His Heir, Her Secret - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Isla
There’s a strange kind of stillness after a storm. The air feels too clean. The quiet feels too loud. That’s how it feels now—wrapped in Lucien’s arms on the terrace, watching the world below move on, completely unaware that mine has shifted on its axis.
He’s not just promising to protect Leo anymore. He’s stepping into the fire with us.
And that terrifies me more than anything Damon could ever do.
I slip from Lucien’s arms gently, my fingers lingering for a second longer than they need to. I’m afraid if I don’t let go now, I never will. He gives me space, his gaze steady and warm, as if sensing the thousand thoughts flying through my head.
“I should check on Leo,” I say softly.
Lucien doesn’t stop me. He just nods once, like he knows I need the familiarity of my son to anchor me.
Upstairs, I find Leo exactly where I left him—on the rug in the living room, building a wildly crooked skyscraper from wooden blocks. He grins when he sees me.
“Mommy, I made a tower like Daddy’s building!”
I kneel beside him, brushing his hair back. “It’s even better than Daddy’s.”
Leo picks up another block and wiggles it dramatically. “This one’s the helicopter pad. For when Daddy flies home.”
Something tugs in my chest.
He says home like it’s here. Like it’s this penthouse with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of the whole damn city. And maybe… maybe it is. At least for now.
I sit with him for a few more minutes, watching him play, soaking up his innocence like sunlight. But the silence doesn’t last long.
A knock at the door startles us both. Lucien is already at the top of the stairs by the time I stand, his expression sharpening.
I scoop Leo into my arms. “I’ve got him.”
Lucien checks the door himself—no staff, no security. He’s gotten paranoid, and I don’t blame him.
A moment later, he opens it.
Standing there is a woman dressed like she walked out of a fashion editorial—cream silk blouse, dark trousers, designer heels, and cheekbones sharp enough to slice glass. Her eyes cut straight to me.
And they narrow.
I don’t know her, but I know of her. I’ve seen her in business magazines. I’ve heard her name whispered in merger reports.
Genevieve Cade.
Lucien’s longtime right hand. And rumored former lover.
“Gen,” he says tightly. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m trying to keep you from detonating your entire public image,” she replies coolly, brushing past him without waiting for permission. Her gaze lands on Leo again—then me. “I assume this is the boy.”
Lucien steps between us like a shield. “He’s my son. And you will treat him—and his mother—with respect.”
Something cold flashes in her eyes, but she recovers quickly. “Then perhaps you should start acting like someone with an empire to protect. Do you have any idea what kind of damage your little announcement has caused?”
I tighten my hold on Leo. He squirms, sensing the tension.
“Damage?” I echo. “Lucien told the truth. That’s not damage. That’s integrity.”
Genevieve turns to me like I’m a math problem she’s too tired to solve. “And you must be Isla. The woman who vanished five years ago with Lucien’s heir. Tell me—how exactly did you expect this to go when you showed up again?”
“That’s enough,” Lucien snaps. “You don’t speak to her like that.”
Genevieve arches a brow. “You think I’m being cruel? I’m being practical. You’ve worked your entire life to be untouchable, Lucien. But now the media’s circling, board members are calling emergency meetings, and Damon Cross is parading himself as the wronged party in every channel that’ll have him.”
I feel the floor tilt.
Lucien doesn’t flinch. “Then we hit back harder.”
“With what?” she demands. “Love letters and a paternity test?”
“With the truth,” he says. “And if the board doesn’t like it, they can find someone else to count their profits.”
Genevieve exhales, clearly losing her patience. “You’ve always been reckless when you care about something.”
“No,” Lucien says. “I’ve always been ruthless when someone tries to take it from me.”
Her gaze softens just slightly—just enough for me to see it: a flicker of something buried beneath all that polish. Worry. Maybe even heartbreak.
“You don’t get second chances in this world, Lucien. Not when it comes to power.”
He glances at me. Then at Leo.
“I’m not asking for a second chance,” he says. “I’m choosing a different future.”
Genevieve exhales sharply and looks at me once more. This time, her gaze is more calculating than cruel. “Then you’d better be worth it.”
With that, she walks out.
The silence she leaves behind is thick.
Lucien turns to me immediately. “I didn’t know she’d come. She means well, but—”
“She still loves you,” I say quietly.
He doesn’t deny it.
“She was a part of the life you had before,” I continue. “Before us. Before Leo. Before everything.”
He moves closer, his voice low and steady. “She was part of my world. But she wasn’t my heart.”
I stare at him. “And what am I?”
He steps even closer, his fingers grazing my wrist.
“You,” he says, “are my present. My future. The mother of my son. The woman I—”
“Mommy?” Leo interrupts, tugging my sleeve.
I kneel, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Yes, baby?”
“Can Daddy come to the park with us today?”
Lucien crouches beside me, his smile softening every hard line on his face. “I’d like that.”
And just like that, the moment passes. But it lingers in the air, warm and full of things unsaid.
For the first time in a long time, I’m not afraid of the past catching up.
Because I’m standing with someone who won’t run.
Even if the next battle is already knocking.