Page 15 of Forever His Favorite (Possessive Billionaires, Precious Sweethearts #3)

Dillon, unable to hold back, stepped forward defensively.

“Miss Crawford, how can you say that? Mr. Cantrell burned his hands making this cake for you.” He grabbed Lucas’s hands and held them up.

The bandages were tight around the raw skin of his palms. “He tried again and again, despite the pain, just to make something for you.”

Emily inhaled slowly, then spoke with icy clarity.

“The man who lived with me for five years,” she said firmly, “and still doesn’t know that I’ve been lactose intolerant since birth—that I can’t eat dairy—what right does he have to claim that he made efforts?

And what right do you have to criticize me for rejecting his things? ”

Dillon’s words caught in his throat. His eyes darted to Lucas, who stood frozen, every muscle in his body locked.

Emily stepped closer, her voice rising, trembling with suppressed anger.

“If burning your hands gives you the right to be forgiven for every wrong you’ve done to me, then why didn’t I ever get a pass for all the humiliation I endured?

I gave Lucas my everything. So none of you—” her voice cut sharp “—none of you have the right to blame me for choosing myself. Not even Lucas.”

Lucas’s lips parted, his chest tightening. His voice cracked as he whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me? That you were lactose intolerant?”

Emily stared at him, her eyes cold. “I learned every habit you had, every little quirk, every detail about you by heart. Then why couldn’t you notice one single thing about me without me having to spell it out?

We lived together for five years. How hard was it to see that I never ate dairy, no matter what the meal was?

Was it really that hard to know or did you just not care? ”

Her blank gaze cut through him, and Lucas looked as though life had been ripped from his chest. His face was devastated, hollow.

Emily’s voice hardened. “You did nothing but take advantage of my vulnerability and love. Every time I was upset, you dismissed me, decided I was overreacting, and never once cared about how I actually felt.”

Lucas stumbled a step closer, his head bowed in shame. Emily immediately took another step back, creating space.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I’m really, truly sorry.”

Emily cut him off coldly. “You don’t have to worry about it now, because I don’t care anymore. You don’t need to do this. Don’t humiliate yourself like this just to beg for my forgiveness. It doesn’t matter to me now.”

But desperation clawed through him. Lucas surged forward, his words tumbling out in a broken rush. “I love you, Emily.”

She stepped back again, her eyes unflinching.

“I loved you from the very moment I laid eyes on you,” Lucas pushed on, his words spilling like a flood. “The day you stepped into my home to live with me, it was the happiest day of my life. You don’t know how much peace you brought me, how happy I was from the moment you entered my life—”

Emily cut him off again. “You don’t have to explain anymore.

The time to tell me all of this has already passed.

I did love you, Lucas. But I don’t anymore.

You ripped it out of me, piece by piece, until there was nothing left.

” She looked into his eyes, unwavering. “Now there is nothing left for you.”

Lucas’s chest burned, his breath heavy as he staggered another step closer. Emily stepped back instantly, widening the distance, her rejection clear in every motion.

And then, as though his body could no longer hold itself up, Lucas collapsed onto his knees in front of her. His hands trembled, clutching the cake, tears burning his eyes as his voice broke.

“I was wrong. I was blind. I was stupid. I had your love—and I destroyed it. And now I’ve lost it all. Emily…” His voice cracked. “See, I’m begging you on my knees. Please love me again. Just once more.”

Emily stared at him, her heart clenching painfully. Years of memories crashed over her—the way she once waited, prayed, begged for him to see her, to care for her, to protect her the way he had in the beginning.

She had once thought his attention was everything, never realizing how it faded, how it turned to neglect until she was left starved and invisible.

Now, seeing him kneeling before her, she felt no warmth. No longing. Only pain.

Her feet moved on their own. She stepped toward him, then lowered herself down, her knees touching the cold ground in front of him, kneeling on the ground.

Lucas’s tear-streaked eyes lifted to meet hers, stunned.

From the side, Sebastian’s sharp intake of breath filled the air.

Hearing the scrape of her footsteps, he spun around, his chest seizing when he saw Emily on her knees before Lucas.

His feet moved quickly, instinctively, to reach her—because the sight of her kneeling in front of another man burned through him like fire.

But before he could reach her, she was already speaking.

“What’s so special about you begging on your knees, Lucas?” She leaned closer, her eyes never wavering from his. “Look, I am on my knees too. It still didn’t change anything.”

Sebastian froze, his fists curling tightly at his sides. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding as fury and hurt twisted through him. Every second she remained on the ground tore at him, yet he held himself back. His chest tightened, his breath ragged.

Emily didn’t blink, her gaze locked on Lucas, her voice sharp with all the years of unshed anger.

