Chapter 157

Feeling extremely uncomfortable by the strange man, I tried to assert myself and move out of his way, but he followed me.

When I went to move again, he grabbed ahold of my shoulders pushing me to the side of the building where the shadows provided a bit more privacy.

"Let me go!" I shouted, trying to free myself from his grasp, but his grip was too tight.

He shoved me roughly into the hard wall and kept his hands on me to make sure that I wouldn't turn back and run.

A sense of panic took over me as I wondered what this man wanted to do with me. I had done nothing wrong, and it didn't seem like he worked for Kendrick.

I wasn't even sure if he knew who I was.

But maybe, just maybe... Kendrick had hired someone to keep an eye on me. What if this was his way of trying to keep me and Lucas apart? What if this man was trying to stop me from talking to Lucas?

As I gazed up at the man, his blue eyes pierced into my soul and I felt a shiver creep down my spine, making me feel slightly on edge.

A strange sensation began to bubble in the center of my chest, a feeling I recognized from when I shifted.

Oh no... this was not about to happen right now.

Panic overtook me as I had to close my eyes quickly and focus on my humanity. I forced myself to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

Remember who you are. Remember where you are. You're fine. You're okay. I kept repeating to myself.

When my heart rate returned to normal, I opened my eyes again.

The strange man was still there, holding onto me. Except now, he stared at me with a mixture of curiosity and something else I couldn't quite pinpoint.

I didn't like that he witnessed me at one of my weakest moments. It made me feel vulnerable.

"Who are you?" I finally asked, my voice trembling slightly. "And what do you want with me? I've done nothing wrong."

The man hesitated, and then he spoke, "Who I am is not important."

"Bullshit!" I swore, feeling fed up with the stranger's oddness. I needed to know who he was. "You know Lucas. You know the Busch family. Tell me who you are."

The man nodded. "You're right, I do know the Busch family. You could say that I'm a family friend of Lucas's."

A family friend? Not a security guard. So, why was he being so strange and manhandling me? Why was he preventing me from entering the building?

"I don't understand," I spoke, blinking rapidly. "What do you want with me?" I asked again.

"I know who you are," the man said simply, making me freeze. "I'm just trying to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" I asked unsteadily. Chills rushed down my arms, making my hair stand at attention.

He didn't give me much, but he said, "The Busch's can be quite cruel. You should be careful."

I was puzzled by his words. The Busch's were a rich and influential family. It made sense that someone would warn me about how conniving or calculated they could be, and by they, I meant Kendrick.

Kendrick had made it to the top by being cold and calculating. Most businessmen didn't play fair, they played dirty.

And even though Kendrick was his father, I knew that Lucas wasn't like that. He had a pure heart and pure intentions. He wouldn't hurt a fly unless he felt like he needed to protect himself or his loved ones.

Was this family friend just trying to warn me about Kendrick?

Kendrick had always seemed intimidating, but I had never heard anyone describe him with such distaste before.

I couldn't help but ask, "Why do you say that?"

"They can't be trusted. They make promises. They lie. They'll never be satisfied with anything, no matter how much money they have or how many businesses they acquire," the stranger continued and a darkness seemed to take over his gaze. It was almost as if he was having flashbacks to all the times he was betrayed by the Buschs.

My uncomfortableness only grew as I stood in his presence.

"What have they done to make you feel that way?" I asked, needing to know what he'd gone through. What had Kendrick done to him?

The strange man seemed to hesitate, as though he was debating whether or not to share something with me. He was sizing me up as if he was trying to see if he could truly trust me.

There must've been some sort of comfort in my gaze because he decided to open his mouth.

In a low voice, he said, "I used to be the heir to the Busch family, but they took that away from me."

I was unable to hold back my gasp as I stared at the man.

This was Lucas's cousin... Edwin.

Suddenly, I understood why his eyes had looked so familiar to me. It was the same shade of blue that both Kendrick and Lucas had. I felt silly for not being able to make that connection sooner.

Edwin was probably just replaced as heir by Lucas. I suppose he had a reason to be upset, but what did he expect? Lucas would always come before Edwin since he was Kendrick's sole blood-related child.

But if Edwin wasn't the heir anymore... What the hell was he doing here? Why was he sitting outside of the Busch business stopping me from coming in?

As if Edwin could read the thoughts in my mind, he said, "I've been sitting outside this company, watching and waiting for a chance to reclaim what's rightfully mine."

"How would you be able to do that?" I asked. His words hit me like a shock.

He wouldn't try to harm Kendrick or Lucas, would he? That would be a little extreme... and I don't see how he would ever become heir if he were to hurt either of them.

Maybe he had a different plan, and suddenly, I felt very unsafe in his vicinity.

What if he tried to use me to get to Lucas? What if he wanted to hurt me instead?

"That's not fair," I said, trying to gain some sort of upper hand here. Maybe if I showed Edwin my sympathy, he would think twice about wanting to hurt me.

"Why did they take it away from you?" I asked, feeling a growing sense of unease.

Edwin's eyes narrowed, and he replied, "Kendrick didn't even tell me why. One day, I was signing papers to become heir, and the next, I had been cut off from Kendrick completely. I had a lawyer show up to my house to announce that I was no longer heir and that I wasn't allowed to contact Kendrick ever again."

I swallowed loudly.

"He's ruthless, and you should be careful, especially now that you're... close to Lucas," Edwin continued.

The warning hung heavily in the air, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of secrets this man held about the Busch family.

Maybe Edwin had some secrets or insight that might explain Lucas's current strange behavior.