Chapter 538: It Had to Be Him

The rest of the day passed like any other.

At least, it did for Ashley and Lucian.

For Nikki, it was another story.

When she walked out of Lucian’s office, she should have kept going. She should have closed the door behind her and forgotten everything she had witnessed.

Instead, she had made the mistake of looking back.

And there they were.

Ashley had her arms around Lucian, kissing him as though Nikki had already ceased to exist.

"That bitch..."

The wineglass in Nikki’s hand trembled as she stood alone in her apartment, her other hand braced against the bar counter.

"She did that on purpose, didn’t she?"

Her throat tightened.

A painful pressure settled in her chest as the scene replayed in her mind.

All this time, Nikki had believed Ashley was nothing more than a trophy wife—someone young and beautiful enough to satisfy Lucian’s temporary boredom.

Once that boredom passed, he would cast her aside.

It should have been that simple.

That was why Nikki had never considered Ashley a threat.

But things had changed.

Even Gustav now spoke highly of Ashley.

Red had abandoned his former position within Black Dragon’s faction to become one of Ashley’s most loyal men. Dominion might have been a single organization, but it had always contained separate factions with different loyalties.

And Red hadn’t joined Ashley alone.

His entire team had followed him.

Nikki couldn’t care less about the other group Ashley had recently taken in. What she couldn’t ignore was how everyone surrounding Lucian had gradually changed their opinion of his wife.

When Nikki was away, she had refused to believe the reports.

Now that she had returned and witnessed everything herself, denial was becoming impossible.

"Even the young master..." Her voice faded as the image of Lucian and Ashley kissing surfaced again.

"Damn it!"

Consumed by rage, Nikki hurled the wineglass against the wall.

It shattered on impact, spraying red wine across the pale surface. Crimson trails slowly trickled downward among the broken pieces.

Nikki stood there panting, her glare fixed on the stain.

"This can’t continue," she whispered, digging her nails into her palms. "That woman needs to disappear."

Just then, a faint commotion outside interrupted her thoughts.

Nikki turned toward the entryway, deep lines forming between her brows. She approached the security monitor mounted on the wall and switched on the audio.

Several men were gathered in the hallway.

Not outside her apartment.

Outside the neighboring unit—the one Tinie had occupied before his death.

Nikki narrowed her eyes when she spotted Lukas among them.

"What are they doing?"

Curiosity overcame her hesitation.

She approached her front door and stepped into the hallway. The moment she emerged, Lukas—who had been overseeing the men—looked in her direction.

For one suspended second, their eyes met.

Then he looked away.

"What’s going on?" Nikki asked, stopping near him.

Lukas didn’t answer. His arms remained crossed as he watched the men carry boxes and furniture out of Tinie’s former apartment.

Nikki released a heavy sigh.

"Lukas." She turned toward him. "I know you’re still angry with me, but I meant what I said. I hope we can put our personal feelings aside and continue working together."

"It’s already past working hours," Lukas replied without looking at her. "I don’t need to work with you right now."

"Lukas."

"Nikki."

He cut her off and finally turned to face her.

"Are you asking because you genuinely don’t know what’s happening?" His voice was cold. "Or are you only pretending because you wanted an excuse to speak to me?"

Her expression stiffened while Lukas held her gaze.

"Or have you grown so comfortable here that you’ve stopped thinking altogether?"

Nikki’s breath caught. "What?"

It wasn’t his words that affected her.

It was the way he looked at her.

The last time they spoke, she had still seen pain in his eyes. Beneath his anger had been the unmistakable hurt of someone who cared about her.

Now, there was nothing.

He looked at her as though she were merely another inconvenience standing in his way.

"The man who lived in this apartment almost killed me," Lukas continued, his voice devoid of emotion. "It’s about time we searched the place thoroughly and determined whether he left anything behind."

He glanced toward the open doorway. "Once we’re certain we haven’t missed anything the first time, someone else will move in."

Nikki swallowed. "Someone else is moving here?"

"Dominion paid for the unit." Lukas returned his attention to the men. "We might as well use it. Leaving it empty would be a waste of space and money."

"Who’s moving in?"

"That’s none of your concern."

His answer came without hesitation.

"You lived beside Tinie while he was still alive," he continued. "Yet you never noticed anything suspicious. What would be the point of telling you now?"

Nikki’s lips parted, but no defense came out.

In the end, she exhaled sharply and turned on her heel.

"I trusted him too," she muttered as she walked back toward her apartment. "What else did you expect me to do?"

Lukas ignored her.

A moment later, the door slammed shut behind him.

He remained still, his gaze fixed on the open entrance to Tinie’s former unit.

A full minute passed before he finally glanced toward Nikki’s door.

"I hope you’re not one of them," he whispered.

His jaw tightened.

"Because if you are..." Whatever softness remained in his eyes disappeared. "I’ll be the one to kill you."

It wasn’t as though Lukas had forgotten his feelings for Nikki.

He hadn’t.

That was precisely why it hurt so much.

But after confronting Tinie and nearly dying from a gunshot wound, Lukas had been forced to recognize how short and fragile life truly was.

He had spent years admiring Nikki from a distance.

Years defending her.

Years finding excuses for her.

Yet when her life had been threatened, she had been willing to sacrifice Lukas, Gustav, and everyone else to save herself.

Meanwhile, the one person who had every reason to abandon them had refused to do so.

Ashley could have walked away.

She could have left Lucian and Dominion to burn.

Instead, she had walked directly into the flames to save Lucian’s people.

"I still don’t like her," Lukas muttered.

But disliking Ashley no longer prevented him from acknowledging the truth.

He lowered his gaze.

"Compared to the madam, why should I continue hurting over someone who has never done anything for me?"

Perhaps his confrontation with Tinie had been a blessing in disguise.

Without it, Lukas might still be spending his nights drinking himself numb. He might still be wallowing in the pain of his one-sided love and Nikki’s betrayal.

But nearly dying had forced him to look back on all those years honestly.

Nikki had never truly done anything for him.

He had always been the one giving.

His time.

His loyalty.

His protection.

His heart.

Lukas had never expected Nikki to return his feelings simply because he loved her. But logically, there was no reason to keep grieving over someone who had never valued him in the first place.

A sudden movement in the corner of his vision interrupted his thoughts.

Lukas turned, and his expression immediately soured.

Rum stood several steps away with a bag slung over one shoulder, his eyes glowing as he inspected the apartment.

He let out a long whistle.

"Wow!" Rum exclaimed. "So this is my new place?"

He rushed inside like an excited child.

"Hehe. Where’s my phone? Red needs to see this!" Rum pulled out his phone and immediately began taking pictures of every corner of the apartment.

Lukas watched him in silence. Then he slowly shook his head.

Of all the people who could have become Nikki’s new neighbor... it had to be Rum.