Celine's actions always spoke louder than her words, and currently, they said that he was hers, she was his, and no one could come between them.

  The way she clung to him, the way she refused to let go as if she would rather suffocate than be away from him… Lucian gritted his teeth, his hands clenched tightly before slowly stroking her back until her coughs stopped, though she still seemed to be in a lot of pain.

  He should be spping some sense into her or putting some distance between them, not encouraging whatever the hell this was.

  They both could be bleeding internally for all he knew, yet they were still acting like this.

  How did they survive with this much idiocy running through their brains?

  Lucian wiped her lips with his sleeve while she gave him a look that said, 'you idiot, you should have listened'.

  He gave her a look that said, 'you are a bigger idiot, you shouldn't have pushed it'.

  They stared at each other in silence, each assessing the situation, the damage, and the cost of their actions. And then, they let go at the same moment, as if they were of one mind.

  Celine waved her hand at her attendants, whispering orders to them.

  They hesitated at first, but after a few seconds, they complied with her instructions.

  Lucian's pupils dited in shock as Graham and Seb helped him to his feet.

  "A treat as promised," she called out, "Until we meet again, my Lord."

  He took one more glimpse at her before he was dragged from her tent. All he could see was a shell of the woman he knew, hollowed out by the haunting darkness that had settled within her.

  · · ─────── · ???· ─────── · ·

  It felt like deja vu. Instead of Jax, it was the Crown Prince who came to his "rescue" this time.

  Upon that man's demand, Lucian's equipment was returned to him, his men were returned to him, his carriage and horses were returned to him. He was free to leave.

  Just like that, with no other conditions. If one excluded the bitter deal Celine made with the Crown Prince in exchange for his freedom, of course…

  Her conditions were simple.

  The Crown Prince just had to make his beloved Bianca believe that he wasn't really serious about her, by kissing another woman before her eyes.

  Celine would even extend a helping hand to him if the woman he chose to kiss happened to be herself.

  Instead of agreeing to Celine's deal, the Crown Prince decided to exchange his company for Lucian's freedom instead.

  She refused, of course.

  'Ignore it. Don't think about it. Think about anything else,' Lucian told himself.

  The idea of those two being together, alone, made his skin crawl. He wanted them to be away from each other. Far away. Like, in different continents far away. Instead, he was the one who had to go. All the way to the other end of the world.

  When was the first time he felt jealous?

  Truly, insidiously jealous?

  This didn’t feel the same.

  No.

  Far from it.

  It was when she introduced him to her twin brother on her twelfth birthday. The one she trusted to the point that she revealed everything to him, including the fact that she had taken a liking to a certain person, a bastard of lowly birth. And the fact that she wanted to marry him.

  Young Master Edmund had ughed at first. Then, when he realized that she was serious, his tone changed.

  What followed was not a scolding, not a lecture, not a threat. Just a simple question: 'You will marry him whether I agree or not? Are you sure that he will make you happy?'

  'Yes. And yes,' she had responded, without a hint of hesitation.

  And then, her brother had done something that had taken Lucian completely by surprise.

  The noble-born, the high and mighty, had approached him and offered his hand for a shake.

  At first, Lucian thought he was mocking him. But then, the boy his age had spoken words that had made his blood boil. Not from anger, but from the sheer absurdity of it.

  'I will gdly step down and give you my spot as the Head of the family, so long as you take care of my sister. As for me? I never wanted this title in the first pce. You would be doing me a favor.'

  That's when Lucian realized why Celine worked so hard to achieve the impossible, to break the limits of her gender, her age, her very self.

  It was to protect this twin of hers, to shelter him from the burdens that came with the Rochefort title. She was looking for a man to marry, not for the sake of romance or companionship, but for the sake of relieving her brother from a title he never wanted.

  Lucian wasn't the first boy she brought to her house, but he was the first one to be approved by her brother.

  And then, the jealousy hit. A bitter, sickening feeling that ate away at him from the inside out.

