Page 46 of No Ordinary Love

"Lucas." She rushed to me and hugged me. "I'm so glad you're here."

I pulled away from her, my throat tightening as I crossed the room to get some distance from her.

"What's wrong?" She followed me and took my hand, leading me to the couch where she'd been sitting like she was on the cover of Architecture Digest magazine.

"We need to have a conversation."

She frowned slightly, but her tone was saccharine sweet. "Of course. But before we do, can I just say how happy I am that you're here? I know things have been difficult, but we've always managed to find our way back to each other, haven't we?"

I clenched my jaw. She took my hand in hers but I pulled away.

"Let's sit."

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to keep calm. "What I need to say isn't going to take that long."

"Lucas, come on—"

"Enough!" I was sick and tired of this woman, of my mother, of everyone who was supposed to care about me but refused to really hear me. "I told you I needed time to think about us getting back together, getting to know one another as we are today."

She nodded eagerly, smiling brightly.

"I've thought about this long and hard, Kath. The people we are today aren't right for each other. We're different and older, and I'm really sorry, but I don't want to explore a relationship with you beyond what we have today."

Her eyes widened, the first crack in her carefully constructed mask. "What does that mean?"

"I'm saying that we're going to remain what we have been to each other for the past five years, friends and colleagues." I cared for Kath, and I didn't want to hurt her, but saying this to her wasn't crushing my soul as it had when Amara and I had talked. That should've told me something, but I had been too dense.

"What?" she screeched.

"Kath, we've been holding onto a memory, feelings that don't exist anymore. I realize that I've been bound by obligation and a misguided sense of loyalty to the past. That's not fair to you. And it's sure as hell not fair to me."

Her expression hardened, the hope in her eyes replaced by a coldness that sent a chill down my spine. "You're ending us? Just like that?"

"Notjust like that." I shook my head wearily. "And, I'm not ending anything as we never started—you know that as well as I do. We've been trying to force a relationship that's no longer there, and it's only making us both miserable."

Kath stepped closer. "I'mnotmiserable. I love you. So much. Can't you see that?"

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have left me," I told her. "But, honestly, Kath, I'm glad you did; otherwise, we'd have ended up together, and that would have fucked both our lives up."

"You've lost your mind," she rage whispered. "We belong together. Our families—"

"Our families," I interrupted, my frustration boiling over, "aren't the ones who have to get married. We are. And I'm telling you, I don't want to be with someone who I don't love. I care about you, Kath, but with the same distance as I would any colleague or friend."

Her eyes narrowed, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You're doing this because ofher, aren't you?"

"This has nothing to do with Amara. This is aboutme. I don't want to be with you. We're not the same people we were five years ago. And I don't think we should pretend that we are."

Her hands clenched at her sides, and I could see the anger building in her eyes. "You can't do this, Lucas. You can't just throw everything away. We're good together. We're perfect for each other. And if you walk away, you'll regret it."

"Perfect?" I echoed, disbelief coloring my tone. "Kath, we were never that. We've always been a fucked up toxic match made in Charleston society hell."

She took a step back, her face pale with fury. "I won't let you ruin everything I've worked so hard for."

Before I could respond, the door opened, and Hugh walked in, his presence filling the room like a storm cloud. He looked between us, his expression unreadable, but the tension in the air spiked the moment he stepped inside.

"Lucas." His voice was calm but carried violence right below the surface. "It sounds like you're making a decision you might want to think twice about."

I wanted to walk away and tell Hugh to go fuck himself, but years of conditioning to be polite and considerate came in the way.

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