Luke's secretary could hardly even register you storming into his office, barely managing to open her mouth and rise to her feet before the glass door clicked behind you, isolating the argument everyone in the office felt was about to erupt.
Your fury had you so focused on your aching heart, that you didn't even notice a presence of someone else in Luke's large office.
"You're suing me?!" Was all you said, knowing too well that you might erupt with emotion at any second if you spoke too much. So instead, you just stared down at him, as his confused eyes skimmed through the papers you'd dropped on his desk, his mouth barely letting any stuttering words out.
"I didn't- I don't know- I-," you watched as Luke frowned, the information on the document was slowly registering in his mind.
"What the fuck is this?" He finally spoke up standing up from his chair, his face now twisted more in anger than confusion, as he stared at someone across the office, way behind you.
Feeling slightly confused about his sudden outburst for a second, you turned around to see the person Luke directed his attention to now, instantly feeling a new wave of anger wash over you, as your eyes settled on Liz's calm face.
She stood up slowly, taking her glasses off her nose and leaving it to hang over her chest. "I believe that is a lawsuit," she commented so calmly, it made your blood boil even more.
Clenching your jaw, you turned to look at Luke. You clenched your bag in your slippery palm, trying to get a grip of yourself before your emotions come bursting out of you. Staying silent, you coldly eyed Luke, watching his expression slowly soften form an angry one into a pleading one. His lips parted to say something, but before he could even let out a single sound, you turned around and left his office without another word. That's how little you cared about what he had to say.
It's not like you didn't have anything to say, either. Hell, you had way too much, but seeing that lawsuit that morning felt worse than finding out your husband's been cheating on you. The physical bond between you and Luke has been broken for years, but everything you did up to this day was to protect him. Up to this day you would have gone through fire for him, if only he was left untouched. Up to this day you alone carried the pain and the secrets that should have been shared by the two of you. Up to this day you thought he was doing the same for you.
Was he not there yesterday when your honour was thrown out of the window when your fiancée slammed the doors in your face? Was he not standing shirtless behind you, sending snarky remarks and fuelling the already openly burning fire between you and your ex? Was he not the one who refused to let you go in the first place?
You left the office in what felt like seconds, leaving Luke stood frozen still behind his office desk, his eyes following you through the glass doors of his personal office until you turned the corner and were out of sight.
It still took him another second to finally speak up, and yet another second for his body to register the signals his brain were sending him.
"What the fuck is this lawsuit?" Luke roared at his mother again, the tone of his voice slapping the sleazy smile off of her face. Luke glared at her, as she fixed her position.
"She cannot play you like this, Luke," she spoke; her words quiet yet firm, making Luke furrow his eyebrows.
"Play me like what?"
"She is in no position to divorce you. I tried explaining this to her nicely, but she refused to listen-"
"You spoke to her? When?" Luke thought back to the few times you insisted his mother was the mastermind behind all of your problems, the few times he told you to – in short – shove it up your ass.
Liz simply shrugged, as if it was any ordinary conversation you two had, "Christmas Day, maybe."
Luke will never forget this Christmas Day. Or Divorce Day, as he'd referred to it now, trying to make light of the situation that hurt him deeper that he'd ever thought possible.
Luke tried to think of possible reasons for Liz meeting with you, but instead focused back on the lawsuit he'd still clutched in his hand. "Why would you do this?" Luke asked as calmly as he could, but his mind couldn't concentrate, as his thoughts travelled to you.
He couldn't even begin to image what it must have felt like for you to receive this. Not after what had happened with you and your ex-fiancée, not after you accused him of every bad thing that has happened to him. Suddenly, Liz's answer was the last thing he cared about, her words left floating in the heavy atmosphere of the room, as Luke grabbed his jacket off the back of his office chair and darted out of the room before Liz could even register that he was leaving.
As if on purpose, the way to your and Luke's home – if he could even call it that anymore – was heavy with traffic, making him frustratingly grip the wheel and spit unjustified profanities at other drivers.
He had a bad feeling in his gut. Handing you the divorce papers made him feel hopeless. Knowing you were engaged to someone else made him feel angry. Seeing your fiancée walk out on you made him feel victorious. But you wordlessly storming out of his office somehow brought dark numbness in him. He couldn't describe it – he rarely ever could – but Luke felt like he'd lost something valuable. Something he tried to save for so long, something he tried his best to not lose his grip on. And he couldn't help but fear it was you.
Stepping into the house he never felt so alarmed. He ran upstairs, hoping that the eerie silence was not a sign of an empty home, but of your cold demeanour. That the unlit lights were not a sign of the loneliness he felt glooming.
