My Villainess Ex Won't Leave Me Alone

"Lady Celine, we are all set to go," one of her servants announced, entering the gazebo.

'Is she leaving already?' Lucian thought to himself. They had barely spoken, and he was already missing her.

Celine took her fan from him, saying her farewell to the Viscount's daughters, and walked away.

Lucian couldn't just let her go like that, not without at least a proper goodbye. So he got up from his seat and also excused himself.

He watched how she entered the carriage from afar, admiring the sight. It was rare to see her put on such an elegant display. She looked like a proper lady now, with all the poise and grace that came with it.

'Next time...' he thought to himself.

"Mr. Arclight," the pink-haired girl approached him shyly, "I want to thank you for standing up for me."

"It was nothing," he said, not looking at her, "I would have done it for anyone. There was nothing personal about it."

He left the girl there, and went back to work, not wanting to waste any more time.

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What Lucian didn't expect was to be caught in another scandalous situation by Celine again.

One of Jax's women had tried to make a move on him, and Celine just had to catch him dragging the woman out of the inn room where he was staying.

Celine seemed to be traveling in the same direction as him and they would run into each other often.

Lucian leaned over his inn window to see hers closed and the curtains shut. "..."

Lucian's mood was at an all-time low as random girls kept on trying to get close to him, trying to start something he wasn't interested in. And of course, Celine had to witness it all, and it only made him look even worse in her eyes.

'It's over,' Celine said to him one day when he waited for her to open her inn window. 'We're done.'

She had given him his freedom back.

He was a free man again.

"..." He really didn't want his freedom back though.

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Sitting on his bed, Lucian scratched his scalp, his feet tapping on the floor. He was frustrated. Angry, even. He wanted to break something. To scream. To punch a wall. To cry.

'She can't just end it like that.'

His eyes were open wide in denial. He refused to believe that it was over. That he had lost her.

'She'll come around.'

'She always does.'

'She's probably just angry.'

'She'll get over it.'

'She loves me.'

'And I love her too.'

'She can't just throw it all away. Just like that.'

'No way...'

He didn't notice that he had already hit the wooden frame of his bed, until his fist started to ache. The frame was cracked, splintered, and there were a few drops of blood on it. His blood.

"..." Lucian stared at his fist for a moment, before wiping away the blood on his pants. He was still wearing the same clothes as the day before. The same shirt and pants he had worn when they had last spoken.

"Boss?" Goblin asked from behind the door, "A new shipment of wood has arrived, do you want to take a look at it?"

'Right, there's still work to do,' Lucian shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "I'll be right out," he replied.

'No time for self-pity,' Lucian stood up and washed his face,'I have a business to run.'

The constant ache in his chest was hard to ignore, but there was still a small hope in him that everything would go back to how it was.

'Maybe it's a test? To see if I'll take advantage of my freedom and do something stupid, or if I'll stay faithful to her?'

'She probably regrets it by now,' he thought, 'It must be killing her to keep her distance from me.'

'I should just play along with her. Let her think I'm happy without her.'

'She'll come back soon enough.'

'Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll ignore her, and she'll come running back.'

Lucian waited, and waited, and waited.

Days and nights passed, and no invitation for a birthday party came from the Rochefort's household.

He tried to contact Edmund to see how his sister was doing, and Edmund agreed to meet him.

Lucian washed himself thoroughly, and dressed in his best clothes, making sure his hair was combed and his teeth were clean.

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"Long time no see," Edmund greeted him with a smile, motioning for him to sit inside his office, "How have you been?"

"Great, and yourself?" Lucian replied, trying not to seem too eager.

"Not so great," Edmund sighed, flipping the family seal in between his fingers, "Listening to your s‎ister calling herself a dog in heat and hating herself for it... it's so painful to listen to... I want to crush your bones into dust for it, but it's not your fault she has bad taste. It's mine for not being able to protect her from it," he admitted, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Lucian bit the insides of his mouth and held his breath, the words 'a dog in heat' echoed in his mind, over and over again. Did the women coming after him reminded her of herself? Was she disgusted with herself?

"Why is she telling it to you instead of me?" Lucian asked, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice.

Edmund didn't respond, keeping his gaze fixed on the seal, his fingers still playing with it, "I don't know. The only time she shares her thoughts is to trick people or get her way. I see you as my friend Lucian, and she knows it. Ah...no wonder. She is using me to get to you," he shook his head.

"Get to me?" Lucian looked at him, confused.

"Isn't it obvious?" Edmund asked, his smile widening, "She is playing hard to get. She wants to drive you crazy, so you would chase her, beg her to come back, maybe even kneel and cry."

"..." Lucian blinked and then blinked again, "Why would she want me to do that when she has you at her beck and call?"

"..." Edmund's smile stiffened and then disappeared, "I really hate the fact that you are not wrong."

"Let's grab a drink?" Lucian suggested, "I need something to wash away the guilt."

"Yes," Edmund said, "I need to get wasted and forget about my sister's existence for a bit. Let's go."

And they did go.

They entered a winery inside the estate's premises, showed a few bottles into a bag and returned to the office.

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