Chapter 2
But Carol endured the pain, gently patting my hand and finally letting out a relieved breath.
Carol said, "As long as you're okay."
The scar was so deep, still etched on Carol's hand. It was a constant reminder of how much she once loved me.
Back then, she couldn't stand to see me hurt.
Carol casually touched her flushed cheek, glanced at the Patek Philippe on her wrist, and there wasn't a trace of anger in her eyes.
"Answer the phone, Lucien," she said.
It was my dad's tired voice on the other end.
The company was drowning in debt, bankruptcy looming. At the end, my dad asked cautiously, "Lucien, can you talk to Carol and see if we can move up the marriage alliance?"
I was stunned, staring at Carol. She was so confident, with victory written all over her face, casually lighting up a cigarette.
In the swirling smoke, Carol gave my cheek a playful squeeze.
"Breaking up isn't an option, even if you want to. Don't leave me, Lucien," she said.
Clouds cleared, rain stopped, and the bodyguard opened the passenger door for me.
Timothy Rivera was in the back seat, his face a little flushed. He saw me and arched an eyebrow.
"Lucien, you're here too," he said.
His outfit looked familiar. It was one Carol had given me before.
Carol met my eyes and said with a casual air, "I ripped his clothes this morning, so I grabbed yours for him. You don't mind, do you, Lucien?"
Not just the clothes. Even the necklace, the watch, everything Timothy had on was from my wardrobe.
He had also taken Carol away from me.
Carol shot me a teasing look, like she was waiting for me to lose it, just like all those times before.
But I swallowed the nausea and forced a smile. "Yeah, I don't mind. Mr. Rivera, you really pull it off."
Carol raised an eyebrow, her gaze probing.
Timothy kept apologizing, saying he'd wash the clothes and return them.
"It was an emergency, I hope you understand?" he said.
"Timothy," I said, pausing for a moment. "If it was really an emergency, you could've just grabbed the clothes. But you didn't have to take my watch. That's worth a million dollars."
Timothy's face went stiff for a second, but Carol looked relieved and laughed.
"Come on, you're a grown man, why fuss over it? I'll get you a couple more," she said.
That line... I had heard it so many times before.
With the pressure from my dad's company, I had no choice but to bow my head to Carol.
But those entitled habits she spoiled me with weren't something I could change overnight.
Just because I couldn't do anything to her didn't mean I couldn't mess with those men.
If they were celebrities, I'd ruin their careers with juicy scandals. If they were office guys, I'd make sure rumors about them spread like wildfire through the whole company.
Whenever they made a scene in front of Carol, she'd flash a smile, sign a check without a second thought, and settle everything for me.
"Why are you fussing? Just let Lucien be," she'd say.
All the rich heirs in Ertonhull were terrified of me, and the crowd of guys around Carol kept getting smaller and smaller.
But Timothy was a regular guy.
When I stormed into his school and caused a scene, Carol was overseas in a meeting, but she caught the first flight back that very night.
She'd never laid a hand on me before, but seeing the Reilly Group's stock crash and the pain in my parents' eyes hurt way more than any slap ever could.
"Timothy didn't know a thing. I was the one who dragged him into this," Carol said.
She hadn't gotten her way yet, and there was fire in her eyes. "Don't take it out on him."
I was so furious my heart was about to burst. I snapped at her, "He's got a girlfriend! Are you seriously trying to be the side chick? Carol, that's pathetic!"
Carol casually lit a cigarette and gave a sarcastic chuckle.
"Side chick? Lucien, I wish I could be, but I haven't even made it that far," she shot back.
I was completely stunned.
This wasn't like before. Timothy wasn't like the others.
Something in my gut wouldn't let me sleep all night. I couldn't sit around and wait for things to happen.
I had a private investigator dig up everything there was to know about Timothy.
He was average. He was from an average family, had average grades, and was not even good-looking.
I couldn't wrap my head around it. Why him? Why?
I showed up at his place with my crew. The old apartment reeked of mildew. Just as I was about to kick the door in, a sudden force yanked me back and slammed me hard to the ground. My cheek scraped painfully against the concrete.
All I could see were Carol's red-soled heels.
She crouched down, her features blurred by the swirling smoke.
"Lucien, you really are a handful," Carol said.
She threw me into the Gordon mansion's lockup for three days and three nights.
But what tormented me even more than thirst was the suffocating, endless darkness.
Carol knew I was terrified of the dark, so when the mansion was renovated, she made sure not a single corner was ever left in darkness.
Even the garden would blaze with lights all night, as long as I was awake.
People in Ertonhull joked that Ms. Gordon had splurged to build me a "city that never sleeps."
But she was the one who made this windowless, pitch-black room to lock me up.