It was the perfect plan. Regardless of what he thought, she still knew him better than anyone else.Lucien was who he was because of her. Even when she had left him, every decision he made was influenced by Mia. She was his puppet master, and he had no idea.Mia left the room, knowing that Lucien wouldn’t come out if she was still in there. She’d give him his space for now. Her plan was already in motion.When Mia left, Lucien emerged from the bathroom. His skin was red from the searing hot water and raw from scrubbing.He swathed himself in a fluffy robe, clambered for his phone and called the only person he thought might listen to him.“This had better be good,” Mark chided.“I fucked up,” Lucien sank to his bed.“What? More than usual?” Mark laughed.“No, I’m serious. I got drunk last night and had sex with Mia.”“She is your wife. Aren’t you supposed to?”“Shut up. You know I don’t want to be in this marriage. I talked yesterday about ending it, and then this happens?”“You don’t
“Yes ma’am,” Minnie smiled. She’d dealt with similar employers before. But Mia was the worst.“No, I don’t think you do,”Mia talked down to her. “My husband loves me and will fire you if I tell him to. You need to know your place in the house.“My place is very clear. I’m here to care for you and your unborn child.” Minnie never lost her cool or composure.Mia was often mean and rude to her when Lucien was gone. As soon as Lucien returned, she was sweet and complementary. This wasn’t her first time dealing with a situation like this, but something didn’t sit right with her. As the weeks passed, Minnie couldn’t help but notice that Mia didn’t show any signs of pregnancy. She would talk about morning sickness and fatigue, but Minnie hadn’t witnessed any of it. She knew every pregnancy was different… but there was something wrong about this one. Something very wrong indeed.**************“I didn’t think this through well enough,” Mia said as she looked at her very flat belly. It was get
Lucien was so angry; his fists clenched and punched the wall hard.“And what did you do to Audrey?I trusted you about saying she had wanted to steal from me and my family, but now I think I wronged her because of you. I am a fool to give you so much of credit for old times’ sake.”Mia was speechless, she couldn’t stop crying, “I did wrong, I apologize, but that’s only because I love you.”Lucien told her ruthlessly, “I never want to see you ever again, and don’t think you can get a penny from me, I’ll leave you nothing. If you were only after me, I might still consider ending this marriage nicely, but you hurt Audrey, the love of my life, I’ll never forgive you for what you did to her.”“I’ll come back tomorrow; I want you to leave with all of your stuff out of here and never let me see you again.”“Where will I go?” Mia yelled.“I don’t give a fuck!” He then stormed out, leaving Mia alone sobbing.**************Lucien went to the bar alone, he blamed himself for what he did to Audre
“By the way, here’s my business card.” He added.“Lee Tung.”Audrey took his card.“You are a Michelin-rated chef?! I can’t afford it.”She was surprised.“And I am not Mrs Reynolds.” Audrey added.“No worries, you don’t need to pay me. Lucien called me to prepare dinner for his wife.”The door suddenly opened, Lucien was coming back from the grocery store, with two bags on his hands.“Oh, you’re awake.How’re you feeling?” He looked at Audrey.Emma took a glance at the chef, and said nothing.“Lee,I bought everything on your list.” Lucien said.“Especially the vinegar from your hometown, ZhenJiang.” He added.“Are you sure it’s the right one?” Lee asked.Lucien picked up the bottle to show Lee.“Not the brand I always use, but it’ll do the trick. Now let the magic begin.” Lee walked towards the kitchen, and closed the door.“You don’t have to do this.” Audrey looked at Lucien, and walked towards the couch.Before he said anything,she felt her baby was kicked .Lucien noticed Audrey migh
“You call that a place setting?” Lee scolded. “Have you ever set a table in your life?”“No, I actually haven’t. Pampered, rich brat upbringing and all that. You know?” Lucien teased.“Ugh. You poor little rich boys,” Lee shook his head. “At least you’re trying, I guess. Here. Use this photo as a guide.”Lee shoved a phone at him, and Lucien did his best to replicate the picture.‘A baby,’he thought.’I’m going to be a father.’The thought both excited and terrified him. But more than anything, he knew he would be a good parent. He had to prove to Audrey that he was capable of loving someone. That he could pour his whole heart into caring for another person.‘BUT WE ARE NEVER EVER, EVER, EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER!’The song played loudly suddenly, startling Lucien and Lee.Tracy chuckled behind the door.“Seriously?” she teased her friend. “That’s your ringtone?”“It’s my favorite song,” Audrey groaned from behind her hands. Her face was hot with embarrassment.“Sure, it is. Sounds mor
“No! I wasn’t!” Her hands fell to her mouth. She had never admitted that out loud.Lucien felt an icy stab in his chest. Jealously, anger, pain, betrayal all swirled within him. But the worst is that he knew he had no one to blame but himself.“Lucien.”she squeaked. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I was afraid. You hurt me so much. To protect myself I thought it was best to never see you again.”“You’ll never know how much I regret that.”“I wanted to hate you… but I…” she gasped. A sharp pain shot through her belly. She grabbed the edge of the table for support.“What is it?” Tracy and Lucien shot up and said in unison.Another stab of pain shot through Audrey, taking her breath away.“I think… I think I’m having contractions.”“Don’t panic,” Audrey stood, taking control of the situation. “The go bag is already packed. I’ll call the doctor and then Damian on the way there.” She delegated.“No!” Lucien yelled. “Why him? Why does he get to be a part of this? Why do you need him and not me
Goddamnit,Audrey! I’m trying to do what’s right!”“What’s ‘right’ would have been if you hadn’t left me in the first place!”“It’s what you wanted! Why are you fighting me on everything?”“Because I don’t need you!”“I’m not saying you do,” He countered, trying his best to pretend that statement didn’t hurt. “But I am going to take care of you. And our baby.”“My baby!”“Our baby, Audrey,” Lucien repeated. “Our baby. No matter how much you hate me, you can’t change the fact that I am that baby’s father. I want to do this with you, alongside you. Don’t use this child as a weapon against me.”Audrey gasped, and she wiped the tears off her face.‘Ooh, that one hurt.’Tracy thought.Lucien waited for a retort, but Audrey didn’t say anything.“I’m going to arrange a better room for you,” Lucien walked out.“Is that what I’m doing?” Audrey whimpered, looking over at Tracy. “Am I using the baby as a weapon against him?”“Em, you’re overly emotional right now with months of repressed feelings
How is that going?”“About as well as you’d expect.”“When are you coming home? Carl and I miss you.”“I miss you both too. I’ll go home after she has the baby. I want to be here for her.”“Okay. Tell Lucien I said hi. I’ve called him and he hasn’t answered. I imagine he’s preoccupied.”“Yeah, he is. I’ll tell him. Kiss our baby good night for me.”Tracy hated being away from her son, but she had to be there for her friend. She could only hope her child had a friend like that someday. Someone to watch over him no matter what.The three of them slept in the hospital room. Lucien slept on a pullout sofa, and Tracy shared the bed with Audrey. The night was peaceful, quiet. Each of them slept, their dreams taking them in very different directions.Suddenly, Tracy felt something squeezing her hand.“Audrey?” Tracy rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What’s happening?”Audrey’s eyes were screwed shut, and her hold on Tracy’s hand tightened.“My water broke. Everything hurts. I think… I think t