Chapter 4: Lucas Comes to Me
Chapter 4: Lucas Comes to Me
He came at night.
Of course he did.
Broken men always come at night.
Security stopped him at the entrance of my building, but I allowed him up.
Curiosity is a dangerous thing.
Especially when you already know the outcome.
When he stepped into my office, he wasn’t the man from the dining hall.
No confidence.
No control.
Just exhaustion and disbelief.
“You planned all of this,” he said hoarsely.
I didn’t look up from my documents.
“No,” I replied.
“I waited.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Three years?”
I finally looked at him.
“Yes.”
That stopped him.
His voice lowered.
“Why?”
I stood slowly.
Walked toward the window.
Because the city looked different at this height.
Cleaner. Smaller. Controlled.
“Because,” I said quietly, “I needed to know what you would do when you thought I had nothing left.”
I turned slightly.
“And you didn’t disappoint.”
His jaw tightened.
“I loved you once.”
I almost believed him.
Almost.
But truth has a way of arriving too late.
“No,” I said.
“You loved what you thought you could own.”
Silence stretched between us.
Then he whispered—
“Is there anything left for me?”
I looked at him for a long moment.
May you like
And answered honestly.
“No.”
