Chapter 13: The Price of Choosing Us
Morning arrived slowly, like it was afraid of interrupting what we'd decided the night before.
I woke up tangled in unfamiliar calm, my cheek pressed against Lucien's shoulder, his arm draped loosely around me. For a moment, I forgot everything else—the contracts, the pressure, the world waiting outside this room.
Then reality breathed back in.
Lucien was already awake, staring at the ceiling, his expression thoughtful rather than distant. Not guarded. Not closed. Just… human.
"You didn't run," I said quietly.
He turned his head to look at me. "Neither did you."
A small smile curved my lips before fading. "We probably should've."
"Probably," he agreed. "But I'm tired of doing what's expected."
We lay there for a few more seconds, neither of us moving, as if motion itself might undo the decision we'd made.
Eventually, Lucien sat up. "Today won't be kind."
My stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"
"I informed my family," he said calmly. "That I'm continuing this marriage on my terms."
I pushed myself up. "And?"
"And they won't accept it quietly."
Of course they wouldn't.
I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself. "I don't want to be the reason you lose everything."
Lucien met my gaze steadily. "You're the reason I'm willing to fight for something."
That should have made me feel stronger.
Instead, it terrified me.
By the time we left the house, news was already moving faster than we were.
My phone buzzed nonstop. Messages. Missed calls. Headlines sent by classmates who didn't know whether to be curious or cruel.
BLACKWOOD HEIR DEFIES FAMILY BOARD
CONTRACT MARRIAGE TURNING REAL?
TEEN WIFE AT CENTER OF BILLIONAIRE POWER STRUGGLE
I stopped reading.
At school, the stares were worse than before. No whispers this time. No jokes. Just open curiosity, judgment, and something darker—envy.
Mina found me by my locker.
"Okay," she said slowly, eyes wide. "You're trending."
"I hate that word," I muttered.
She studied my face. "Is it true?"
"I don't even know what 'true' is anymore," I replied.
She hesitated. "Are you… happy?"
The question caught me off guard.
"I think," I said carefully, "I'm choosing something that scares me."
Mina nodded. "That usually means it matters."
Classes blurred together. I barely heard the lectures, my thoughts stuck on Lucien, on what was happening in rooms I wasn't allowed to enter. Boardrooms. Private calls. Power plays dressed up as concern.
By afternoon, the consequences arrived.
I was called to the principal's office.
Lucien was already there when I walked in, standing near the window, hands in his pockets, jaw tight. The principal looked uncomfortable, like he wished he were anywhere else.
"Miss," he began, clearing his throat, "the school has received several complaints."
"About what?" I asked.
"About… influence," he said vaguely. "Media presence. Disruption."
Lucien turned. "Are you suggesting my wife is a problem?"
The principal flinched. "I'm suggesting the attention surrounding her may not be healthy for the school environment."
"So you want me gone," I said quietly.
"No," he said quickly. "We just think a temporary leave might be beneficial."
Temporary.
That word again.
Lucien's voice hardened. "You don't get to isolate her because adults are uncomfortable."
"She's still a minor," the principal insisted. "This situation is unprecedented."
Lucien glanced at me, searching my face. "What do you want?"
The room went silent.
For once, the choice was mine.
I took a deep breath. "I want to stay," I said. "I've done nothing wrong."
The principal sighed. "Then you must understand there will be scrutiny."
"I already live with that," I replied.
Lucien's lips curved slightly, pride flickering in his eyes.
We left together.
Outside, the air felt colder.
"They're going to keep pushing," I said.
"I know," Lucien replied. "My family included."
That evening, the push became a shove.
We sat across from the Blackwood board again, this time with lawyers present, tension sharp enough to cut.
"You're risking everything," the same woman said coolly. "For a feeling."
"For a person," Lucien corrected.
I felt their eyes on me like weights.
"You're young," she continued, turning to me. "This will pass. Step away now, and no one gets hurt."
My heart pounded.
Lucien didn't interrupt.
I stood slowly. "You keep talking like I'm something fragile you need to protect," I said, voice steady despite the fear. "But you're the ones hurting people to keep control."
The room stilled.
"I didn't ask for your world," I continued. "But I won't apologize for existing in it."
Lucien reached for my hand. I took it.
The man beside the woman sighed. "Then be prepared for consequences."
Lucien nodded. "We are."
When we finally left, the sky was dark, the city lights harsh and unforgiving.
In the car, I let out a shaky breath. "That was terrifying."
Lucien squeezed my hand. "You were incredible."
"I don't feel incredible," I admitted. "I feel like I just stepped off a cliff."
He glanced at me. "So did I."
Back home, exhaustion hit me all at once. I sank onto the couch, staring at nothing.
"Do you ever wish," I asked quietly, "that we'd never met?"
Lucien sat beside me. "No."
"You didn't even think about it."
"I did," he said. "And the answer didn't change."
I leaned my head against his shoulder.
That night, as I lay awake listening to his breathing, fear crept back in, cold and insistent.
Choosing us hadn't solved anything.
It had started a war.
And as sleep finally pulled me under, one truth settled heavily in my chest.
Love wasn't free.
It never had been.
And the price of choosing it had only just begun to reveal itself.