His Brothers Regret: Chapter Three

 The ride home is a blur of city lights and heavy silence.

Sitting in the passenger seat of Lucian’s car, wearing his scent and his mark, I realize my life has officially fractured into before and after. The girl who walked into that engagement party is gone, replaced by someone who finally understands the weight of a Sterling’s obsession.

Leo was the safe bet. Lucian is the gamble that could cost me everything. But as we pull up to his penthouse, looking out over the city like we own it, I realize I’m not afraid of the fall anymore. I’m only afraid of what happens if I ever have to let go.

Chapter Three

Sienna

The leather of the passenger seat in Lucian’s Aston Martin feels like a throne I didn't earn.

I sit perfectly still, my hands folded in my lap to hide the way they’re shaking. The cool night air rushes through the cracked window, biting at the mark on my neck—the one I know is there even without a mirror. I can feel the heat of it, a physical reminder of the way Lucian’s mouth felt against my skin only a bit ago.

He hasn't said a word since he led me out of the library through the servant’s entrance. He didn't ask if I was ready to leave. He didn't ask if I wanted to stay for the cake or the congratulations. He simply draped his suit jacket over my shoulders, shielding my ruined dress from the shadows, and guided me to the car with a hand on the small of my back that felt like a brand.

I look out the window as the Sterling estate fades into the distance. The twinkling lights of the party—the celebration for the man I thought I loved—disappear behind a wall of manicured hedges.

I should feel guilty. I should be crying. I should be wondering how I’m going to explain this to Leo, or how I’m going to look his mother in the eye at the next charity gala. But as I steal a glance at Lucian, his profile sharp and lethal in the glow of the dashboard, all I feel is a terrifying sense of relief.

The "good girl" is dead. She died on that mahogany table under the weight of a man who actually sees me.

"You're thinking too loud," Lucian says, his voice a low rumble that vibrates in the small space of the car. He doesn't take his eyes off the road, but his hand reaches across the center console, his fingers finding mine and squeezing.

"I'm thinking about the fact that I'm currently being kidnapped by my ex-boyfriend's brother," I whisper. My voice sounds foreign to my own ears—breathier, more fragile.

"You aren't being kidnapped, Sienna. You're being rescued." He shifts gears, the engine growling in response. "There is a difference."

"Is there? Because I’m pretty sure I have a bruise on my neck and your jacket smells like a scandal."

Lucian finally looks at me, a brief, predatory glance that makes my stomach flip. "The only scandal was you staying with a man who treated you like a footnote. Leo is a collector of pretty things, Sienna. He didn't know what to do with the fire in you. I do."

He pulls the car into the long, winding driveway of his penthouse—a sleek, glass-and-steel structure that overlooks the city like a watchtower. It’s the opposite of the sprawling, traditional Sterling manor. This place belongs to the man who built his own world, separate from the legacy he protects.

He kills the engine, but he doesn't get out. The silence that follows is heavy, charged with the same electricity that nearly burned the library down.

"Tonight was supposed to be the end," I say, my voice trembling. "I was supposed to go home, cry into a bottle of wine, and move on."

"You were never going to move on," Lucian counters. He unbuckles his seatbelt and leans over, his space invading mine until I’m pressed back against the door. "You were going to spend the rest of your life wondering why the elder Sterling brother looked at you like he wanted to devour you. You were going to wonder what my hands felt like."

He reaches out, his thumb tracing my lower lip. "Now you know. And now that you know, there’s no going back. You belong in my world now."

"And what world is that?"

"One where you don't have to apologize for wanting more. One where you aren't a secret." He leans in, his lips brushing against my ear. "I’m going to take you upstairs, and I’m going to spend the rest of the night making sure you forget every second you spent waiting for a man who didn't deserve your patience."

I look at him—at the sharp lines of his face and the dark, unwavering hunger in his eyes. For three years, I’ve played it safe. I’ve been the girl who didn't make waves, the girl who fit the spreadsheet.

I’m done being that girl.

I reach out, my fingers tangling in his tie, pulling him closer until our breaths mingle. "Then stop talking, Lucian. Take me up."

A dark, satisfied smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. He doesn't say another word as he gets out of the car and rounds the hood, opening my door with a flourish that feels like a coronation.

As he leads me toward the elevator, I don't look back at the city. I don't think about Leo or the life I left behind at the estate. I only think about the man holding my hand, and the fact that for the first time in three years, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

The elevator is a cage of mirrored chrome and silence, rising so fast my stomach drops. Every time I catch my reflection, I see a stranger. My hair is a mess, my lips are flushed, and that dark mark on my throat stands out like a neon sign against the pale silk of Lucian’s jacket. I look like a woman who has been thoroughly unmade, and the man standing next to me is the only one with the blueprints to put me back together.

Lucian doesn't touch me in the elevator. He stands with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his gaze fixed on the floor numbers as they climb. The restraint is almost more suffocating than his touch. It’s the silence before the storm, the calculated stillness of a predator who knows the prey has nowhere left to run.

When the doors chime and slide open, they reveal a living space that feels like Lucian’s soul turned into architecture. It’s all dark stone, floor-to-ceiling glass, and shadows. The city lights below look like fallen stars, but in here, it’s just us.

He finally moves, shedding his own silence as he leads me toward the center of the room. He stops by a massive leather sofa, turning to face me. The city glow hits the side of his face, carving him out of the darkness.

"Drink?" he asks, though he’s already moving toward the bar.

"I think I’ve had enough liquid courage for one night," I whisper, stepping out of his jacket. It pool on the floor, leaving me exposed in my ruined dress. "Lucian, what are we doing? Tomorrow morning, the world is still going to be there. Leo is still going to be your brother."

