Chapter 24
Lucia
Both were ridiculous, but I considered them anyway—the pros and cons of going into labour and lying to the hospital staff.
Options:
The problem was, I wasn’t sure how my pain tolerance would impact either plan. I tapped the pen against my notepad, heart pounding.
Giving them my real name wasn’t an option.
My time was running out.
Six weeks and counting.
It wouldn’t matter if I told the hospital staff what I was running from — they’d still use my NHS number, and Mr. Moneybags would home in on me.
I sighed and rolled onto my back.
Why didn’t men ever need to run and hide from women?
I could see now how some women ended up murdering their partners after years of control and abuse. We’re tied down through our children.
I should’ve waited for the payout, then run — but then my signature would’ve been on the documents.
Fucking dickhead.
If I’d stayed, I’d have lost all rights to my child.
Nope. I did the right thing.
I lifted the notepad off my belly and scanned my pros and cons.
There was a YouTube tutorial for Klingon.
Option 3. Deep cosplay
I scribbled that out immediately.
They’d take my child and admit me to a psychiatric ward.
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I dragged my feet to work. Nahla and Khalid had done everything before I arrived. My only job now was to sit behind the counter and serve customers so they could take a break or run to the cash and carry.
I had one more week left before I stopped working. I’d wanted to stay longer, but Nahla shut that idea down—told me they’d pay me regardless.
I glanced up at the dark clouds gathering outside. They looked heavier than usual, like the sky knew something I didn’t.
I turned the corner into the scheme leading to the shops—and forgot how to breathe.
Garrett stood beside the polished black car, parked right in front of Nahla’s shop.
I started to back away, heart hammering, but I hit something solid.
Hands clamped around my arms like vices.
“Hello, love,” Laurent whispered against my ear.
I froze. His grip was firm, almost unyielding, and when he turned me around, my heart slammed against my ribs.
Laurent.
Up close, he didn’t look like the man I’d left behind. His hair was a little longer, his beard darker at the jaw and streaked with silver. His eyes—God, his eyes—looked tired, sunken, but still carried that fierce light that used to pin me in place.
For a second, neither of us spoke. The scent of his aftershave hit me like muscle memory—clean, sharp, expensive. My pulse stumbled.
He scanned my face like he was trying to read months’ worth of missing chapters. His gaze dropped briefly, catching on my belly, before returning to my eyes.
“You’ve been hiding from me,” he said quietly.
I swallowed hard. “I’ve got nothing left to say to you, Laurent.”
Something flickered in his expression—pain, anger, maybe both. He tightened his hold, not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me he was still the man who didn’t like to be told no.
“You shouldn’t have run,” he murmured. “Not with my child.”
“And you shouldn’t have treated me like a two-bit breeding whore,” I snapped, months of rage bubbling to the surface.
The words came out steadier than I felt. My palms were slick, my mind racing.
“Weren’t those your words, Mr Dubois?” I asked, jerking against his grip.
“I never—it wasn’t like that,” he said, the words rough around the edges.
“Your legal documents stated otherwise,” I shot back. “Do you honestly think I wanted someone like you in my child’s life?”
His fingers loosened, the pressure easing. Something flickered in his eyes—pain, maybe regret, but I wasn’t sure which of us hated that more.
“Lucia,” he hissed, low and strained, as if my name alone might undo him.
“Just let me go, Laurent. Find someone else to play your games with. Leave me alone,” I said, my body sagging under the weight of it all.
Exhaustion seeped into every cell. Months of vigilance, of planning and running and second-guessing every move—now that he’d found me, a small part of me almost felt relief. Relief, if only he’d let me go. If only he’d release this obsession and stop trying to take my child from me.
He said nothing until the silence turned heavy.
“I wish I were a better man, Lucia,” he murmured, his thumbs rubbing slow circles into my arms, grip tightening. “But I’m not. I’ll try—for you, and for our baby. You’re getting in my car and coming back with me.”
My head snapped up, and I opened my mouth to protest—he covered it with his hand.
“No prenups,” he said softly. “And no holding our child hostage.”
I stared at him, searching his eyes.
He looked genuine. Or maybe he just believed his own lies.
But I didn’t trust the dickhead.
He released my mouth and slipped an arm around my waist, hauling me toward the car. I dug my heels in, twisting against him, just as Nahla appeared in the shop doorway. Concern shadowed her face. She hesitated for a moment before striding toward us.
“I suggest you don’t make trouble, Lucia,” Laurent murmured. “You don’t want your current employers prosecuted for tax evasion, do you?”
And there it was—Laurent Dubois’s true nature.
“Don’t make me the monster,” he added quietly.
Still gaslighting me.
I forced myself to smile as Nahla grew closer, but on the inside, my heart was shattering.
Her eyes flicked from my face to Laurent’s arm locked around my waist. She slowed, frowning.
“Lucy?” she asked carefully, her voice uncertain but edged with steel.
Laurent’s grip tightened, his smile a mask of charm. “Everything’s fine. A misunderstanding.”
Nahla’s eyes darted back to me, her expression hardening. “Doesn’t look fine to me.”
His fingers pressed into my hip.
“It’s fine, Nahla. I’m sorry to leave you in the lurch—but I need to go.”
Her gaze softened a touch, a knowing sadness flickering there. She shook her head slowly.
I couldn’t let him report them. That wasn’t an option.
I shoved him back and threw my arms around her. Nahla hugged me tight—warm, solid, motherly.
“It’s okay,” I whispered against her shoulder, my voice breaking. “I can handle the dickhead. I’ll be in touch.”
“If I don’t hear from you, I’ll be calling the police,” she whispered.
It wouldn’t do any good—she didn’t know my real name, but I nodded anyway.