Chapter 6
Once I got back to my room, I scrubbed every inch of skin Lucas had touched, as if I were trying to wash the memory away.
No matter what, I couldn’t shake the feeling of disgust crawling under my skin.
Even if he really did climb those hundred steps, I’d never be able to forgive him.
The following morning, one phrase shot to the top of the trending list.
“A man collapsed on the monastery stairs.‘
At the time, I was still in bed, sound asleep, completely unaware.
It wasn’t until later that day, when Doris turned on her phone, that the chaos reached me.
“You’re heartless! Lucas must’ve been out of his mind to ever fall for someone like you! Thank goodness the two of you split up a long time ago!” she shouted the second I answered.
I quietly held the phone away from my ear, kept eating, and said calmly, “Whatever happens to him is no longer my concern.
“We’re divorced, remember? Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”
“Don’t twist things! Nothing ever happened between me and Lucas!”
I dabbed my mouth with a napkin and chose not to argue further. There were more important things that needed my attention anyway.
“I don’t have time for your drama. Goodbye.”
After ending the call, I blocked her number without hesitation and dialed my older brother, Jimmy Hensley, at the company.
“Are you free this afternoon?” I asked.
“Yeah. Kolten mentioned you’d be visiting the office.”
“I’ll be there,” I replied with a sigh. “I can’t afford to keep messing up.”
Back then, Kolten believed I had more business sense than my brother and wanted me to be the one he trained.
But all I could think about was Lucas.
I even cut ties with the Hensley family just to be with him.
In the end, Kolten gave in, though reluctantly.
Looking back now, he was right. I made the wrong call, and now I have to work twice as hard to fix it.
I heard him flipping through papers on the other end of the line. After a moment, his deep voice came through.
“Meet me at the coffee shop downstairs from the office in an hour.”
Before I could reply, he hung up.
I knew he still held a grudge.
Jimmy had always looked up to Kolten, and after what happened, Kolten got so angry he ended up in the hospital for weeks.
He even came to Lucas’s place to bring me back, but I refused to open the door. I was afraid he’d drag me away.
Because of that, I didn’t even know Kolten had fallen ill.
It was the housekeeper who told me yesterday when I got home.
The people who truly cared about me had always been by my side. But I lost myself, pushed them away, and let them down.
Still, it wasn’t too late. I still could turn things around before it was completely out of reach.
I packed a few things, grabbed my purse, and headed to the coffee shop.
As soon as I stepped inside, I spotted him–tall and serious as always.
I walked over and lightly tapped his shoulder, trying to act casual. “I’m here,” I said with a smile. “Where do we start?”
He looked up, his face expressionless, and slid a packet of documents across the table.
“Summarize this first. Let’s see if you remember anything from before.”
I gave a nervous laugh and sat across from him, opening the folder without complaint.
But before I could even read the first page, someone grabbed my wrist tightly out of nowhere.
“Sharon,” a voice growled, “is this why you won’t forgive me?
“So you can run around with other men behind my back?”
