Husband With Benefits
Chapter 408: Hurt

Chapter 408: Hurt

"But it wasn’t ’nothing’, was it, Evana? If it was nothing, we wouldn’t be here, having this conversation."

Evana felt the weight of his words like a physical blow. She had never intended to exclude him. But Lucien wasn’t done with what he has to say. Words that he had kept locked up in his heart, "You chose to keep me in the dark, not just about the rumors, but about Henrik’s advances towards you. And there were others, weren’t there? Maybe none as clear as that kiss. That’s not ’nothing’. That’s a choice, Evana. A choice to exclude me from a part of your life that clearly needed my attention. Why?"

Evana leaned forward, hugging herself as if to ward off a chill.She had never intended to exclude him or make him feel sidelined. Her intention had been to protect their relationship from unnecessary drama, but she saw now how her actions had led to the very outcome she had hoped to avoid.

"I... I thought I was protecting us," she admitted, her voice trembling. "I thought by handling it myself, I could spare you the stress. I... Lucy, we were barely able to take out time to catch up with each other and I feared that you might not want me to work with Henrik if you thought that he was interested in me. I did not want us to fight about something unimprotant when there were....I thought I could control things. I’d made it clear to Henrik from the beginning that I was not interested. I never believed that those rumors would grow to this extent. I know I should have trusted you to handle things with me."

"And you enjoyed the attention that he was giving you." Lucien said slowly. "It must have been an ego boost."

Evana looked up at that," No. That is a lie, Lucien. Do you really think so less of me that I would do soemthing like this? Do you trust me so little?"

Lucien scoffed, "Evana, trust isn’t just about fidelity. It’s about believing in us enough to share the burdens, the worries, and yes, even the potential threats to our relationship. By not telling me, you didn’t protect us; you undermined the very foundation of our trust. And do you know what the worst part is? The worst part in everything is that even as I stood there, seeing that man come close to you, I’d held hope that you would push him away. And when you didn’t, I walked out of there, thinking of excuses of why you would do this to me."

Lucien leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes tiredly," Evana, this incidence lead me to discover something that has shaken me. There is a lore in our family. That Frosts love for life. I’ve seen the side effects of that with how Gabe and Erasmi have suffered. They were willing to be blind to all faults. I always thought that I was better than that. After all, I would never have to overlook anything. But there I was, sitting on the flight back from Estania, looking for excuses and way to ignore everything. I’d almost convinced myself that I could ignore this. Pretend to remain unaware."

"But I don’t want to hate you Evana. And that would be the end result. While you might not be like Nellie or Arabelle, you have power over me, Evana. Too much power. So, I thought it was better to break things off when the love was still there, and hate had not taken its place."

She stood up slowly covering the distance between them. The physical distance between them was not much but the emotional distance was too much. However, she was not willing to let that distance widen. She knew she needed to cover this distance as well.

"Lucien," she murmured, her voice soft yet determined, "please look at me."

He kept his eyes closed, a visible exhaustion etched on his face, but Evana refused to be deterred. She reached out and gently touched his cheek, urging him to face her. Lucien hesitated for a moment before reluctantly opening his eyes, meeting hers with a mix of pain and resignation.

"I know my stupidity has hurt what we had built. But I never intended for that to happen. Lucifer, haven’t you always been patient with me? Can you not give me another chance? I promise you, from this moment forward, no more secrets, no more omissions. I will be open and honest with you, even when it’s difficult. I want us to rebuild what we had, stronger than before. Please, Lucien, give us a chance. Give me a chance to prove that my love for you is genuine, and that I’ve learned from my mistakes."

Lucien sighed, even as he leaned in his face into the hand," I want to believe you, Evana," he admitted, his voice rough, "but trust is not easily repaired. The foundation has been shaken, and I don’t know what will happen in the future."

Evana nodded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I understand, Lucien. Rebuilding trust takes time, and I’m willing to give you that time. I just hope you’ll give us a chance to heal, to find our way back to each other. Don’t stop loving me until then? Please?"

Carefully, he wiped her tears, gathering her in his arms so that he was sitting in his lap. Despite the pain he felt, the need to comfort her was stronger.

"I can’t promise everything will be the same, Evana. But I can promise that I will always love you."

His words hung in the air, a balm to Evana’s wounded heart. She clung to him, her arms wrapping around him tightly, as if afraid he might slip away.

Lucien sighed, the tension in his shoulders easing as he held her close. "Let’s take everything one step at a time."

Evana nodded against him, his words breathing life into her as her tears soaked his shirt.

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