Compromising Circumstances (R)- Final Update & PDF (July 19th,11)

[skatiefan]

I can't wait for the next update Lexie. It's really interesting so far. I'm really liking the story so far.

[lexie]

A/N: I know it was supposed to be "Choices" first but my muse has a mind of her own.

Here's a new chapter which I believe will answer several questions that have been going around. In addition, the new instalment addresses a few of the reservations some of you had pointed out in regard to Chloe's passivity and Lex's high-handedness.*it was all in my plans from the start. I just wanted to make you sweat and rant for a little while. *


If you haven't, don't forget to check out "At Second Sight", which I updated three days ago.

CHAPTER SIX

Chloe stepped into the hall, letting the door of her home of one month click shut behind her. She loved her new flat; the layout was very functional and her bedroom had a great view of Star City’s park. And, above all, it was ten minutes away from the headquarters of Queen Industries, which provided her with the perfect excuse to go to work on foot- an arrangement that not only helped her save a small fortune in petrol but also contributed to her plans to shed the pounds she’d put on in the stressful first few months following Oliver’s death.

The night after the break-in at her old apartment had been long and sleepless with images of Lex and her entangled in a frenzied embrace replaying in her mind. Sensations from the heady kiss and the impromptu make out session had tormented her body until the sheets on her bed had become a twisted mess, and she’d had to trade any hopes of sleep for a carafe of hot coffee long before sunrise.

Being unable to get any sleep had given her plenty of time to go over the events of that day and analyse them with a cold head. And the result of her inner musings had revealed several truths about herself that she’d tried to ignore for far too long. Lex might have behaved all pushy and domineering, talking her into doing his will under the guise of helpful suggestions, but she had let him. Chloe Sullivan had lost her spine somewhere along the way. Getting fired from The Daily Planet when it became part of a LuthorCorp-owned media network and taking on full-time duties as Watchtower for Clark, her then fiancé Oliver and the gang had been the turning point, the beginning of a slow process of self-defacement.

Somehow she´d become this anonymous non-entity whose life´d been taken over while she was on the fringes observing. She couldn´t remember when she’d become this complacent, when she’d lost the will to fight for what she wanted the most, when she’d compromised and let things happen, let others take the control while she observed from a safe distance. It’d have been petty to hold Oliver and his friends responsible for the loss of her identity and the sacrifice of her dreams, just as it’d have been myopic to blame Lex for her unChloelike behaviour of late.

The first step on the road to recovery’s to admit one has a problem and that was what she did in the small hours of the morning after the burglary. She’d break the vicious cycle and stop sitting in the back seat. She’d taken tiny steps when Lex entered her life, showing him bursts of her once rebellious nature when he tried to manipulate her; however, they’d been just sparks of her old fire and, as such, easily put out by a man who was used to being the one in control.

That morning, a month ago, she’d breathed for the first time in two years; she’d taken the reins of her life back. And it’d all started with her turning up at her apartment when LexCorp Security was still there instead of waiting for the man in charge to stop by her office to drop the new keys. Her original impulse on leaving the hotel room had been to storm into her home and send everyone packing to show Lex who was in charge, but the minute she entered the lift of her old building a new plan took shape, one that put a wicked smile on her face.

She walked into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes, smiling at the memory. Not only had she not cancelled the whole thing off, she’d increased the bill by a few thousands by having Lex pay for the installation of a state-of-the-art safe in her study as well. Even though she knew the expense of upgrading her apartment’s security hadn’t made a dent in his fortune, she had got a kick out of having him spend a large sum and believe to have had his way only to find out she’d moved out less than a week later. It’d just taken a call to her real estate agent to terminate the lease of her old flat and a small miracle for the apartment she was now living in to be vacated. In fact, the stars had seemed to align perfectly in her favour for once, she’d fallen in love with her new cosy apartment soon after her marriage to Oliver, but she’d had to give it up for practical reasons- there hadn’t been room enough for both of them and his alter ego’s sophisticated equipment.