It took him a minute to run around the whole house, checking every single room for your presence. It took him another minute to realise that this was in fact the end.
It took him yet another minute to clean up the glass pieces off the ground, throwing the remains of what he used to call a vase into the trash.
It's terrible – the feeling of being alone, the feeling of having lost something. But Luke couldn't help but think it's even worse when it happens twice. But how could he compare? At least last time there was a way of hunting you down, at least last time he could put the blame on you, at least last time he didn't feel it was his fault for losing you. But this time the guilt kept clutching at his chest, his thoughts racing in his mind trying to find a mere possibility of fixing this. If only he knew where you'd gone. If only he could speak to you.
You didn't know you could pack up this fast. But then again, all you had in this house was your suitcase. Even the memories you were so reluctant to leave last time were tainted with dark associations now. Even the man you cried over last time now made you wish you'd never fell for in the first place. Even the vase you got from the Hemmings parents for one of your wedding anniversaries didn't seem as beautiful anymore.
When he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, Luke didn't even flinch. He knew it would never be you to call him, he knew he'd not hear from you for months on end. But the irritating buzzing got him to answer his phone, and much quicker than before Luke was in a conference room of his office floor, bursting into the room filled with anger at his mother and the pretentious company's lawyer Luke had decided he hates for no reason.
But before he could even say anything, Liz spoke up, ordering Luke to sit down immediately, "Y/N filed a countersuit."
>"Of course she fucking did, what did you expect her to do? Sit on her hands and let this go to court?" Luke barked, balancing on the edge of the seat, as he tried his best to stay calm. "She's a damn lawyer in this fucking company. Not only could this majorly backfire on the company, it's wrecking her future, too."
"Luke," Liz softly commented, trying to keep her son in order. "We need you to sign this," she added once she got him to quiet down and grabbed his attention, sliding a piece of paper for him across the table.
"What is this?" Luke demanded without even as much as glancing down at the table. For the first time in his life, Luke did not trust anything his mother was behind. For the first time in his life, Luke believed your words when you said she's guilty of a lot more than he'd ever imagined.
"We need your written approval that you won't-" the lawyer spoke up, but Liz immediately cut him off.
"You can't see, talk to or even as much as try to contact Y/N during this process. It will hurt our case, and, of course, the company," Liz's voice was strict and dull, as she stared down at Luke, who immediately jumped to his feet.
"I'm not allowed to talk to her? Are you out of your mind?"
"Luke, sit down," Liz ordered calmly again, gently motioning towards the chair. "She's playing for the opposing team now. You two should not be seen or even heard together."
"She's on the opposing team just because you put her there," Luke couldn't help but retort. "This is my wife we're talking about, okay? I'm not signing anything," Luke spoke, grabbing the paper off the table and ripping it in half. "I will speak and see her whenever the fuck I want. Deal with it."
Liz pursed her lips disapprovingly, "She's your ex wife. You're now officially divorced, I believe," she remarked, her voice still dull and empty of emotion, as she watched Luke shake with anger.
"I don't give a fuck. I signed the divorce papers because she wanted out, not because I stopped loving her," Luke shot back, his chest heaving as he spoke, glaring at his mother across the table. "In fact, I demand you withdraw this lawsuit today." Now it was Luke who held dullness in his voice, gathering back his emotions and standing a little bit straighter, as he watched the woman he once loved unconditionally turn into someone he'd never expect her to be.
"No," was all Liz said, as she watched Luke's face, expecting him to crumble right before her eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" Luke gritted at her, clenching his jaw, as she stayed quiet. "And you," Luke glared down at the ever so silent lawyer, "She's your colleague, your friend. She's worked with you for years, you all used to praise her for her work. Why the fuck are you doing this to her now?" Luke seethed at the man, who simply sat staring down at the table in shame.
"He's working under our instructions, not under his own-" Liz started, but Luke immediately interjected.
"Yeah? Under our instructions, mother? Okay, let's try this. Since it's our instructions you must comply with, why don't you go ahead and withdraw our lawsuit, huh?" Luke barked at the shameful man, who couldn't help but look up at Liz for support, clearly feeling loss at words.
"Luke, collect yourself," Liz ordered, fed up with her son's outburst.
"You do not tell me what to do, mother," he quickly shot back. "I will reach out to my wife and I will talk to her. I will keep in contact and you can bet I will fight this with everything I have. I will not let you do this to her, you hear me? You will not ruin us again."
Luke spoke, grabbing the ripped papers off the table and storming out of his own office.