Present day“If this is your way of punishing me, Gunner. I want to tell you that—““Why would you think that way, father?” Gunner cut him short. “If there’s something you’ve yet to tell me, you can open up to me so we can have a civil conversation about this.” “How difficult is it for you to listen to me?” Lucas frowned. “I am your father and I won’t lead you astray.”“My father once told me I was now capable of making my own decisions, so do not expect me to accept everything you’ve said because you said it.” Lucas was struggling to keep the truth to himself but he didn’t want to ruin his chances with his son and force him into being a bigger rebel than he already was. “Before I give you my blessings, Gunner, you need to convince me why you want to marry her. Because if you think I’m going to accept that bullshit story you’ve just told me, you’re out of your mind and you’ve underestimated me.” “What do you want to know, Father?” Gunner asked, crossing his arms on his chest. “Ev
Lucas was beyond pissed with himself and most especially with his son. He clenched and unclenched his fists several times as he tried to maintain his composure in order not to slam his fist into Gunner’s face. Gunner knew how much he hated being lied to and yet for months, he had consistently lied to his face, and like a gullible fool, Lucas had believed every word he had said without trying to figure out if his son had been lying or not and now, that decision was going to haunt him. “You lied to my face, Gunner.” Lucas was visibly shaking with anger. “For several months, you stood in front of me and you lied over and over again. Not for once, did you consider the impact your decision would have in the future and here we are, at a crossroads.” “I’m sorry, father. I just—“ Gunner began.
Rae’s POVI hated feeling like shit. I hated this feeling of despair that was hanging over my head like a noose and it was all because of Lucas and his twisted desires. He had played me for a fool for several weeks and even though they had been the best moments of my life, I couldn’t just turn a blind eye to the fact that he had lied to my face for such a long time when he had the opportunity to come clean to me several times but he didn’t. A small part of me wanted to know why he saw it fit to make me his plaything but a major part of me wanted nothing to do with him ever again. He had tried to explain to me several times but I didn’t want to hear any more of his lies. Nothing was stopping him spinning a new web of lies and trapping me in it but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of that this time around. I heard a knock on my door and I hurriedly opened the door, hoping it would be the only friend I had in the pack but it was a maid. “Mr. Gunner—I’m sorry, your fiancé
Rae’s POV The next morning, I came down for breakfast but both Lucas and Gunner were absent as I had been the previous night. The butler, Mr. Gerald informed me of Lucas’ apology for missing breakfast but I didn’t care. He was doing all he could to talk to me but I was going to keep on avoiding him until he took the hint and stopped. Gunner on the other hand had left me a note which I didn’t bother to read, there were going to be no feelings involved in our marriage and I didn’t seem to care about their movements a tad bit. I had more pressing matters to focus on like what to do concerning my rowdy feelings towards Lucas. I had decided that I was going to make my first move sometime after the wedding, I needed all the security and influence I could garner, and being Gunner’s wife would guarantee that. I finished with my meal and retreated to my room for the entirety of the day, only appearing for dinner and I spent most parts of the night in the dressing room, sharing
Lucas’ POV I knew I was breaking the rules and codes of conduct but I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t count how many hours I’d spent going over what would happen in my head if the world ever found out that I was trying to poach my son’s fiancée right from under him. The disgrace and scandal it would bring upon my family would be catastrophic and I might not be able to come back from the shame and humiliation which was why I had to do everything to make sure I got Rae back before she went mainstream with Gunner. I’ve tried several times to speak with Rae but she’s rebuffed all my advances for the past week. I’ve sent several gifts and letters, trying to sway her mind and get her to give me just 10 minutes of her time but she’s turned down my request every time. It was unlike me but I was starting to lose my patience and rightfully so, Gunner was accelerating the marriage plans as fast as he could. He wasn’t willing to give me any space and I could respect that, I would do t
Rae’s POV“You’ve got to be kidding me, Rae.” Lyra’s eyes went wide with shock as she stared at me. “I wish I was but everything I’ve just said to you is the truth and nothing but the truth,” I answered. It was a lot to take it, I had to admit it myself. It had taken me a lot to open up to her but I realized that I couldn’t keep this bottled up any longer and Lyra was the closest person to me aside from my mother.“I wish I hadn’t spent the weekend over at my boyfriend’s, I would’ve witnessed a small part of your crazy life with my own eyes.” Lyra began. “Careful what you wish for, Lyra.” I sighed. “I knew Lucas was a lot to deal with in all ramifications but I never figured him out as someone who would be this….” Lyra trailed off, at a loss for words. “Intense?” I offered. “Yes, intense.” Lyra nodded. “He lied to your face for weeks and made you believe some falsified romance existed between the both of you and you had to find out all by yourself because he never would’ve told
