She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 748

At the sound of Loyce's name, a faint but stubborn light ignited in his hollow eyes.

Sigrid caught the reaction, and an inexplicable spike of jealousy pierced her chest. She masked it with a cold sneer. "Wow, you really are obsessed with her. Too bad this is a black-ops death trap, not a romantic getaway. I don't care how many favors she cashed in with her little gun-running friends—what gives a civilian the right to step into a geopolitical war zone? You really think the Lonsdales would risk an international incident to save you?"

She kept her tone deliberately flat, twisting his fragmented memories into a desperate hallucination. "You owe your life to me, and to my father. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered risking my neck."

He stared up at her, the pieces clicking into place.

"Your father ordered you to come."

"Exactly. And as you well know, my father thinks very highly of you." She looked down at him, her chin tilted up. "You are the partner he chose for me. When I take the throne of Stellar Trust, I'll need a king. Your job is to stay alive and help me rule."

These were the exact principles her father had drilled into her. Emotions were a liability. Power and mutual benefit were the only unbreakable bonds.

She hadn't come here out of love. This was a corporate acquisition, a necessary step to secure her inheritance. Lucian possessed the ruthless intellect required to help her expand Stellar Trust's dominion across the globe.

Who he loved didn't matter. As long as their interests aligned, affection could be manufactured later—or ignored entirely, so long as they maintained the illusion of a perfect power couple.

Lucian, however, had no idea her father had attached such a psychotic string to his offer of mentorship. He knew the old man wanted him as a successor, but no one had mentioned a forced marriage to the Princess.

Gritting his teeth against the blinding pain, he pushed himself up, snatched the gauze and antiseptic from her hands, and began packing his own wounds.

"When we get out of here, I'll meet with your father," he rasped. "I pay my debts. But as for you? I'm not interested."

Her face went white, fury blazing in her eyes. "Who the hell do you think you are? I just pulled you from the grave, and you dare disrespect me?"

Despite the agony tearing through his body, a faint, genuine smile touched his lips as he thought of Loyce's cold, unimpressed stare. He let out a low chuckle. "I don't touch what isn't mine. My woman would be furious."

Sigrid's expression turned murderous.

He was nothing but an asset—a pawn who would be rotting in the mud right now if she hadn't intervened!

"Lucian," she hissed, her voice venomous. "You'd better remember who you're talking to. Without me, you'd be a corpse. Is this how you repay me?"

He didn't even look up from wrapping his shoulder. "I owe you my life, and I'll settle that score. But I'm not paying it back with my future."

Her chest heaved. She let out a vicious laugh. "Fine. Remember what you just said. I'll pass it along to my father word for word. Let's see how long your arrogance lasts."

She was royalty. She didn't need to beg any man for his attention. If her father hadn't demanded it, she would have left him to the wolves.

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