The house was quiet. Lucy wasn't used to this silence.
She stood in Damien's home office. The air still smelled like his cologne and the faint smell of tobacco he thought she didn't know he used. Her eyes went to the bookshelf, the hundreds of files carefully arranged in one corner of the room, the coffee mug on his table. She went to the desk and her fingers hovered over it.
If this was like any other day, Damien would've come in with a smug smile. "Looking for my other wives, mi amor?"
He loved teasing her and she loved being teased. A relationship of eight years had come to an abrupt end just like that.
The drawers had always been locked when he was not home, Damien was meticulous like that. But Lucy had found a spare key once while she was cleaning, it was tucked beneath the corner of a loose floorboard. She had never used it.
And she found no reason to use it now.
Her two children were asleep. They had cried themselves to sleep and no matter how much she tried to comfort them, their tears kept flowing.
She sighed as she exited the office and headed for the living room.
It was also quiet. She was exhausted, but she had to go on, for her kids. She glanced at the photo frames on the wall. There was one of her and Damien at their wedding. She wore flowers in her hair, and Damien wore flowers on his suit. They looked happy, bright, in love. Her eyes went to another frame, Isla's first birthday, frosting was smeared all over her face while the rest of the family laughed.
They looked happy.
Another frame of Mateo's first day at an ice skating rink. He had a bright smile on his face as his hugged his sister while Damien kissed his wife's cheek.
Lucy moved to the couch and lowered herself onto it like her bones had aged ten years. Her body ached but her heart ached even more.
Her phone rang and she looked at the screen. It was Damien's mother calling. She didn't want to pick up. Lucy knew what her mother in law was calling for. The two had never gotten along, she claimed that Lucy only got together with Damien for his money.
That was not true. Damien and Lucy were only students when they met, and Damien wasn't well off at the time. The two of them developed their company together, and it grew.
"Hello?" Lucy said.
There was a pause on the other end. When Lucy wanted to end the call, a cold voice spoke.
"I hope you understand the position you've put this family in."
Lucy blinked, she hadn't expected anything good but it still came to her as a shock. Not how are you holding up or how are the children. It was straight to blame.
"We buried your son this morning," Lucy tried to keep her voice even.
"And everyone is anxious. Damien died three days ago, and the board is already making a decision. Do you want them to kick us out of the company we put in our blood, sweat and tears into?"
Lucy's grip on the phone tightened. When she'd met Damien, he didn't have his family's backing, they'd always doted on Xander, he was the golden child. But the moment Damien's business started picking up, they suddenly reappeared into his life. And Damien being the nicest person ever, forgave them for everything they'd done to him because they were family.
Even though not one of them apologized once.
"Your son tried to propose to me today at the gravesite, Eleanor."
"He offered you security," Eleanor said. "You should consider yourself lucky."
A bitter laugh escaped Lucy. "Is that how you trained your son? To prey on his brothers wife while the body's still warm?"
"Listen to me carefully, Lucia," Eleanor warned. "You are in no position to make demands. It is my son's company and I decide what to do with it. I will not leave it in the hands of a woman whose two children have questionable paternity."
Lucy took a deep breath. "Mateo and Isla are his children."
"If that's true," Eleanor said. "Then you should have no problem proving that in court."
Eleanor hung up.
Lucy stared at the screen for a long time. She wasn't just grieving a husband, she was now fighting his family.
Damien had a will, of course. It was revealed that he left everything to his wife but his family didn't like that. They demanded to get something but the lawyer insisted that the will couldn't be changed.
Lucy dialed the number of Damien's lawyer, Mr. William Roth and he answered on the second ring.
"Mrs. Whitmore," his tone was gentle. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine, William. There's a slight problem."
"I expected your call," he said. "Given the type of family your husband has and all."
"Eleanor threatened to challenge paternity of the kids."
There was a pause. "She already had a secret DNA test done. They're Damien's kids."
Lucy stood up and paced around the room. "She wants to use it to dispute the will. She wants the company. I take it you've heard what happened earlier today."
"She can file a suit, but she has no standing to rewrite Damien's will. His instructions were clear. Everything goes to you, unless they can prove fraud or that he wasn't of sound mind…"
"He was of sound mind," Lucy cut in.
"I know," William said. "They have no fighting case against the children."
"And the company?"
William hesitated and then sighed. "That's a bit more complicated."
"How?"
"Damien left his shares to you," William continued. "But as you know, the company is privately held. Damien was the majority shareholder, yes, but the board still has influence, especially now that the CEO is gone."
Lucy rubbed her forehead. "They want to vote me out, don't they?"
"They don't think you're fit to run the company," William admitted.
"I co-built it," Lucy snapped. "They seem to forget that."
"That's true, but you also have no experience."
Lucy closed her eyes. "What are my options?"
"Legally, the will stands. You own Damien's shares and that gives you voting power but you need allies on the board. You have a few, about three but that's not enough."
"So I'm going to lose everything my husband left me?"
"No," William said firmly. "But you might lose control of the company if you don't act fast."
"What can I do?"
"You need to learn how the business works, but you don't have enough time for that. My advice is that you marry someone that'll take care of the company for you until you're ready."
"You think I should marry Xander?" her voice came out as a whisper.
"Not him, I'm saying you should marry someone and let him handle the company until you're ready."
Lucy ended the call and sank back into the couch.
Marry someone? Another man?
Her husband had just been lowered into the ground this morning, and now everyone wanted her to find someone else all in the name of convenience.
She couldn't do it.