Chloe’s second step had been to lay the rules to redefine her relationship with Lex. Although she appreciated having someone care for her well-being, she wouldn’t tolerate his high-handedness anymore nor would she passively accept his controlling tendencies or his over-protectiveness. And from then on the arrangements for their appointments to study would be discussed beforehand. If he was expecting her to jump when he said Jump! he’d have another one coming. He could either take it or leave it.

Lex had listened to her impassioned speech without batting an eye or interrupting her and what she saw on his face after she finished completely baffled her. Although brief, she’d spied a look of pride in his eyes and then spotted a fleeting knowing smile as he walked around his desk and invited her to sit down for them to discuss business. It was at that moment that it dawn on her; it’d all been a game, a carefully elaborate plan to work her up to boiling point and have her explode.

“Why did you do it?” she frowned.

“I knew you were there somewhere. I’d seen glimpses of the real you when I taunted you, and realised the war you were waging inside- to be who others were expecting of you or to be the woman you were before you chose to sacrifice her for others.”

His words made her wonder how much he knew. Had Oliver confided in him? Was Lex aware of her late husband’s secret identity and the work she’d done for the League in the shadows?

“I can see you’ve got lots of questions,” he said gravely. “You’re welcome to ask them. I promise to give you straight answers.”

“You played a dangerous game. You were on the verge of alienating me altogether. If you’re as interested in making business with us as you led me to believe, why run such a risk?”

“It wasn’t my original plan when the deadline we’d agreed with Oliver arrived and I asked for an interview with his widow. You have to remember I was operating on false assumption…The circumstances were altered when I learnt that Mrs Queen was none other than the attractive blonde in the mink coat.”

“So let me see if I can fill in the blanks. Your first plan was to seduce the widow and have her sell you the company, but then you realised you might get it for free by resorting to blackmail and pushing her into a corner: ‘Either you sell or I’ll let everyone know what a naughty girl you really are,’ she said ironically.

“Despicable, I know.”

“So what changed? What drove you to use that over-bearing bully strategy on me?”

“I liked you, and I hadn’t expected to like you.”

“Based on our encounter or on the words of … a drunk? You know… it makes me wonder… Are there any others like you waiting to use that against me?”

“I really wouldn’t know,” he confessed quietly. “There’s no need for you to worry about that; there are ways to nip that false story in the bud. Someone with the right pull and connections can do it”

“It’s never been just about me…..” she told him in an anguished tone.

“I knew it wasn’t true less than ten minutes into the interview. Are you suggesting your cousin would believe you capable of that?”

Chloe felt her tears starting to well up in her eyes. Oliver had done more than fill Lex’s ears with her alleged adulterous behaviour; he’d repeated to him the very same accusation he’d spat at her before storming out of their house and driving off a cliff in a drunken stupor.

“She wouldn’t… but that wouldn’t make a difference if the story were to hit the stands and people believed it. I wouldn’t be the only aggrieved party… Lois’d be a laughingstock… or worse… and Clark’s clean reputation in the eyes of The Daily Planet’s readers would be soiled. They’re a revered team and an ideal couple… He might even end up losing his job if he lost his credibility and people stopped buying the papers to read his column and Lois’. And then… there’s their boy… How would this affect him? You know how adults don’t always weigh their words carefully when they speak in front of their children…. What if another child repeated the story to him or laughed at him in school or …?” She started to tear up.

“Chloe…” he told her, getting up from his seat and walking around his desk to sit in the chair across from her. “Here…” he murmured, handing her a box of tissues and trying not very successfully to hide how uncomfortable he felt around a crying woman. “I’ll get us some coffee,” he added, leaving her side to press the intercom and ask his assistant for a carafe of the freshly brewed infusion.

“I’m sorry for that,” she apologised meekly after collecting herself and freshening up in his toilet. “I promise I will bring my own tissues next time,” she added with a soft smile.

“There’s no need to apologise. You were more than justified, considering all you’ve been through in the past months. I hope you’ll forgive me for pushing you around the way I did.”