Rae’s POVThe wedding was tomorrow and I was having jitters about the whole thing already. My mother had tried to assure me that it was pretty normal to be worried but I didn’t know if she was trying to pacify me or if she did mean it. Either way, my nerves were a wreck and Lyra wasn’t here with me because she had something to sort out on my behalf and she didn’t want to stress over it. While I appreciated the gesture, I wanted her to be here for me now that I needed her the most. I hadn’t seen Gunner for the past three days and I hadn’t seen Lucas for longer either which was good for both parties. I heard a knock on the door and I jumped out of the bed, rushing to the door, hoping that it was Lyra on the other side of the door. “Lyra, you owe me, and don’t think—“ I began as I opened the door, only to stop short as I saw who was standing on the other side of the door. “Well, I’m sorry but I’m not Lyra or whoever you were expecting to see.” Gunner smiled at me. “I thought I wa
Gunner’s POVGunner paused for a moment as he debated on what he was supposed to say. He was momentarily at a loss for words but he knew that he had to say something quickly else, he might potentially lose Rae before they even got married. “When I told you that you had nothing to worry about and there wouldn’t be any form of competition, I meant that, Rae.” “How can you say that when there’s every indication that it’s going to happen sooner rather than later?” Rae argued further and I knew that if I wanted to make her happy, I had to give her something that would pacify her. I thought about telling her the truth but I didn’t know how she was going to take it and besides, I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize my chances and have my father leapfrog me and take Rae away from me. So I decided that it would be best if I didn’t tell her the truth or if I cherry-picked what I had to tell her. She didn’t need to know everything, she just needed to know enough that I wasn’t going to
Rae’s POVWe stood in silence, holding each other’s gaze as we exchanged words in silence. The tension between us was thick, you could cut through it. “Goodnight, Rae.” Lucas bent down to kiss my cheek, lingering longer than he usually did. He let go of my hand and turned to walk away. “Wait—“ I began, making him stop in his stride. There was every chance that I was going to regret this by morning but I didn’t care right now. I couldn’t get thoughts about him out of my head and I was done trying to discard my feelings. Lucas turned to face me, waiting in silence as his eyes searched my face. “Do you want to come inside?” I whispered, hoping I would be audible enough.The slight smile on his face gave me the answer I needed. “What about your nausea? Won’t anything—“ “The doctor assured me that I would be perfectly healthy.” I cut him short, pushing my door open and making my way in hoping he would follow suit. I turned around immediately I heard my door slam shut with a soft t
Rae’s POV“I don’t want you in the spotlight,” I began, I was going to sound ridiculous at this point but I didn’t care. “I don’t want other women seeing you and trying to pry you away from me. It’s bad enough that you get catcalled whenever you go out and even if you try to hide your identity, it ends up the same and to be fair, I’ve been reasonably understanding and you know I can’t do anything about it but I don’t think I can show that same level of restraint if they ever try to take it a step further after everything that has happened, I might just kill the first woman that tries to flirt with you and hide her body somewhere no one would ever find it.”Lucas wore a huge smile on his face and I groaned, covering my face with my hands. I hadn’t realized just how much I had been talking.“You’re adorable when you sound this way.” He began and I mentally slapped myself. “You don’t have to patronize me, Lucas. I sound like a jealous housewife who is trying to get her husband to never
Rae’s POVI felt my body tremble as Lucas spoke, the calmness and ferocity in his voice serenading me. My fears were beginning to dissipate into thin air as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, knowing I had Lucas by my side gave me all the assurance I could ever need.I smiled at the first memory I had of us together. It was a week after I arrived, I had grown weary of being in bed all the time so I decided to take a stroll to clear my head. It was a bit confusing figuring out what stairs to take but I eventually made my way downstairs and went into the woods, seeking solace and the quiet it would bring. As I made my way through the woods, taking in the beauty of nature and listening to the chirping of the singing birds, a powerful scent filled my nostrils as I approached a clearing. There was a man so engrossed with the book in his hands that he didn’t notice me invading his privacy. He was the same man that brought me here and I hadn’t seen him since the fi