“It didn’t erase anything,” she whispered, her words cutting sharper than a scream. “It didn’t erase the nights you made me feel sick watching you with Amelia. It didn’t erase the memory of you running to her in the middle of the night, even when I begged you not to.”

Her gaze flicked briefly to Dillon, cold and accusing, before snapping back to Lucas.

“No one around you ever gave me respect. They insulted me to my face because you made it clear that I was a burden to you, not your girlfriend. Do you know how much it broke me when you made me beg for your mother’s ring?

I was so desperate to marry you that I threw away my own dignity. ”

Lucas’s chest heaved, but he didn’t move.

Her chest rose and fell sharply as old wounds spilled out like fresh blood.

“I still remember how Amelia looked me in the eye and told me you’d never believe me, even if I told you she stole my designs.

And when I finally slapped her for mocking me, you proved her right.

You fired me in front of everyone, humiliated me, and blamed me for defending myself. You never believed me.”

Lucas flinched, his hand gripping his knee until his knuckles went white as she continued.

“I remember the lies she told about me. I remember being humiliated in front of the whole world. I remember nearly dying when someone tried to kill me—and still, you refused to believe me. I remember it all. Every word. Every wound. Every betrayal. Even now, even when I see you on your knees, it hurts just as much as it did then. Nothing has changed. The pain never left.” Her eyes burned as she leaned closer.

“So tell me, Lucas… what difference does it make?”

Lucas’s lips parted, but no words came out. He sat frozen, pale as though her words had stolen the last breath from his chest.

Sebastian, standing nearby, was no longer calm.

His hands trembled with barely contained fury as his vision blurred red.

He yanked out his phone, his teeth grinding as he typed a message to Leon with shaking fingers: ’Dig into every fucking thing Lucas did to Emily—her accident, Amelia, everything.

I want every detail by tonight. Tear their lives apart if you have to.

’ His chest heaved with rage, the thought of Emily enduring all this making it impossible to breathe.

Meanwhile, Emily pressed her palms against the ground, pushing herself to her feet. She stood over Lucas, her shadow falling across him.

“I’m not like you, Lucas. I don’t value everyone the same. I don’t fall for every man I meet. Jeremy is my best friend, but I never gave him as much importance in my life as I gave you.” Her fingers curled at her side. “For you, Amelia and everyone else mattered more than me.”

Her eyes burned as they found his. “You—” she breathed the name like a wound, “—you tore my love out of me, bit by bit, until there was nothing left.”

She swallowed. The silence held them both. “Your love was a sunrise,” she said softly. “I fell for it at first sight. It was breathtaking, and I forgot myself. But that same sun burned me. It burned everything away until I had nothing left.”

Lucas’s hands trembled on his knees, his face pale as ash. He couldn’t rise, couldn’t speak, because every word she spoke nailed him harder to the ground.

He looked into her eyes, voice trembling, his face wet with tears. “There will never be any more indifference. I promise you. I will never let you hurt again. I will never let you go through any pain ever again.”

Emily’s gaze didn’t soften. “There is no other chance, Lucas. I gave you as many as I could. There’s nothing left in me to give you.”

She inhaled, rose to her feet, and took a step back. Her chest tightened as she looked down at him and met his gaze. “Lucas, there are a billion women in this world. You can love any of them.”

He shook his head so fast it was almost violent. His voice came out raw, small and desperate at once. “But there’s only one Emily in this whole world. And I only want her.”

Her lips curved into a bitter smile. “You can’t say that now.”

“I won’t force you,” he rushed out, desperation leaking from every word. “I just want you to look at me once more, to see that I’m telling the truth. I’m not the same person anymore. I will never ignore you again. I’ll listen to every word you say.”

“Is that so?” she questioned, her eyes piercing his.

He nodded furiously, tears spilling. “I promise. I’ll listen to everything. I’ll follow your word. I’ll lay down my life for you if I have to. I’ll do anything to please you. I will never ignore you. I won’t ever hurt you again. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

“Alright then,” Emily said at once, her voice like ice. “Then don’t show up in front of me after you leave this place. That’s all I want from you. Can you do that for me?”

Lucas’s body froze, his hands trembling as his nails dug into his palms. Tears streamed down his face. “Don’t say that,” he whispered hoarsely. On his knees, his fists clenched tight, his nails digging into his skin until they left marks.

Emily didn’t look at him again. She walked past him in silence, heading toward Sebastian’s car.

Sebastian followed after her, his jaw tight, fury pulsing in his veins.

Every muscle in his body ached to drag Lucas up and beat him into the ground, to bury him in his own grave.

But instead, he swallowed his rage and slipped into the car beside Emily, leaving Lucas crumpled on the floor behind them.