Chapter Eighteen
TASSY ALREADY KNEW what to expect coming to work the next day, but it still didn't make any difference. The pity in everyone's gazes still stung, and so did the horrible way the office noise died down whenever people noticed her presence. This place used to feel like her second home. But no longer.
Please God.
Help me get over this.
Please.
But when she was back in Melody's office, seeing the other woman's strained expression was like an omen.
"I'm so sorry, Tassy. But our CEO asked to see you in his office."
Their CEO, as in... Fontana's father?
Her hand went to her throat in an unconscious gesture of trepidation. "What if I refuse?"
"I don't know. I honestly don't. I'm sorry."
Tassy forced herself to nod. "It's not your fault. I'll go. I'm sure it's nothing...serious." There was no point making Melody troubled as well, and she managed a smile for the other woman before leaving.
Her fingers shook as she pressed the elevator button that would take her to the CEO's office. She knew she could still refuse, but maybe this was better. This could only lead to more heartbreak, but there was also a part of her that wanted it. Needed it, even. Because whatever this was, Tassy was certain it had to do with Fontana and Lucius being together—-which was what she needed the most.
Something to knock some sense into her.
Because she was so, so tired of hurting and crying every night.
She just wanted - needed - something - anything - that would purge Lucius out of her heart, for good.
Mr. Ferrer's secretary, Alberta, was clearly expecting her when the older woman came to her feet as soon as she saw Tassy. The secretary's silver-streaked bob and impeccable pantsuit were as much a fixture of the executive floor as the art collection. "Hello, dear."
The other woman's sympathetic tone caught Tassy off guard, and a smile wobbled over her lips. "H-Hi, Alberta."
"I'm sorry about everything that's happened lately."
"It's fine."
Alberta gazed at her soberly. "Do you need more time before going in?"
Tassy shook her head.
"Alright then."
Alberta opened the door for her, and Tassy could feel countless pairs of eyes following her as she stepped inside the cavernous office. It was her first time to be here, and she took a deep breath in a bid to brace herself for the worst.
Please just be with me, God.
I know I can endure anything as long as You're there.
She lifted her gaze...but instead of Fontana's father, the person standing in front of her was... Lucius?
A part of her wanted to run away right that moment, but the moment her gaze collided with his, it was like falling under a deadly spell, and she could no longer look away even though seeing him killed her bit by bit.
Lucius breathed hard as his wife stared at him in shock. His fists clenched against his sides, a growing sense of agitation threatening to consume him from within.
He knew it was only a matter of time before she remembered, and when he saw her suddenly pale—-
He knew, of course.
He knew his wife finally remembered how he had pushed her away.
Ignored her pleas.
Before abandoning her.
Tassy whirled around to leave, but she only managed to take a step before feeling his arms wrap around her from behind.
"Forgive me."
The rawness of his tone broke her heart, but she knew she couldn't let the past repeat itself again.
"You're the most important thing in my life—" As soon as he said this, his Tassina started to struggle, but he couldn't let her go. "You are, Tassina—"
All she could do was shake her head, and she was no longer able to hold back her tears.
Liar, she wished she had the strength to scream at him.
Liar!
Liar!
"Ryu and Devon told me about your ex," he said unevenly. "I realize now that you would never have deliberately hidden the truth from me. I know that now. But back then...all I could think of was that you were lying to me—"
Tassy could hardly breathe as sobs rocked her body. She had never lied to him. Never . But he had lied to her!
"And that you only married me to hurt him."
Lucius suddenly spun her around to face him, his movements jerky with barely contained emotions. His hands gripped her upper arms, not painfully but with an urgency that betrayed the frayed state of his composure.
"I couldn't think straight after that."
Tassy wished she could feel angry. Or even betrayed. But all she felt was pain. Not just for herself, but for him. Why, God? Why did it hurt so, so much just to see the haunted look on his face?
"All I wanted was to hurt you...which I did." Lucius waited for her to say something - anything! - but his wife only stared up at him, crying.
"I love you."
Tassy shook her head.
"I'm not lying," he said fiercely. "I love you—"
She looked at him helplessly. "You d-don't. You c-couldn't have been. Because don't you see?" she whispered painfully. "If you r-really l-loved me, you wouldn't keep having c-cold feet. So please...let's just end this."