"Leo is my blood, but he isn't my conscience." Lucian pours a finger of scotch, but he doesn't drink it. He just holds the glass, watching the amber liquid swirl. "I’ve spent my life protecting him from his own mistakes. Tonight was the last one I’m fixing. I’m not letting him lose you just to let you wander off into the dark. I’m keeping you."

He sets the glass down—untouched—and walks back to me. His hands find my waist, pulling me flush against him. The heat radiating off him is a physical force.

"You’re scared," he murmurs, his lips brushing my temple.

"I'm terrified," I admit, my forehead dropping to his chest. "I’ve spent three years being the 'safe' choice. I don't know how to be the 'scandal.'"

"Then don't be the scandal. Be mine." He hooks a finger under my chin, forcing me to look up. "There’s no safety with me, Sienna. I’m not going to hold your hand at garden parties and talk about the weather. I’m going to want you every hour of every day. I’m going to make sure every person in this city knows you’re the only thing I value more than my name."

He starts to work on the zipper he’d only half-closed in the library, his movements slow this time. There’s no rush now. We have the whole night, and the world is locked outside. As the dress slides down my arms for the second time tonight, I don't feel the chill of the room. I only feel the burn of his gaze.

He picks me up, my legs naturally finding their place around his waist, and carries me toward the bedroom. This time, there’s no mahogany table or cold ledgers. There’s only the soft expanse of his bed and the realization that for the first time in my life, I’m not a placeholder.

I’m the prize.

As he lowers me onto the sheets, I reach for him, pulling him down into my space. The kiss we share now isn't desperate or frantic like it was in the library. It’s deep, possessive, and lingering. It’s a promise.

"You're not going back to that apartment," he mutters against my skin as he moves between my legs. "I'll have your things moved tomorrow. Or I'll buy you new ones. It doesn't matter."

"Lucian—"

"Everything you need is right here." He pins my hands above my head, his eyes burning into mine. "Everything you’ll ever need is me."

And as he loses himself in me again, the last of the "good girl" fades away. I’m not Sienna, the supportive girlfriend. I’m Sienna, the woman who finally chose the fire.

The sun doesn't just rise over the city; it colonizes Lucian’s penthouse, flooding the floor-to-ceiling glass with a brutal, golden light.

I wake up slowly, the transition from dreams to reality marked by the heavy, solid weight of an arm draped across my waist. For a heartbeat, my brain tries to slip back into the old routine—thinking I’m in my tiny apartment, bracing myself for a text from Leo about some brunch I don't want to attend.

Then I feel the silk sheets. I smell the expensive sandalwood and cold smoke that belongs only to Lucian. And then, I feel the sting on my neck.

I shift slightly, and the arm around me tightens, pulling me back against a chest that feels like a wall of warm granite.

"Don't," Lucian’s voice is a low, sleep-roughed growl against the back of my head. "It’s barely six. The world isn't allowed to exist for another two hours."

"Lucian, I have to go home," I whisper, though I make no move to get up. The sheer comfort of being held by him is a drug I’m already addicted to. "I have a life. A job. A cat that hasn't been fed."

"I sent a courier to your apartment an hour ago," he mutters, his lips brushing my shoulder. "Your cat is fed. Your essentials are being packed. And as for your job... you work for Sterling Industries, Sienna. Or you did. You’re taking a week of personal time. I’ve already cleared it with HR."

I bolt upright at that, the sheets pooling around my hips. "You did what? Lucian, you can't just—you can't manage my life like a subsidiary!"

He sits up slowly, completely unbothered by his nakedness or my indignation. He looks infuriatingly handsome in the morning light, his dark hair mussed and his eyes sharp with a clarity that shouldn't be possible this early.

"I can, and I will," he says, reaching out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. His fingers linger on the mark he left. "You think I’m letting you walk back into that office today? You think I’m letting you sit at a desk while Leo wanders the halls looking for someone to blame for his bruised ego?"

"He’s going to know," I breathe, the reality finally sinking in. "He’s going to know it was you."

"He already knows." Lucian’s expression shifts, the warmth of the bed fading into the cold calculation of the CEO. "I called him when you fell asleep. I told him you were with me. I told him that if he ever speaks your name again, I’ll strip him of his board seat before the markets open on Monday."

I stare at him, horrified and exhilarated all at once. "You threatened your own brother? Over me?"

"I protected my own," he corrects. He moves closer, his hands framing my face. "Leo didn't lose you last night, Sienna. He lost you three years ago when he failed to realize what you were worth. I’m just the one who finally collected the debt."

He kisses me then—a slow, possessive claim that tastes like coffee and certainty. It’s not the frantic hunger of the library; it’s the steady heat of a man who has no intention of ever letting go.

I realize then that Lucian was right. I didn't get kidnapped, and I didn't just have a one-night stand. I stepped into a different life. A life where I am protected, pursued, and perhaps a little bit ruined.

And as I lean back into the pillows, pulling him down with me, I realize I’ve never been happier to be a Sterling secret.

The End. 

Come back next week for another story.

Author Notes

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. After years of tension and that explosive night in the library, I really wanted to show the shift in power. Sienna has spent so long being "the ex" or "the friend," and I wanted Lucian to completely shatter that. Writing the penthouse scene was all about contrast—the cold, glass-and-steel world Lucian built for himself finally having the warmth of the one woman he actually wants. I hope you guys love Lucian’s "unhinged" possessiveness as much as I do. He’s not just taking her home; he’s claiming her life. Thanks for coming on this steamy journey with me!

Copyright © by LS Phoenix

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Published by LS Phoenix

New Hampshire, USA

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First Edition: April 2026

Cover Design by LS Phoenix