Juniper's Pov
I stared at Lucian in shocked disbelief. "You know Orion? He's your business partner?"
Lucian sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "Juniper, you need to understand -"
"No! I don't need to understand anything!" The anger and hurt bubbled over. "That man deceived me, humiliated me in the worst way. And you've been working with him this whole time?"
Orion leaned back casually. "Now, now Juniper. No need to get riled up. Lucian and I go way back. Partners and friends for years."
Friends? With the vile man who had made a mockery of my love? Who had used me and discarded me like trash?
"Friends don't do what you did to me," I snarled.
Lucian touched my arm. "Juniper, please calm down and let me explain everything from the beginning."
I flinched away, glaring daggers at both of them. "You take his side, as usual, Lucian. How can I ever trust you now?"
Lucian sighed again, clearly frustrated by my hostility. "Just hear me out. Years ago when my father disowned me after my accident, I was left with nothing. Broke, depressed, dismissed as less than nothing. That's when Orion stepped in."
I saw a glimmer of shame cross Orion's face and my anger softened a fraction. There were always two sides.
"Orion leaked me inside information about my father's company," Lucian continued. "Contracts, profit margins, unreleased projections - all priceless intel. I used it to start landing my own lucrative deals, oil contracts and such that made me a fortune."
He looked at Orion, something like gratitude in his eyes. "He gave me the means to build my independence, to escape my father's control. I owed him a debt for that help."
Orion nodded. "When Lucian's father got wind of our dealings, he threatened to strip me of my company shares and ruin my career. But Lucian stepped in and negotiated with his old man to protect me."
"We've watched each other's backs ever since," Lucian admitted. "Even when Orion's schemes got...questionable. I ignored what I disapproved of as he was doing the same for me with my recovery deception."
I sat in stunned silence processing it all. So there was history between them, mutual sacrifices and looking the other way at times. No wonder Lucian had been evasive about condemning Orion's actions towards me.
"I know this complicates things for us," Lucian said softly. "But I'm determined to be fully honest going forward, Juniper. I hope you can accept the complexities of Orion and my past relationship. It doesn't negate my care for you."
I nodded slowly, still mulling it over. So much deception and double dealings between everyone. No wonder I had lost faith in others.
Choosing my words carefully, I replied, "I appreciate you finally being transparent. But you must understand how difficult this is for me to accept. The man sitting in front of me was once the center of my world, and he destroyed it. Callously. Needlessly."
I stared hard at Orion, wanting to convey the depth of my pain and anger. He shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. Good.
"I stayed by Lucian's side even after learning the truth of his recovery. Because I wanted to believe in his decency, and his care for me. But now you tell me he's been in alliance all this time with my tormentor? You can see why that rocks the foundation of my trust."
Lucian rubbed his forehead wearily. "I know, my love. All I can do is promise full transparency from now on. No lies by omission, no half-truths. Orion and I will resolve this tangled situation with you fairly."
Fair resolution with Orion? After all his deception, it seemed impossible. But Lucian placed his hand over mine, eyes sincere.
"Let's start by settling this contract dispute out of court. My lawyers will negotiate revised terms that give you your fair share of the business. With goodwill on both sides, this can be resolved privately and cleanly."
I considered his words, knowing he desperately wanted to avoid a dragged out, public legal battle. Likely for fear his father would catch wind of his deception. Could I trust Orion to actually compromise with me behind closed doors?
Lucian must have seen the doubt on my face. "Juniper, Orion may have betrayed you once. But he knows it's in his best interests now to make amends discreetly. I give you my word he will abide by whatever new contract terms we settle on."
I held his gaze a long moment, weighing the truth in his eyes. At last, I nodded. "Alright. I'll trust your judgement. But I won't hold back from taking this public if Orion shows any sign of duplicity."
Orion spread his hands in an exaggerated placating gesture. "You have my word, Juniper. I'll play nice this time."
His smug look made me doubt his sincerity. But I would allow this negotiation to proceed, if only to show Lucian that my ex could never be trusted.
*******
A week later, Orion's lawyer emailed over a draft settlement agreement. Lucian looked it over while I anxiously watched his face.
"Seems reasonable," he said at last. "Really quite generous on their part, actually. Fifty per cent of future profits in perpetuity. Significant back payments for your stake over the past few years too."
I frowned, uneasy despite his reassurances that all seemed aboveboard. Ever since the deception with Orion had come to light, an undercurrent of tension existed between Lucian and me. He sensed my guardedness, while I struggled daily with shaken faith in his judgement.
Before I could raise objections, Lucian whipped out a pen and scrawled his signature at the bottom of the contract. "There, done. We can finally put this nastiness behind us."
He grinned at me, happy to have this resolved amicably. But his cheerful manner only deepened my sense of foreboding.
When Orion and his lawyer arrived, the tension and distrust hung thick in the study. I glared hatefully at my ex, wondering if Lucian truly grasped the depths of his capacity for treachery. Orion just smirked back smugly.
I refused to shake his hand as we gathered around the coffee table where the contract papers were laid out. Lucian handed Orion the signed agreement and he scanned it swiftly.
"Looks great," Orion proclaimed. "Glad we could handle this reasonably between friends and partners."
The words dripped with false affability that made my skin crawl. Lucian seemed to relax, assured all was well. Why couldn't he sense Orion's insincerity like I could?
The lawyer slid a copy of the agreement towards me, along with a pen. "Your turn, Miss Juniper. Get that signature and we'll finalize this."
I hesitated, that nagging feeling of doubt growing stronger despite Lucian giving me an encouraging nod. Perhaps I was being overly paranoid.
Ignoring Orion's snide "Need some time to think it over, darling?" comment, I pulled the contract closer and began reading through it thoroughly.
It took a few minutes with all the legalese, but at last, I was satisfied the terms seemed fair and matched Lucian's description. I could accept this settlement. Maybe Orion had changed.
The settlement was already signed on one copy by Lucian, so I took the clean other copy and scrawled my signature on the dotted line at the bottom. I breathed a small sigh of relief, feeling with this some sense of justice had been restored.
"Excellent! Why don't we all take a celebratory photo with this signed contract to memorialize the occasion?" Orion suggested heartily.
Lucian smiled at the idea but I shot Orion a scathing look. If he thought I would go along with any more of his games...
But then his lawyer spoke up. "Actually, before we wrap up here sir, you'll need to sign the contract as well. Standard procedure."
"What?" Orion blinked in mock confusion while my heart skipped a beat. "After all the back and forth to get them to sign? You know this is solid."
The oily lawyer gave an obsequious shrug. "Just being thorough. Need your signature to finalize it."
Orion made a big show of sighing with annoyance. "Very well. But this had better be the end of these silly formalities."
Without reading over the contract, heedless of my protests that he look it over carefully, Orion snatched up the copy I had just signed and scrawled his name at the bottom.
My mind was spinning now. He hadn't even glanced at the text, just signed blindly. Why the rush? Was this all part of some new trick?