Chapter fifty-one
Rylee
He doesn’t love me.
T he door opens, and Luc steps in. His eyes land on the papers scattered across the desk before settling on me where I’m sitting on the couch. He pauses, standing there for a moment like he’s waiting for me to say something first.
“Rylee,” he says softly, taking a cautious step toward me. He doesn’t look like his usual confident self. His shoulders are tight, and there’s a hesitation in his steps, almost like he’s afraid.
He crouches in front of me, his hazel eyes searching mine. “Whatever Olivier told you, it’s not what you think.”
I lift my chin, holding his gaze. “So you didn’t pay the loan officer to deny the loan?”
Please say you didn’t, that Olivier was just lying.
But he doesn’t say anything, and his silence is the answer I needed. I push to my feet, pacing the room. “You sabotaged my career,” I shout.
“I didn’t,” he says quickly, standing, too. “The company was failing, Rylee. The loan might have kept them open for a year, maybe two, but sooner or later, the bank would’ve taken it anyway.”
I stop and glare at him. “You don’t know that!”
“I do.” His shoulders slump as he exhales. “I had experts look into it. The numbers don’t lie.”
I shake my head, pacing again. “This wasn’t about helping me, was it? It was about you needing someone who would agree to your marriage proposal so you could keep your precious CEO role.”
Luc flinches, like I slapped him across the face. “You really think that’s why I did it?” His eyes pin me in place.
He moves around the desk, grabbing a yellow envelope. He holds it out to me, his hand trembling slightly. “Open it.”
I hesitate, my pulse pounding in my ears. Slowly, I take the envelope, my fingers brushing his for a moment. I tear it open and pull out of the stacks of papers. My brows furrow together as I try to make sense of them.
“As of today, I own 63% of the company shares,” he says. “That means I can remove the marriage requirement. That was my plan all along.”
I look up at him, my throat tightening. “What about the contract I signed?”
“You read it, didn’t you?” His hazel eyes lock onto mine, pleading. “Did it say anything about my role as CEO?”
I think back, and he’s right. There was nothing about it. “No. Then why did you bring me here?” I whisper, still clutching the papers.
He steps closer, gently taking my hand and pulling me between his legs as he leans against the desk. “Because I needed you back in my life.” His voice shakes slightly, but his gaze stays steady. “There’s something about you,” he says. “From the moment I met you, I knew you were different. Like I’d known you forever, but somehow forgotten until then.”
His words make my chest feel tight, my breath hitching as I try to process them.
“That still didn’t give you the right to do what you did.”
“I know, but after you left…” He takes a deep breath, his grip on my hand tightening. “I was angry. Hurt. I thought you felt it too—that connection. But you moved on like it meant nothing to you. I haven’t been with anyone since I met you, Rylee. I couldn’t even look at another woman because none of them were you.”
Moved on? I spent months missing someone I wasn’t supposed to, hating myself for feeling so much for him when we’d only spent a few weeks together. I told myself it was nothing, maybe just because we never slept together—just some pent-up tension that never got a release. But it wasn’t that. That’s why I ran. I couldn’t afford to fall for him.
“Could I have waited to buy the company from the bank after it was foreclosed? Yes. It would’ve cost me less. But that would’ve been another year or two without you in my life, and I couldn’t survive that,” he continues.
I try to pull my hand away, but his grip tightens just enough to stop me
“This was still about you and what you needed.” The words burn as they claw their way out of my throat. “You lied to me, manipulated me, and took advantage of the situation with my sister.” A sour taste makes its way in the back of my throat. I swallow hard, trying to keep it down.
His eyes are wide and glassy, holding mine. “I didn’t mean it like that, and I never meant to hurt you.”
“But you did, Luc.”
“I’m sorry, Rylee.” He inhales, his breach catching halfway through. “Tell me you don’t feel anything for me. That last summer didn’t mean anything. That these past few days meant nothing to you. And that this has always just been an arrangement.” His chest rises and falls rapidly. “Say it, and I’ll leave you alone. You can annul the marriage. I’ll resign myself to living in my own personal hell without you.”
He pauses, his shoulders trembling and his eyes shining with unshed tears. “But if even a tiny part of you feels anything close to what I feel for you. Then I promise—I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how sorry I am and how much I love you.”
I love you?
He doesn’t love me. He can’t. He’s just confused. He wants me because he couldn’t have me before. Because I was the one who said no. And when he finally gets me? He’ll get tired of me. He’ll leave. And I’ll be the one left in pieces. Again.
A part of me wants to believe him. But the other part is terrified. I promised myself I wouldn’t end up like the women in my family. Chasing after love, even if that meant they’d end up broken. Pieces of them shattered until they had nothing left to give.
I can’t be like my mother. I won’t.