Chapter 31

** SCARLET**
Luke kissed me as if my mouth was his favorite meal. He was aggressive, needy, and hungry, as if he were searching for something. My muscles tensed, and my senses stirred up. His hand dropped to my waist, then his fingers slowly slipped into my shirt. I shivered. Immediately, I caught his hand. I’d almost forgotten we were in his office. Anyone could enter at any moment.
He stopped the kiss. Our mouths parted slightly, but his gaze remained on mine. My lips felt swollen. I didn’t think I could resist him anymore. I wanted him to kiss me again, but I feared the aftermath. This wouldn’t change the fact that he was hiding something from me. I know I shouldn’t care because it’s his life, but everything becomes a real deal when it comes to Luke.
“We can’t.” I swallowed hard. “We can’t make this work.”
“Why not?” he muttered. He brushed his fingers along my jaw, eyes fixed intently on mine.
“I think you know why. You’ve been lying to me.”
“No. I never lied to you, Scarlet.”
“But you’re withholding the truth.”
“Look at me,” he ordered in a rough voice. The tip of his nose touched mine. “I need to ask you something.”
I gazed back at him.
“Would it matter?”
I blinked. “What?”
“Would it matter if I told you about this?”
“Of course, it would,” I admitted. “I understand that this is your privacy, but I at least need to know if I’m about to cross a line and hurt someone. Stacy, for example.”
He pressed his forehead to mine. “She’s nothing to worry about. I told you a couple of times already.”
“But you won’t tell me who she is?”
He scowled, moved away from me, and sat at the edge of the desk. “If I tell you what will change? We did not agree to disclose anything as you decided not to tell me about your marriage. I don’t want to talk about it, but I am telling the truth. You have nothing to worry about with Stace. She’s an acquaintance. That’s all I can say to you.”
I snorted, but I felt my cheeks flush. I didn’t know he was still thinking about it. “So that’s it? Are you just using my own issue against me? My case is not the same as yours.”
He shut his eyes and clenched his jaw. “No. You listen to me. How did you even find out about her?”
“I accidentally read her text.” I bit my lip. “I didn’t mean to, I swear. But she called you babe.”
He nodded, but he was surprisingly unbothered. “As I have guessed.”
“Just think about this. What if it was me? What if you read on my phone that I was going to meet someone else after I just agreed to have sex with you?” I crossed my arms across my chest. “Do I have no right to ask you?”
“Yes, I couldn’t imagine if I read something like that on your phone.” He gritted through his teeth. “And, of course, you have the right to ask me, and I am here now telling you the truth.”
“So, you did meet up with her that night.” It wasn’t a question.
“You read that, too?” He scowled. “I did, and just like I told you, I wouldn’t lie to you, but it’s another case. I’m not in any sort of relationship with her.”
My heart clenched. He didn’t deny that he had seen her. I wanted to believe him, but it was jealousy eating me up. Not to mention, he told me that we should be exclusive. What’s the exclusivity of that?
“Then, if I want to meet someone, I should too, right? While we are in this kind of relationship—no, I mean, this arrangement.”
“What do you mean you would meet someone?”
“Well, I went on a date with someone.” I shrugged. “Since I guess exclusivity doesn’t matter anymore,” I said casually.
His expression turned furious. He tensed up and grabbed my arm. “What did you just say?”
“Ouch!” I tried to jerk away, but he didn’t let me go. “You’ve been doing the same thing, so why can’t I?”
“And you think that’s how a mature woman acts?” he growled.
“What are you so mad about?” I shot back. “You wanted honesty, right?”
“Did you fuck him?”
My jaw dropped. Oh, God. I couldn’t believe it. “Is that what’s important to you?”
“It’s important to me. Don’t make this harder for us than it already is. Now answer me…” he breathed. “Did you fuck him?”
“No,” I murmured.
“Good.”
“What?”
He slipped his arm down to my waist. “At least we are now clear that whatever we do matters.”

**LUKE**
I should’ve been more careful. I didn’t want her to know anything about Stacy. She was my life’s flaw—a fruit of the wrong decisions of my past and someone I wanted to throw out of my life. Scarlet didn’t have to know that the woman was my greatest enemy. The reason why my life had turned upside down.
“What’s good about that? If she’s not who I thought she was, why can’t you tell me who she is?”
“Because she has nothing to do with us. You just have to trust me.”
“How can I trust someone who won’t say anything?”
“You lied to me once, and I trusted you. Now you just have to trust me too.”
“Stop deflecting, Luke—”
“Let’s have another deal,” I cut her off. If I couldn’t tell her about Stacy, I had to do something with her.
She blinked. “Another?”
“I’ve been thinking…” I moved my hand to the small of her back. “I’m going to erase every trace of your invalid marriage.”
Now, we’re back on this again. “You can do that?”
“Dad asked me about the other documents, and he would find out about your case when the documents landed in his hand. I asked Rebecca not to say anything yet, so you still don’t have anything to worry about now.”
My curiosity heightened. “How are you going to do that?”
“It would be hard, yes, but it’s possible.” I cupped her face. “But of course. It won’t be for free.”
“What do you want?”
“We just have to continue our agreement. Deal?”
“Are you going to give me your property?”
“Do I have a choice?” I pressed a small kiss on her lips. “Now, will you trust me?”
“Should I ask you the same thing? Do I have a choice?”

***
Cambridge, Massachusetts, Four Years Ago
“Stop lying to me, Stacy. You fucked another man, and he is my fucking cousin. I told you I loved you, and I gave you everything. I even proposed to you, but you lied to me about my daughter. I loved her. I held her in my arms. You told me I was the father, but clearly, it was Jonas. But even if I knew she wasn’t mine, I loved her. You ran away for a year with the five million I gave you for my daughter’s well-being. You took her away from me. How dare you come back telling me that you need me?”
She gripped her wheelchair and tried to follow me with all her strength. “Bella needs you, Luke. I don’t need anything, and I’m not going to ask you to come back to me. All I want for you is to support my child. It’s going to be difficult for me.”
I stared at her artificial leg. She had a car accident that almost took her life. I wanted to pity her, but she destroyed my life.
“Ah, that’s not everything. You accused me of Jonas’ murder, and you got me to put in prison for two fucking months. Thankfully, your evidence is fabricated, so I managed to get myself out of that hell.”
“Bella has leukemia, Luke.”
“What? What did you say?”
“I’m not asking you to come back to me. Just save my child, Luke. You do love her, right? Please?”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because she’s your daughter too. That’s what she thinks, at least. And she needs you…”