Chapter 3 What the Fuck Is Catherine Winters?
By the time Lucius returned to Frost Industries, the office was operating as usual.
The day was busy, the workload endless, and his schedule packed with meetings. Yet, despite everything waiting on his desk, he couldn’t concentrate.
His eyes kept drifting toward the clock.
His thoughts kept circling back to Stella.
He wanted to see her.
The need had returned with the same intensity it had possessed years ago, when she had somehow turned him into a man he barely recognized.
Now, that desperate need left him restless and increasingly irritable.
He tried to work, but nothing held his attention for more than a few minutes.
By evening, Lucius could no longer bear to remain behind his desk. He shoved his chair back, rose abruptly, and strode out of his office.
A short while later, he was on his way to Licius.
Just as he was about to step out of his car and enter the café, he spotted Stella walking out.
She wasn’t alone.
Shane was right beside her, and the two of them were laughing together as they walked out. His arm was casually draped around her shoulders, his expression relaxed as he glanced down at her.
“Thank you for making my breakfast this morning,” Shane said, smiling. “It was really good. I didn’t think you could cook.”
Stella immediately smacked his arm and shrugged his arm off her shoulders.
“I cannot cook, and I don’t want to cook. I only did you a favor because you were so tired after the surgery. I thought you were going to collapse if I didn’t feed you something, so you should be grateful that I even made an attempt to cook for you.”
Shane threw his head back and laughed, his voice carrying through the quiet surroundings.
“You’re right. My bad. I shouldn’t be ungrateful.” He lifted both hands in surrender, still grinning. “I’ll keep that in mind, Miss Gibson, and I’ll make sure you’re pleased. I’ll cook for you for the entire next month.”
Stella rolled her eyes.
“As if you don’t already have a private chef to do that for you. There’s nothing special about it.”
Shane began laughing again, and the sound only seemed to aggravate Lucius further.
The more Lucius watched them together, the darker his expression became.
After a moment, Stella pulled out her phone and showed Shane a picture.
“By the way, look at this one. Don’t you think this photo is already too old? You should take a new one.”
Shane leaned closer to examine the picture before nodding in agreement.
“You’re right. We should.”
He took the phone from her hand, lifted it, and pulled her closer to his side. Then he took a picture of them together.
“Make this your cover photo this year,” he said, glancing at the screen. “I look so much better in this one.”
Stella looked down at the picture and began setting it as her phone’s cover photo.
Inside the car, Lucius’s jaw tightened.
The sight of them standing so close together, completely at ease with one another, made something inside him twist violently. Shane pulled Stella against him as though he had every right to touch her, and there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation between them.
Lucius’s hands curled into fists.
His jealousy continued to build until he could no longer contain it.
“So you like someone younger now,” he muttered bitterly, his face tightening with anger. “Someone who isn’t as serious and cold as me.”
He looked furious, frustrated, and completely consumed by his own thoughts.
His body remained rooted to the seat as his eyes stayed fixed on her. A part of him wanted to storm over and drag her away from Shane, while another part of him knew he had no right to do so.
He remained there, silently watching her, until Nial’s phone call interrupted him.
Lucius pulled out his phone and answered.
“Mr. Frost,” Nial said from the other end of the line, “please don’t forget that you have a dinner date with Miss Catherine Winters tonight.”
Lucius’s brows drew together.
“What the fuck is Catherine Winters?”
“A-A woman…?” Nial hesitated at the sharpness of his tone before reminding him, “Mr. Frost, did you forget? She’s with Winters Corporation. You’re supposed to meet her today to sign the deal.”
Lucius snapped at Nial, irritation sharpening every word. “If you can’t handle such a small thing yourself, what the hell have I hired you for?”
Nial let out a weary sigh over the phone.
“Mr. Frost, I’m only asking because your families have always been close.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t trouble you with this.
Please, just treat it as a business matter and get it over with.
It won’t take much of your time. Meet her, hear what she has to offer, and if you find the deal worthwhile, finalize it.
You’ll be done before you know it. I promise. ”
Lucius’s face darkened.
He inhaled deeply, struggling to contain his temper, then flicked his cigarette onto the ground.
