Page 147 of Lucas

“It worked. You know? The eyelash. I got my wish.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

AVA

Itake the envelope from the courier at the door and sign for it.

“What do you think, Cartman? Will Lucas be here again tomorrow morning?” I slump onto the couch.

He’s not giving up. He waits here every morning just to wish me a good morning. It’s been weeks. The urge to run to him and kiss him is getting harder by the day.

It takes every ounce of my willpower not to run into his arms, to his strong embrace, to breathe in his familiar scent. My heart aches with longing, the love for him burning like wildfire in my veins.

I still love him, I’m still hopelessly in love with him, but I also can’t forget how his duplicity made me feel. Like a fool. The memories douse the flames, leaving nothing but smoldering embers of hurt and betrayal. How can I ever trust him again after that?

I open the envelope and pull out a stack of papers, my breath catching as I realize what they are.

It’s a contract.

My pulse races, and my mouth goes dry. What is this? Some sort of trick? Another manipulation?

I flip to the end. It’s already signed by Lucas.

I scan the main points. He’s transferring full ownership of Gant Construction to me. No hidden conditions or fine print. No catch.

I read it again, then a third time, convinced I must be misunderstanding. But there it is, laid out in black and white. He’s handing me my family’s legacy, the company I’ve poured my heart and soul into. The company he’d sworn to destroy.

I peek inside the envelope and find a note, which I pull out.

Ava,

Your dreams are my dreams. Whether that means constructing skyscrapers or building dog houses, I’m willing to move heaven and earth to see you achieve them.

I’ve let you down. I’ve broken your trust in the worst possible way, and I’ll regret that until my dying breath. But please, never doubt my love for you. It’s the one true thing in my life, the one certainty in a world of shadows and lies.

Whatever you need, I’m here. Even if you can’t forgive me, even if you’ve stopped loving me, I will never stop loving you. I will never stop fighting for you.

Take Gant and make it everything you’ve ever dreamed itcould be. Conquer the world, and I’ll be standing on the sidelines, cheering you on every step of the way.

I’m so proud of you, Ava. Of the woman you are. You’re a force of nature, unstoppable and magnificent. And I’m honored to have been a part of your journey, even if only for a little while.

Be happy. Be brilliant. Be you.

All my love, always,

Lucas

Tears are streaming down my face by the time I finish, blurring the words into illegible smudges. I press the note to my chest, a ragged sob tearing from my throat.

I’m not sure of anything anymore. My dreams, my identity, my place in this world—it’s all a tangled mess, a puzzle missing half its pieces. Without the Gant name, without my father’s guiding hand, who am I? What do I even want?

All I know for sure is that I want Lucas. I miss him with an intensity that steals my breath, that wakes me in the night aching and empty. Life without him is just an existence, not a life at all.

And the crazy thing is, I’m not even angry about his original plan to take down Gant. If I’m brutally honest with myself, I’m not sure I would have done anything different in his shoes. He thought I was part of my father’s schemes, a willing accomplice to his fraud and corruption. Why wouldn’t he want to take us down?

No, what hurts, what keeps me up at night, is the way his confession made me feel at the end. Like I was nothing. A fool,a joke, a pawn in a game I didn’t even know I was playing. No one has ever made me question my worth like that before. It cut me to the bone, shattered my confidence and my sense of self.

But even as I wrestle with the doubts and the fears, I can’t ignore the flip side of the coin. Because as much as Lucas made me feel worthless, he also made me feel priceless. Cherished. Adored. Like I could take on the world and win.