Chapter 166: Sorry
GASP!
Red, who had been sleeping deeply, suddenly shot up with a sharp gasp, wide-eyed.
His brain hadn’t fully processed everything yet, but all the names and insults they had hurled at Lucian replayed in his head — repeatedly, and in slow motion. His mouth slowly dropped as his complexion turned pale.
"Fuck —" he stopped as he whipped his head to the side, hard enough to make his vision shake momentarily.
As soon as he did, he saw the others sitting up like statues. Just like him, their complexions were pale, eyes wide and blank. When their eyes finally drifted in his direction, Gin blurted out under his breath.
"We’re... we’re screwed."
The question hung in the air, and the dread that wrapped around them like an old friend nearly suffocated them. They shivered at the thought of a grim reaper wielding his sharp scythe.
Then, suddenly, a light knock came at the door.
All five of them whipped their heads toward it, panic slowly crawling under their skin.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
They rushed to the door, pressing their bodies against the walls beside it in case any guns were aimed at it from outside. Bracing as though Dominion soldiers were about to riddle their home with bullets, they peeked through the window and quietly prepared for battle.
Even if they were part of Dominion, Lucian was the boss.
All that trash they had spewed last night just because they had gotten carried away by Ashley’s love problems and her martyr tendencies. Their heads pounded with hangover, but with their lives potentially on the line, they couldn’t think of anything else.
"Huh?" Vodka, who was peeking through the window, furrowed his brows. "No one else is outside. It’s... it’s just Nolan."
He turned to the guys, and they looked at him in confusion.
For a moment, question marks filled their thought bubbles until Tank cautiously opened the door.
There, standing outside with two large food bags in hand, was Nolan.
Nolan smiled at them warmly. "I heard you all drank quite a lot last night with the madam. So I brought you some hangover soup and medicine to help."
But instead of an answer, all Nolan got was a look of collective confusion. He tilted his head to the side, watching as they exchanged uncertain glances.
Then, after a moment, Gin asked cautiously, "Nolan, aren’t we... getting kicked out of Dominion?"
"Hmm?" Nolan hummed. "Why would you be?"
"I mean, the master..."
"The master is the one who sent these," Nolan answered honestly, though still puzzled by their reaction. "He said it’s thanks for accompanying the madam last night."
He paused, recalling Lucian’s exact words. "He also said your words knocked some sense into him. So he wanted you to know he was grateful."
Yet instead of the reaction Nolan expected, the five of them just stared at him blankly.
That’s strange, he thought. I thought they’d be happy.
But Nolan didn’t dwell on it. He let himself into the house to help them through their hangover. Even as they began eating, the five of them still looked incredulous, as if questioning their own reality.
Well, they weren’t the only ones.
Because just across the street, Ashley was in the same boat.
*****
Ashley sipped the soup quietly and carefully, her head slightly bowed. Lucian had sat down across from her, watching in intense silence.
Why is he here? Isn’t he supposed to be with Primo and Emma?
The thought made her heart sour.
She peeked at him and quickly looked away. Her hangover was gone — though probably not because of the medicine or the soup, but because of this confusion.
Meanwhile, Lucian studied her, catching the way she winced even as she turned her head to hide it. His lips pressed into a tight line as Nolan’s words drifted through his mind. His mouth parted, but somehow his voice wouldn’t come.
His head began to throb from the lack of sleep and the thoughts crowding his mind. He pinched the bridge of his nose before glancing at her once more.
With a deep breath, Lucian pushed back from the table.
The chair grazed against the wooden floor, just enough to catch her attention.
"Lucian?" she called, meeting his eyes. "What are you —"
She couldn’t finish as he exhaled sharply, as though he had made up his mind about something. That look didn’t seem good to her.
Then, slowly, he rested his hands on his thighs and bent his knees.
Her eyes went wide in pure shock as one knee met the floor, then the other, until he was kneeling before her — hands on his thighs, weight resting back on his heels.
Lucian lowered his head, his expression as sharp as ever.
"What the —" Panicked, Ashley slid from her chair and dropped to her knees in front of him. "Hey, what are you doing? Get up. Why are you kneeling —"
"Sorry," he finally said, eyes locked with hers. "I’m... I’m sorry."
Fire flickered in his gaze, intense enough that it might have been mistaken for a threat — but the fire of sincerity burned alongside it. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he held her gaze.
Meanwhile, her eyes trembled, a thin sheen of tears glistening in them.
Lucian reached out before he could even question whether he deserved to touch her. He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
You drove her back into that corner.
Nolan’s words echoed in his head, and he pictured her hiding there. He hadn’t considered this when he decided to bring Emma here. He hadn’t thought of it at all.
"I’m sorry," his voice softened, eyelids drooping as he met her gaze again. "I was wrong."
Ashley’s breath hitched, her neck going taut, brows rising slowly. Her bottom lip quivered as she found she couldn’t look away from his eyes.
"Give me a chance," he said in the same quiet voice, swallowing. "To do better and earn your forgiveness."
She pressed her lips together and puffed her cheeks.
Just last night, after venting, she had told herself she would accept whatever this marriage became. That she would be happy for Primo and Lucian regardless. As for the future, she could always help Dominion from a distance.
After all, this was the same man who had once decided to leave her alone for months rather than offer an apology. She had told herself not to expect much from him.
Ashley had already prepared herself for a different outcome. But here he was, kneeling and asking for forgiveness — asking for a chance to do better. Things she never thought him capable of. And somehow, she felt a small, quiet relief.
She felt that he had seen her pain and was willing to mend it. To take accountability for it... instead of looking away just because it was the easiest.
She swallowed the tension in her throat as a small smile crept onto her face.
"Unfortunately, Gustav isn’t here to see this," she quipped quietly, her smile stretching wider. "You’d better work hard and earn it!"
She clicked her tongue. "I’m not that easy, you know. My forgiveness doesn’t come cheap. You have no idea how sad I was."
Hearing that, a small smile found its way onto his otherwise sharp features. "I don’t... how foolish of me."
Ashley pursed her lips, fighting the urge to smile back just as brightly. She couldn’t quite manage it, though.
Because even as she said he had to earn it, she had already forgiven him the moment he asked for a chance.
After all, she understood better than anyone what it meant to be given one.