Chapter 51 : Biggest Mistake of Your Life

Cat POV "I've got to go," I cried, rushing to the hotel room door. "The ceremony is in the penthouse," Alistair called after me. "Top floor!" "Thank you!" I shouted back, not stopping to look back or wave at him. There was a moment when I wondered if his slow movements earlier had been to wait until this moment when the ceremony was starting. It made for a more dramatic entrance. I didn't have time to think of it beyond that, though. At the elevator, I hammered the "up button" over and over again. "Come on, come on you stupid piece of sh*t," I groaned. The elevator never came. Groaning, I ran to the stairs. I had to run up almost ten flights, but I was determined to stop Luke from making the biggest mistake of his life. He couldn't marry Victoria until he knew the truth. Even if we didn't get back together… My pulse pounded in my head, and my calves ached as I ran up flight after flight of stairs. By the time I made it to the penthouse, my legs felt like jelly, and I was hyperventilating. Grabbing my chest I burst into the suite. "Stop!" I cried out, gasping and swaying slightly, still unable to catch my breath. I staggered toward where Luke and Victoria were standing together. Everyone in the penthouse turned and stared at me with startled murmurs and strange looks. I took a few more deep breaths, calming myself down, and started approaching the podium where Luke and Victoria were standing. Luke glared at me. He snorted and rushed at me. His nostrils flared as he grabbed my arm in a firm grip. I winced at his reaction. "What the h*ll are you doing here!? What is going on?" Luke's father snapped, rising from his seat and pointing sharply at me. "What are you doing here?" he snarled. "I need to talk to you," I whispered, casting a look at Victoria. If looks could kill, hers would have made me drop dead on the spot. Luke sighed and glanced at Victoria. "I'll be right back." "Luke, no!" she argued. "Whatever she has to say can wait!" "It'll just be a minute," he assured, holding up a hand. More confused murmurs went through the crowd. Luke ignored them. He tightened his grip on my arm and guided me out onto the penthouse balcony. Cold air struck my face, and I was starting to doubt why I was there. "What are you doing here, Cat?" Luke asked, glaring at me. "I… umm…" Suddenly, like I was possessed, everything flooded out of me. "Victoria threatened to make my mom homeless, and then she said she'd destroy your company and projects. She blackmailed me with a recording that was about my mom and not you at all, but out of context it sounded really, really bad." Luke pursed his lips and arched an eyebrow at me. "Back it up there for me, Cat. I need a little more than some word vomit," Luke muttered. His face was stern, but there was a slight spark of amusement in his eyes. It gave me the tiniest sliver of hope, and I took a deep breath, centering myself. "Alistair came to find me and told me why you are marrying Victoria. I couldn't let you do that because I love you and it is a horrible mistake," I said. "My grandfather brought you here? Well, I'm sorry, but you both wasted your time. I'm marrying Victoria," he insisted, nodding to the penthouse. "Luke, I feel so stupid for leaving. I want to tell you everything and explain myself to you. I want to work on things, but… even if we don't work out, I can't let you marry Victoria and be miserable for the rest of your life," I said, still rushing when I talked. "Why do you think that?" he pressed. "In France, she threatened to destroy the Caribbean project. She threatened to take my mom's house and make her homeless. She made me listen to a voice recording of a phone call I had about my mom and told me that she'd use it to turn you against me because it sounded like I was just with you because of the money," I explained a little more clearly. "I heard the recording. Believe it or not, I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't do something like that," he said somberly. "Then why are you marrying Victoria?" I asked. "Do you want to be miserable forever?" Luke looked down, his hand loosening on my arm. "Before I met you, I'd almost given up on finding love and being happy. That concept of 'home' and 'family' always escaped me, until we were together," Luke explained with a heavy sigh. "I shouldn't have left as I did," I admitted, pushing the toe of my shoe into the balcony. "When you left, I lost that feeling. It was like I didn't deserve to have it anymore," he continued. "But you do, Luke. You do, and you shouldn't marry Victoria because you think you should be punished." "You little b*tch! You were supposed to leave and never come back," Victoria shrieked, running onto the balcony. She shoved me hard, toward the balcony rail. I lost my footing and tripped. My upper torso went sailing backward, over the railing, and all I could see was the sky. Panic gripped me as I thought about how far it was to the ground below. Luke's arm tightened around my arm again, and he pulled me against him, my heart in my throat. My body trembled, and instinctively, I grabbed Luke. I'd been inches