The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 90

“You’re a young lady. I’m not sure you’re ready for how tough this job is.” Dr. Tate hesitated, his eyes flicking over Lucie, as if weighing her up. She was the textbook definition of a pampered heiress, married into one of the wealthiest families around. He couldn’t picture someone like her choosing the hard, dusty life of archaeology over the comfort she was born into. Honestly, he was worried she’d lose interest after the novelty wore off.

But Lucie’s eyes shone with a quiet passion. “I know it’s not easy, Dr. Tate. But every time I work on restoring an artifact, it feels like I’m having a conversation with someone from a thousand years ago. Those cracks and stains hold more than just history. It’s the sweat, the patience, and the dreams of all the people who came before us. I’ll never forget the first time I restored a pottery jar by myself. I spent three months obsessing over every tiny crack. And when I finally pieced it all together, I understood what it meant for something broken to find the light again.”

She met his gaze, steady and sincere. “That’s why I want to go further. I want to dig deeper, to find more stories, more pieces of the past.”

Dr. Tate studied her, something shifting in his expression. He mulled it over for a long moment, then nodded, as though making up his mind.

“All right. If you can restore these three artifacts, I’ll make an exception and take you on as my last student. You know I usually only work with PhD candidates, but you’ve got something special. For you, I’ll bend the rules.”

Lucie could hardly believe it. “Thank you, Dr. Tate! I promise you won’t regret it.”

“Work hard. Don’t let me down.”

After their talk, Lucie was on cloud nine. She’s another step closer to her dream.

She hurried back to her room, pulled out her phone, and got ready to share the news with her grandfather. She hadn’t turned her phone on for days, worried that any drama about Steven would mess with her head.

The second she powered it up, notifications exploded onto the screen—messages, missed calls, so many that her phone nearly froze. Steven had called a dozen times, messaged even more. Mira, Yolanda, and the rest had all blown up her inbox too. She couldn’t begin to read them all.

She found her grandfather’s number and called.

It rang a few times before Mr. Anderson answered. “Hello, Lucie.”

At five, her assistant and driver arrived. Lucie stepped outside the hotel, suitcase in hand, just about to get into the car when Elio appeared out of nowhere, blocking her path.

“Lucie, we need to talk.”

She shot him a cool look, making it clear she wasn’t in the mood for a heart-to-heart. “Sorry, I’m in a rush. Maybe another time.”

Elio slammed the car door shut, blocking her. “Just give me a few minutes. Please.”

Lucie frowned, sighing. “Fine. What is it?”

Elio’s voice was soft, tinged with regret as he held her gaze. “I want to clear up what happened all those years ago. I know I said some awful things that night—I was drunk, and I shouldn’t have. But that wasn’t how I really felt…”