𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 ¹

twelve.

CHAPTER TWELVE
and the competition begins

Lucious

Ever since the doctor told Lucious he had three years to live, he'd been in a foul ass mood. If he was doing nothing with his life, he wouldn't care about dying. But he had a company to run; he had four children waiting for him at home. How was he supposed to tell them he was dying?

He didn't know, but he knew that he had to.

He opened the front door. The plan was to relax in the living room and watch some tv, but Cookie was still there for some reason. She was sitting on the couch with her arms spread on top of it.

"You're still here, Cookie?"

Cookie flipped through the tv channels. "Here to stay, baby." Then she looked at him. "How was your doctor's appointment?"

"It was fine."

"You don't seem fine."

Lucious was annoyed with her comments. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah. To talk."

"How many times do we need to talk?"

"A whole lot of times because we haven't talked in years, Lucious."

"Well, get on with it."

Cookie turned off the tv and crossed her legs. "You already know what I want; my half of the company."

Lucious was getting tired of this damn topic. "Oh my god. Can you get over that?"

"No I can't! I deserve it, Lucious!"

He argued with her. "You can't stroll in here seventeen years later and demand my company, woman!"

Cookie stood up furiously. "Why? Just why, Lucious?!"

"Why what?!"

"Why do you hate me so much?!" Cookie demanded to know with so much emotion in her voice. "What do you have against me?!"

"I hate you because you left, Cookie! That's why!" he blurted out.

Cookie was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Lucious elaborated. "You left me to raise four kids on my own. I can't forgive you for that."

"I didn't leave for the hell of it, Lucious. I got arrested. You saw with your own eyes," Cookie stated.

"But you didn't need to get arrested. I didn't want you to take the fall for me."

"I took the fall for you because I loved you. I would've went crazy if it was the other way around. I wouldn't have been able to live without you."

"And you think I wanted to live without you? For seventeen years?! I didn't, but thanks to you, I had no choice."

Cookie paced around with a troubled look on her face. "I don't get it. If you loved me so much, why divorce me? Why say that you sacrificed me?"

Lucious rolled his eyes. "I was talking in the moment. I didn't sacrifice you, Cookie. I didn't want you to go to jail. But I divorced you because my heartbreak had shifted into anger and it became too much. Every day that passed by, my love faded more and more. Now there's nothing left," he said harshly. "But thank you for the money, though. You were a huge help, but you're not getting 50%."

Cookie scowled hard. "You are such an evil son of a bitch."

He shrugged. "You knew what it was when you got with me."