Lethal Temptation (by Michelle Ray) novel Chapter 82

82 A Little Resentment 2

Mara

Lucian’s phone rang again.

I stepped back from our embrace, sensing it was important. He answered, and I could tell immediately it

was Austin. Something was wrong.

Lucian’s tone shifted-tense, clipped. He hung up, eyes uncertain. Whatever he needed to say, he was struggling to find the words.

“It’s okay, Lucian. Go,” I said softly.

He looked at me, torn. “Do you mind coming with me? We could check the house after…”

I wanted to say no. I was exhausted-emotionally, mentally. But I knew it took effort for him to ask. That

simple invitation was his way of trying to keep me close, to anchor us.

Martha’s words still clung to the edges of my mind like smoke. I couldn’t shake them, but I also couldn’t

live inside them forever. If I wanted to secure my future-and our children’s-I had to do more than just

react. I had to build. Build something of my own. Stand on ground no one could take from me.

“All right,” I said.

I slipped on some flip-flops, and we left.

The ride was silent. Tense. Lucian drove fast, and I could tell whatever Austin said had rattled him. His

hands gripped the wheel too tightly. He was half in the moment, half already at the hospital.

I stared out the window, unsure what to feel. Part of me feared the worst. Another part secretly hoped for

it-because if something happened to that child, Tina would lose her hold on our lives. I hated myself for

the thought, but it was there, twisted up in my fear.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot. He didn’t even wait for me to unbuckle before opening the door.

As we began walking toward the main entrance, I could see the strain in him. His body was moving faster

than his mind.

“Go ahead of me,” I said. “I’m behind you.”

He turned, hesitating. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I’ll catch up.”

“Private Ward 6,” he said and rushed off.

I slowed my pace deliberately. My chest ached with something I couldn’t name. I didn’t want to walk in on their moment-Lucian, Tina, and the baby. Their family, whether I liked it or not. To that child, I would always be the woman who took his father away. The villain in a story Tina would make sure he heard. Over and over again.

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She’d already promised she would do it. And I believed her.

I wandered the hallway until I reached the entrance to the ward, but I didn’t go in. I turned and walked toward the reception, lowering myself onto one of the cushioned chairs.

I sat there in silence, staring at the wall, waiting for enough time to pass so I wouldn’t interrupt.

Because even though I was Lucian’s wife, right now…

I felt like a stranger on the outside looking in.

Thirty minutes later, I found myself outside Tina’s hospital room, standing quietly by the window. I didn’t step in. I couldn’t.

Lucian was by her side, holding her hand. The doctor was bent over her, speaking in low tones I couldn’t hear. Austin stood silently in the corner. There was a tray filled with used cotton balls and stained gauze- too much of it. I wasn’t sure if all the blood came from Tina, but I didn’t care enough to find out.

I had seen enough.

I turned to leave-just as Lucian looked up and saw me. He dropped her hand instantly, like it burned him.

But it was too late. I had already seen it.

I smiled and nodded, pretending it didn’t matter.

Because what was the point in getting angry? This was reality now. We were bound together-and Tina

was part of that bond. A permanent, painful fixture.

Lucian’s expression twisted with worry. And that’s when I realized a tear had slipped down my cheek. I

wiped it away quickly.

“I’m okay, Lucian,” I linked him.

He didn’t reply.

I stayed by the window a little longer, just long enough for the doctor to finish and leave. Lucian stood to follow, but Tina clutched at him suddenly, holding on for dear life. She cried out, begging, screaming,

clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping her alive.

“Don’t leave me, Lucian! I need you-I’ll die if you go!”

I turned and walked away. I didn’t look back. My pace quickened until I hit the hospital exit and pushed through into the parking lot. The air outside was sharp against my skin. My vision blurred. I was crying, and this time I didn’t bother stopping the tears.

My fingers found the locket at my neck, a gift from Lucian. It was supposed to be a symbol of us. Now it felt like a weight.

“Mara! Mara, please-Mara!” I heard him behind me.

I stopped.

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Wiped my tears.

Turned to face him.

“I can’t handle this, Lucian,” I said, my voice breaking. “My heart can’t take it.”

His face crumbled.

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“No matter how high your love lifts me,” I continued, “Tina will always be there to crash it. She’s wrapped herself around you with that pregnancy, and she’s not letting go.”

“She was losing the baby,” Lucian said, stepping closer. “She was bleeding. They needed my signature to proceed. She refused treatment. She kept screaming for me. I didn’t go to comfort her-I went so the doctors could help. That’s all.”

I shook my head slowly. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Because even if it was true… even if it was only about medical consent, it didn’t change how it felt.

“I want to go home, Lucian,” I said and got into the car.

He hesitated at the driver’s door. “What about the holiday house?”

I looked at him, eyes tired, voice low.

“Forget the house.”

And then I turned my face to the window, watching the world blur again-not from speed, but from tears.

“Mara…” he said trying to fix it with words.

“Let’s stop lying to ourselves, Lucian,” I said quietly, staring straight ahead. “Tina’s going to keep doing things-things that will make you drop everything and run to her. And I’ll be left alone. Again.”

He cut in quickly, desperate. “My father promised to handle it.”

I let out a bitter laugh, short and humorless. “This is too much, Lucian.”

“I know,” he said, voice cracking. “Please… please help me, Mara. I need your support. I can’t do this

without you.”

I turned and looked at him then-really looked. His eyes were glassy, full of pain. But I didn’t have comfort

to give. Not right now.

“Who’s going to help me, Lucian?” I asked. “Who supports me while I’m slowly losing my mind? You think this is just about jealousy? This is trauma. Every time I close my eyes, she’s there. That woman is a permanent reminder of the one thing I didn’t get to control-my own beginning with you.”

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t.

And the truth was ugly.

Tina and Martha had already taken more from me than I could put into words. They’d chipped at my joy,

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