Betrayed by Blood: My Second Life as a Queen novel Chapter 267

267 /408

Willow enthusiastically asked Jude for the address, but before he could answer, Lucian interjected, "Willow, it's late. It's time to head home and rest."

Her excitement cooled slightly as she checked the time. He was right; it was already nine at night.

It would be wildly unprofessional to show up at someone's office now.

She smiled into the phone. "How about tomorrow? I'll come meet you at ten in the morning!"

Jude agreed smoothly. "Goodnight. Sweet dreams."

"You too," Willow replied before hanging up.

Remembering the massive check in her hand, she instinctively tried to give it back to Lucian again, but his dark, heavy gaze stopped her in her tracks.

Recalling what he had just said, she lowered her head and murmured, "I don't view you as an outsider. But some things need to be kept strictly separate. Lucian, I don't want to owe you money."

Owing him would make her feel entirely inferior.

She knew her worldview was fractured, likely a product of her agonizing childhood.

Whenever someone was genuinely kind to her, she felt an overwhelming, desperate need to repay them.

She had been the exact same way with Elias.

Before his heart had completely shifted to Tessa, Elias had spoiled her.

He bought her a wardrobe for every season.

Whenever he had free time, he took her to high-end restaurants.

When she was sick, he paid the medical bills.

During those years, Willow had constantly felt indebted to him.

When his attention started drifting toward Tessa, Willow was convinced she was the problem.

She wondered if she simply wasn't good enough, or if she was demanding too much, permanently resigning herself to a submissive role in the relationship.

It wasn't until she died that she finally realized the truth.

She had never demanded those things; Elias had offered them willingly.

Elias could easily drop fifty thousand dollars on a designer dress for Tessa's dog, yet he would only spare five hundred dollars for a winter coat for Willow.

To him, Willow had simply been a stray pet he found on the side of the road. By tossing a few hundred dollars her way, he bought her absolute, undying devotion. It was a cheap thrill.