Chapter 59 Fifty Nine.

Chapter 59 Fifty Nine.
VALERIE

My eyes fluttered open to silence. The sunlight spilling through the curtains felt strange and sharp against my skin, and for a moment, I didn’t know where I was… or why my chest ached.

The house was quiet, too quiet, and the reality of the night before settled slowly around me.

I sat up slowly on his bed, fingers trembling as I clasped them together. My gaze swept across the room.

Every inch of it felt like goodbye.

The last morning I would wake up surrounded by him. The last moment I would allow myself this proximity.

This was where it ended.

I lowered my feet to the ground. The cold floor sent a faint shiver through me. I was just about to stand when the door slammed open.

I flinched.

My breath hitched.

Lucas stood at the doorway.

His suit jacket was gone. He was in a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms, the top two buttons undone.

His chest rose and fell sharply, as if he had run the entire length of the house. His hair was slightly disheveled.

His eyes found me instantly.

We stared at each other.

He didn’t move.

I didn’t either.

His eyes were fixed on me — on the fact that I was sitting on his bed.

I waited for the anger. For the sharp reprimand.

But there was none.

There was something worse.

Panic.

“Valerie,” he said, but it wasn’t firm. It wasn’t controlled. It was strained.

My heart stuttered.

I parted my lips, but nothing came out.

Why did he look… afraid?

He took one step forward.

Of course, he would be angry. I had no right to be here. I had already overstayed in his life.

I stood abruptly, fingers trembling at my sides.

“I’ll take my leave now,” I blurted, my voice smaller than I intended. “Excuse me.”

I didn’t wait for his response.

I brushed past him — close enough to feel his warmth — and ran.

I didn’t look back.

I reached my room, shut the door, and leaned against it, squeezed my eyes closed.

My breathing came too fast.

Why had he looked like that?

Why had he looked relieved to see me?

I shook the thoughts away and pushed myself off the door.

There was no time to stand there wondering why Lucas had looked at me like that.

It changed nothing.

I walked quickly to my closet, dragged my luggage out, and placed it on the bed. The zipper sounded louder than it should have in the silence of the room.

I began folding my clothes. Shirts first. Then dresses. Then the things I never wore but had brought here, hoping one day there would be an occasion.

There would be none.

Things were already worse.

He had seen me.

On his bed.

Of all places.

Heat crept up my neck at the memory.

And yet…

A tiny, traitorous part of me had been relieved he hadn’t snapped.

Hadn’t looked disgusted.

Hadn’t told me to leave.

But seeing him like that — breathless, unsettled — meant only one thing.

Vanessa would be here soon.

She would not stay away from what was hers.

I folded another blouse with more force than necessary.

The door creaked open behind me.

I stiffened.

I didn’t need to turn around to know.

His cologne filled the room before his voice did.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him step in.

He wasn’t looking at me.

His gaze was lowered.

I swallowed and reached for the last stack of clothes in my closet.

“I found this,” he said quietly.

The sound of his voice stopped me mid-step.

It wasn’t cold.

It wasn’t distant.

It was strained.

I turned slowly.

His eyes were fixed on his hand.

When I followed his gaze, I saw it.

My ring.

He was circling it between his fingers.

As if it burned.

My chest tightened.

“It was on my bedside table,” he continued.

His jaw flexed.

I forced my face into something neutral.

“Yes.”

Silence fell between us.

Heavy.

Loaded.

“Why?” he asked.

Just one word.

But it held too much.

Because I was leaving.

Because I was done pretending.

Because I could not survive loving him quietly anymore.

“Because it was with the wrong person,” I replied softly.

His head snapped up at that.

For the first time since he walked in, he looked at me fully.

And the expression in his eyes made my stomach drop.

Hurt.

Not anger.

Not relief.

Just… hurt.

“You’re packing,” he said slowly.

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

I held Lucas’ gaze for a long moment. Lucas blinked rapidly, his gaze dropped to my luggage. I glanced at it, then back at him. Nothing. Not a flicker, not a word. I couldn’t read him.

I went to my closet, grabbed the last of my clothes, and shoved them into my luggage. Every shirt I folded felt heavier than the last. Every shoe I tucked into the suitcase felt like I was packing pieces of my heart.

How could I leave when his eyes had looked at me like that — like I belonged and yet… like I was slipping away?

I zipped it shut with a sharp click.

I forced myself to blink back the tears and turned toward him. His gaze stayed fixed on the luggage in my hands, cold and distant — or so I thought.

“Umm… I’ll leave now,” I said softly.

He didn’t respond. Not a word.

I took slow, steady steps past him, toward the door. My hand touched the knob, and just as I twisted it…

“Lock.”

The word made me freeze.

The door clicked shut. My breath hitched. I froze, hand on the doorknob, blinking at him. The word “Lock” lingered in the air, heavy, urgent. My chest constricted. My fingers twisted the knob again, but it didn’t budge.

What…?

My eyes widened. I had lived in this house for nearly two years. Nearly two years. I knew every door, every lock. Every lock.

And yet, the door refused to open. At the sound of his voice, the metal had clicked into place as if the house itself obeyed him.

I turned around slowly, heart hammering. Lucas was there, arms at his sides, arched brow raised. He was still, unreadable, and yet… there was something there… I felt it but couldn’t understand it.

“L… Lucas?” I whispered, disbelief cracking my voice.

“And where do you think you’re going, Mrs. Castillo?” he said sharply, cutting me off. His voice was firm, but underneath…

I swallowed hard. My chest ached. I didn’t understand the look on his face, but it was enough to make my heart skip and my knees weaken.