Husband With Benefits
Chapter 407: Loving You Is Hurtful

Chapter 407: Loving You Is Hurtful

Evana slowly slid off the stool, taking off her clothes slowly. "Loving you is hurting me." As she slowly sank into the warm water, she could only close her eyes as tears fell from them. Never would she have believed that she would end up hurting him. And now, it seemed that things were even more complicated than she could have imagined.

She’d believed that she only had to convince Lucien to give her a chance to explain and then everything would be fine. But would it really be fine? When she told him that she had not cheated on him, that it had all been a misunderstanding, would things really come to an end. She might have not physically committed the act of cheating, but she had definitely considered breaking things off with Lucien.

Evana had no idea how long she had been sitting there, but she was taken out of her stupor by Lucien’s knocking on the door as he called out," Evana? Are you alright?"

Evana. She felt as if she hated her name. Why couldn’t he call her Angel? She wondered what he would do if she did not answer. Would he be worried? Of course he would be worried. Much more worried about her than she had been about him. He was more considerate and more loving than she had been.

Since the time, he had asked for a break, she’d thought that maybe his love for her was a bit less than what she had for him. Now she knew the truth though. Another series of knocks sounded on the door, more urgent than the previous." Evana?"

"I’m coming, Lucien." Evana called out slowly and sighed when the knocking stopped abruptly.

Walking out of the bathroom, she looked at the clothes that had been neatly arranged there and sighed. At least he hadn;t thrown out the clothing she’d left here last time. Picking up the hair drier that had also been left plugged in, she quickly started to dry her hair, knowing that she was only wasting time in order to delay their confrontation.

Finally, she had no way to delay the confrontation and she could only sigh as she walked out. Lucien stood there, staring out of the large windows with his back turned to her. He turned his head when he heard her walk out and said," I’ve heated up some soup for you. Its on the table. Have that or you’ll catch a cold. The weather is getting worse by the minute. Once you’re done, I’ll drop you back off at the hotel."

Instead of answering, Evana walked over to him and placed her arms around him. Even as she felt him stiffen and try to walk away, she tightened her grip and whispered,"Lucien, please. I didn’t cheat on you. You have to believe me. It’s not what you think."

However, instead of listening to her, this time, he forcefully pushed her hands away as he turned to look at her coldly and guardedly. " If you’re not hungry, then we can make a move now."

"There’s no need."

"Fine. If you don’t want me to drop you off,I’ll arrange for a cab and driver..."

"I will not go anywhere until you have heard me and sorted things out with me. Lucien, you just told me that loving me is hurting you! I can’t let that! Hurting you is killing me!"

The room hung in a tense silence, raindrops tapping against the windowpanes like a persistent reminder of the unresolved storm within. "We can’t keep avoiding this, Lucien."

Finally, Lucien sighed, a weariness settling over him. He moved towards a chair and sat down, signaling for her to do the same.

"Fine, let’s talk," he conceded, his tone softer but guarded. "But this doesn’t mean everything will be okay."

"I understand."

Evana sat down on the couch opposite him and looked down at her fingers,wondering where to start.

"Henrik Pold was a childhood friend. He’s just returned to Estania a couple of months ago and we’ve been working together on a project. That afternoon...He just kissed me, out of the blue, Lucy. I swear I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t even think he would do something like that. I pushed him away as soon as I came to my senses. I swear that there is nothing between me and him. I also made clear to him that I was not interested in him and that he should never do something like that again."

Lucien listened, his face an impassive mask, but his eyes betrayed the storm of emotions roiling within him. When Evana finished, there was a brief, heavy silence, filled only by the sound of rain against the windows.

Finally, Lucien spoke, his voice steady but laced with the pain of betrayal. "Evana, from where I stood, it didn’t look like you pushed him away immediately. It seemed... different. Like there was a moment when you didn’t resist. I was there Evangeline."

Evana’s heart sank at his words. She had feared this, the interpretation of a moment that had been nothing but shock on her part. She opened her mouth to explain but before she could, Lucien interrupted her coldly," Think well before you answer my questions, Evana. You can lie to yourself, but not to me. Were you really clueless while almost everyone in Estania was aware of his intentions towards you. There had been rumors about you for weeks and not once did you think to mention this to me? Not once did you consider mentioning to me, that a person who has openly declared his admiration on national media would be accompanying you to a formal state affair as your partner when it should be me in that place?"

Evana’s voice was barely above a whisper, her gaze dropping to her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "He only accompanied me as a business associate, Lucien. I thought it was clear that there was nothing more to it after all everyone knows that we are engaged. The rumors... they were just that, rumors. People talk, you know that. I didn’t think I needed to bring them to you because they were baseless. I didn’t want to upset you over nothing."

Lucien’s expression softened momentarily before hardening again. "But it wasn’t ’nothing’, was it, Evana? If it was nothing, we wouldn’t be here, having this conversation."

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