“I still don’t understand why you chose that particular approach when I’d have been more inclined to be open to a deal with LexCorp if you’d used the charm I know you’re capable of. You suggested that you did it for me, that it was because you liked me, but there has to be more than that.”

“I’ve had very few opportunities in my life to be selfless, to do things because they feel right and not because they will look well in a quarterly report. I won’t be hypocritical and tell you there isn’t anything for me to gain from a professional… and a personal… point of view, though.”

She stepped out of the shower- his words still resonating in her ears- and looked at her nude body in the mirror. Her curves were a little too full and her height wasn’t the suitable one to be catwalk material and yet she felt desirable for the first time in months. She’d buried that side of her nature long before burying the man with whom she’d once thought she’d end up her days.

She’d spent the last year of her marriage feeling a failure as a woman for not being able to grant her husband the one thing that would have given him the sense of family he hadn’t known since his parents’ death. Months of gentle reassurances from Oliver had finished abruptly one morning when she woke up to find his side of the bed untouched and an empty bottle of Johnny Walker lying on the study carpet next to her unconscious husband. He’d never come back to their bed after that nor would he give up the company of his vintage partner.

Oliver’s rejection had resurrected old insecurities in her and her pride had prompted her to wear a mask even in front of the two people closest to her. Clark should have been the easiest to fool, but Lois knew her too well and had shared her concern for Chloe with the farm boy. And, unbeknownst to him, his attempts to find out what was wrong with her, to be the shoulder she could cry on if she needed someone to be there for her, had added an extra layer to her already breaking marriage: jealousy and with it, confusion.

It would be a few months later while emptying Oliver’s closet to donate his clothes to charity after the funeral that she found out what had triggered his self-destructive behaviour- a confidential report of a prestigious fertility clinic declaring him… sterile. It hadn’t been her inadequacies but his fear of not being whole what had pushed him to the abyss. She should have felt relieved and yet she couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being able to help him and for staying so long in a relationship that had been clearly destroying her spirit… and his… in the belief she was unworthy of being happy.

It would take her eight months and crossing paths with a bossy and insightful billionaire for her old self to fight back to the surface. The morning after the break-in, when she’d confronted him, he’d told her she’d been his chance to do for someone else what he’d failed to do for someone he’d loved in the past. And yet, Chloe suspected there was something more to it, some debt of honour he’d decided to pay through her.

Although Lex was still in many ways a mystery to her, he was gradually and unequivocally growing on her. Even though they had their occasional clashes, as it was to be expected given their strong personalities, Chloe appreciated the skirmishes for what they were, a constant struggle on both their parts to define boundaries and keep each other on their toes. Never in her twenty-six years had she been in a relationship with a man- either personal or professional- where she’d felt so much challenged and alive.

If anyone had told Chloe that a lesson on business-management techniques could be sensuous, she would have laughed in their faces. That was until she met her tutor. Despite the fact that their sessions had been strictly business and carried out on neutral office turf since the face-off, it was hard to ignore how distractingly sexy he was or the effect the nuances of his voice had on her even when explaining the complexities of strategizing in business.

Her favourite moments, however, were when he shared some titbit about himself, such as his confessing he loved Schubert, Wagner and Russian composers in particular, but that he enjoyed opera as much as hard rock or post-grunge depending on the mood he was in. He claimed to be a decent classical piano player- although something told her he was more than just adequate. There were also little things she discovered on her own: his love for fast Italian and German cars, art, vintage scotch, pool, chess and fencing. And then, there was that which brought them closer: his obsession with finding answers and unravelling mysteries and… his interest and fascination for superheroes ever since his childhood.

