Welcome To Hell, Dear Wife-Chapter 56: I like Fire

Chapter 56: I like Fire
Lucas honestly had no interest in socializing this night.
The private investor dinner was even supposed to be a mere formality, just a handshake meeting between power brokers held in the glass-walled rooftop lounge of the Altair Hotel. The exact kind of place where deals got signed with a toast and a threat within the same breath.
He sat at the head of the table with his jacket off and sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
The faint hum of the city below was against his silence as three men argued about market shares and defense contracts.
To his left, a senator boasted about import tax reforms, and to his right, a shareholder laughed too loudly at his own joke.
Lucas offered a polite smile, of course, but truthfully, his mind was elsewhere.
Lorena Sanders.
They hadn’t seen each other since last night. Since she had seen him shift in the woods, and since her eyes had gone wide with terror and she’d fainted in his arms.
He had expected lots of questions today
. Lots of screaming.
And maybe even her trying to run away.
Instead? There was absolutely nothing from her. She had locked herself in her room all day before he left, like she was hiding from him or something.
His instincts had been restless all evening for no reason, and even he couldn’t understand why he was allowing her so much space in his mind.
This is Lorena, of all people.
Jack suddenly leaned in behind his chair.
"Sir, you’ll want to see this," Jack said in a low and discreet voice.
Lucas didn’t look up from his whiskey right away, but when he finally turned, Jack’s phone was already angled toward him.
It was a photo, a grainy but clear enough one.
Lorena in a dress so short and red that it made something dark twist in his chest. She also had a wine glass in hand while...
Alex Vance?
Lucas’s eyes darkened.
Alex Vance’s hand was on her waist with his face so close to hers. Too close.
Lucas’s jaw tightened, but it was barely noticeable.
When did she even leave the house? Why didn’t I know about this?
"Source?"
"Our people at an industry party downtown. She went with Callis."
Lucas nodded slowly while his mind was already calculating angles and exits from this place.
"And where is Callis now?"
"She left the party fifteen minutes ago, but Lorena stayed behind with Alex Vance."
The senator beside Lucas asked something about some supply routes, causing Lucas to turn, but not to give him the reply he expected.
"Gentlemen," he said as he rose to his feet. "It’s been a pleasure. I’m afraid another matter requires my attention right now. We can finalize the documents next week like we planned."
No one pressed for details as they all stood to shake his hand.
Lucas buttoned his jacket and was out of there with Jack in a twinkle of an eye.
His car doors shut with a soft thud as he settled into the back seat with his phone in hand.
He looked steady, but his thoughts were nowhere near steady.
He had told himself to stay detached. Lorena’s chaos was her own problem, after all. But then—
Another image buzzed through his phone.
It was of Lorena leaving the party with her head tilted toward Alex like she could barely hold herself up.
A caption beneath it read, "
They’re heading toward the parking garage."
Lucas could not describe the feeling he was going through.
"Jack."
"Yes, sir?"
"Drive faster."
When they reached the parking level, Lucas spotted them instantly.
Alex was bent to Lorena’s face level with his hand cupping hers, even though Lorena visibly looked so uncomfortable despite how drunk she looked.
Something inside him snapped clean in half.
The car hadn’t even fully stopped before he opened the door and stepped out.
Alex barely had time to turn before Lucas’s fist connected with his jaw.
It was brutal enough to make Alex stagger back with his hand flying to his face. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
Lucas adjusted his cuff calmly. "What the hell do you think you’re doing to my wife?"
Lucas himself knew the title was now some sort of weapon for him.
"She wants to come with me!" Alex shouted while wiping blood from his mouth.
"Then you’re mistaking drunkenness for consent," Lucas replied.
Alex looked like he was about to argue, but Lucas ignored him and turned to Lorena instead.
Her lipstick was now smudged, but even Lucas had to admit that she looked very beautiful despite that, as she looked up at him like she couldn’t quite decide if he was real or if it was a hallucination.
"Lucas...?"
"You’re drunk," he simply said, like it wasn’t the most obvious thing already.
"Maybe..." she smiled faintly.
He didn’t dignify her with a response and simply lifted her instead. It was effortless as always, like she weighed nothing at all.
She giggled weakly against his chest. "You’re... you’re so bossy. Always picking me up like I’m your toy."
"Keep talking and I’ll drop you," he said in a cold tone.
But he didn’t.
He wouldn’t.
He,
in fac
t, set her gently in the backseat and climbed in after her before pulling the door shut.
The car partition immediately slid up, sealing them in their own private world.
As soon as they started moving, Lorena laughed softly in the darkness. "You punched Alex Vance for me."
"Don’t flatter yourself," he said coldly while staring straight ahead. "I punched a man who didn’t understand consent. I would do the same for any woman."
She laughed again. "That still sounds like jealousy to me."
Lucas didn’t bother answering her.
But then Lorena’s head tipped back against the leather seat, exposing the long line of her throat in a lazy stretch. The movement even made her dress ride up slightly.
But Lucas forced his eyes to the window.
"You know," she said slowly, "for someone who hates me so much—"
"I don’t hate you."
"—you sure keep saving me."
She poked his shoulder clumsily with one finger. "Or maybe you just don’t like anyone touching what you think you own?"
"Careful," he growled.
"Why?" Her lips curved into a teasing smile. "You’ll bite?"
She shrugged lazily, now boldly resting her head on his shoulder. "You’re just so dramatic, Mr. Husband."
He moved her off him gently, but she only slid even closer again, like some sort of gravity was pulling her toward him.
She’s so drunk that she doesn’t even know what she’s doing.
He thought to himself, but his body didn’t care about that logic right now.
Her hand even drifted up suddenly to trace the line of his jacket lapel in a slow and thoughtless manner.
Her fingers also brushed against his chest through the fabric. "Or maybe," she murmured, "you already bite."
Lucas caught her wrist,
gently, not enough to hurt
, but just to stop the slow slide of her fingers toward dangerous territory.
"Lorena, do you enjoy making a fool of yourself?" His voice came out more breathless than intended.
She laughed softly. "Come on, I was just... having fun. You should try it sometime."
"Fun?" His eyes finally snapped to hers. "With your ex?"
Her eyes fluttered open. "See? You sound jealous."
"You think this is some kind of game, don’t you?"
"Isn’t everything with you a game?" Her voice dropped low as her breath ghosted across his cheek.
They were close now.
He should probably pull away, put some distance between them, and remember that this was wrong on a hundred different levels. But her eyes were half-lidded and reckless.
"You’re playing with fire, Lorena."
She smiled faintly.
"Maybe... I like fire."