Chapter 110 110. Lucien's Virgin Story
"Oh my God..."
I'd heard that particular pitch before, usually when she stubbed her toe or watched a really good kissing scene.
Just... never like this, this drawn‑out, breathy edge that made my ears go hot.
Lucien's jaw flexed. "Rafael was in there when we left."
We stared at the door of 4D like it might explode. Another cry slipped out, softer but still absolutely none of our business.
Lucien grabbed my wrist and tugged me back a step. "We're leaving."
"Yep," I breathed. "Retreating. Tactical retreat."
We moved down the hall fast, suddenly way too aware of how thin those walls probably were. My face was burning. By the time we got inside my apartment, I shut the door and leaned back against it, torn between laughing and screaming into a pillow.
Lucien dropped onto the couch and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Well. That's... new."
"I live with her," I groaned. "She tells me everything. How did I miss this?"
"You didn't. There was nothing to miss. I know for a fact they weren't secretly dating."
"So they just..." I made a vague, helpless gesture. "Spreadsheeted their way into sex?"
He huffed out a laugh. "High stress. Late nights. They're both attractive and stuck in a room together. It happens."
I shoved his shoulder. "Do not 'it happens' my best friend. This is insane."
Something warmer crept into his expression. "I'm not mad about it. Honestly?"
"Honestly?"
"I'm relieved."
"Relieved because...?"
"Rafael has been a virgin his entire life," he said. "By choice. Saving himself for someone he actually gives a damn about."
"You're joking."
"Dead serious." His lips twitched. "He decided when we were in college that he wouldn't waste his first time on some forgettable night. He's annoyingly principled that way."
Cold and composed Rafael, always watching everything, the way he talked to Mama Cortez and clicked his pen when he was thinking. The idea of him choosing Maya-loud, bright, soft‑heart chaos-made me feel a mix of warmth and weirdness.
"That's... kind of sweet, but in an overachieving way."
"That's Rafael," he scoffed. "Stubborn, overachieving, and apparently unable to resist your roommate."
A grin tugged at my mouth. "So do we pretend we heard nothing? Or do we leave a condom bouquet in 4D and hope they get the hint?"
"We act like normal people and mind our business. If it was a one‑off, they don't need us making it weirder. If it's not..."
"They'll tell us when they're ready," I finished.
"Exactly."
I stretched out on the couch, keeping my feet on his thigh. His hands instantly went to them, gentle fingers kneading sweet circles into my skin. Curiosity, however, refused to die quietly.
"So Mr. Virginity‑By‑Choice finally joined the club," I mused. "What about you?"
He tilted his head. "You want my origin story?"
"As long as it doesn't involve a yacht and three models." I know my heart can't take that.
A low laugh rolled out of him. "Add whiskey to that, and you have my story."
"What?!" I jerked up. He relaxed back on the couch, flashing me a smirk.
What exactly is amusing to this man? "You mean-"
"Yup. That's how I lost my virginity."
My heartbeat picked up.
"How can you say it so casually... so easily... like... like it's just..." His smirk only seemed to widen as he watched me stutter.
"Hmph!" I puffed sharp, tossed my hair over my shoulder, and marched toward the exit.
"Come back, Fiera," he called out, but I didn't stop. I heard him stand up and mutter something. Just as I picked up my pace, he caught up with me, grabbing my wrist spinning me around. "You know your legs are like half the length of mine, right?"
I rolled my eyes, but he grabbed my jaw halfway and kissed my lips.
Fine! You win, Mr. hot and sexy lips.
How could I possibly stay mad and miss out on those kisses?
After the emotional whiplash of "caught my best friend having sex in our crime lab," he kept his promise from the car.
His voice was deep and charming as he read, roughening when some line hit too close to us. I curled on his chest like-because I belonged there-tracing idle circles on his ribs while the story bled into the rhythm of his heartbeat. Somewhere between chapter five, I drifted off with the sound of him in my ear.
He was gone when I woke, but he left a note as usual.
Sleep. Eat. Pretend you're not irresistible so I can focus on work.
– L.
I smiled over it way longer than I'd admit.
Maya padded out of her room a bit later, laptop hugged to her chest, hair bun messier than normal.
I see Mr. Cortez been using that hair as a handle.
"Morning," she yawned. "Lucien already left?"
"Yeah. Early."
"Good. Less tension in the air. I have a meeting at eleven, and I don't want to be horny and stressed. Just stressed."
I almost choked on nothing. My gaze flicked over her face, searching for... something.
A blush, flinch, or a random, "By the way, I may have done something with your boss's right‑hand man yesternight."
"I worked with Rafael for a bit after you left yesterday," she went on casually.
"Oh yeah?" I tried to sound normal. "Productive night?"
She shrugged. "Not bad. You?"
Just got emotionally steamrolled by my boyfriend reading to me and then listened to you moan through a door. "Also productive."
She asked about my remote workload, complained about her evening shift at the café, then drifted back to her room like I wasn't waiting for some tea!
Maybe she just needed her brain to catch up before it told her mouth what to say.
I can wait.
My phone buzzed on the counter with a call from an unknown number. My shoulder tensed, but I picked up.
"Hello?"
"Camila?" The voice was older, threaded with something tight. "It's Silas."
I had to lean against the counter. "Oh."
"Damon gave me your number. I hope that's okay. He said you've been... going through a lot."
That was one way to put it.
"I wanted to see how you're holding up. If there's anything I can do."
For a second, I didn't know what to do with my mouth. Silas Ashford, my father who never quite knew how to show up when I needed him, was calling to ask if I was okay.
"I'm... managing," I answered finally. "Working too much these days, but still somehow happy."
A quiet huff of something like a laugh. "That sounds familiar. If you need help, or just... someone who knows how to listen badly but is willing to try, I'm here."
It was such a small offer, but felt huge.
"Thanks," I whispered.
We kept it short. After he hung up, I stood there staring at my phone, feeling like the floor plans of my life had shifted half an inch to the left. Not enough to knock me over, but enough that nothing lined up quite the same.
Throughout the week, Maya didn't mention Rafael. They didn't even talk to each other, not even a hi. I was losing my mind trying to understand them.
We still worked together on the evidence though.
Anytime my name or anything connecting showed up, we deleted or edited it.
"Does he have family?" The question slipped out before I could stop it. It was late evening , and we just opened a folder of files of Victor Hayes. He was pacing like a caged animal. His hair was overgrown, beard patchy, eyes wild. Nothing like the slick predator from that first night.
"Isn't there someone out there wondering where he is?"
"Men like Victor don't usually do real families. It's too much leverage for enemies. If he has kids, it's either he doesn't know they exist, or he knows but has hidden them so well that not even him knows their exact location."
That sat heavy in my chest.
If I was kidnapped, what would it be like to have no one looking nor asking for me?
He deserved this. Let him rot. He chose to live like a monster, and no one files missing reports for a monster.
The next folder made my heart stop. That ruined night.
Me panicking, the flash of steel, the flash of blood.
My hands started shaking before the video even ended. Seeing it wide on a screen, knocked something in me.
Lucien reached past me and killed the playback. It paused on my face mid-panic, which only worsened things in my belly.
"Listen to me, Camila," the softness of his voice loosened the knot of fear only a little. "I'm going to erase all your ghosts, starting with this footage. By the time we are done, there won't be a single file left anywhere that ties you to Victor. I won't let anything put fear in pretty eyes, or in your heart.
I promise."