"Yvette!" His gaze locked onto mine, fingers digging into the tabletop and his lips a thin, tight line. His Adam's apple bobbed, a tremor in his voice betraying his distress. "Even if you have fallen for Charlie, why the rush to leave? You're ready to ditch your mom, the whole Scott Corporation, and your life in Lake City for him? Does he even care about you enough to justify throwing everything away?" "Mr. Young, you might as well have askedthat question." A voice cut through the tension from behind me, and a dark figure materialized at my side: Lucas.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIdris's face darkened at the sight of him. Lucas met his glare, unfazed by the hostility, and challenged him, "Idris, I love Yvette just as much as you do, if not more. I'm ready to love her and only her for the rest of my days, to give her my heart, my soul, even my life. Can you say the same?" Idris bristled, his dark eyes narrowing. "I..." Lucas cut him off with a cold laugh, "Don't say you can, Idris. You betrayed Yvette on New Year's Eve. Did you really think she was clueless? That sordid story with the reporter that you paid a fortune to hush up—she's seen itall." Idris froze, his eyes flicking toin a mix of panic and shock I had never witnessed on his perfect face.
His reaction sent a sharp pain through my heart. Ever since that scandal broke, despite the damning footage, | had never once doubted Idris. | had convinced myself it was all Lucas's doing. With today's tech, anyone's face can be swapped into any video. No matter how convincing it looked, | refused to believe it was true.
However, the look on Idris's face said it all. Things were not playing out as | had imagined in my head.
| eyed Idris, needing to know for sure. "So, you and Alice are actually...?" His brows knitted together, his voice a rough whisper, "That night, I..." "No need to spell it out," | cut him off, a weird fear bubbling up inside me. | told him straight, "Whatever's going on with you two, it's none of my business anymore. You don't oweany explanations about who you're into or who you love, right?" | was being a chicken, for sure. | would rather cling to my doubts than hear him confirm he was tangled up with someone else. | preferred to stick to my original theory—that all of this was just one of Lucas's sick games, and Idris was trapped, having no choice in the matter.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe way he reacted was unsettling...
| could not even look at him anymore. | turned to Lucas and said, "We should get going." Lucas shot Idris a smug look and smirked. "Mr. Young, Yvette and | will see you outside the local office in two hours. You two can pick up your divorce papers. After that, you are both free to go your separate ways, no strings attached." Idris stayed quiet, but | felt his eyes on me. | did not return the look. | knew the hurt he was feeling, the hopelessness and heartache in his eyes.
| walked out of the club with Lucas, yanking my hand away from his grip and climbed into the car, my face blank, my heart sinking. If | could, | would not spend another second with him.
Lucas did not seem to mind. He plopped down besideand nodded at Inch, our driver, "Drive." As we pulled away, | stared out the window, lost in the blur of passing scenery. After a long silence, | turned to him, my voice icy. "Happy now?" The guy next tolet out a low, self-satisfied chuckle. "Not bad, but..." Lucas's voice trailed off, and he paused tically. "This isn't nearly enough." My brows furrowed, and | whipped around, my eyes blazing as | stared him down. "Lucas, what more do you want? You promised that if | did what you asked, you wouldn't hurt him anymore." He let out a cold laugh, his dark eyes lifting with a hint of scorn. "Really? After he betrayed you, you're still hung up on him? Yvette, that doesn't makehappy." The rage bubbling insidewas pushed down as | looked away and bit my lip. "So, what do you wantto do to make you happy?" Glancing down, he toyed with his hand in a laid-back way and said coolly, "What | want is beyond your reach." | frowned. What was he going on about now? After a moment, he casually looked up atand said, "Let's go eat first." We had stopped outside a private garden. He pulledfrom the car, and we walked into the yard, then into a secluded courtyard. Once we sat down, the server cby and asked, "Should we start serving the food now?"