I was speechless. The answer was yes.
I had thought about him, through many long nights. Even last night in the ER, bleeding out, Lucas's face had flashed through my mind. But I didn't want to tell him. I was exhausted. This marriage had drained nearly all my emotions. Now I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.
"I don't want to discuss this. Please move. I need to go home." I bit down hard, trying to get past him.
But Lucas acted like he hadn't heard my dismissal. He turned his head, staring into my eyes. "Last night when I got the call, I was in a meeting in Eastern Europe. Mrs. Hughes told me you were in the ER. Didn't know why exactly. I got on an international flight immediately and flew back overnight. When I got to your room, you know what I saw? You and that man sleeping head to head!"
He watched me, gray-blue eyes churning with intense emotion. My throat tightened. When I woke up, Joe had been there. But that was only because in this city, besides Maya, Joe was my only friend who could help watch over me.
"Ella, are you going to abandon Grandfather? Abandon everything in Manhattan?"
His tone carried hurt I'd never heard before. I saw genuine pain cross his face, which shocked me so much my heart nearly jumped out.
He'd always been cold and proud, unshakable. How could he show such an expression... because of me?
I blurted out, "I didn't abandon you... I still care about home. Care whether Mr. Rockefeller is doing better."
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Though it was just a habitual concern, like how I patiently asked after every elderly person at the sanatorium. But words like that shouldn't appear in this scene, in this emotional moment.
Lucas suddenly stubbed out his cigarette and strode forward, pulling me into his arms roughly, domineeringly.
"Everyone misses you... I miss you too." His head buried deep in the crook of my neck. He paused, throat working. "When I heard you were hospitalized, for one moment, I didn't want anything else. Just you, Ella... I just needed you to be okay."
My eyes started burning.
No. Don't do this.
Don't torture me like this.
Chapter Eighteen
Lucas
After I got back to Manhattan, I locked myself in the executive lounge on the top floor. Curtains drawn tight. The only light came from my computer screen. I tore through emails, reviewed contracts, and jumped from one video call to the next. I turned my brain into a machine running on overdrive, trying to fill every second with dry numbers and legal terms.
Because the moment I stopped, I thought of Ella.
Her back as she walked away. That divorce agreement locked in my drawer, still unsigned.
Mrs. Hughes called every day, her tone probing. "Sir, Mr. Rockefeller keeps asking when Miss Bruce is coming back."
"Tell him I'm handling it." I always hung up fast. I had no answer. So I ran. Hid in the safe zone built from work. Though even that zone was full of holes—the searching looks from colleagues and board members made me feel exposed.
Then a cross-border merger in London hit a snag. I practically leaped at the chance, had my assistant book the next international flight. Two months abroad. On the surface, I wassacrificing everything for work. But I knew the truth—I just couldn't keep living in a world without her.
London in November was cold and damp. I checked into a hotel by the Thames, got up at six every morning, and worked until past midnight. At the negotiating table, I was still that ruthless Rockefeller CEO. No one could see the cracks.
One day, I overheard my assistants whispering in the hallway.
"Mr. Rockefeller's becoming impossible," a young female assistant said quietly. "Last week he tore into the whole team over one tiny mistake."
"Shh, keep it down." Someone warned her. "He's like a ticking bomb now. No one knows when he'll explode."
I stood by the door, listening. Before, I never let anyone challenge me. Once I made a decision, not even my beloved grandfather could change my mind. But now, hearing words that could destroy team morale, I didn't want to argue back. I even wondered—maybe my stubborn control had bled into my marriage. Maybe that's why Ella left.
If I'd been humble earlier, paid more attention to the people around me, maybe Ella wouldn't have walked away.
I thought I could keep running on empty forever.
