Chapter 14 You Hugged Her, Kissed Her

"Where are you off to, heading home?" Lucas's voice suddenly intruded, snapping me out of my reverie.

I looked down faintly, "Could Mr. Xavier please drive me to the office? I've got work to handle."

Instead of starting the car, he rested one hand on the steering wheel and leaned in, his expression surprisingly sorrowful, "Madeline, do you have to be so formal with me?"

His familiar scent was close by, mingled with the crisp smell of rain, wrapping around me and pulling me back into countless memories.

At that moment, I couldn't hold back any longer.

I pushed him away, looking at him coldly, "What should I call you then? Young Executive? CEO Xavier? Would you prefer that I call you by Nicole's name like you did three years ago when I got hurt protecting you?"

He went suddenly silent.

"Those two years are over; the person engaged to you has always been Nicole. Your life is back on track, so why are you messing with mine?"

"But that's not my right track."

Lucas looked at me, his eyes reddening, "I never met Nicole before; from the beginning, it has always been you for me."

A deep ache welled up from within.

I closed my eyes, and when I spoke, my voice shook uncontrollably, "You're still lying to me."

"Lucas, on the day you regained your sight, I was right outside the hospital room. I heard you, without a shred of doubt, mistake Nicole for me."

"You hugged her, kissed her—"

"I didn't," he cut me off abruptly, "The very first second I opened my eyes, I knew she wasn't you."

I was taken aback, listening to Lucas’s voice, which seemed calm.

"The situation at Xavier Luxury Group was tangled and sinister. In that hospital room that day, it was teeming with wolves in sheep's clothing, all ready to do me in. The moment I realized she wasn't you, I made up my mind. "

"Nicole was a perfect, ideal target," he said, a sly smile flickering in his eyes, edged with a chilling sharpness.

"She wants to play the imposter? Well, she can play until she's content."

Suddenly, flashes of news segments that I'd seen while studying abroad raced through my mind.

One reported that Nicole barely escaped with her life when a live explosion went off during filming. Another, that she was nearly killed when a massive billboard collapsed on her and Lucas during a vacation.

"I didn't fail to recognize you on purpose," Lucas said.

”In these past three years, after my dad passed, it’s been one thing after another. Popping out of the woodwork, those Xavier Luxury Group vipers were all gunning for me. But now, each one of them has been dealt with — behind bars or under the dirt, my own birth mother included."

"To be honest, I'm not afraid to bite the bullet. When my cousin lost it after being forced to give up his shares and took a stab at me, I barely felt it."

"In that moment, all I could think of... was how much I missed you."