Page 22 of King of Rage

Ana looked confused for only a brief second. Then her eyes widened, and she immediately brought a hand to her mouth.

“What the hell? Are you serious? Didn’t you two break up a year ago?”

Stella sighed and closed her eyes.

Then she finally began telling Ana everything that had happened over the past few days, starting with how she had run into Lucius again.

“I don’t even know what he was doing at that restaurant. I never expected to come across him, especially just one day after coming back.” She shook her head, still struggling to process it herself. “It was like magic. One moment I was thinking about him, and the next, he was standing in front of me. I thought I was dreaming.”

She paused before continuing.

“I didn’t even realize it was real until he took me to his house. Then suddenly, I was in his bed, and you know how it is with him.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“I’m even more angry with myself. He’s the first man I ever fell in love with, and falling back into his arms felt like I was back in those three years again.”

She pressed her lips together before finally admitting, “I don’t know what to do.”

Ana was quiet for a moment before asking, “What about Shane? Does he know?”

“Yes.” Stella lowered her gaze. “He was worried about me. He told me to take it slow and not jump into anything.”

“You really like Lucius, don’t you?”

Ana rested her head against Stella’s shoulder, and Stella tilted her head to the side as well. For a moment, she remained quiet.

“I did,” she admitted.

She hesitated before continuing.

“When he proposed the relationship four years ago and asked me to be his girlfriend, I already had a crush on him, so I obviously accepted. I wouldn’t have accepted those terms from anyone else, but with him, I did. Even though I knew better, I agreed to all of them without a second thought.”

Her voice softened.

“But then I fell more and more in love with him. I knew that if I didn’t walk away while I was still thinking clearly, I was going to get completely trapped in that relationship.”

Her fingers tightened together in her lap.

“I really wanted to have a love life with someone I truly liked. I wanted it to be with him. But I guess this is how my first love was supposed to end.”

***

The Frost Group was one of the most well-known event management companies in Manhattan. They handled major events for some of the biggest entertainment companies, working with leading artists, actors, actresses, and singers.

Because the company managed events on such a large scale, its reputation was among the best in the industry. The work was also extremely demanding. There was always another event to plan, another client to manage, and another deadline approaching.

At the moment, the company was handling an upcoming event for a singer who had recently gone viral on the internet. With the event drawing closer, managing everything had become increasingly difficult. The crowd expected to attend was going to be enormous, and every detail had to be handled perfectly.

Lucius was standing in his office, going through the files related to the event, when the door suddenly opened.

Nial stepped inside, looking breathless and tense.

Lucius immediately lifted his head at the urgency in his assistant’s voice.

“What’s wrong? Did something go wrong with the planning?”

“No, sir. Nothing went wrong with the event.”