Lucius couldn't remember feeling this hollowed out. His wife was right in front of him, her delicate features ravaged by the pain he had caused her...but Tassy was looking at him as if she could no longer see him.
"Don't do this. Please. " He had never begged in his entire life. But he would beg for all eternity if that was what it took to have her take him back. "Don't give up on me."
Her only response was silence, and Lucius grabbed her shoulders, terror gnawing at his heart. Why did it feel like she was about to disappear any second?
"I love you," he gritted out. "Do you hear me? I love—-"
"If you really did," Tassy said jerkily, "then you c-could never..."
His wife's voice broke, and Lucius' own heart shattered because he knew exactly what she was thinking.
And it was him with Fontana...on the same night he had broken her heart.
"Nothing happened between us—"
"I don't care—"
"Don't fucking say that. I hurt you—"
"I've forgiven you—"
"I'd rather you hate me instead," he snarled savagely, "if forgiving me means you're also choosing to cut me out—"
"I have no choice," Tassy choked out. "Can't you see I h-have no choice? I'm so tired of crying, Lucius. I don't think I can bear hurting like this—"
"Then take me back," he urged.
"I can't."
Lucius could already feel his wife slipping farther and farther away from him, and torment like he had never experienced before threatened to devour him from within. "Ask me anything, Tassina—-" Lucius struggled to keep his voice steady. "Ask me anything, and I'll do it."
Hearing the anguish in Lucius' voice hurt, but there was nothing she could do. "I d-don't need—-"
"Don't fucking say that."
Tassy's chest felt as if it was to explode in pain. It hurt, oh God. It hurt so, so bad to hear Lucius so frantic. But all she could do was shake her head, her loose hair now framing her tear-streaked face. "I'm s-sorry—-"
"Stop acting like we're over," he bit out.
"I'm sorry—-"
Lucius couldn't stop himself from shaking her. "Listen to me. I'm begging you. Just please fucking listen to me." This time, it was his own voice that broke. " Please ."
And his voice that was now hoarse and ragged as he realized that maybe he really was too late.
"I love you."
Maybe he had lost her for good—
"I love you, Tassina."
And the possibility had Lucius crashing down on his knees.
Tassy's world started to spin out of control. Lucius...was on his knees. How could a man so proud be on his knees? And the bleakness in his eyes, oh God...
"Please just tell me what to do, I'm begging you."
Tears rushed down her cheeks. "L-Lucius, please—-"
"Nothing happened between Fontana and me," Lucius went on doggedly. "I have footage of the time we spent in the restaurant on my phone. I just...I just wanted to hurt you—-"
"You d-don't have to explain—"
Lucius looked up, and she could no longer speak, the devastation in his copper eyes tearing her apart. "What else can I do but explain?"
"There's n-nothing for you to explain—"
"Then can I bribe you?"
She almost laughed despite everything...until she realized he was dead serious.
"I'll give you everything I own—"
"I d-don't want your money—"
"Then what else can I give?" Lucius asked hollowly.
Tassy could no longer bear hearing another word, and especially not in a tone that seemed almost devoid of life. But when she tried covering her ears, Lucius immediately captured her hands in an inescapable grip as he demanded, "Do you want my heart on a platter?"
"No!"
He stared at her like a man on death row, and she was his only hope.
No, God. No.
"Ask anything of me, Tassina. Any—"
"I don't want anything," she cried out, "so p-please stop!" Why wouldn't he stop? Why, oh God? Why? "Please just let me go—"
"Have you stopped loving me?" The bleakness in his gaze had bled into his voice, and the sound threatened to break her heart into pieces.
All she could do was stare at him as she cried, unable to believe that the powerful man she had married was still looking and talking to her like she was his reason for living.
Lucius swallowed hard as he forced himself to say the words. "Have you...have you realized you still love Tatum?"
Oh God.
Tassy couldn't believe someone as proud as Lucius could even ask this. His usual arrogance had been stripped away completely, leaving him raw and exposed before her.
"Is that it?"
His wife's silence was like someone twisting a knife inside of his heart. Every second that passed was visible in the tightening of his features, the whitening of his knuckles.
