Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lucas County stood at the window of his office, staring out at the rain-washed garden but seeing nothing. His mind was twenty-five years in the past, fixed on a memory he'd never been able to shake.

Amelia, eighteen and radiant in her graduation dress, laughing as she spun under the oak tree in her backyard. Her chestnut hair catching sunlight, joy radiating from her every movement.

That was the day he had finally gathered his courage to tell her how he felt. How he had always felt, since they were ten years old and she'd punched Billy Sanders for making fun of Lucas's secondhand clothes.

But Richard Parker had beaten him to it. Handsome, confident Richard with his sports car and easy charm. Richard had shown up at Amelia's graduation party with roses and a silver bracelet, sweeping her off her feet with practiced lines and a dazzling smile.

Lucas had watched from across the yard as Amelia blushed under Richard's attention. He had seen the moment she fell, the precise instant when her heart turned toward Richard and away from any possibility of what might have been between them.

He never told her. He couldn't bear to make her choose, couldn't stand the thought of seeing pity in those warm eyes he loved so much. So he'd swallowed his confession, congratulated them both, and left for California with his heart in pieces.

Now Lucas moved to his desk and opened the bottom drawer, removing a thin file marked with a single letter: A.

Inside were photos, news clippings, reports, the careful documentation of a life observed from afar. Amelia at her wedding, radiant in white lace. Amelia with her newborn daughter. Amelia at charity events on Richard's arm, her smile never quite reaching her eyes in later years.

What had started as a way to ease the ache of loss, just checking in occasionally to make sure she was happy, had evolved into something more thorough over the years. Every six months, a discreet update from a private investigator. Nothing intrusive, nothing that crossed lines, just... keeping tabs.

Making sure she was safe. Happy. Taken care of.

He had known for years that she wasn't truly happy. Had seen her spark dim as Richard's career took priority, as she set aside her own dreams for her family. But she had chosen that life, and Lucas had respected her choice, watching from the shadows as she built the family she had always wanted.

Until two days ago, when his security head had called with an urgent report: Richard Parker had been seen entering Le Ciel restaurant with his secretary, Charlotte Mills. An hour later, Amelia Carter had left alone, clearly distraught.

Lucas had known immediately what had happened. Richard, who had never deserved her, had finally shown his true nature.

He had ordered his car readied, intending to go to her home, to finally break his long silence. But before he could leave, a second call came through.

"Sir, Mrs. Carter hasn't gone home. The driver followed her to Westlake Bridge. She's been standing there for over an hour in the rain. She doesn't look... stable, sir."

Lucas had never moved so fast in his life. Had never felt such pure, primal fear. He ordered his driver to break every speed limit, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might burst from his chest.

When he reached the bridge and saw her slight figure at the railing, rain plastering her dress to her body, her face blank with despair, something in him had shattered. Twenty years of careful distance, of respecting her choices, of watching from afar, gone in an instant.

He had reached her just as she slipped, his hand catching her wrist in a grip so tight it might have left bruises. In that moment, as she dangled between life and death, he had made a vow to himself: he would never let her go again. Not to Richard. Not to despair. Not to anyone or anything.

If fate had given him this second chance, he would not waste it.

And now she was here, in his home, sleeping under his roof. Broken, yes. Devastated by betrayal. But alive. Here. Within reach at last.

Lucas closed the file and returned it to the drawer. He hadn't told her the truth, that he'd known exactly where she was that night, that his "chance" encounter on the bridge was anything but chance. He couldn't tell her that he'd been watching over her for decades, a silent guardian she never knew she had.

She would think him obsessed. Disturbed, even.

Perhaps he was.

He moved back to the window, pressing his palm against the cool glass. The rain had stopped, leaving the garden glistening in the afternoon sunlight. Somewhere in the east wing, Amelia was settling into her temporary sanctuary, unaware of the truth that burned in his chest like a flame.

He had loved her since childhood. Had never stopped loving her, not through college, not through his marriage to Eva's mother, a good woman who had known she was his second choice and had loved him anyway, not through the decades of building his empire while Amelia built her family with another man.

Now, by some twist of fate cruel to her but impossibly precious to him, she was here. Vulnerable. In need of protection and care, things he could finally, at long last, provide.

"One week," he murmured to the empty room, recalling her words from breakfast. She thought she would stay just one week, then go out into the world alone to rebuild her life.

But Lucas had waited twenty years for this chance. He would not let it slip away so easily.

He would not force her, would not manipulate or pressure her. But he would show her, day by day, what life could be like by his side. Would demonstrate through actions, not words, how deeply he cherished her, how completely he understood her.

And perhaps, given time, she might come to see him as more than the boy next door, more than an old friend offering shelter in a storm.

The intercom on his desk buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Sir? Your next meeting is waiting."

Lucas straightened his shoulders. The world's third largest corporation would not run itself.

Yet as he prepared to discuss billion-dollar investments and strategic acquisitions, his mind remained fixed on Amelia. On the fragile second chance fate had given him.

He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out an old photograph, yellowed with age. Two teenagers sitting under an oak tree, her head resting on his shoulder, both of them laughing at some forgotten joke. He had carried this photo everywhere for twenty years.

Lucas traced her young face with his finger. She had chosen Richard back then, had built a life without him. But Richard had proven unworthy of her trust, her love, her loyalty.

Lucas would not make the same mistake. He would be patient. Would earn her trust again, slowly, carefully. Would help her heal from Richard's betrayal.

And this time, when she was ready to choose again, he would make sure she knew exactly how he felt. How he had always felt.

This time, Lucas County would fight for the woman he loved.

Whatever it took, however long it took, he would keep her by his side.

He had failed to protect her once. He would not fail again.

******

The fire crackled in the stone hearth as rain tapped against the library windows. Lucas sat in his leather chair with a glass of whiskey, while Eva curled up on the sofa opposite him.

"So," she said, breaking the silence. "Are you going to tell me about you and Amelia? The real story this time?"