“She’s My Wife on Paper, Nothing More” — The Crime Lord Laughed… Not Knowing She Heard Every Word
Chapter 8
Smoke filled the chapel.
Lucian kicked open a side door.
“Clara!”
She coughed.
“I can’t see.”
He found her hand.
“Follow me.”
They crawled beneath the smoke.
Behind them, flames climbed the walls.
Thomas had vanished.
Elias escaped through another door.
Outside, Lucian collapsed.
Clara dropped beside him.
His wound had reopened.
“Stay with me.”
“I am.”
“No.”
She pressed her hand against his shoulder.
“You’re bleeding too much.”
Lucian smiled weakly.
“You’re giving orders.”
“Someone has to.”
He laughed.
Then winced.
Clara looked at him.
“Don’t laugh.”
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“At me?”
“At everyone.”
He reached for her hand.
“I am sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making you believe I didn’t love you.”
She froze.
Lucian’s eyes closed.
“I should have told you.”
Clara’s throat tightened.
“You love me?”
His eyes opened.
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
“But I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That if you knew how much I cared, you would become my weakness.”
Clara leaned closer.
“And now?”
He looked at her.
“Now I think loving someone is the only thing that makes strength worth having.”
She kissed him.
It was not planned.
It was not elegant.
It happened in the mud outside a burning chapel while smoke filled the night sky.
But it was real.
When they separated, Lucian whispered:
“Stay.”
Clara smiled through tears.
“I already am.”
Then Elias arrived.
He was carrying the missing ledger.
“We have proof.”
Lucian stood.
“Then let’s finish this.”