Every now and then he’d surprise her with a gift he’d leave on her desk or on his coffee table as if it were just an afterthought; an engraved fountain pen, an appointment diary or a leather folio- presents which, although not inexpensive, wouldn’t be misconstrued as overly personal. Her determination might help her rise up to his constant challenges and fight off his arrogance and calculated charm but his warmth was something altogether different. She was both bewitched and bewildered by the apparent softening in him, even though she still suspected it might be part of his campaign to lure her into trusting him with more than just her education. Seeing him shed part of the cool reserve and calm detachment with which he dealt with the rest of the world was a dangerous enticement because it made her feel she was special to him and not simply a challenge he was determined to conquer. Lex also made her aware of the aching inside her, the yearning for closeness and comfort she’d been sublimating in work and study.

He always seemed to find a way to make her lose her temper and she invariably fell in his trap. He appeared to enjoy taunting her, getting her so ruffled and furious that she felt like slapping him only to realise he’d actually agreed with her arguments from the very beginning. It was a strategy of his she found disturbingly arousing and that never failed to bring back memories of the one time his body had been close enough for her to feel the way she affected him and of the way she’d trembled and moaned in his arms. He might not be pursuing her aggressively, but Chloe wasn’t naïve enough to believe he didn’t have the intention of bringing their attraction to the next level if she so much as gave him an opening.

˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜*˜* ˜

Chloe knew the importance of belonging to local business organisations and showing up at social occasions like tonight’s function, so she’d curved her urge to put on her pyjamas and slippers, pour herself a glass of Chardonnay and turn on the TV to see if there was some black-and-white sleuth film on TCM. Instead, she’d slipped on a red backless dress she’d bought on a shopping spree with her cousin Lois and put on a pair of matching stilettos that showed her legs to advantage.


“Ms Sullivan, it’s good to see you again. The Metropolis Chamber of Commerce is glad to see you’re taking as active an interest in our organisation as your late husband used to,“ the chairman told her as they shook hands. “Since Mr Grierson’s going to be in charge of the main speech, I suggested seating you both at the top table, but he requested somewhere out of the limelight, so I’ve assigned you both to the table sitting the Chinese delegation. He said you hope to do business with them soon… Now, if you’ll excuse me …”

“Sure,” she smiled.“Thanks for your welcome.”

Once again Lex had prepared the ground and smoothed her way.

Her deep emerald gaze swept across the hotel dining-room in search of her target but couldn’t find him.

“Looking for good old Lex?” asked an unknown voice next to her. ”Sorry if I startled you.”

“I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced,” she replied rather coldly; there was something about the man that repulsed her.

“Excuse my bad manners. Alden Pearson,” he stretched out his hand to shake hers. “I knew your late husband. In fact, we three used to be classmates at Excelsior.”

“Pardon?” frown Chloe.

“Oliver, Lex and I. Well, actually Luthor wasn’t part of the gang- Geoffrey was. Alexander was a loser like his friend Allenmeyer. You didn’t know?”

Luthor. Lex Luthor. Alexander Luthor.

Chloe tried to put on her best poker-face and see how much she could get out of Alden. She didn’t like him, and he was kind of pathetic. She wondered what sort of demons he was running from; the liquor on his breath could be smelt even standing a few feet away.

“No, I didn’t know you’d been to the same school as Oliver. He never mentioned you.”

“He didn’t? Well, he could be a closed-up bastard on occasion, and I guess he didn’t have too many fond memories of those days. They hated each other though- he and Lex I mean. I wonder what he’d think if he saw you two now,” he told her with a vicious smile. “I’d better mingle… Watch your back. There might be no love lost between Lex and his old man, but Lionel’s blood runs through his veins. And you know the saying: the apple never falls far from the tree.”

“Is everything OK? Did he do anything to upset you?” asked Lex’s velvety voice materialising at her back.

“Apart from making my skin crawl, you mean?” she replied ironically.

“I’m afraid he doesn’t hold his liquor well,” he shot a glance at the other man across the room before moving around in front of her. “Seriously, Chloe, you look as if you were about to faint,” he added quietly.

“Do you know him?” she asked him, grabbing an hors d’oeuvre from a passing tray to fight off the queasiness.

“Should I?” he cocked an eyebrow, taking a sip at his champagne.

“He claimed to know Oliver from way back… from prep school to be more precise.”

