[Dominion New Neighborhood]

Ashley idled in the room, still seated in front of her monitors. She had already sent every detail Lucian could use to put a leash on those people. However, she only stayed on the line with him until Lucian confronted them.

She exhaled quietly as she glanced at the photo left open on another monitor. It was the same photo Lucian had shown Hector.

"He didn’t look like someone who would do things like that," she whispered, eyeing the picture and how happy and normal it looked.

If she didn’t know any better, she would think Hector was just a regular grandfather proud of his first grandson. But Ashley knew better. This old man smiling so joyfully in the photo was someone who would kill Lucian if given the chance.

"How bitter," she whispered, mixed feelings stirring in her chest before she shook her head. "This is not the time to feel sorry for his daughter."

Because at the end of the day, they were all just surviving.

If Lukas had been greedier and more ambitious, the result could’ve been very different. But surprisingly, Lukas hadn’t hesitated to tell Lucian about it. To be honest, Ashley hadn’t expected that from him.

Even though she didn’t recall Lukas betraying Lucian in their previous lives, he was still someone she couldn’t fully trust. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Never mind that," she smacked her lips, huffing out the heaviness in her chest, hoping it would help.

Then Ashley pressed her earpiece and dialed Lucian’s number. It rang only once before he answered.

"Hey," came her soft voice, laced with carefulness. "Is it over?"

Lucian hummed. "I just left."

"Oh," Ashley rocked her head, thinking of what to tell him. Before she could say more, she blurted out, "Did they... surrender?"

"Yes," Lucian kept his answer short before adding, "Gustav stayed behind to instruct our men to clean up the mess."

Ashley nodded. "I see."

For a moment, silence filled the line as neither of them spoke. It wasn’t as though she had expected Lucian to give those men a chance. She knew better than that. She had seen mercy and leniency come back to bite people.

Besides, in the Di Carpio family, Marshal Di Carpio had never believed in second chances.

But Ashley wasn’t like Marshal, and she wanted to believe Lucian wasn’t like him either. Behind that cold, domineering facade was still a man capable of feeling guilt. A human being with a heart, not the monster everyone believed him to be.

"Lucian," she called, her voice growing gentler.

She tried to smile but only managed a small one. "When I got shot that night and fell into the water, I had a realization."

Lucian, on his way to the airport for a detour, raised a brow. He glanced at the phone in his hand, pressing it closer to his ear.

"I made a promise to myself," she continued in the same quiet tone. "That I would do anything for this family—to protect it and make sure Primo would be able to live. That he would have the option to live on his own terms. Something I never got to have."

She pressed her lips together, staring at the monitor for a second before speaking again. "Even if I have to go to hell for it."

"I’m saying this because... you did what you had to do," she added. This time, her voice softened further, as though consoling him. "If us wanting to live and survive is a sin... then I don’t mind being married to the most sinful man in the world."

"It’s okay, Lucian," Ashley said softly, smiling genuinely now.

He couldn’t see her smile, but she hoped those words were enough to lighten the burden of another death on his conscience. It might not be enough to take all of it away, but it was the only thing she could do for him right now.

She closed her eyes briefly. "It’s okay."

*****

Lucian remained silent in the backseat of the car, listening to every word through the line. His eyes softened at her gentle voice, telling him a story out of nowhere.

The more he listened, the quieter his thoughts became. Her voice slowly drowned out the noise in his head.

Then his breath caught momentarily at the words echoing in his head.

"If us wanting to live and survive is a sin... then I don’t mind being married to the most sinful man in the world."

"It’s okay, Lucian. It’s okay."

The tightness in his chest remained, and no amount of swallowing eased the lump in his throat. Yet, with those words, everything faded. His tense shoulders slowly relaxed as he leaned back and breathed out heavily. He couldn’t tell whether her words moved him or merely strengthened his determination.

But one thing he knew for certain was that Ashley was the only person keeping him... human.

Then and now.

She was still his light.

Slowly, the corners of his lips curled upward as his expression softened slightly. The frost dominating his features faded just enough, leaving behind only his natural sharpness.

Today, Hector lost because of his family, while Lucian won because of the very same thing—his own family. And even if he felt guilty about it, he couldn’t allow that guilt to stop him from moving forward.

"Even if I go to hell for it," he whispered at last, earning a soft chuckle from her.

With a lighter tone, she quipped, "Then let’s go to hell together, darling."

"What happened to ’boo’?"

"I’m calling dibs on all pet names so no one else can use them on you," she grinned, making him smile a little wider. "I can be very jealous."

Lucian let out a quiet laugh for the first time that day.

With her staying on the line for hours, their conversation naturally drifted into different mundane topics. She didn’t dwell on anything heavy, simply staying there and talking nonsense, making sure he knew she was there for him.

Not physically, but emotionally.

Letting him know that she was no longer another battle he had to fight alone. That both of them had already come so far.

Their conversation ended only when Lucian boarded a private plane to another country under Dominion’s control. After taking a helicopter, he arrived at a secluded mansion atop the mountains where the High Chamber was located.

A place where only people in the highest ranks of Dominion could enter.

When Lucian entered the large meeting room, he sat at the head of the long table. His eyes drifted from one side to the other, familiar faces seated around it, with one vacant seat among them.

"Thank you for coming despite the short notice," he said emotionlessly, and no one in the room smiled.

Everyone kept their mouths shut, their eyes sharp as they stared toward the head of the table.

"I have a flight to catch, so I’ll be direct." Lucian motioned to Gustav with a finger, and the latter carried a small box before placing it on the table.

As Gustav opened the box and turned it so everyone could see inside, Lucian spoke once more.

"Today, a member of this board unfortunately passed away along with three of his co-conspirators from the Southern Region," Lucian said, studying the restrained expressions on their faces as they looked at the severed fingers inside the box.

Everyone exchanged glances before their eyes drifted toward the vacant seat in the room.

"I will not go into detail regarding his betrayal of Dominion," Lucian continued, his gaze sweeping across every single person in the room. "But I will warn those entertaining foolish ideas simply because they are growing impatient."

The corners of his lips curled into a smirk.

"As people who have served Dominion, I will grant you this grace," he said as he rose to his feet.

"Do not take my leniency for granted... consider this your only warning."