“She’s My Wife on Paper, Nothing More” — The Crime Lord Laughed… Not Knowing She Heard Every Word
Chapter 5
They returned to Blackwood Manor.
But Clara no longer felt like a prisoner.
Lucian gave her the eastern wing of the house.
She could come and go.
She could speak to servants.
She could read every document in his study.
Most importantly, he stopped pretending not to care.
He did not become gentle overnight.
Lucian Blackwood had spent too many years building walls.
But small things changed.
He remembered that Clara hated strong tea.
He ordered a warmer cloak when winter came.
He made sure someone accompanied her whenever she traveled.
And every evening, he asked whether she had eaten.
Clara noticed.
She pretended not to.
One night, she found him alone in the library.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
“I wasn’t the one awake until dawn.”
“You were.”
She sat across from him.
“Why did you become this man?”
Lucian looked at the fire.
“My father was murdered when I was seventeen.”
Clara waited.
“He trusted his partners.”
“And they betrayed him?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to them?”
“I destroyed their business.”
“Only their business?”
Lucian smiled without humor.
“Some deserved worse.”
Clara studied him.
“You scare people.”
“I know.”
“Does that bother you?”
“It keeps people alive.”
She frowned.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“It doesn’t bother me.”
“Does anything?”
He was silent.
Then he said:
“You.”
Clara’s heart skipped.
Lucian immediately looked away.
She smiled faintly.
“That’s the first honest thing you’ve said.”
He almost smiled.
“Don’t get used to it.”
For a moment, the room felt warm.
Then a servant rushed inside.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
Lucian stood.
“What?”
“The western warehouse is burning.”
His face changed.
“How many men?”
“Four.”
“Any prisoners?”
“No.”
Lucian looked at Clara.
“Stay here.”
But she stood.
“No.”
“Clara.”
“My family owns those warehouses.”
She picked up her cloak.
“If someone is trying to destroy them, I am going with you.”
Lucian stared at her.
Then nodded.
“Very well.”
Neither knew that the fire was not meant to destroy the warehouse.
It was meant to destroy something hidden beneath it.
Something that could prove Thomas Whitmore had murdered their father.