Rae’s POVMy eyes widened in shock as my jaw hung open for a few seconds before I snapped it shut.Will you go out on a date with me? I couldn’t believe Lucas had said that. He had been everything but romantic towards me during these past few days since Gunner left, we had a cordial relationship without any sign of sexual intimacy between us until tonight when he had made love to me out of the blues. “Rae, you have to say something.” Lucas’ voice interrupted my train of thought and forced me back to reality. “I’ll understand if you think this shouldn’t happen or if you think it’s forced but I just wanted to get it off my mind.” “No, it’s not that, Lucas.” I tried to explain. “You caught me off guard.”He merely nodded, waiting for me to speak further. I watched him out of the corner of my eyes as his gaze was now fixed on the moonlight casting a soft illuminating glow over us. He was giving me time to think about my decision while waiting patiently for the outcome. I cradled my
Lucas’ POV“Rae has been sulking all day. She has locked herself in the room and has refused to eat anything since morning, she won’t even see her maids. You have to go talk to her."I stared at Damon, a bit surprised at what he just said. “Are you trying to pull my legs?”“I’m not. You’ve been locked up in your world that you’ve forgotten there’s someone who loves you and you’ve spent the whole week regretting why you finally have the woman you claim to love.” Damian couldn’t help but laugh.“You think this is funny, don’t you?” I glared at him.“In my defense, If I were in your shoes, you’d be laughing at me in a much more annoying manner.” “You win.”“It was never in doubt, Lucas.” I let out a groan as I ran my hands through my hair. I had prayed for a second chance and when I had finally been given, I was already doing everything the wrong way. “Do you think she’s going to forgive me?”“I don’t know, Lucas. You’ll have to ask her and see what she says.” That was four hours ag
Lucas’ POV“You’ve barely said a word since Gunner left this morning,” Damian began, his keen eyes watching me. “What would you have me say, Damian?” I shrugged as I briefly glanced at him before returning my gaze to the painting hanging directly in front of me. I had made my peace with the fact that Gunner had decided to carve his path in the world and realistically, I was happy for him. It was what I had always wanted for him and he was making that big step. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you feel slightly guilty concerning the circumstances surrounding his leaving,” “You sure know how to suck the fun out of the room, don’t you?” I glared at Damian. “There wasn’t any fun to start with and I’m here for you to talk about this before it starts to eat you up.” “I’m not in the mood to discuss, Damian.” I tried to shut him down. “We can do this some other time.” “Maybe,” Damian began. “But the next time I bring it up, you’re going to give me this same excuse again.” “I
Rae’s POV“It’s time to wake up, sleepyhead.” I groaned as I popped one eye open to see Lucas hovering above me. It was a welcoming sight because the last time I had woken up to this, it was in the fishing village.Usually, it was often accompanied by him making love to me for the rest of the morning but I didn’t think that was going to happen now given how tense things still were between us. “How many hours did I sleep?” I yawned as I stretched out on the bed. I still felt tired, and understandably so.“It’s past 3:00 PM,” Lucas replied. “My goodness,” My eyes widened in surprise. “Why did you let me sleep that long?”“You looked like you could use it,” Lucas shrugged. “Kim called an hour ago. She was just waking up as well.”I nodded. “It was one of those nights.” Lucas handed me a cup of tea which I gratefully accepted with both hands welcoming the relief a couple of sips brought with it. “Are you ready to talk about it now?” Lucas asked gently, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Lucas’ POVThe past couple of days have been nothing short of exhilarating for me in many ways. I couldn’t have woken up at a more perfect time. My life’s work had been on the line and I managed to gain control and effect several changes to the board like I had always wanted to. I also learned of the fact that Lyra and Laila had been placed in a maximum psychiatric hospital for the rest of their lives as well.Everything else was in order, Gunner had once again managed to do exceptionally well aided by Damian, who had always remained by my side even through the worst times. After the internal struggle with the opposition section on my board, Gunner informed me of his decision to go abroad. “Are you sure about this, Gunner?” I asked him. There was a huge difference between taking a long vacation and deciding to relocate to another part of the world for good. I wanted to know if he was making this decision with his right mind and not because he wanted to abscond from whatever it wa
Rae’s POVI was flickering through the pages of the novel in my hand absentmindedly. I had no interest in reading but I wanted to keep my mind busy. I couldn’t remember the last time I left this room and frankly, I didn’t want to either. No one knew how long Lucas would be in this coma and while it was terrifying, everyone was struggling to maintain a positive attitude about the current situation. I hadn’t seen Gunner in a few days and I understood why. Our relationship would need a lot of time to fix and he didn’t mind giving me space and for that, I was grateful to him. I hadn’t seen Damian in a week either. He was trying to keep the company afloat with Gunner’s help and I knew that this was a rather critical period. I didn’t know much about the business but I knew how power mongers would react to the news about Lucas’ situation which was why Gunner and Damon were doing everything they could to keep the truth about his situation under wraps. But there was only so much they could