Chapter 13
Briana returned once.
Not to see Theo.
To see Lucas.
They met in one of my outer sitting rooms because my son asked.
I allowed it.
Their marriage was theirs to end or repair.
I did not need to become the administrator of every broken relationship.
The conversation stayed quiet until Briana said:
“Your mother destroyed us.”
Lucas laughed.
I heard it from the hallway.
“No.”
Good.
“You destroyed us when you chose her.”
Briana’s voice sharpened.
“I chose us.”
“You chose money.”
“So did you.”
Silence.
Correct.
I respected that she refused to let Lucas rewrite himself as passive.
Then Lucas said:
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“That’s why I’m not blaming you for my part.”
Growth.
Painful.
Useful.
Briana did not follow.
She insisted Theo would have been safe.
That Malcolm never intended physical harm.
That thirty days could have prevented financial ruin.
Lucas answered:
“He asked me if I needed him anymore.”
Silence.
“You heard him.”
More silence.
“And you still said he was a small price.”
The marriage ended in that room.
Not with screaming.
With one sentence neither could live around.
Briana left the Carbone orbit afterward.
No revenge.
No secret return.
No later mastermind.
Some people simply choose the version of themselves they can tolerate and walk away.
Lucas stayed.
Outside the estate.
Working.
Paying down what remained of his obligations without my intervention.
The process was slow.
May you like
Good.
Speed had caused enough damage.