“He did?” he replied indifferently.

“You never told me you and Oliver had been to school together. You, Oliver, Geoffrey, Alden and a boy called… Allen… Allen.”

“Meyer. Allenmeyer. Duncan Allenmeyer. Alden wasn’t even fit to tie Duncan’s shoelaces,” he said grimly. “I’ve never talked about Excelsior because it’s a time of my life I wish I could forget.”

“You lied to me. Your surname isn’t Grierson,” she told him tensely.

“I didn’t lie. It’s my mother’s maiden name and it’s been the only one I’ve borne since I turned of age.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re his son.”

“I’m nothing like him,” he hissed.

“I didn’t say you were. I just want to know why you kept your identity a secret from me when Oliver must have known who you were from the start. Actually, your affiliation with Lionel had to be the reason he approached you in the first place. He was obsessed with him. Why? There had to be more than business rivalry between them. I know that LuthorCorp’s Queen Industrries’ leading competitor in the Electronics business and that your stepmother’s now at the helm, but…”

“You mean my father’s wife,” he corrected her frostily.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“I only had one mother and she sure as hell wasn’t that woman,” he snarled, guiding Chloe to one side with a firm hand, out of the incoming flow of arrivals. ”You want to hear the story?”

“There’s no need for that,” she said softly, shooting a glance at some of the guests who were starting to look at the handsome and tense couple with curious eyes.

“I’d rather you hear it from me than from someone like Alden; at least, I’ll be sure you get the gory details right.”

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Chloe’s stomach was tied up in knots; she’d always sensed that behind the façade of cool urbanity there was a volcano of repressed emotions ready to erupt. And now, standing a few feet apart from Lex in the small reception room he’d dragged her to, all that leashed energy was ready to burst.

“Confessions aren’t my forte,” he told her, his hands deep in the pockets of his trousers and his back turned to her,”especially when they refer to my personal life.”

“Lex…”

“No. I owe it to you. I know more things about your private life than I’m entitled to, and I’m aware of how much that must be torturing you. It’s only fair that I share something painful of mine if only to be even. How much did Alden tell you?”

“Not much. Your arrival must have spooked him. He only said you and your father didn’t get along.”

“That would be an understatement. I was as good as dead to him. My father always thought of us Luthors as a superior race. He didn’t suffer weaklings well, least of all when they shared his blood. He expected perfection from his employees and his family; I was never it. You could say he tolerated me for nine years, but that changed the day my mother talked him into spending some quality time with me and he dragged me to Smallville only to come back home with me looking like this.” He ran a hand over his bald head. “You should have seen his face when he found me in that cornfield. I knew then that no matter what I did, or how hard I tried to excel at school, in sports… I’d never measure up to his standards of what a perfect son of Lionel Luthor should have been like.

My mother and my nanny, Pamela, were the only two people in that house who didn’t treat me like a freak. My mom’s own private hell began then; he got her pregnant again. His second chance, he called it. Julian died in his crib on the day of his baptism and my mother’s fragile mental state after the pregnancy accelerated the morning he took me to LuthorCorp to see my dad at the office to find him fornicating with his assistant.

It seemed the affair had started before Julian was born. That woman was the same one you called my stepmother ten minutes ago and she was already carrying my father’s bastard when my mother and I walked on them. If it hadn’t been for Pamela’s quick intervention, I think she’d have killed herself that day. My nanny made all the arrangements and we left the house for Europe in the middle of the night.”

“France?” she asked, swallowing the big lump in her throat.

“Yes, Provence. Pamela had an old aunt there. We settled down. I went to the local village school and my mother’s health started to pick up little by little. It was hard for her because, in spite of everything, she still loved the bastard. It must have been a shock for my mom to realise he had no intention of coming for her. The divorce was quick; he alleged abandonment… We had two quiet years. She gave English and piano lessons to make ends meet and Pamela took a part-time job in a boutique in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Unfortunately, good things have a tendency not to last in my life. Pamela got cancer and soon neither her family nor my mother with her meager earnings could pay the piling bills.”

