner of his eye.
I rolled my eyes at him immediately.
And the next second, his expression turned icy again.
“Got it,” he said coldly. “Leave it there. You can go now.”
Winnie’s eyes brightened instantly.
Clearly, she thought he meant me.
She looked at me triumphantly before lifting her chin slightly.
“Did you hear him?” she said smugly. “Hurry up and leave. I still need to explain the proposal to Lucian.”
I smiled sweetly at her.
Then I slowly turned toward Lucian.
“Lucian,” I asked softly, “who exactly are you telling to leave?”
Lucian’s gaze turned completely frosty as he looked directly at Winnie.
Then, without hesitation, he said coldly—
“Winnie. I was talking to you. Get out.”