Chapter 1049: Everything is Business

Chapter 1049 – Everything is Business

Adrian’s face hardened.

Celeste closed her eyes.

A family-linked trust.

A cousin.

Someone near enough to sit at their table.

Adrian’s pride turned into something heavier.

Betrayal.

Lux watched him with faint interest. "Welcome to business."

Adrian looked at him sharply.

Lux’s voice stayed calm. "You told Naomi everything has value and benefits. Everything is business. Including relationships."

Naomi stiffened.

Lux’s gaze did not move from Adrian.

"So now you are seeing what happens when a family does business without love."

The room went silent.

Celeste’s eyes opened.

Her gaze moved to Naomi.

Naomi looked down.

Adrian’s face twisted with anger, shame, and denial all at once.

Lux did not press further.

He had made the cut.

No need to twist.

His attention returned to the holograms.

"The investment will be recorded as a private strategic injection into a new vehicle. Naomi will hold the designated name through a separate structure."

Naomi looked at him. "Lux, you don’t have to—"

"I know." His voice softened for her only. "That is why it is a gift."

Naomi’s throat tightened.

Adrian saw it.

That softness.

That immediate shift.

Lux could speak to him like a blade and to Naomi like something warm existed under all that gold.

It made Adrian uncomfortable.

Celeste noticed too.

She had been watching Lux for every sign of performance, every false charm, every seductive manipulation. But this was not theater. The demon prince did not even seem aware of how much his face changed when he looked at Naomi.

That was dangerous information for a mother.

And heartbreaking information.

Because Celeste realized Naomi had probably been starving for that kind of chosen softness longer than she had admitted.

Lux waved one hand, and a copy of the plan split into a neat package. "This will be available on your secure internal system in five minutes."

Adrian stared. "Our internal system? It is not connected to external networks."

Lux looked at him.

Adrian slowly stopped talking.

Lux said, "Five minutes."

The system added privately.

[Four minutes, twelve seconds.]

Celeste finally found her voice. "What do you want from us in return?"

Lux looked at her. "Follow the plan. Give me access to what you promised. And stop using Naomi as leverage."

Celeste’s eyes lowered briefly.

Adrian looked away.

Naomi was silent.

Lux dismissed most of the holograms, leaving only the main project plan and the account confirmation.

Adrian looked at the glowing account one more time. A bitter laugh almost escaped him, but he swallowed it.

He had challenged Greed.

And Greed had answered by fixing the project before the tea cooled.

Adrian slowly sat down again. He looked older than he had that morning. "Why?" he asked.

Lux glanced at him. "Why what?"

"Why give that much?"

Lux’s expression was unreadable for a second.

Then he looked at Naomi.

"Because I can."

Adrian’s mouth tightened. "That is not an answer."

Lux smiled faintly. "It is the most Greed answer."

Naomi’s eyes softened.

Lux continued, quieter, "And because she deserves something that belongs to her without being claimed by everyone around her."

Celeste flinched.

Adrian looked at Naomi. For the first time, he seemed to really see the distance in her eyes. Something he had built, brick by brick, while calling it responsibility.

Lux broke it by straightening his cuffs. "Now then."

His professional smile returned. "The project is stabilized. The initial trust recovery is underway. The funds are placed. The contract is signed." His eyes gleamed. "Shall we move to what you promised me?"

Adrian stared at him for a long moment.

There were many things he wanted to say.

Too many.

Some were angry. Some were suspicious. Some were humiliatingly close to gratitude, which made them worse. Gratitude toward this man, no, this demon, felt like swallowing glass.

His pride hurt.

His fatherhood hurt more.

But business remained.

So Adrian stood. "Follow me."

Lux sipped his tea, smiled faintly and adjusted his cufflink. "Gladly."

Celeste stood too.

Before she could take one step, Adrian turned his head.

"You stay here."

Celeste did not speak.

Adrian’s face remained composed, but his jaw was tight. "You gave him too many glances."

Celeste’s fingers paused against the table.

Adrian looked at his wife directly. "And I know it wasn’t just curiosity."

Celeste lowered her gaze first. Because he was right.

And that was the uncomfortable truth.

She had looked at Lux too many times.

At first, because he was handsome.

That much was obvious, embarrassingly obvious. A woman did not need to be young or foolish to notice beauty when it entered a room dressed in a black suit and impossible confidence. Lux had that dangerous kind of attractiveness that did not politely wait to be admired.

Second, because he had a good body.

That, too, was impossible not to notice after the demonic reveal. The wings had taken most of the fear, yes, but Celeste had eyes. She had seen the way the suit fitted him before the transformation, the controlled strength beneath elegance, the body of someone both luxurious and dangerous.

So yes.

She understood why Naomi liked him.

That was the problem.

Understanding was not approval.

But it was no longer confusion.

Third, and most troubling of all, Lux had a good personality as a businessman.

Not kind, exactly.

But sharp, disciplined, controlled, and strangely principled where it mattered. He understood value but despised vulgar ownership. He spoke business like a native language yet refused to let Naomi be priced. He was arrogant, yes, but his arrogance had weight behind it.

That made Celeste like him more.

If she were younger...

If Lux were not Naomi’s...

If her life were different, and his smile had turned toward her with that same warmth he showed her daughter...

Celeste stopped the thought there. Like closing a drawer before something inside could spill.

She folded her hands. "I will wait here."

Naomi looked at her mother.

Celeste met her gaze only briefly. Then looked away.

Naomi had chosen a dangerous man.

Lux smiled politely. "Oh, since you’re waiting here..."

Adrian narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing now?"

Lux extended his hand to the side. "Summon."