The knock on Caliste's apartment door came unexpectedly. She wasn't expecting anyone that evening...not even him. When she opened the door and saw Lucian standing there in his tailored black coat, her breath caught.
"Lucian?" she said, blinking in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"I forgot to mention," he said coolly, stepping inside without waiting for permission, "I need you to handle the design concept for the company's upcoming anniversary gala."
Caliste raised a brow, crossing her arms. "You could've just called or sent an email. You didn't need to show up at my apartment."
Lucian's lips curved slightly. "I wanted to make sure you wouldn't ignore it."
Before she could reply, he made himself comfortable on her couch, loosening his tie as though he owned the place. "Mind making me some tea?" he asked, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Caliste sighed and turned toward the kitchen, muttering under her breath. "You really haven't changed at all…"
As Lucian leaned back, his hand brushed against a few scattered papers on the coffee table. One of them slipped to the floor. He bent to pick it up casually...but when his eyes caught the header of the document, everything around him seemed to stop.
Laboratory Results.
Pregnancy Test: Positive.
Lucian froze. His grip on the paper tightened. For a few seconds, he couldn't breathe.
Then Caliste's soft footsteps returned from the kitchen. "Here's your.."
She stopped mid-sentence when she saw what he was holding.
Their eyes met.
Silence.
A thousand unspoken things flickered between them.
Lucian's voice broke the quiet, low and trembling despite his attempt to sound calm. "You're pregnant?"
Caliste's lips parted, but no words came. Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it echo in her ears. She wanted to explain..
that night wasn't planned, that he had been drugged and delirious, that he wouldn't even remember what happened...but her voice failed her.
Lucian searched her face for answers, and when she gave him none, his expression shifted. He let out a soft, broken chuckle...a sound of disbelief and pain all at once.
"I see…" he said quietly, setting the paper back on the table. "Congratulations, then."
He smiled...a bitter, forced smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Then he walked toward the door, his steps heavy but steady.
"Lucian, wait..." Caliste whispered, but her voice was too faint.
He didn't turn around. Didn't even look back.
The door clicked shut behind him.
For a long time, Caliste stood frozen in place, staring at the door as her vision blurred with tears. Her hands trembled against her chest.
Her mind screamed that she should have told him the truth...
That the child was his.
But her heart whispered, It's too late now.
----
Lucian didn't remember how he got out of Caliste's apartment.
One moment, her face was frozen in shock. The next, he was outside—walking fast, like a man escaping a burning building.
The air was cold, but not enough to numb the heat boiling inside his chest.
He reached his car, opened the door, and sat down heavily. His hand still trembled as he gripped the steering wheel. Caliste's lab report was burned into his mind—"Positive pregnancy test."
He could still hear his own voice, dry and bitter, saying, "Congratulations then."
He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned back. A humorless laugh escaped his lips. "Congratulations," he muttered again, mocking himself. "For what, Lucian? For losing her completely?"
He knew.
He didn't need to ask.
The timing, the closeness, the way Caelum was always around her—the answer hit him like a knife to the gut.
Caelum Vellaria.
Lucian slammed his fist against the steering wheel, his jaw locking in frustration. "So that's why he's always there… bringing her food, looking after her," he whispered. The words dripped with jealousy he couldn't hide. "He wasn't just being kind—he was claiming what's his."
He ran a hand through his hair, pulling at it in frustration.
How could he have been so blind?
The signs were all there. The way Caelum looked at her. The way Caliste smiled at him, soft and tired, as if she had finally found comfort.
Lucian's throat burned.
He pressed his palm against his forehead, breathing heavily.
He wanted to be angry—at her, at Caelum, at himself. But all he felt was this sharp ache that tore through his chest.
She moved on.
She built a new life without me.
And now… she's carrying his child.
The words played in his head over and over until it was unbearable.
Lucian grabbed the half-full bottle of wine from the passenger seat. He twisted it open and drank straight from it—long, desperate gulps that seared down his throat. The alcohol didn't dull the pain; it only made it louder.
When the bottle was empty, he threw it across the car. It shattered against the floorboard, glass glinting under the city lights. His breathing came hard, uneven. His eyes were red, but not from the wine.
He leaned back and stared out at the skyline through the windshield, the lights blurring through his tears.
"She's really gone," he whispered hoarsely. "And now she's having his child."
The words nearly broke him.
Lucian clenched his fists. He had everything—power, money, control—but none of it mattered. Not when the only woman he ever loved now belonged to someone else.
He let out a long, ragged sigh and whispered to the empty night,
"Be happy, Caliste… even if it's not with me."
But deep down, in the corner of his heart he refused to look at,
he knew it wasn't true.
He didn't want her to be happy with anyone else.
Especially not him.
Since that day, something in him changed.
Lucian Velmore.. the man whose presence once filled every room with quiet power... now looked empty.
They still crossed paths in the office; their roles made it impossible to avoid each other. But when they met, he was… hollow.
No more teasing remarks.
No sharp, lingering gazes.
No warmth.
He didn't even look her in the eyes anymore.
When she handed him documents, he simply took them..his expression unreadable, his tone mechanical.
If their fingers brushed, he didn't flinch, didn't react.
It was as if she didn't exist.