  They had a bond stronger than blood, had an understanding deeper than love; and a trust that could not be shattered.

  Lucian wasn’t the center of Celine's world, as she was his. He was too immature, too insecure to accept that. He wanted to be her first and only, and everything else had to come second. Including her brother.

  Instead of being grateful for Young Master Edmund's blessing, Lucian wished that the boy would be struck down by lightning, that he would vanish into thin air, that he would never return to her life.

  And his wish had been granted in the most twisted, ironic way possible.

  · · ─────── · ???· ─────── · ·

  Lucian was too busy to drop everything and follow a woman who wanted to kiss another man around. There was still some business he needed to take care of, and he couldn't leave his people hanging.

  Maybe this was a sign from the universe telling him to get his shit together and do something productive for once. Maybe if she cheated on him during his absence, he would finally be able to move on. It would help him wake up from this delusion he was stuck in.

  Maybe he would be able to find someone new to fill his head with. Someone sweet, and kind, and caring. Someone who would never hurt a fly.

  He y down on the comfortable seat of his carriage, covering his eyes with his arm. The carriage wasn't wide enough to accommodate his height, so he had to make do, resting his boots on the wall of the carriage. After they cleaned it up, no trace of blood could be detected.

  The Crown Prince coughed to get Lucian's attention, expining his pn, "Lady Bianca was st spotted inside the inn tavern near here; according to my source..."

  "Actually, I just remembered something," Lucian interrupted the Crown Prince, "Considering you saved my life, I should do something to repay your kindness, Your Highness," he said, "Lady Bianca is safe and sound in the hands of my people."

  He let the silence stretch just long enough to let the guy’s imagination run wild. Good. He hoped the Prince choked on it.

  "What?!"

  "It's not what you think," Lucian assured the other man, "She asked me for help, so I did."

  Lucian wasn’t about to let those two py house while he was away. Both should feel the panic of losing their pythings to someone else. See how they liked it.

  "Bring me to her, NOW."

  "I can't," Lucian refused, lifting his arm to gnce at the Crown Prince, "I made a promise to her, and a man is only as good as his word. I wonder what your Highness did to her that she would rather run away and seek refuge with me instead, though?"

  The Crown Prince's gre was sharp enough to cut, "For how long did you pn to keep her hidden from me?"

  "Until you solve your problem with your ex-fiancé, I'm afraid," Lucian said, touching his stomach with his free hand, "That woman has a nasty habit of hurting people's guts, if you know what I mean. I don't wish that fate on Lady Bianca. It hurts. Really bad."

  The Crown Prince sighed with frustration, but there was also a hint of relief in his voice, "If she's safe, then that's all that matters. However, I must ask you to keep your hands to yourself. She is not yours to touch."

  'Says the one who touched first.' Lucian smiled wryly, covering his eyes with his arm again, "What would you do if I touched her? What if I did more than just touch? What would you do to stop me, Your Highness?"

  "Are you trying to test my patience?" The Crown Prince was not amused, but Lucian was.

  "What a shame that there are no more dies like Bianca here... we wouldn't have to argue over her in the first pce," Lucian sighed. "If there was just one more to go around, I would have been satisfied."

  "So you admit that you're interested in her?"

  "Honestly? Which man wouldn't? Even a blind priest would go astray if Lady Bianca were to ever cross his path," Lucian reasoned. "So yes, I'm just like any other man, I'm tempted. But unlike any other man, I have the means, so what's stopping me from taking her and running away?"

  The Crown Prince cracked his knuckles, so close to snapping, yet so far from kicking him out. Nobody ever dared to talk to him like this, and nobody ever thought they could get away with it.

  Lucian realized that the Prince liked to be treated like a normal person, even though he hated it at the same time.

  It would be strange if Celine didn't notice that about him as well. She probably knew him better than he knew himself at this point and was probably dragging the Crown Prince by the nose for whatever reason.