My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin novel Chapter 283

Chapter 283: The Shattered Illusion

"Raka’s a doctor, and he’s also an incredibly good diagnostician. If he asked that question, then it means he noticed something. Though he could also be wrong. I heard he switched specialties and has been losing his mind lately over some crazy research."

"Oh..." Ashley slowly nodded, studying Julius before glancing toward the entrance Lucian had taken.

She didn’t want to dwell too much on what Julius said, but it gave her an excuse. An excuse that wouldn’t make Lucian feel like he had failed to provide the normalcy they wanted so badly.

Forcing a smile, Ashley smacked her lips together and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Maybe he’s just exhausted," she said while glancing at Julius. "But I’ll go check on him."

Julius nodded. "I’ll watch the kids."

With that, Ashley walked off to follow Lucian.

Her brisk walk soon turned into a jog as she carried the bottle of water with her, assuming Lucian had gone to the restroom. Naturally, she headed in that direction, only to pause when she spotted a familiar figure walking elsewhere instead.

"Lucian?" she murmured, tilting her head with knitted brows. "Where is he going?"

Not thinking too much about it, Ashley followed him with a faint smile. Her jog turned into long strides as she closed the distance between them until she reached a quieter hallway with no people around.

The moment Ashley rounded the corner, she froze.

The smile on her face stiffened at the sight before her.

Lucian had one hand pressed against the wall beside him, his back slightly hunched.

"Lu... cian?" she called softly, only for her gaze to fall downward.

Red droplets splattered between his feet.

For a second, Ashley’s heart slammed violently against her chest as her breath caught. Her mind went completely blank while she stood rooted in place, eyes widened in horror.

Meanwhile, Lucian stared down at his other palm, his senses dulled enough that he hadn’t even noticed her presence behind him.

He blinked as his vision cleared slightly before touching his upper lip.

His nose was bleeding.

But before he could say anything, a harsh cough tore from his throat.

Lucian quickly covered his mouth, trying to muffle the violent coughing fit.

This time, it wasn’t just tiny specks of blood staining his palm.

When the coughing finally stopped, he found himself gasping desperately for air.

The fit had been painful, but somehow, it briefly calmed the chaos inside his body.

Then a voice came from behind him.

"Lucian."

Lucian froze instantly.

Even from a distance, he would recognize that voice anywhere.

Slowly, he turned around and found Ashley staring at him with pale skin and a blank expression filled with utter shock.

"It’s not—"

He pushed himself off the wall, trying to explain. Trying to downplay everything she had just seen.

But the second he reached toward her and took a single step forward, his vision violently zoomed in and out.

His pupils constricted.

Before he even realized what was happening, the world tilted sideways. His body began collapsing toward the floor.

No, he whispered inwardly as darkness swallowed his consciousness once more.

Why... now?

But before Lucian could hit the ground, a pair of trembling hands caught him.

Forcing himself to stay awake, he lifted his gaze slightly and saw Ashley’s tear-filled eyes staring back at him. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

And somehow, seeing that hurt him more than the pain tearing through his body.

"So... sorry," he whispered weakly.

Then everything went black.

As for Ashley, she held onto him with trembling arms while her mind remained completely blank.

The first time was when she thought she had finally escaped the Di Carpios. When she believed Marshall had finally lost interest in her—only for Scott to shatter that illusion with one grand entrance, reminding her that another life had been dragged into the burden she carried.

The second time Ashley had truly felt happy was during the amusement park trip Lucian arranged for her and Primo.

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