Chapter 185
Lüke paused, momentarily shunned.
He had always believed Theodore was simply trying to wear him down, waiting for him to beg and break. But only now did he realize the truth, never intended to give him a choice. He was closing every door behind him.
“My life’s in Covenhill, Luke said, voice tight. “Where the hell am I supposed to go?”
Theodore didn’t flinch. Glancing at Luke’s rape filled face, he slid a check and two airline tickets across the table with unsettling composure.
“I’m aware your father ran off with debt collectors at his heels, leaving you and your mother behind. I’ve taken the liberty of arranging a solution, Al that’s left is for you to accept it.
Luke stared at the check, an amount large enough to erase years of hardship, then at the two tickets to Caledor. If he took them, he’d escape poverty in a
heartbeat. But Ebana would be lost to him forever.
He drew in a breath, steadying himself. “Nothing happened between me and Ellie. Yeah, I saw her, but it wasn’t like that. You didn’t have to push me out
of town.”
Theodore raised an eyebrow and laid several photographs on the desk between them. “Then explain these.”
In the images, Luke was lying in a hospital bed, bruised and bandaged from the crash. Eliana was there, leaning over him. In one of them, he was holding her hand.
Theodore’s tone was almost bored. “You didn’t know she was married?”
Luke hesitated, “I knew…” His voice faltered with guilt.
Theodore gave a cold, cutting smile. “And you still touched her?”
Luke said nothing. There was no excuse, and he knew it.
Theodore gestured subtly at the desk. “Take the money. The tickets. Go somewhere she’ll never have to see your face again.”
He hadn’t raised his voice or uttered a cruel word, but somehow, the effect was more brutal than if he had screamed.
But Luke wasn’t ready to let Theodore dictate the course of his life
He knew too well that if he accepted this offer, Theodore would make sure Eliana knew and she’d think even less of him than she already did.
Back in that hospital bed, Luke had made himself a promise that he wouldn’t let her look at him with disappointment ever again.
“I’d rather die in the gutter than let you win.” Wi
Without hesitation, he ripped the check and tickets in hall
Theodore’s expression didn’t flicker. He remained impassive. “You’re free to reconsider, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
id that stung more than anything.
The tone was maddeningly calm, deliberate, a signal that Theodore didn’t even see him as a threat. And
Luke’s voice trembled with fury. “You’re trying to buy me off because you’re scared. Scared I might actually take Ellie from you. You’ve got the whole damn world at your feet, and you’re still afraid of someone like me?”
Theodore gave a low, derisive laugh. “Afraid of you? Don’t flatter yourself. I just find you revolting”
The image of Luke coveting Eliana in secret was enough to turn his stomach.
With a glance at Stanley, the message was clear,
140apter 185
Stanley didn’t need words. He turned to the guards. “Escort him out
No need, Luke spat, He yanked his arms free and stormed out on his own, fists clenched in fury, shume burning hot beneath his dom
He walked fast, head down, blind with rage, so fast he didn’t notice when he slammed into someone in the corridor,
sir, are you alright?” a voice asked the man he collided with. “That guy just ran right into you, Didn’t even apologize.”
Anthony rubbed his shoulder and looked after Luke’s retreating figure. He had a hunch the guy had just come from Theodore’s office.
After a brief pause, Anthony turned to his assistant. “Bring him back.”
“Right away, sir.”
Luke didn’t even make it to the elevator before another hand landed on his shoulder, firm and insistent.
“You just ran into Mr. Russell. Say you’re sorry before you leavel
The moment Luke heard the name, his anger reignited. “All of you people are the same. Using power to shove others around!”
Anthony, surprisingly, didn’t seem offended. In fact, his tone was calm, almost kind. “My brother gave you a hard time, didn’t he?”
Luke turned his face away, jaw tight.
Anthony didn’t push. “Don’t worry. I’m not like him. If something’s bothering you, I’m listening”
As evening fell, Eliana arrived back at Russell Manor and found Anthony waiting for her at the door.
Or rather, it was clear he had been waiting intentionally.
Although Eliana had grown wary of him, she merely nodded in acknowledgment and tried to retreat to her room.
But Anthony spoke before she could leave. “Eliana, there’s something I think you should know.”
She glanced back at him with a cool look. “What is it?”
Anthony felt a pang in his chest at the frosty tone.
If it weren’t for Alice ruining everything, Eliana wouldn’t be suspicious of him now.
Still, he didn’t forget his motive. “Today, a man named Luke came to the office looking for Theodore. They apparently had quite a serious argument”
“Eliana’s expression shifted instantly. She wondered, ‘Why Luke would seek out Theodore? And how Anthony had come to know about it?”
Sensing her doubt, Anthony continued. “I actually
berating me.
y ran into Luke in the hallway. I meant to ask him to apologize before leaving, but instead, he ended up
“He said I was just like Theodore, using power to bully people. After clearing things up, I realized Luke is actually one of your friends.”
Eliana did not deny it but asked, “So, what did Luke say about why he went to Theodore?”
“He said Theodore made him lose his job. Theodore wanted him to take a check and a plane ticket and leave Covenhill forever. But Luke refused.”
Anthony’s gaze lingered on her face as he added, “He said he didn’t want you to think less of him.”
Without thinking, Eliana replied, “That’s not possible. Theodore would never stoop to such tactics.”
apter 185
Anthony caught the flicker of unease she tried to hide. He understood she was trying to defend Theodore in front of him. He nodded | believe Theodore wouldn’t do something like that either. Maybe Luke is deliberately trying to smear him
→Since Luke is your friend, I just thought you should hear it from me. You can take it however you want
Later, alone in her room, Eliana reflected on the past week.
