"Nothing major." Lucas shrugged, producing a lighter from his pocket. "Though you've really had a hell of a day."
He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply.
"What brings you here anyway?" I asked. "Didn't you say you were celebrating on your yacht?"
"That was the plan." Lucas exhaled smoke. "But seeing that news... I worried about you. Thought I'd check if I could help."
He glanced at me, something unexpectedly tender in his eyes.
"We've worked together long enough. We're friends, aren't we?"
Friends. I was surprised he considered our relationship a friendship.
But being cared for felt... good.
"Yes, friends." I nodded, managing a faint smile. "Thank you, Lucas. Truly."
"Don't be so formal." Lucas smiled, reverting to his casual demeanor. He dropped the cigarette and crushed it beneath his toe—his habit of only taking the first drag.
"Though I do have a proposal..."
He leaned closer, voice lowering conspiratorially.
"How about I help you even more?"
"What kind of help?"
"Such as..." Lucas's eyes glinted. "Pretending to be a couple?"
"Announce publicly that Ella Ross is taken, completely uninvolved with any Blackwood." His tone was as light as discussing weather. "That would silence everyone, wouldn't it?"
I froze completely. My mind went blank, a single thought spinning wildly.
What was Lucas saying?
"You..." I stammered. "Lucas, are you..."
Heat flooded my face.
Was this... a confession?
Or merely joking between friends?
"Kidding." He burst out laughing, patting my shoulder. "Your expression is priceless."
I exhaled in relief, though uncertainty remained. "So... you were joking?"
"Half joking," Lucas said ambiguously. "The fake relationship offer is genuine. As for everything else..."
He shrugged.
"Who knows?"
I didn't know how to respond.
Too much had happened—the news, abuse, Kayden, Victoria, the diary... My brain felt like an overloaded machine ready to crash.
"Never mind, won't tease anymore." Lucas saw my struggle and waved dismissively. "You look exhausted. Let me buy you dinner. Consider it celebrating my windfall. Sound good?"