Lucius squeezed his eyes shut, long dark lashes fanning against his cheeks. "I can't share you, Tassina. But I'm willing to wait. Also...Marius bought this company, and then I bought it from him. Technically, I'm your boss now, and you should know that I'll have Xylan transferred as far away from you as possible."
Tassy started crying in earnest. All this time, he had been right in front of her, but her pain had made him invisible. But now, oh God...
"But you...you don't have to worry." It killed him to even think of his wife worrying over any other man, much more an asshole like her ex, but Lucius knew he only had himself to blame for all of this. "I'll give him a raise. Promote him even though he doesn't deserve it."
Tassy could barely hear anything he said, with her mind filled with memories.
So many memories, oh God.
She remembered how he had figured out her favorite song because he had been paying attention to every little thing about her.
Remembered how he had everyone sign NDAs just to protect her privacy.
But most of all, she remembered what truly mattered—-
And that was how Lucius was the person she had prayed for.
"I'll do whatever you fucking want—-" His words came faster now, tumbling over each other in his frantic desire to make his wife see he was not a lost cause. "Anything, Tassina—-"
"S-Stop."
That one word from his wife didn't just stop Lucius from speaking. It also threatened to stop his heart from beating because of the way her voice shook with finality.
Was it really too late?
And it was almost as if his wife had heard his question, with the way Tassina was suddenly struggling to yank her hands out of his hold.
It was, he realized dully.
It really was too late, his sin against her too much to forgive, and so if he truly loved her—
Lucius forced his grip to loosen, his fingers uncurling one by one from around her wrists.
He had to let her go.
God.
Oh God.
I love her, God.
But just as emptiness swelled up inside of him, he heard a soft thud, followed by small, soft hands shakily cupping his face. Her cool palms pressed against his fevered skin, her thumbs brushing the stubble along his jawline, and finally—
"I forgive you, Lucius."
Tassy's heart ached as her husband's dazed gaze clashed with hers.
"And I love you so, so—"
The rest of her words disappeared in his kiss, with Lucius hauling her into his arms. He landed on his back against the carpet, his wife atop him, and still their kiss remained unbroken. He knew he should ease up, let her breathe, give her space—-
But he couldn't.
Because he could hardly believe this was real.
And Lucius had a feeling that the only time he would allow himself to believe it was so when he was buried deep inside her sweet warmth, and his seed planted in her womb.
In the meantime, a commotion had just broken outside the office of the CEO, with an already ill-tempered Fontana throwing a fit when her father's secretary had security blocking her way.
What the fuck had gotten into this bitch?
She tried pushing past the old hag, but Alberta stood her ground. "I'm sorry. But you can't go in, Ms. Ferrer."
"What do you mean I can't go in?" Fontana screeched.
Alberta sighed in relief when she saw who was walking up to Fontana from behind. Reinforcements have finally arrived, thank goodness.
"It appears what I've heard about you is true."
The silkily spoken words from behind her had Fontana seeing red. She knew when she was being insulted, even indirectly, but just as she whirled around, it was then she saw Marius Young standing in front of her—
And his viciously pleasant smile had her words dying an abrupt death as fear strangled her throat. How the hell could one look so beautiful and scary at the same time?
"They say you like causing trouble." Marius' tone perfectly matched his smile, and Fontana's nails dug into her palms. "Is that right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Then will you deny having anything to do with my sister-in-law being humiliated on the day she was supposed to be celebrating her promotion?"
His sister-in-law?
What the hell did Benedict Young's wife have to do with her? She had never even met Lana! So why would he say that unless—-
It couldn't be!
"The look on your face is very telling, Fontana," Marius murmured, "and I don't fucking like it."
Fontana's body shook with humiliated rage. Enough was enough! Billionaire or not, he was still in her father's company, and so this was her territory, not his.
She raised her hand to slap his face—
"Who owns this company now, Alberta?" Marius drawled, not even flinching at the threatened violence.
Fontana froze, her hand suspended in mid-air.
"Your brother, sir." Alberta's voice was prim.
Marius drew a certain sense of satisfaction at seeing Fontana's face lose all color...but it was not enough.
"Your father needs this deal, believe me. So if you want to keep the lifestyle you're used to...I expect you to get creative on how to best make it up to my sister-in-law... AKA your new boss."