Chloe wondered what other despicable act was yet to be revealed.

“So she contacted him, pleaded with him to help save her best friend’s life… and he laughed… He said: The bitch deserves it. The only reason she’s stuck with you and your son’s because she’s a leech. She’s only interested in the money that the boy might end up inheriting. You’ve done your bed when you left me like a thief in the middle of the night now you must lie on it. Our acts have consequences, Lillian, you should have thought about them before defying me.”

“Did your mother tell you that?” she asked in a cracking voice.

“No, I overheard the argument on the extension.”

Chloe’s heart ached with compassion despite the bitter rancour that laced his words. It was evident he’d loathed his father and still did.

“You must have hated him for dying,” she murmured. By doing so Lionel Luthor had rendered Lex’s hatred impotent.

“I drank two bottles of Bollinger 1928 when he passed away,” he replied, turning around to face her at last.

“But you must feel cheated. His demise left you with all that unresolved bitterness and nowhere to focus it now.”

His response was a tense and pregnant silence that spoke volumes. And all the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place in Chloe’s mind.

“LuthorCorp,” she breathed. “That’s why you’ve been taking over companies and offering preferential deals to those which have business with Luthor… Queen Industries included. Oliver bought stock when Lionel was in prison and his wife was in a tight spot; I never understood that move. Your plan’s to take over your late father’s company.”

“I don’t want anything of his,” he said coldly.

“So it’s never been about building an empire of your own but destroying another…”

“Empires fall; it’s the cycle of nature. My father killed the two most important people in my life- Pamela and my mother; they died six months apart. And then he decided to play the Good Father for the media. He flew me to The States, changed my name back to Luthor and after three months- when the news had died down- he shipped me off to Excelsior, away from his new happy family. I was just a pawn to be used in his games to cater for his selfish ambition, another possession to be discarded once he achieved his end. When I came of age I took my mother's maiden name back and walked out. I’m glad he disowned me in favour of Lucas. If he had bequeathed me anything in his will, I wouldn’t have taken it.”

“I can’t start to imagine what it must have been like for you as a twelve-year-old to have lived through all that, but have you stopped to think about all of the people made redundant for the sake of your revenge? All those families with dreams and hopes? Aren’t they as much victims as your mother and Pamela were?”

“In these economic times industry is going through rationalisation. The loss of some jobs is inevitable when I take over an ailing company, but I’m not a monster. I’ve never closed down a company that could make profit just because it’d damage LuthorCorp. In fact, I’ve probably created more jobs than I’ve sacrificed over the years.”

“But all of it has been fuelled by your need for revenge.”

“I’ve never claimed to be a saint, Chloe.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Lex. Bitterness only leads to an emotional desert if you stoke it; it can be soul-destroying.”

“You’re assuming I still have one,” he said ironically.

“It isn’t too late yet. You just have to make the right choices… I think we should go back to the dining room.”

“Chloe…” he stopped her, covering her hand with his before she turned the doorknob.

“We’ve been away long enough. It’ll soon be time for your speech,” she brushed him off.

“Does it really worry you? The speculation I mean? I’m afraid it's inevitable, considering we’ve been seen at a lot of events recently, but if you like, I can do something about it...'

He wasn't offering to leave her alone- the fact that he hadn’t pressured her in any way lately didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in taking their relationship to the next level when she was ready. However, he could, and would, stop the people and the talk if she indicated it bothered her.

“That’s very gentlemanly of you, but it would only serve to confirm the current gossip. Let people believe what they choose to believe. I have nothing to hide.”

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“Grierson’s moving too fast… You should know better than that, Chloe,” said Jason, censure evident in his voice when she reappeared in the dining room a couple of minutes before the man in charge of the main speech.

Jason reiterated some of the doubts he had about Lex’s sudden interest in Queen Industries. It was evident he grudgingly admired the older man’s business acumen and the innovative plan for the company and still he doubted Lex’s real motives. Teague wasn’t going to be rushed into anything and he was determined that she shouldn’t either.

