Chapter 32
By eight the next morning, Lucas had already caused three separate people to panic.
Which honestly felt deserved.
His manager realized something was wrong first when Lucas walked into the agency office without warning wearing black jeans, exhaustion, and the expression of a man seconds away from making catastrophic life decisions.
"Why do you look like that?" Daniel asked cautiously.
Lucas dropped a folder onto the conference table.
"I'm doing the interview."
Daniel blinked once.
"The interview for what?"
Lucas stared at him.
"The live interview you've been begging me to do for two weeks."
Silence.
Then immediate suspicion.
"You said no six times."
"I changed my mind."
Daniel looked deeply uncomfortable already.
Because Lucas sounded calm.
And calm Lucas was infinitely more dangerous than angry Lucas.
"Okay..." Daniel said slowly. "What exactly are you planning to say?"
Lucas sat down across from him.
"The truth."
Daniel physically paled.
Absolutely fair reaction honestly.
"No."
"Yes."
"Lucas."
"You wanted damage control." Lucas leaned back slightly in the chair. "This is damage control."
"This is career suicide."
Lucas laughed softly without humor.
Interesting.
Because a month ago that sentence would've terrified him.
Now?
Now the thought of losing Sabrina terrified him more.
Daniel rubbed both hands down his face.
"You cannot go on live television and emotionally confess your way through an international PR disaster."
"Watch me."
"Lucas—"
"No." Lucas's voice sharpened suddenly. "I'm done sitting in meetings pretending the biggest problem here is headlines."
Daniel stared at him carefully now.
And slowly realization crossed his expression.
"Oh my God," he muttered.
"What?"
"You're completely in love with her."
The words settled heavily across the room.
Lucas looked away briefly toward the windows overlooking London.
Then quietly:
"Yes."
No hesitation this time.
None.
Daniel looked stunned by the honesty.
Honestly, Lucas was too.
Because for months he'd been dancing around the reality of his feelings carefully—
even privately.
But somewhere during the separation,
everything inside him had simplified painfully.
He loved Sabrina.
More than his image.
More than control.
More than safety.
And maybe real love was supposed to ruin your composure a little.
Daniel sat down slowly across from him.
"You understand if you do this, there's no taking it back."
"I know."
"People will dissect every word."
"I know."
"The press will become worse before it gets better."
Lucas swallowed hard briefly.
"I know."
Daniel studied him another long second.
Then carefully:
"You really think she's worth all this?"
The question hit something deep in Lucas instantly.
Worth all this.
Worth risking the carefully controlled life he'd spent years building.
Worth public vulnerability.
Career consequences.
Loss of privacy.
Lucas thought about:
And suddenly the answer felt almost offensive in its obviousness.
"She's the only thing that's ever felt worth any of this," he admitted quietly.
The room fell silent afterward.
Daniel leaned back slowly.
"Well," he muttered eventually. "That's psychologically horrifying."
Lucas almost smiled.
Almost.
Three hours later, Sabrina learned something was wrong because Chloe burst into her apartment carrying iced coffee and panic simultaneously.
"Why are you pacing?" Sabrina asked immediately.
"Because your emotionally constipated boyfriend finally snapped."
Sabrina blinked.
"What?"
Chloe shoved her phone forward dramatically.
A live television announcement glowed across the screen.
TONIGHT: Lucas Cooper Speaks Live For The First Time Since Relationship Scandal
Sabrina's stomach dropped instantly.
Oh no.
"Oh, that man is about to do something insane," Chloe continued. "I can feel it spiritually."
Sabrina stared at the screen while anxiety twisted sharply in her chest.
Lucas hated live interviews.
Avoided them whenever possible.
Which meant if he agreed to this now—
something had changed.
"He shouldn't do this," Sabrina whispered.
Chloe looked at her knowingly.
"He's doing it for you."
That terrified her more somehow.
Because Sabrina knew Lucas.
Knew how carefully he guarded himself publicly.
If he was about to expose real emotions on live television—
he had to be desperate.
The realization sat heavily in her chest all afternoon.
By evening, Sabrina had convinced herself not to watch.
Then watched anyway.
Obviously.
The interview set looked sleek and painfully expensive beneath studio lights while social media exploded in real time waiting for Lucas's appearance.
Sabrina sat motionless on her couch clutching a blanket like emotional support while Chloe watched beside her with terrifying excitement.
"I feel history approaching," Chloe whispered.
"You're enjoying this too much."
"Yes."
Then Lucas walked onstage.