Outside, Stella and Shane had already climbed into their car and driven away. Lucius kept his eyes on the vehicle until it vanished down the road, the sight doing nothing to ease the anger simmering inside him.
He remained behind the wheel for a while, waiting for his temper to subside. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as his gaze settled on Licius.
He had spent countless hours there with Stella when they were together.
The memories returned with startling clarity, each one as vivid as if it had happened only yesterday. He remembered how much he had enjoyed watching Stella prepare drinks for him. He used to come and go as he pleased, and she had always welcomed him without question.
Back then, being part of her life had been enough.
Now, those memories stirred a painful nostalgia and made him crave her even more.
He wanted to go back to her. He wanted to take her away with him and shut out everything else.
But he knew he couldn’t.
Once he had finally regained control of himself, Lucius started the car and drove away.
A short while later, he pulled up outside a luxurious restaurant. He stepped out and headed straight for the entrance.
Inside, candlelight flickered across the dimly lit restaurant, reflecting off the dark wooden surfaces and casting the room in a warm, intimate glow.
Lucius paid no attention to his surroundings. He made his way directly to the private meeting room Nial had arranged for his meeting with Catherine, entered without a word, and took his seat.
For the next ten minutes, he studied the documents in front of him, his expression impatient and frustrated.
Catherine sat across from him in silence. Young and beautiful, she had a delicate face framed by sleek black hair, but her cold, watchful eyes gave her an unsettling edge. Her lips held the faintest hint of a smile as she studied him, waiting impatiently for the moment she could speak.
Lucius gave her none.
She was a woman in her late twenties, and she had had a crush on him for as long as she could remember. Her family and Lucius’s family had been business partners for years, so she had known him for a long time.
She had already told her parents that she liked Lucius and wanted to marry him.
Her family had encouraged the idea, but Lucius had never shown the slightest interest.
Over the years, Catherine had tried everything she could think of to win his attention.
She had sought opportunities to spend time with him, attempted to draw him into conversations, and made her feelings increasingly obvious.
None of it had made the slightest difference.
Lucius remained as indifferent to her as ever.
She was beginning to lose patience.
“Lucius, there’s a party a few days from now. It’s my birthday. Will you be coming?” she asked, her voice brightening with hope. “I promise I’ll make sure you won’t be bored.”
Lucius slammed the final document shut, gathered the signed papers, and slid them back into the file. He gave her a brief, indifferent glance.
“I’ll send some executives to deliver a gift from my parents.”
Catherine’s expression immediately fell.
“You’re not coming?” she asked.
Lucius didn’t answer.
He rose from his seat and walked out of the room.
“Lucius!”
Catherine hurried after him, following him out of the restaurant and into the open air.
“Please, can’t you come this time?” she pleaded, struggling to keep up. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll even book a VIP room just for you, so you won’t have to mingle with anyone else. You can spend a little time with me and leave whenever you want.”
Lucius continued toward his car, his long strides carrying him farther ahead. Catherine quickened her pace, but she still couldn’t catch up with him.
Just as he was about to step outside, his eyes suddenly fell on two people entering through the entrance.
Stella and Shane.
They walked in side by side, and Stella was smiling up at him.
“That was such a great dinner. I can’t believe I’ve never come to this restaurant in all these years. I should have come here sooner. The food was amazing,” she said cheerfully.
They continued toward the other side of the restaurant, unaware of Lucius at first. Then Stella’s eyes landed on him.
She immediately realized that he had seen her with Shane.
Her gaze shifted briefly to the man beside her before returning to Lucius.
He was already walking toward them.
Lucius’s eyes immediately found Stella.
His gaze locked onto her, sharp and piercing, his expression giving away his displeasure at the sight of her. Stella noticed him almost immediately, but she made no acknowledgment. She kept her gaze ahead and continued walking as though she hadn’t seen him at all.
Lucius’s expression hardened.
She was deliberately ignoring him.
He continued toward her, his eyes never leaving her face, clearly expecting her to at least look at him. But Stella refused. She walked straight past him without so much as a glance, maintaining the same composed expression she might have worn around a complete stranger.
Lucius’s jaw tightened.
Just as she was about to pass him, Stella’s foot suddenly twisted.
She stumbled, her balance giving way beneath her.