Page 163 of My Big, Fat, Hot Billionaire Enemy
We disconnect.
Back at Blackwell Innovations, the atmosphere is buzzing. News of Mark’s spectacular implosion at Blackwell Holdings, coupled with his resignation frommyboard, has sent shockwaves through the executive floor. There are power vacuums to fill, alliances shifting.
I spend the afternoon in ruthless efficiency mode, restructuring committees, consolidating control, cutting out the last vestiges of my father’s loyalists. It needs to be done swiftly, decisively. Cleaning house. Ensuring my company,myempire, is secure.
But the work feels… different. Less about consolidating power for its own sake, more about clearing the decks, securing the foundation for the future I’m starting to build.
A future that includes Project Nightingale.
Includesher.
By evening, I’m back at the penthouse. Emilia has prepared dinner but has discreetly departed, along with the rest of the household staff. Privacy is essential tonight.
Lucy arrives shortly after seven, coming straight from the hospital. Her bodyguards remain downstairs. I still feel somewhat slighted that she dismissed Darius and Rebecca and hired her own rent-a-cops. My people are the best, handpicked for discretion and lethal efficiency. But I get it. Boundaries. Doesn’t mean I have to fucking like it.
“How’s Richard?” I ask as I pour her a glass of wine.
“Better,” she says, sinking onto a stool at the kitchen island, looking tired but relieved. “Grumbling about the food, ordering the nurses around. Definitely recovering.” She takes the wine with a grateful smile. “Thanks for… everything today, Christopher. The recording… it changed the game completely.”
“You’re welcome,” I state simply.
We eat casually, leaning against the island, the city lights a glittering backdrop. The easy domesticity feels both strange and right.
We talk about the company, the next steps in the SPE cleanup now that the external threat is almost gone. She tells me about her plans to oust Morgan.
She sounds confident. Capable.
Every inch the CEO.
Then, inevitably, the conversation turns personal. Back to us.
“I meant what I said, Lucy,” I begin, turning to face her fully, needing her to understand the depth of the shift within me. “About respecting your role. About finding a way for this to work.” I hesitate, the next words feeling unfamiliar, vulnerable. “But I also need you to know… this situation with my father… it dredged up a lot of old shit.”
Her expression softens with concern. “What do you mean?”
I sigh. “When my mother left, my father always blamed her weakness, her inability to handle his world. He used that excuse today, justifying his attack on you as saving me from repeating her mistakes.” I look down at my glass, then meet her eyes. “For years, I bought into that narrative. Feared connection. Equated vulnerability with abandonment. Built walls so fucking high no one could get through.”
“Until now?” she whispers, her eyes searching mine.
“Until you,” I admit, the confession raw. “You didn’t just get through, Lucy. You fucking demolished them.” I take a breath. “And it terrifies me. The thought of history repeating. Of messing this up. Of becominghim.”
My deepest fear, voiced aloud for the first time.
She reaches out, her hand covering mine on the cool marble countertop.
“You’re not him, Christopher,” she says softly but firmly. “Look at what you did today. You chose differently. You protected instead of attacked. You respected my position instead of trying to control it.” Her eyes hold mine, filled with unwavering belief. “And I’m not your mother. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her simple declaration, the absolute certainty in her voice, settles something deep insideme. The fear doesn’t vanish entirely, as old wounds run deep, but it recedes, overshadowed by the profound sense of connection, of being seen, truly seen, for the first time.
“I know,” I murmur, my thumb stroking the back of her hand.
And Idoknow.
Deep down, I trust her in a way I’ve never trusted anyone.
The time for hedging, for holding back, is over. She deserves the whole truth.
I deserve to give it.