And Sabrina's heart immediately cracked.
Because he looked exhausted.
Not camera exhausted.
Soul exhausted.
The audience applauded while Lucas sat across from the host calmly adjusting the microphone clipped against his jacket.
But Sabrina noticed the tension immediately.
His hands.
Lucas's fingers flexed once against his knee—
a nervous habit almost nobody else would recognize.
Except she would.
Because she knew him now.
The interviewer smiled professionally.
"Lucas, thank you for being here."
"Happy to be here."
Lie.
Sabrina could hear it instantly.
The interview began predictably enough.
Questions about projects.
Career.
Recent media attention.
Lucas answered smoothly at first.
Controlled.
Then the host finally shifted carefully.
"There's obviously been enormous public discussion surrounding your relationship with Sabrina Sanders."
Sabrina stopped breathing slightly.
Lucas's expression remained calm.
"Yes."
"Recently leaked documents suggested your relationship began as a contractual arrangement."
The audience went completely silent.
Sabrina's chest tightened painfully.
Lucas looked directly at the interviewer.
"That part's true."
Chloe whispered:
"Oh God."
Online, social media exploded instantly.
But Lucas continued before anyone else could speak.
"What people don't understand is that somewhere along the way, it stopped being fake before either of us really noticed."
Sabrina's heartbeat stumbled violently.
Lucas looked calmer now somehow.
Not because this was easy.
Because he'd stopped hiding.
"She became my best friend first," he admitted quietly. "Which honestly was never part of the plan."
The audience laughed softly.
Sabrina nearly cried immediately.
Because his voice sounded so sincere.
No celebrity polish.
No rehearsed PR language.
Just Lucas.
The interviewer leaned slightly forward.
"So your feelings for her are real?"
Lucas looked genuinely confused by the question.
"Very real."
The answer came instantly.
Without hesitation.
Sabrina pressed trembling fingers against her mouth.
Oh my God.
Lucas continued before emotion completely destroyed her nervous system.
"I think the problem is people assume relationships become fake if they start under unusual circumstances." His gaze lowered briefly. "But sometimes feelings happen before you're emotionally prepared for them."
The room remained completely silent listening to him.
Even the interviewer looked caught off guard now.
Lucas swallowed once before continuing more quietly.
"I spent a long time treating every part of my life like something to manage carefully." A faint humorless smile crossed his face. "Career. Public image. Emotions."
Sabrina's chest hurt.
Because she knew exactly how hard this was for him.
Then Lucas said the thing that shattered her completely.
"And then I met Sabrina." His voice softened instantly. "And suddenly there was this person who made me feel more like myself than fame ever did."
Tears burned behind Sabrina's eyes immediately.
Beside her, Chloe looked emotionally unwell.
"That man is insane," she whispered.
Lucas looked down briefly during the interview like he was trying to steady himself emotionally before speaking again.
"I handled things badly after the leak." His jaw tightened faintly. "Not because I was ashamed of her. Because I was scared."
The honesty in his voice physically hurt.
"Scared of what?" the interviewer asked gently.
Lucas laughed softly once.
"Losing her."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the studio audience looked emotionally stunned now.
Lucas rubbed a hand briefly across his jaw before continuing.
"She kept telling me she felt like my world would destroy her eventually." His throat tightened visibly. "And instead of proving her wrong, I disappeared into meetings and PR strategies because that's what I've trained myself to do whenever things become difficult."
Sabrina couldn't breathe properly anymore.
Because this wasn't image management.
This was emotional surrender.
Lucas looked directly toward the camera now.
And suddenly Sabrina realized:
he wasn't talking to the audience anymore.
He was talking to her.
"I think I spent so much time trying to control public perception that I forgot love isn't supposed to feel strategic."
Tears slipped down Sabrina's face immediately.
Lucas inhaled slowly before saying quietly:
"She was never temporary to me."
The world stopped.
Sabrina physically stopped breathing.
Because there it was.
The line.
The truth.
The emotional payoff hidden underneath months of fear and misunderstandings and late-night almost-confessions.
Lucas's eyes looked glassy beneath the studio lights now.
But he kept going anyway.
"I love her," he admitted softly. "More than the career advice. More than the headlines. More than being careful."
The audience looked stunned.
The interviewer looked stunned.
Chloe was openly crying beside Sabrina now.
And Sabrina—
Sabrina's entire heart cracked wide open listening to the man she loved destroy every emotional wall he'd ever built in public just to make sure she understood one thing clearly:
he was finally choosing her loudly.