Lethal Temptation (by Michelle Ray) novel Chapter 185

185 The Other Truth

Lucian

“The woman is paranoid,” my father muttered, voice low. “That’s why Lydia is still single. I offered for them to come live in the mansion years ago, to help keep an eye on you. I saw the change in Martha not long after we married and I claimed her. That’s when everything shifted.”

He stared off toward the wall, eyes distant. “Martha played the part perfectly. She cared for you. Loved you, for three whole years. That’s what made me stop asking Katya and Lydia to move in. I thought you were in good hands.”

His jaw tightened. “I regret that.”

He exhaled and returned to the story he’d been trying to tell.

“Back to your mother… I spent three months begging Natasha to come home. I told her she could keep everything, I just wanted her. But she wouldn’t come back. Not until she found out she was pregnant with

you!”

A faint smile ghosted across his lips. “That changed everything. We fixed things between us. And eventually, she realized I hadn’t cheated. For the first time in a long time, things were good again. Really

good.”

Then his face clouded over.

“And then… she gave birth to you. And everything changed again.”

I stayed quiet, listening.

“She started slipping. I didn’t see it at first, but she was drowning in postnatal depression. Katya made it worse, hovering, controlling, fueling her fears.”

He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.

“I tried everything, Lucian. I did. But it got unbearable. Katya said we needed to go to Neev, that the fresh air, the change, would help Natasha recover. I didn’t want to go. I would’ve stayed and suffered through it with her, but Katya threatened me. Said I was trying to hurt her niece. Said I didn’t care.”

His voice cracked, and I saw tears gather in his eyes again.

“I bought that damned cottage for Katya out of my own pocket. I didn’t want her living with us. I didn’t trust her. Never did. As far as I was concerned, she’d done enough damage. But I gave in. I was desperate.

He looked at me again, voice raw now.

“My only crime was loving your mother, eloping with her. Her family never forgave me. Especially Katya. They always believed Natasha didn’t need me. Katya never believed in bonds between men and women.

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185 The Other Truth

And when her marriage failed, she poisoned every relationship she touched after that.”

His breathing grew heavy.

“She loved your mother, I won’t deny that. But it was poisoned love. Controlling. Consuming.”

A pause.

“Then a month after we moved to Neev… your mother was poisoned. The staff, all of them, were

butchered. I suspected the Alpha of Neev was in on it. Maybe more. I never got answers.”

He looked down.

“I didn’t marry Martha right away. On my way back from Neev, I ran into her by chance. She offered to help care for you. I was broken. Katya was recovering, barely, and I had no one. You needed someone. And

Martha… she was familiar. Kind. You took to her quickly.”

He gave a long sigh.

“I didn’t want you to grow up without love. So I married her. Three years later.”

His next words were quieter.

“I couldn’t touch her. Not for a long time. Not after Natasha. It felt wrong. Disloyal. When Darian was conceived, I was drunk. That’s the only way it happened.”

I absorbed everything, trying to reconcile it with the life I’d lived.

“Why didn’t you tell me all of this before?” I asked softly.

He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw the full weight he carried.

“Because that pain wasn’t your cross to bear.”

He growled low in his chest, anger surfacing again.

“I will never help Katya. She caused everything, every fight, every false accusation, every separation. She drove the wedge. She pushed your mother into depression. She drove us to Neev. And that’s where I lost the only woman I ever truly loved.”

He stared at me with glassy, haunted eyes.

“You know me, Lucian,” my father said, his voice steady but worn. “Have you ever seen me with another woman? Ever heard even one rumor of me playing around?”

I shook my head. Not once in my life.

“If you think I’m lying,” he added, “go investigate everything I told you. Every word. I never cheated on your mother. But in Katya’s mind, I did, and that’s all that’s ever mattered to her. That will always be her truth.

And I hate her for it.”

I looked down, ashamed.

185 The Other Truth

“I’m sorry, Father,” I said quietly. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. I take it back, all of it.”

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. The silence between us wasn’t cold anymore. It was reflective. Real,

“The Nighthorn mansion is your home,” I added. “I could never take it from you.”

Still no words. Just a soft exhale as he absorbed it all.

Then he said something that caught me off guard.

“I’m thinking of sending Martha back to Goldenpeak,” he admitted. “A permanent separation might be best, for everyone. She’s caused too much pain. Do you think Darian will be okay with it?”

I paused, realizing then that he’d tolerated Martha not out of love, but for Darian’s sake.

“He’s a grown man now,” I replied. “After his wedding to Tiffany, do what you need to do for your peace. But I’d suggest moving her out of the mansion sooner. You can send her to my house, I won’t be staying

there for now. Let one of the staff go with her.”

My father frowned. “Why are you being generous with her?”

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