Could've Been.
With his emotions heightened from reading all those letters from the past. Letters he should've sent but didn't. Instead, he replaced those love letters of 'I miss you' and 'I love you' with divorce papers in order to get on with his life. The life he and Cookie had started planning the moment they laid eyes upon one another. Once upon a time, Lucious had put spun his middle son a lie with his callous statement; 'Sometimes a King has to sacrifice his Queen to win the game.' When in fact he'd gave up his soul and the last inkling of love in his heart to not let her sacrifice be in vein. The moment he opened that pandora box, he couldn't close it. He wanted to reach out to Cookie, hold her and beg for forgiveness but they were too far gone. At some point, one had to realise that love - that pounding, inhale of whirlwind emotions that clouds every sensible instinct in your brain - just wasn't enough.
With a melody, he poured out everything he wished he could say to Cookie into a song. A song that could get Yana where she needed to be. On the stage with the spotlight gleaming, adoring fans screaming her name. That's where she belonged. And that's where Lucious was going to get her. He couldn't fix the enormity of damage he'd inflicted on Cookie but he could set things right with Yana.
She came in like a gentle storm. He knew she was there before she made a sound, but her presence didn't demand attention. He supposed that's how she'd managed to slip through the cracks for so long. His wife was a tornado, commanding the respect of the room. Before she spoke a word, she had the room's full attention, every person clinging onto her every breathe. He flexed his fingers and forced himself to stop comparing the two women. They were nothing alike. That's what drew Lucious to Yana when he was in hiding. While lonely, Lucious found it hard to be alone, so he sought out a woman that reminded of the love of his life the least. Someone who served to be a temporary distraction and Yana just fell into his lap. And while she didn't have Lucious' heart, Dwight held a special place for her in his.
"What was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" She questioned; a face completely unimpressed. He wet his lips and approached her with the music book in his hand. His bare soul was written in this paper and here he was, handing it off for someone else's benefit.
"I have something for you," He smiled. He wasn't afraid of what was on those pages. It was a beautiful song that needed to be shown to the world through a beautiful voice. It came from the heart, and that made it special. Anyone could write a love song, but it takes a tremendous amount of power to make the room feel emotions they've never experienced...dreamt of. He believed Yana held that power...to make people crave a higher love. All she needed to do was tap into it.
"What is this? The answer to all of my prayers?"
He shrugged, playfully. "Maybe." And as he handed the book, he suddenly felt shy. Exposed. He watched her fingers trail the lyrics, humming with a soft smile on her face.
"Wait...there it goes," She softly sung. Lucious grinned. "Got through another day without you," There was that voice...that passion. "Wow. I reach out to touch you but realise you're miles away." The smile on his face immediately dropped when he saw the glimmer in her eye. The clear miscommunication of the song's origin had Lucious' eyes widening with a grimace. "This is about when we were apart." Ahhh nahhh. He stared at Yana, silently, as her doe eyes peered back into his with adoration. "I had no idea you felt this way about me."
A part of him...the selfish part of him whispered 'Let her believe it' but, how could he? The brief time he and Yana had spent apart, he had only thought about her a few times. And the only emotion that slightly consumed his mind whenever he did, was guilt. Nothing of a stronger power. But dare he stand in her face and lie? Tell her that she had filled his mind when they were apart? When in fact the only woman he really paused and thought about was his wife? Did he tell Yana that the song he wanted her to perform...her first real song in front of a crowd that would go on her very first album and sell out stadiums was about the long, painful seventeen years he spent without Cookie Lyon?
