Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

CHAPTER 15: An Epiphany

Lex was lying back in his swivel chair in the study when the Italian tailor called on him for his final fitting. Despite the fact that their appointment had been made the previous week, the gentle tap on the door announcing his arrival took Lex by surprise. The morning had gone by in a daze and the ache on Lex´s swollen knuckles had increased twofold. The doctor had told him he hadn´t broken any bones, but it´d have been a small price to pay to wipe Queen´s smug look off his face. Oliver might have just kissed Chloe on the cheek and given her hand a squeeze, but Smallville´s resident billionaire knew his former classmate´s ways with women, and seeing Queen with the reporter had awoken the green-eyed monster in Lex.

He had felt like barging into the restaurant to claim her like a caveman, but it would have only made matters worse. He would have made a spectacle of himself and embarrassed her in front of an audience; and that was something he didn´t want to put either Chloe or himself through. Hearing her voice on the phone had made him feel even more possessive of her and had awoke his most primitive instincts. However, her reproachful words had come like a terrible shock. Undoubtedly she was the most mature of the two, emotionally speaking. She was right; he had no legitimate claim on her as long as he didn´t break up with Lana.

The last words she had uttered before hanging up on him still resonated in his mind. ´For you I´d be willing to betray everything I claim to defend. ´ That she could consider going against her principles to protect him proved the extent of her love for him and showed him how undeserving he was of her affection. She was ready to sacrifice everything for him and he, like the coward he was when it came to opening up to another human being, had told her he was doing what was best for them. He was as hypocritical as Queen. He was pushing her away while, at the same time, questioning who she dated or what she did on her spare time.

Pietro had done a terrific job as usual. The dinner jacket clung to his body in the right places and brought out the blue-grey of his eyes. Looking at himself in the mirror, a poker-faced Lex congratulated the tailor but his stomach was in knots. The engagement party was twenty-four hours away and he, who always seemed to know all the answers, couldn´t come up with a solution to the quandary he found himself in. His father had told him time and time again that letting himself be ruled by emotions was a weakness- but hadn´t Lionel recently advised him to re-evaluate his marriage to Lana? Had his bride-to-be been another girl, he would have dumped her for Chloe in a heartbeat. Despite the fact that he didn´t love Lana the way a man should love his future wife, he treasured their friendship and didn´t want to jeopardise it for he had already compromised the one with Clark Lana was the only friend he had left, for Chloe meant a whole lot more than just a friend to him.

Lex was wracking his brains to reach a decision and decide on a course of action to extricate himself from the predicament he found himself in without hurting other people in the process, when the phone rang. He dismissed Pietro and walked round the desk.

¨Luthor, ¨ said Lex, picking up the phone.

¨We´ve got to talk, ¨ said a determined Lois.

¨Is everything all right, Lois? ¨

¨I´m afraid not. ¨

¨Is Chloe OK? ¨ he asked worriedly.

¨That´s arguable, Luthor. And we know damn well who´s to blame, ¨she responded bitterly.

¨Well, it sure isn´t Oliver Queen, Miss Lane, ¨he said tersely. ¨I´ve got to give it to you. It was an intelligent move and one I can´t say I haven´t enjoyed. ¨

¨Glad to accommodate you. Now, could we cut to the chase? ¨

¨By all means. What is it you wanted to talk about, Lois? ¨

¨Shall we meet at the Kents? ¨

¨Pardon? ¨

¨You´ve heard me, Lex. ¨

¨What makes you think I´d be welcome there? ¨

¨Do you love her or not, Lex? ¨

¨I don´t see what that´s got to do with the Kents, unless Clark´s re-evaluated his feelings for Chloe and is planning on getting rid of the competition. ¨

¨Men can be so stubborn sometimes, ¨ murmured Lois. ¨Listen, Luthor. Smallville´s willing to bury the hatch for Chloe´s sake. ¨

¨This isn´t another of your games, is it? ¨

¨We´re both in this, cue ball. Let´s say Clark has had an epiphany of sorts with a little help from a friend. He wants Chloe to be happy and if that means helping you two get together, so be it. ¨

¨Despite his love for Chloe, which I don´t doubt, you´ve got to admit this new attitude of his is very hard to sell. Tell me, has this got anything to do with Lana? ¨

¨Like I said, Luthor, we´ve got to talk, but not over the phone. Will you meet us at the barn in... say... half an hour? ¨

¨OK. I´ll do it for Chloe, Lois. ¨

¨And Luthor? ¨

¨Yes? ¨

¨Bring a bottle of your father´s vintage scotch, ¨ said Lois before hanging up.

´A bottle of my dad´s vintage scotch? What are these two up to? ´

A/N: You must be asking when the Chlex bit is coming. There´ll be Chlexiness in the following instalment, dears. I´m sorry but I had a ball writing Lois´ pieces when I worked on this fic several months ago, and couldn´t make her stop talking.

How did you find these three new chapters? Any idea of what might happen next?