away from falling over the balcony rail. If he hadn't been holding my arm, I would have gone over. "What the f*ck are you doing!?" Luke snapped at Victoria. "I… baby, I'm just looking out for you," Victoria said, giving the fakest sweet smile I'd ever seen. She looked gorgeous in her expensive, probably one-of-a-kind wedding dress with her hair and makeup done. Like a model from wedding magazines. But her eyes were wild like she was out for blood. "And you think pushing someone off a penthouse balcony is how you look out for me?" Luke snarled. "I wasn't trying to do that," Victoria said with a simple shrug. He looped his arm around me, holding me against him protectively. My heart still pounded in my throat and I couldn't believe how close I'd come to almost being tossed over. "She's just here to cause trouble, Luke. We're supposed to be getting married. Don't listen to her lies," Victoria insisted, stamping her foot. "Lies? Which lies would those be?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes at Victoria. "You know… whatever she's been telling you. You can't believe any of it," Victoria said, trying to smile again. "She can't tell you what I'm lying about because she's the only one lying," I said, shaking my head. "That's not true. Luke, you know me. You want to marry me. That's why we are here," she urged. She reached out, asking for Luke's hand. Luke sighed, looking between the two of us. "I want the truth, Victoria. Did you really threaten the Caribbean project? Did you threaten Cat's mother?" he asked firmly, crossing his arms. I stepped away from Luke, but I stayed behind him, a little, so Victoria couldn't try to throw me off the balcony again. Looping my arms around my stomach, I thought of the little life inside of me. It was the one thing I hadn't told Luke about yet. I didn't want to until we'd resolved all this other stuff. I didn't want him to want me because I was carrying his baby. I wanted him to want me for me. "Well… I told Cat I could do those things. But you know I never would, don't you, Baby? I just wanted to see what she would do, and she ran away. She obviously doesn't love you like I do," Victoria sneered. "Why would you lie and blackmail someone, just to test their feelings for me?" Luke questioned, his entire body tensing. "I was proving that she isn't right for you. And she isn't. I'm the one that has always stood by your side, and I've never been after your money," Victoria insisted. Her eyes wandered inside to where the wedding guests were muttering to each other, confused. "I can't believe I let myself believe your lies," Luke muttered, shaking his head. I touched his arm comfortingly, and he relaxed a little. "No. That's not what happened. I was just doing this for your own good," Victoria argued. "Threatening to destroy my company was for my own good? Chasing away the one person I…" Luke took another deep breath and sniffed. "No, Victoria, you crossed a line." "But look how easily she ran off. She doesn't care about you if a few little threats shook her trust in you and your relationship," she said, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at me again. "You threatened my dreams, her mother, and all kinds of horrible things. Who would stick around after that?" Luke asked. My heart swelled. I understood now that Luke would have taken my side over Victoria's no matter what she told him or made him listen to. Even now, he was defending my actions of running off. "But I…" "Stop!" Luke held a hand up. He reached behind him and grabbed my hand. "We're done, Victoria." "No!" Victoria wailed. Luke's fingers laced through mine, and he gripped tightly. Sighing, I squeezed his hand back. He pulled me off the balcony and back into the room. Ignoring the shouts and cries from Victoria, his family, and the other wedding guests, Luke rushed me out of the penthouse. My stomach fluttered, and I ran along giddily. It was like the runaway bride, but Luke was the runaway groom. When we got to the elevator, we waited for it to come all the way up. It still seemed slow, but this time, I didn't need to take the stairs. "Oh, Luke, before we take off, there is one more thing I need to tell you," I said. Luke arched an eyebrow and glanced at me. "It's okay, Cat. I understand why you left. I wish you'd come to me first, but Victoria wasn't playing fair. I know you did everything to save my work and your mother." "That's not…" I trailed off, nodding and smiling. I hadn't been expecting his forgiveness so soon, but I was grateful for it. "Actually, I need to tell you something else," I said. I put my hand on my stomach and smiled uncontrollably. Before that moment, I hadn't allowed myself to be truly happy about my pregnancy, but now that I knew Luke forgave me, I was really happy about it. "Luke, I'm pregnant," I said, slowly lifting my eyes to his. For a moment, he just stared at me. Then, Luke stepped forward and grabbed me, swooping me into his arms. He spun me around and kissed my cheek, just as the elevator doors opened. "I guess this did turn out to be the happiest day of my life," he whispered to me before pressing his lips to mine.