Substitute love

“I came here to do a little bit of shopping, now it has been ruined by the both of you,” Maya mumbled under her breath, but Stephanie caught onto the words.

“Shopping?” Stephanie scoffed. “Can you even afford anything that's here?”

Maya stared at the card Lucien had given her. He claimed it had no limit, but that doesn't mean I should overuse it, Maya thought to herself.

Stephanie saw the card and laughed. “Oh, a black card? Let me guess, your old sugar daddy threw it at your face after you entertained him for the night?” Her loud words instantly drew a crowd.

“Stephanie, do not keep provoking me, or else—”

“Or else what?” Stephanie interjected. “What do you think you can do to me? Just because you hit me once doesn't mean you can do so again. And you also won't get away with that slap,” Stephanie threatened.

With that, Stephanie pulled Marcus and walked out of the mall angrily. Maya stood there, watching the people who hurt her the most walk out. When the people who gathered saw that there was nothing else to watch, they dispersed, feeling disappointed.

Her mood to get new clothes was immediately ruined. She called the assistant, who came to pick her up in minutes.

“Where to, Miss?” he asked.

“Is Mr. Lucien around?” she questioned.

“No, Miss, he's at his office,” the assistant replied. “Is there anything you need from him?”

“Well, can you take me to his office?”

Maya knew best not to disturb Lucien when he was busy because she didn't know how he'd react. When she was still with Marcus, he'd get extremely upset and wouldn't talk to her for a long time whenever she disturbed his work. She'd have to buy him gifts and beg him to talk to her before he would. She didn't want the same to happen with Lucien, but she had to return his card personally so she wouldn't look ungrateful.

The car soon pulled up at the huge building. Maya got out of the car and was escorted inside by the assistant.

“So tell me more about Mr. Lucien,” Maya asked the assistant as they moved towards the floor where Lucien's office was located.

“Umm, well, I don't know much about Mr. Lucien’s personal life, but I can tell you about his position in the business empire,” the assistant replied.

“Sure you can.”

“Well,” the assistant started, “Mr. Lucien, even though he's the leader of the Blackwood family, refused to take over the family business. Mr. Lucien started his own empire, which has ranked as the most successful in the whole country.”

“So who took over the family business?” Maya asked.

“It's him. He's still the one in control of the family business.”

“So he's maintaining two huge empires?” Maya asked. That must be a lot of stress, she thought inwardly.

“Yes, he is. And I must say, I admire his ability to run them so smoothly without breaking down. It's like there's a force that keeps him pushing. Also, at a young age, Mr. Lucien was faced with the burden of developing this huge empire from scratch,” the assistant added.

“Why didn't he accept the easier route by taking over the Blackwood family's empire?” Maya asked.

“Well, it's because there's a lot of internal conflict there. His position there wouldn't be stable.”

“Why?” Maya asked. “Isn't he the eldest son of the Blackwood family?”

“Yes, he is. But it's complicated, and it's not in my place to say.”

They got to Lucien's office, and the assistant knocked on the door.

“Come in,” his stern voice responded. It sounded so chilling and oppressing that the assistant gulped hard before opening the door.

“Sir, Young Miss is here to see you,” the assistant reported.

As he announced her arrival, Maya prayed internally that Lucien wouldn't get annoyed by her.

“Tell her to come in,” she heard his voice say again, and his response made her heart almost jump out of her throat.

The assistant walked out of the office and approached her. “Miss, you can go in.” With that, he bowed and left.

Maya took a deep breath before pushing the office door open. Immediately upon walking in, she spotted a handsome-looking man sitting behind a desk full of documents. He looked poised and graceful, even when faced with a lot of work.

He lazily looked up from his computer and stared intensely at her. Maya stood there nervously, praying that he wouldn't lash out at her for coming to his workplace while he was busy.

“Why are you just standing there? Come here!” His deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Maya stared at him, looking for signs of anger or irritation on his face, but his expression was completely blank. She couldn't read any emotion from it. However, there was a certain warmth that flashed through his eyes whenever he looked at her.

Maya walked forward, and he gestured for her to join him where he was seated. She obeyed quietly. He directed her onto his lap, causing her face to flush red.

“How did you know that I was missing you, my love?” he asked huskily as he nibbled on her earlobe.

The action tickled Maya, and she giggled. “I don't know, but now I'm here,” she responded as she began to massage his hair.

For the first time, Maya felt like she finally had someone in her life. She didn't really know why Lucien treated her so specially, but now that she was his, she planned on maintaining that position.