Chapter 127

Chapter 53

“If you despised me so much that you didn’t want my child, you should have said it to my face. Why hide it from me? Why go behind my back like that? Did you think I would force you to do something you didn’t want?” The heartbreak and pain on Nic’s face were too much for Lucie to bear. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the sight of his suffering. Her lips itched to defend herself, to make him understand what she had been going through.

“A month ago, when you left Rosaville to come with me, you told me you wanted a baby. That you were ready to become a mother.”

“I did want a baby,” Lucie muttered in her defense.

“Just not mine,” Nic finished for her, his voice filled with anguish. Lucie couldn’t take it anymore. She turned back to his bedside, her eyes brimming with tears as she confronted him.

“How can you say that?” she demanded, her voice trembling. “That’s not true. But I wasn’t going to bring a baby into a relationship that had no future. I didn’t know how long our second chance, short-gun marriage was going to last, and I didn’t want to bring a baby into that uncertainty.”

“And you have no right to blame me for that. Because in the end, I was right, wasn’t I? While I didn’t want a child at that moment for practical reasons, your reasons for wanting that baby were not so selfless, were they? You wanted to get me pregnant to fulfill some damned contract.” She hurled the accusation at him like a barrage of daggers, hoping it would cut him as deeply as she had been hurt.

She should have left. She should have just walked out when she had the chance. But now he had riled her up again, made her angry and out of control. No matter how hard she tried, her feet wouldn’t move. She needed to hear his answer. She wanted to.

But there was no reply. He just sighed, slumping back onto the bed, suddenly revealing how weak he actually was. “I thought giving Rosaville to you would have finally convinced you that I don’t give a damn about that contract... But I see that I was wrong.”

Nic’s voice was weary, his eyes reflecting a deep sadness. Lucie’s anger faltered for a moment as she saw the vulnerability in his gaze. It was clear he was exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

“Why did you then?” Lucie suddenly asked. “Why did you give Rosaville to me?” It had been another thing bugging her to no end. At first, she had thought it was some kind of divorce settlement, and yet now she was starting to question that.

Nic looked at her with his sharp, glowing eyes. “It was a gesture, kardoula mou. A gesture to show you that I was setting you free.” Nic sighed again, his fatigue evident, and Lucie felt a pinch of guilt for making him rehash all of this when he was in such a condition. But what choice did she have? It wasn’t every day that he opened up to her like this.

“All your life, someone has been holding something over your head to make you toe the line. Be it your grandfather, who held your mother’s medical bills as a bargaining chip to get you to marry me, or me, who held Rosaville over your head to force you to come back with me.” He shook his head, a deep sadness in his eyes. “When I saw those contraceptive pills on the bathroom counter that day, I realized that I didn’t want you like this. I didn’t just want a body in my bed or a woman in my arms... I wanted my wife, who would love me, like I love her.”

Nic’s eyes shone with a mixture of vulnerability and passion as he confessed his love. They were dark and intense, reflecting a depth of emotion that took Lucie’s breath away. There was an earnestness in his gaze that made her heart ache, his eyes pleading for her to understand. The raw sincerity in his expression was almost overwhelming, his usual guarded demeanor completely stripped away. It was as if every ounce of his being was laid bare before her, exposing the tender, wounded soul beneath the tough exterior.

Lucie could see the torment he had been through, the regret, and the longing. His love for her was palpable, radiating from him like a beacon in the dimly lit hospital room. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him, her own heart breaking at the sight of his pain. For a moment, she was speechless, her emotions too tangled to articulate.

He continued, his voice barely above a whisper, “I wanted you to know that you are free to make your own choices, to be your own person. I wanted you to know that my love for you is not about control or contracts. It’s about you, Lucie. Just you.”

For a second, Lucie couldn’t believe her ears. Her eyes widened, and she stared at Nic, her breath catching in her throat. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, and she felt the world tilt slightly as the magnitude of his words sank in. Her lips parted in astonishment, and she took a step back, needing to steady herself against the flood of emotions rushing through her.

“Oh! Don’t look at me like that,” Nic requested gently, his voice tinged with concern. “I couldn’t take it. And no more tears.”

But Lucie couldn’t adhere to that. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling over as the realization slowly dawned on her. “Do you really love me?” she asked, her voice trembling, like a little girl asking her parents if her beloved pet had truly gone to heaven.

Nic’s expression softened, and a teasing smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Is it so hard to believe?” he asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Goddamn you! Answer me!” she burst out, unable to bear the suspense any longer, her voice cracking with the intensity of her emotions.

“Yes! Yes! S’Agapó, moro mou,” he declared, his smile widening into a genuine expression of joy and relief.

Lucie’s face lit up with the most dazzling smile he had ever seen in his life. Without a second thought, she leaped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, careful not to hurt him. Nic’s uninjured arm came up to pull her closer, pressing her against his chest. She could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear, and it was the most comforting sound she had ever heard.

“Finally,” he sighed, a sense of profound relief and happiness in his voice.

