The CEO's Secret Obsession-Chapter 152: “Yes, you are everything but that.”

[The Kitchen]

Leaving the crowd behind, Melissa came to the kitchen looking for Pauline.

When she entered, the kitchen was busy but calm, staff moving quietly around them.

Pauline stood near the counter, checking something on her phone before putting it away.

She looked composed but Melissa noticed the slight tension in her shoulders.

Melissa stepped beside her.

"Everything looks delicious," she exclaimed, looking at the delicious spread.

Pauline smiled, "Thanks, it’s all our kitchen staff’s hard work."

The kitchen staff looked at Pauline and smiled, grateful.

Melissa also started helping Pauline with the salad she was working on.

"It’s fine Melissa, go and stay with others." Pauline stopped her. " I will handle it."

"It’s fine, no one has even noticed that I am gone"

Pauline sighed. "Alright, I will let you help me with the lettuce."

Melissa smiled and started tearing the lettuce while Pauline started preparing the dressing for the salad.

After a while, Melissa said, "You know people are talking, right?"

Pauline didn’t pretend not to understand. "I assumed they would."

"Not here," Melissa clarified. "Outside, our social circles, clubs and charity groups. The women who haven’t seen you in years."

Pauline let out a soft breath. "And?"

Melissa smiled, a little amused."They didn’t expect you to come back like this. No announcement, no explanation, just back in the house."

Pauline nodded slowly. "They always liked explanations, too bad I didn’t give them one."

"Well," Melissa said lightly, "now they are inventing their own."

Pauline glanced at her. "What are they saying?"

"That you finally snapped," Melissa said with a grin. "That you are done being polite and that Olivia must be losing her mind."

That made Pauline pause.

"She probably is," she said quietly.

Melissa studied her face. "Does it bother you?"

Pauline shook her head. "No. What bothers me is that I stayed away for so long just to keep things peaceful."

Melissa leaned against the counter. "Peaceful for whom?"

Pauline didn’t answer immediately. Then she said, "Not for me."

There was a moment of silence between them.

"You know," Melissa added gently, "a lot of those women envied you. Even when you weren’t around."

Pauline looked surprised. "Why?"

"Because you left," Melissa said honestly. "Most of them stayed and learned to swallow things but you left everything and walked away."

She then stepped closer. "You know what they are really whispering?"

Pauline hesitated and then asked, "What?"

"That you never lost your place," Melissa said. "You just chose not to occupy it."

Something in Pauline’s expression cracked. It was not dramatic but enough.

"I didn’t come back for them," she said softly. "I came back for my son, for mother and for myself."

"And that," Melissa replied, placing a hand over Pauline’s, "is why this matters."

Pauline closed her eyes briefly.

"I was afraid," she admitted. "Afraid that I would feel small again."

Melissa squeezed her hand. "You don’t feel small."

Pauline opened her eyes, steady now. "No, I don’t."

For the first time in years, the weight of being watched didn’t feel suffocating.

It felt irrelevant.

And somewhere beyond the kitchen walls, while society whispered and speculated, Pauline Reid stood exactly where she belonged unbothered, unmoved and finally unafraid.

....

[Garden]

Patricia stood near the edge of the garden with a glass of wine loosely cradled in her hand.

The night air was cool and calming. The distant hum of voices from inside the mansion felt far away, like background noise she didn’t need to engage with.

She liked it here, quiet and unobserved.

"Thought I would find you hiding."

She didn’t jump but she didn’t turn either.

"Hardly hiding," Patricia replied. "Just opting out."

Lucas stepped beside her with hands in his pockets and his gaze following hers toward the softly lit hedges.

"Why alone?" he asked.

She took a sip before answering. "Evelyn’s with Alexander. They finally have a moment. I didn’t want to interrupt."

Lucas nodded. That made sense.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, not awkward, just unforced.

Then he exhaled slowly. "I owe you an apology."

Patricia turned to him then, brows lifting slightly. "You do?"

"Yes," he said, meeting her eyes. "For dragging you into that mess. For my mother. For—"

She cut him off gently. "I should be the one apologizing."

Lucas frowned. "What?"

She shrugged lightly. "What your mother did wasn’t your fault and I did say yes when you grabbed my hand and called me your girlfriend. Even if it was for five seconds, I agreed. So some of that is on me too."

Lucas studied her for a moment, then shook his head. "I still shouldn’t have put you in that position."

"Well," she said dryly, "we have both made worse choices."

That earned a quiet laugh from him.

"I told her the truth," Lucas said after a beat. "That you are not my girlfriend."

Patricia smiled, amused. "I bet she was relieved."

He snorted. "You have no idea."

She leaned back against the railing, visibly more relaxed now. "I figured. Women like her prefer neat boxes, labels and control and I am none of that." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Yes, you are everything but that." Lucas said, looking at her. "I won’t put you on the spot like that, ever."

Patricia glanced at him and her expression softened. "It’s okay, really. I don’t regret helping."

Then, with a playful tilt of her head, she added, "Oh and tell your mother I will be keeping the skincare and the Pilates subscription."

Lucas blinked. "You are?"

She grinned. "Absolutely. In fact—" she leaned in just a little, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "my skin has never looked better. That moisturizer she sent? Incredible."

Lucas laughed under his breath. "You are impossible."

"Look at me," Patricia said, mock-serious. "Extra glow, extra flawless. A tragedy she will never get to claim."

Before he could stop himself, Lucas lifted a hand and lightly pinched her cheek.

She froze and he did too.

"Yeah," he said softly, thumb brushing briefly over her skin before pulling back. "It is soft."

For half a second, something lingered between them. It was not tension, not romance exactly but awareness.

Then Patricia cleared her throat. "We should probably go back inside."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah."

They turned together, walking back toward the mansion.

And the moment left unspoken but not forgotten.

....