My Billionaire's Last Secret: A Love Forged in Lies

Chapter 8

I never thought I’d shake Lucas Reed's hand and say, "Pleased to meet you," in this lifetime. My smile felt frozen on my face. Fortunately, my false eyelashes were thick enough to obscure my true expression. I lowered my gaze, steadying my voice. "Mr. Reed, a pleasure."

"Lucas just got back from overseas, Zoey. You two truly have a connection."

A wave of calm washed over me. Encountering Lucas twice in one night – if this was fate, then I would accept it. I asked with a smile, "What kind of connection? Don't I have a connection with you, too, Mr. Black?"

Quentin burst out laughing. "My apologies! Too much wine! Do you know who Lucas’s sister is? She’s Mrs. Thorne!"

Many people in the room knew Alex Thorne. Hearing this, they erupted in laughter. "Well, that complicates things!"

"Ms. Vance has to drink!"

"One drink won't do! At least three!"

"That's like meeting your brother-in-law! Three drinks aren't enough! Make it a dozen!"

Everyone was tipsy, their chatter growing wilder. My smile remained fixed, but I said, "Gentlemen, it's my honor to be teased, but teasing Mr. Thorne with me is truly a burden. Please, look at my foot. It’s swollen like a balloon. I just saw the orthopedic surgeon, got medicine, and was told to avoid meat, alcohol, and spicy food. But tonight, everyone’s happy, so I'll brave it and have just one drink. Please, go easy on me, injured as I am."

One of the escorts started to pour my drink, but Quentin snatched the glass, dumped out the ice, and filled it to the brim with whiskey. "No cheating!" he declared.

I smiled, took the glass, tilted my head back, and downed it in one gulp, flashing the empty glass. Everyone clapped enthusiastically. Quentin chimed in, "Ms. Vance is truly generous tonight! We'll let you off the hook! Come on, sing us a song!"

My face flushed, a burning sensation spreading from my esophagus to my stomach. The straight whiskey, without ice, was harsh. "With pleasure," I said, "I'll make a complete fool of myself. But after I sing, you have to promise to let Felix come back to my office. I have some urgent matters for him to handle."

Quentin laughed. "Fine, Zoey. Any man in this room, you want him, you can take him!"

Everyone roared with laughter. An escort chose a song for me: "Because of Love." Quentin pushed Lucas onto the stage in front of the microphone stand. I looked at Lucas with grace, making a "please" gesture, then took the handheld mic from the escort.

The familiar intro began, but Lucas didn't look at me, nor did he sing the first line. Quentin chuckled. "What’s wrong?"

"I don't know this song. I’ve been out of the country too long; I’m not familiar with current pop."

"Change it, change it!" Quentin shouted. "Find him an old classic! 'A Night of Floral Beauty and Full Moon'! He must know that one, right?"

Only then did Lucas glance at me. I plastered a smile on my face. "Mr. Reed, do you know it?"

Lucas nodded. "This one's fine."

"Spring breeze blows, blows into my heart.

My heart pounds with thoughts of you, unable to sleep.

Why, oh why, do you not understand the fallen petals’ intent?

Only gazing at the moon outside the window..."

I’d never sung with Lucas before because we’d never socialized like this. At home, we either watched TV or cooked. We were just two people, immersed in the simple joys of life, who had time for singing? Those days were so sweet, we wished they would never end. I’d heard Lucas sing a few times, mostly belting out tunes alone in the bathroom. After his shower, he’d burst out, asking, "Honey, was my singing good?"

I’d always reply poker-faced, "Sounds like a wolf howling!"

Then he’d nuzzle me playfully. "Grrr! The big bad wolf is here!"

Some memories, when revisited, bring a deep sadness. But what was the point of indulging in them now? I focused, finishing the song to a round of applause. Of course, most of it was just to please Lucas. I put down the mic. "Thank you, everyone! All drinks tonight are on me! Please enjoy yourselves!"

Quentin, truly drunk, tugged at my sleeve, annoyed. "How can it be on you? If it’s on you, it’s on Alex Thorne! Why should he pay for our drinks?"

"Mr. Thorne and I are just friends." I playfully batted his hand away. "Mr. Black, you tease me all the time. If this keeps up, how will I ever find a boyfriend?"

Quentin grinned. "You're already his 'girlfriend,' how much 'just friends' can that be?"

I deflected with a few more pleasantries and finally, with Felix in tow, made my escape. Felix was completely drunk. As soon as we were out of the private villa, I had a security guard help him onto a golf cart. I took the back seat.

The night wind blew, a chilling, piercing cold. My ankle pain seemed to fade, replaced by a terrible nausea in my stomach. Back in my office, I closed the door, stumbled to the washroom, and vomited everything. My legs gave out, and I collapsed beside the toilet, suddenly unable to breathe. Panic surged, but I had no strength to get up and grab my medication.

I suffered from severe asthma and always carried my inhaler, but I’d left my bag on my office desk. There was also medicine in the bathroom cabinet, but I tried to stand up four or five times, leaning on the toilet, and still couldn’t. The last time, I hit the cabinet door. The suffocation made my fingers weak; I couldn't open that life-saving door.

My phone buzzed, just ten feet away. Felix was drunk, and Mike was surely at the front desk. My office was rarely entered unless I was there. Was I going to die here tonight?

My breaths grew shorter and shorter. My fingers spasmed, clutching at my collar, as if hoping to tear a hole in my chest.

I truly had bad luck with Lucas Reed. Every time I saw him, my life was in danger.

Before losing consciousness, I thought, If there’s a next life, I’ll stay far, far away from Lucas Reed.

I don’t know how long I was unconscious. As my awareness slowly returned, I felt as if I were submerged in icy water, cold and dark, surrounded by a freezing black ocean, suffocating me. I mumbled, "Mom." The bright white light was blinding. I saw Lucas Reed.

And a crowd of people around me. Lucas was half-kneeling, half-crouching, holding the life-saving medicine bottle. Mike looked anxious. "The ambulance is almost here!"

Just spraying that life-saving medicine had pulled me back from the brink of death. I didn't understand why I was still alive. After struggling for a while, it was Lucas's hand on my arm. He said, "Don't move."

Many things in my life had been unexpected: my mother dying violently, meeting Lucas Reed, and the thought that I’d never imagined separating from Lucas. I’d believed it would be worse than death, yet I survived. And I thrived.

I also never expected to see Lucas again. And the most unexpected thing of all? That one day, I’d hear Lucas speak to me with such tenderness. I almost wished I’d died. Or that he hated me to my core, as he once did, so much that he wouldn’t even speak to me.