She had spoken with Theodore only a few times, and it was clear he was still upset about her meeting Luke on Valentina’s the
Despite her explanation that it was just a simple class reunion and that the didn’t even know Luke had been invited, Theodore only trusted what seen with his own eyes.
Still, Eliana found it hard to fully trust Anthony’s words. What if he was intentionally trying to sow discord?
After much deliberation, Eliana finally made the call to Pamela,
Pamela was Luke’s mother and had always been fond of her. If there w
was anyone who would tell her the truth, it would be her
The line connected quickly.
“Mrs. Graham, it’s me!”
“Eliana? is something wrong?” Pamela’s voice came through, tired and worn.
Eliana hesitated. Asking outright felt inappropriate, so she softened her tona. “I just wanted to check on Luke… How has he been lately?
Pamela let out a sigh. “Luke? Well, right after getting discharged from the hospital, he went out and found a job. It wasn’t easy, but he was trying, and was proud of him.
“But a few days ago, everything changed. He got fired from his job, and no one else will hire him. He’s been storming around the house ever since, angry. restless. Like he’s gearing up to light someone.”
Eliana’s brow furrowed. “Did he say what happened?!
“Tasked,” Pamela replied with a note of helplessness. “But he wouldn’t tell me. And I honestly don’t know how to help him anymore.”
Just then, the sound of the door opening broke the quiet in the bedroom.
She looked up and met Theodore’s eyes as he walked in. Pamela’s’voice still echoed in her ear. “Ellie, after you visited him at the hospital, he really changed. For the better. I was hopeful, thinking he’d finally matured.
“But
now this? You know what he’s like, proud and impulsive. I’m scared he’s going to spiral again. Go back to racing around like he used to. And if that happens… I don’t think I can handle it.”
As Eliana ended the call, Theodore loosened his tie and asked coolly, “Who was that?”
But Eliana didn’t answer. She simply stared at him, as if seeing something she hadn’t before.
Theodore’s expression darkened. He stepped closer, voice tinged with imitation. “There it is again. That look. Like I’m a stranger, Dol really disgust you
that much?”
It wasn’t disgust. It was fear,
For the first time, with everything Pamela and Anthony had said swirling in her mind, Eliana saw it clearly. “You did something to Luke, didn’t you?”
His laugh was laced with sarcasm. “So he ran crying to you after all? Pretending to take the high road while tattling behind my back?”
“It wasn’t him” she snapped, stepping forward. “Did you seriously try to pay them off with a check and a plane ticket? Just to drive them out of Covenhill? Who do you think you are? Some god the world has to revolve around?”
Theodore leaned back against the couch, legs crossed, unbathered. “I don’t need the world to revolve around then yes, I’ll cut down anything that gets in my way?”
Her anger boiled over. “So this is about control? About power? Do you really trust me so little is hating
But if you’re trying to break frow of me.
ly way you can feel secure?”
Hearing her defend Luke like that, Theodore lost all restraint. In one swift motion, he grabbed her and pinned her beneath him
“I didn’t hurt him. I didn’t ruin his life, I set him up with a future. And this is how you repay me! Getting mad because i won’t let himlinger in the same city?
What happened to Luke was entirely undeserved. Had it not been for that class reunion, Theodore wouldn’t have driven him into soch a comer
And yet, Theodore had delivered the blow with chilling composure as though Luke’s fate were his to command. In that moment, he bore no resemblance to the man Eliana thought she had once understood.
“You have no idea what it meant for h He’s all she has left..
him to lose that job,” she said, voice trembling “He’d finally started making progress. Mrs. Graham depends on him
“And you think throwing money at him makes it okay? A man like Luke doesn’t need charity. He needs to be challenged. Otherwise, he’ll fall right back into being reckless and arrogant.”
Theodore narrowed his eyes. “He’s worth all this shouting? Seriously? He loft you for your sister, Eliana. And still, you’re standing up for him? God, you’re pathetic.” His words hit like knives.
For a long moment, Eliana said nothing. Then she looked up at him, her voice hollow. “I must’ve been insane to think I could reason with you. I thought if 1 gave you space, you’d calm down, that you’d come to your senses
“But instead, you went and destroyed Luke. I don’t love him anymore,” she continued. “But I won’t stand by and watch you ruin his life just because he happened to be in mine. And I won’t let Mrs. Graham suffer for it either.
“Please, Theodore… just let it go.”
The corners of Theodore’s eyes twitched. It was always about Luke. The more she cared, the more it burned.
His hand clamped around her chin. A week of cold war between them had led to this, to a fight instead of a reconciliation.
But the moment he touched her, he felt the hunger he’d been trying to bury. His voice dropped, low and hoarse. “Maybe… you’d beg me. For him.”
Eliana’s breath caught. “What?”
He held her gaze. “If you please me, maybe reconsider. Maybe I’ll show him mercy
Her expression collapsed into disbelief. “You…”
He
let go, pulling away with forced indifference. “No? Then tell him to leave Covenhill. Or stay, and you can start planning his funeral”
The next evening, Luke returned home with nothing to show for another day of searching. But as he reached the steps, he came to an abrupt halt. Elana was standing at his door.
His expression froze, Without thinking, he turned sharply, as if to walk away before she could say a word.
“Luke, wait!” she called out.
Luke stood with his back to her, his voice hourse with frustration. “Did you come to tell me to leave Covenhill too? Everyone else can look down on me, but not you. Don’t do this to me.
Chapter 186
Chapter 186