Lucie giggled through her tears, a sound that was pure joy and love. In that moment, all the pain, all the misunderstandings, and all the years of heartache seemed to melt away. She felt like she was home, truly home, in the arms of the man she loved, who loved her back with all his heart.

“Now, are you convinced enough that I love you and want you to be my wife for the rest of my life, or do I need to do more to convince my eternally stubborn wife?” Nic’s voice was a mix of teasing and earnestness, his eyes searching her face for any lingering doubt.

Lucie said nothing at first. She kept her head close to his chest, a serene smile spreading across her face as if all her wishes had suddenly come true like magic. She could feel the rhythmic beating of his heart, a steady reminder of the love he had just confessed.

“You will come live with me again, moro mou, won’t you?” he asked again, and Lucie was amused to realize that he sounded a little panicked.

To put him out of his misery, Lucie finally looked up at him. Her eyes sparkled with joy and a hint of mischief. “Yes, I will come live with you again, if you promise to keep loving me always,” she said, her voice soft but firm. “And I promise to keep loving you twice as much in return.”

With that, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, a tender, lingering kiss that sealed their promises forever. The touch of her lips against his skin was a vow, a silent commitment that spoke volumes more than words ever could.

Nic’s eyes glistened with unshed tears of happiness. He gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing away a stray tear from her cheek. “Always, Lu. Always,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Lucie nestled back into his embrace, her heart swelling with a happiness she had never known before. They held each other close, surrounded by the beeping machines and sterile smells of the hospital room, yet it felt like the most sacred place on earth. The past and all its shadows were finally behind them, and the future stretched out before them, bright and full of promise.

“But I must warn you, you might have to slum it for a while because your husband is no longer the rich billionaire he once was,” Nic said with a serious note in his voice.

Lucie looked up at him in shock. “What?”

Nic looked embarrassed, avoiding her gaze. “Well, Rosaville isn’t a very good investment. Its market cost shouldn’t have been any more than a few million, but your grandfather refused to sell it to me. He was hell-bent on punishing you for something you hadn’t even done. But I refused to let Rosaville go. I knew how much you loved the place. So, I increased the price until Ioannis couldn’t say no to it anymore.”

“How much?” Lucie demanded, her voice tense.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nic shook his head, trying to dismiss the topic.

But Lucie couldn’t let this go. “How much, Nic?” she insisted. When he finally told her, she was speechless for a long moment, her face pale with shock. “You fool!” she exclaimed angrily. “You could have bought the place ten times over with that money!” The horror in her voice was palpable, knowing that Ioannis had scammed her husband, and that Nic, the sharpest man in business, had let him.

Nic met her eyes, a mix of frustration and tenderness in his gaze. “Hey, don’t look at me like that! You love Rosaville, and I wanted to save it for you!”

Lucie shook her head, looking up at him with a loving gaze. “You should have told me. I would have understood.”

Nic sighed, his expression softening. “For the first time in five years, my wife asked something of me. How could I have refused her?”

Lucie’s eyes glowed with admiration as she looked at his face, seeing the depth of his love and sacrifice. “Oh! And speaking of the devil, your grandfather might sue me soon for breach of contract. But I’m not too worried about that,” Nic continued with a hint of defiance.

“Or maybe,” Lucie raised her eyebrows suggestively, “you can work your magic and get me pregnant before that.”

Nic’s face lit up with an incredible smile, one that seemed to brighten the entire room. “Really?” he asked, his voice filled with hope and joy.

Lucie nodded, her heart swelling with certainty. “Yes, really.”

In that moment, Nic’s eyes sparkled with a mix of love, relief, and anticipation. He pulled her closer, his arms wrapping around her as if he never wanted to let go. “I love you, Lucie,” he whispered fervently.

“But what about Maya?” She asked haltingly. “God! You seriously can’t believe that we have something between us, Moro mou, You are the only woman for me. I don’t even want to look at anyone else! Maya and my sister are good friends, and had together opened a chain of designer clothing brand. I took you to that store remember?” And Lucie nodded. “And they had taken a loan from me to start the business as I told you. The only connection with Maya I have these days is due to that business and mostly through my sister.”

That made sense why Maya was so comfortable with Nic’s family but the way she had looked embarrassed today whenever she had met her eyes was still confusing.

“If there’s nothing going on between the two of you….Why did she apologize to me outside? As if she had been caught doing something wrong?”

Nic shrugged. “That’s probably because she is a little nervous around you Moro mou, you don’t like her, even a kindergartener can see that, by the way you glare at her angrily. Nic laughed. “jealousy looks cute on you though!”

Lucie was about to deny that, but what was the point. “Shut up!” She told her husband instead. “And she doesn’t want to step on your toes, because she also knows how much I love you.”

“And I love you, Nic,” she replied, tears of happiness streaming down her face. She knew, beyond any doubt, that she had made the right decision. Together, they were ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, united by a love that had withstood the test of time and adversity.