“You know that Lana wouldn’t have objected to my escorting you tonight. I did offer if I remember correctly and you said you were coming alone.”

“And I did.”

“Grierson has a different idea. He seems to believe he has the monopoly of your attention. It doesn’t matter that you arrive separately at every function, it’s clear you’re together. The first time might have been a fluke…” He made a pause and lowered his voice. “If you’re sleeping together, Chloe, be very careful. He’s nothing like Oliver. You’ll end up hurt. He doesn’t seem to care about conventions or what others think of him, and that attitude appears to be rubbing off on you now.”

“This is neither the right time nor the place to discuss it,” Chloe paled angrily.

“It never is. You’ve been avoiding the subject for a month. As a friend I feel I have a right to tell you I believe you’re getting in over your head. Grierson seems to have made you lose all sense of proportion. You’ve never been this reckless. Appearances are very important to someone in your position, Chloe.”

You’ve never been this reckless.

Reckless had always been synonymous with Chloe Sullivan before she lost her spine. She felt a sudden surge of rebelliousness at his reproach, however kindly meant. She was sick of people expecting her to look or act in a particular way irrespective of how she felt inside. She’d had to pretend even with Oliver. For his sake she’d pretended to be content with the life they had. His failure to get her pregnant had affected him deeply so she’d decided to spare him the added burden of her own dissatisfaction. Now he could no longer be hurt and she was tired of being stoic and understanding and dishonest with herself.

TBC

A/N 2: I know you're curious about Oliver's reasons behind approaching Lex in the first place and also about Lex's decision to bury the hatchet. This chapter was packed with information about both Chloe and Lex's background story so I felt adding this would have been a little too much. You'll get the answers in coming chapters.

[hfce]

Wow what a fun read. I learned a lot just from this chapter alone. I was wondering why Lex was not going by Luthor. What a great twist you had about how he grew up. That was a nice way to show Lex in exhile. I am so glad Chloe has her spine back. I knew Lex was just doing that to get her to show her true self.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

[SouthernChlex]

I'm kind of hoping that Chloe will eventually hand over the reins to Lex or Jason. She needs to get back to doing what she does best.
Still, LOVED the chapter. Glad the mystery of Lex's last name is solved at last. Can't wait to see how reckless Chloe gets now that she's pissed off.

[starmoon]

great update! i just love this story and can't wait for more.

[Cassandra Jean]

We finally get to know why Lex is not using the Luther surname....thanks for clearing it all up.

[Rachet]

you have this all coming together nicely

[Gaia]

Well...Lex did have an interesting childhood. But how did his father's wife end up with the empire? Does she even know how to do business?

[niafadra]

I can hardly wait for the next chapter, the interactions between the characters were great and shed light on some much asked questions!!!

[somethingeasy]

This chapter was awesome and amazing!! I loved how this chapter was all about Chloe regaining her gumption and sense of self again. She’s absolutely right that she HAS been spending the last few years allowing her own personality be trampled into nothingness, subordinating her own selfish, private needs to the requirements of others. For years, she has been turning herself into an ‘anonymous non-entity’ who lived on the fringes of other people living their own lives… not as a parasite, but as a battery to all of them.

I was so, SO pleased to see her seeing all of this so clearly. Yes, it’s an ugly truth, but it’s something that NEEDED to be acknowledged so that Chloe can take steps to change the situation. LOL! And I think it was perfection that it was Lex’s high-handed arrogance that finally broke the camel’s back, and made Chloe rear back and think No More!!

And it was definitely fun seeing Chloe exhibiting and flexing her newly formed selfhood by playing a silly prank on Lex. ROTFL! He must have been quite perturbed to discover that all of the security details that he invested into Chloe’s apartment had been completely wasted because she moved out without telling him, LOL! Now that was a GREAT joke to play on him… and I think, once he got over the embarrassment of being the butt of a joke, Lex would have appreciated Chloe’s playful teasing prank.

