- Chapter 21
- The engine roared as Eleanor Knight stepped on the gas, leaving the scene behind. In the rearview mirror, Sebastian Sinclair’s crumpled figure grew smaller until it became nothing more than a blurry speck.
- Lucas Chase bit his lower lip hard but still failed to suppress a quiet laugh. He quickly turned his face away, pretending to look out the window.
- “If you want to laugh, laugh. Why hide it?”
- The cool, composed voice startled him. He turned to meet Eleanor’s half-amused gaze.
- “I—I’m just happy…” He instinctively slipped into his usual coy tone but faltered under her piercing stare.
- Eleanor kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other suddenly gripped his chin. “Remember our three rules?”
- Her fingers were cool, yet they burned against his skin, sending a jolt through his chest.
- “I…” His throat tightened as he forced out the words. “I was a little… glad to see him suffer.”
- The car fell into suffocating silence. Lucas could hear his own heartbeat, loud and erratic.
- “You know him?” Eleanor’s question was a blade, cutting straight to his deepest secret.
- His fingers dug into the leather seat. Of course he knew—ever since he first saw Sebastian’s face in a financial magazine three years ago, that name had been etched into his bones.
- “I…”
- The lie danced on his tongue, but when he caught sight of her focused profile, the words died. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting golden flecks on her lashes, so beautiful it hurt.
- Then a warm hand covered his trembling fingers.
- “Fiancé,” she murmured, her voice soft yet thunderous in his ears, “are you going to keep pretending?”
- Lucas jerked his head up. In the rearview mirror, he watched the carefully crafted innocence in his eyes shatter.
- “Eleanor, I…”
- He took a sharp breath and suddenly gripped her hand back. This time, the warmth of her palm against his felt so real it nearly brought tears to his eyes.
- “I memorized everything about Sebastian Sinclair,” he admitted, his voice shaking. “From the moment you first took me to that French restaurant, I knew it was where you celebrated your anniversary.”
- Eleanor’s pupils contracted slightly.
- “The divorce papers in the third drawer of your study—I’ve read them seventeen times.” He loosened his tie with a bitter smile. “Every time you traveled, I slept in your bedroom…”
- His confession was cut off by the screech of tires as the car jerked to a sudden stop on the roadside.
- Lucas shut his eyes, bracing for judgment.
- Instead, he heard a soft click—the sound of a seatbelt unbuckling. Then the faint scent of her perfume enveloped him as she leaned in.
“Finally telling the truth?” Eleanor pinched his earlobe, her voice laced with amusement. “My little liar.”
