Chapter 10
The peaceful atmosphere of the garden shattered instantly,
replaced by a tense,
electric urgency.
Lucian turned to his head of security,
his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
"He brought the press to my front gates?"
Lucian asked,
his voice deadly calm.
"Yes, sir,"
the guard replied,
swallowing hard.
"He has a megaphone,
claiming you are holding his pregnant wife hostage."
I gasped,
clutching Lucian's arm in sheer panic.
"He wants to ruin us,"
I whispered,
"he wants to create a scandal to force me back."
Lucian sneered,
adjusting his suit jacket casually.
"He just dug his own grave,
in front of a national audience."
Lucian turned to me,
his expression softening as he touched my cheek.
"Go inside, Ava,
wait in the library where it is safe."
I shook my head stubbornly,
gripping his arm tighter.
"No,
I am your wife now,
we face this together."
Lucian looked surprised for a moment,
then a proud smile spread across his face.
"Very well, Mrs. Blackwood,
let us go greet the press."
He laced his fingers through mine,
and we marched toward the front of the estate.
As we approached the massive wrought-iron gates,
I could hear the chaotic shouting of reporters.
Camera flashes exploded through the bars,
blindingly bright against the gloomy morning sky.
Nathan stood at the front of the mob,
holding legal papers and looking disheveled.
"There she is!"
Nathan screamed,
pointing aggressively at me.
"Ava,
come back here,
stop this insane kidnapping nonsense!"
Lucian pressed a button on a remote,
and the heavy gates slowly swung open.
The press surged forward,
but Lucian's armed guards instantly formed an impenetrable wall,
stopping them in their tracks.
We stepped out onto the driveway,
standing proudly in front of the flashing cameras.
"Kidnapping?"
Lucian chuckled darkly,
his voice carrying over the crowd easily.
"My wife is free to go wherever she pleases, Drake."
The reporters fell silent,
murmuring confusedly among themselves.
"Wife?"
one journalist shouted,
shoving a microphone forward.
"Yes,"
Lucian confirmed,
lifting our joined hands to show off my massive diamond ring.
"Ava and I were married this morning,
in a private ceremony."
Nathan turned purple with rage,
spitting on the ground in disgust.
"She is carrying my children,
you arrogant bastard,
you cannot just steal my family!"
Lucian's smile dropped,
his eyes flashing with pure malice.
"Those children belong to me,
and I will raise them as my own."
The cameras went crazy,
capturing the ultimate billionaire scandal of the decade.
Nathan lunged forward in a blind rage,
trying to bypass the guards to reach me.
Before he could take three steps,
two massive security men tackled him to the pavement,
pinning him down effortlessly.
"Arrest him for trespassing,"
Lucian ordered coldly,
May you like
turning his back on the pathetic scene.
"And make sure the tabloids get a good shot of him in handcuffs."