Although, it made me sit back and blink is astonishment, and the plain disbelief to hear Lex claiming that he was ‘heavy handed and arrogant’ with Chloe on quite deliberately in order to tease out this hidden part of her personality. Personally, I think Lex observed the change Chloe had just gone through, and then opportunistically jumped in claiming credit for the change. What a sneaky bastard! It’s just too clean and neat a concept to consider Lex planning ALL of this in advance, including all of Chloe’s reactions AND her epiphany as well. Nope… I think that he was just trying to grab credit for pushing Chloe back into whole self-hood, when in fact it was just a coincidental side-effect high-handed tactics on her.

It was when Lex claimed to be helping Chloe out of purely selfless motivations that I really got paranoid and suspicious. His claim that he was helping Chloe find her sense of self because he ‘wanted to do the right thing, for once’. Something about that strikes me as too smooth. I can’t help but think if Lex really DID feel that way, then he would view it as a weakness and vulnerability for Chloe, and would never, EVER admit to any desire to be ‘purely selfless’ for her.

heh… I’m still rather suspicious of Lex… can you tell? LOL!

Still, I did feel a little warmed to hear Lex confessing that he likes her. I’m STILL suspicious that he might be aiming to seduce her, only with romance this time instead of lustful actions. Lex is a smooth, charming operator, capable of employing a WIDE range of tactics to seduce women… pretending to be smoothly romantic and emotionally invested should be a very basic trick for him.

HOWEVER, I did find myself thawing a little bit when I heard about how Lex was sharing some of the minor details about his life, habits and preferences with Chloe. He’s an extremely guarded person, and letting Chloe know about his favourite music, foods and hobbies with Chloe might be a sign that he’s genuinely letting Chloe in closer to him. OR, it might be part of a long-term strategic plot to gain her trust… a little at a time, until he gets full control over Queen Enterprises.

Those gifts that he’s constantly giving her… they ALSO suggest that all of this might be part of a long-term strategic play for Chloe’s affections and trust. BUT, it’s good to see that Chloe is still highly wary of him… although I can see those barriers being whittled down, a little at a time.

I really appreciated the explanation about one of the reasons why Oliver might have turned so bitter, paranoid and generally revolting during the later years of his marriage to Chloe. Finding himself to be sterile must have been a major blow to his pride… and the fact that he hid it from Chloe shows that he believed she would leave him if she knew that he couldn’t give her children. The pitiful man must have spent his remaining years in an agony of mistrust, fear, bitterness and self-loathing. He tried to take out all of those emotions on Chloe, but I’m sure he knew, all the time, that the problem lay within HIM alone. Rather pathetic, but also pitiful!

The meeting with Pearson at the dinner was fascinating. I was always wondering how Chloe would react upon learning that her new VERY close working partner and tutor was a Luthor himself. She did not explode as I expected. I was quite impressed. She kept her cool, and actually gave Lex the benefit of the doubt. She didn’t yell and scream at him for being a liar, but coolly asked him why he felt the urge to hide his identity, and was actually very gentle while confronting him about his past.

Lex confessed everything… which was not really surprising considering that Chloe knows just enough to think the worst of him, and needs more information to become sympathetic towards him again. Lex had literally no choice but to confess everything… there was no other way to keep Chloe’s trust.

I really appreciated the quick history into Lex’s life. It was useful to find out about the difference that turned Lex Luthor into Alexander Grierson, and then back again. It was good to hear that he got some good years with Pamela and his mother, before he lost them both. And now we finally get a sense of Lex’s motivations… to destroy everything that Lionel Luthor ever built, loved and cherished.

Personally, I think it sounds a little petty to become an empire destroyer, and for Lex to dedicate his life to spiting his dead father… but whatever rocks his boat, I suppose. Of course… all of this is only what Lex has told us. It might be true… or it might just be a false cover Lex is throwing to hide his REAL motivations… whatever those might be.

Anyhow… this was a great chapter. Thanks for writing, and I look forward to the next update.