LUCIAN
I wasn’t comfortable with how attached they were to her.
Not really.
I didn’t like how easily she’d slipped into their space, into their routines, into places I’d spent years guarding.
But I’d also seen the way Elias leaned into her without flinching.
The way Lucas laughed louder around her.
The way both of them looked… lighter.
Free in a way I didn’t always know how to give them.
And if I was being honest with myself, they hadn’t looked that unguarded in a long time.
And if she made them feel safe, if she made them happy, then…
”I’m sure she’d love that,” I said instead.
“Both of them.”
Friday morning came and she still wasn’t there.
By the time I pulled up for pickup and scanned the entrance, the unwelcome irritation was already settling in my chest.
Another teacher stood where she usually was, smiling too much, waving parents along like nothing was off.
I didn’t like it.
Was this how it worked now?
Passing children around without notice?
Parents were supposed to be told when their kids’ homeroom teacher was absent.
Especially someone as involved as she pretended to be.
I buckled the boys in myself, movements clipped.
“Are we going to Grandma and Grandpa’s?” Lucas asked, already brightening.
“Yes, baby,” I said, forcing my tone to soften.
That had been my mother’s one condition when I moved back.
Non negotiable.
She’d framed it like a favor, like she wasn’t the one who needed it more than they did.
The drive stretched longer than usual.
An hour and a half of road and silence before the gates came into view, tall and pristine, the estate sitting exactly where it always had.
My mother was already waiting by the door.
The car had barely come to a stop before she opened the back door, her face lighting up immediately.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite grandchildren,” she cooed, reaching in and scooping Elias up first.
He giggled as she kissed his cheek, completely unbothered.
“They’re your only grandchildren Mum,” I said as I stepped out and helped Lucas down.
“And you could at least pretend to be happy to see me.”
”It’s nice seeing you,” she replied flatly, not even looking my way before turning back to the boys.
I scoffed under my breath.
“Wow.
Where’s Dad?”
”An emergency meeting,” she said then straightened and pulled me in for a hug.
“You’re not coming in?”
”No.
I’ve got work,” I replied.
“I’ll pick them up on Sunday.”
I bent down, kissed the boys, promised calls and cartoons and whatever else Lucas demanded in rapid fire succession.
Elias hugged me longer than usual before letting go.
I tried getting some work done on the way back but when my driver pulled into my own place and the gates slid shut behind us, the house greeted me the same way it always did.
Empty.
Still.
Waiting for nothing.
It sat in my bones like an unwanted nuisance.
I snapped at the house staff over nothing.
A misplaced file.
A question asked twice.
By mid afternoon I’d locked myself in my office and stayed there, telling myself it was work keeping me anchored to the chair.
It wasn’t.
Night crept in unnoticed and at some point the house fell silent.
I was still staring at a financial report I’d read three times without absorbing a word, my attention drifting back to the clock on the wall like it was daring me to do something stupid.
“Fuck this,” I muttered, already pushing back from the desk.
The hallway outside was dark and quiet as I grabbed a coat from the closet and slid my cars keys into my palm without thinking twice.
The drive did nothing to cool me down.
If anything, the anger simmered under my skin the entire way.
When I pulled up, I tossed my keys to the valet without breaking stride and stopped just short of the entrance, jaw tight.
The neon sign was glowing against the night like a bad idea dressed up as temptation.
So here I was.
Again.
Back at Eclipse Strip n Drink.
I shouldn’t be here.
I knew that, but I still squared my shoulders and walked inside anyway.
“You better not be here,” I muttered under my breath, the words more warning than hope.