Divination (Joker x Batman x OC)

Chapter 174

"I take it Bruce won't be joining us?" Lucius said when Adriana arrived at the restaurant alone. He was looking at her hair and noticing the dramatic difference in her appearance.

They had reserved a private dining area, separated by a bamboo partition from the rest of the dining room. Here they could speak freely.

"He didn't want to come," Adriana said and gave a forced smile.

"I must confess, I am not surprised," Lucius said and walked over to pull out Adriana's seat.

She thanked him then sat down and immediately picked up the wine menu. 

"I'm sorry," Adriana said to Lucius and sat the wine menu down.

He looked at her waiting for her to explain, while he took his seat.

"I've..ruined your friendship with Bruce," Adriana said. "I know he's avoiding you at work. I've basically made your whole work life uncomfortable and...this is all my fault for involving you in this."

"Bruce would have asked me to handle the relocation, regardless," Lucius explained logically.

"But the only reason you're not telling him where he is..is because of me," Adriana said. "Because I've been so involved..because I introduced you to him.."

Lucius couldn't disagree.

"Be that as it may," Lucius said. "It is the right thing to do."

"You really think so?" Adriana asked. "Bruce..he's so angry with you. I'm worried he might fire you or something."

The server came in and smiled at them both before introducing himself. Both Adriana and Lucius ordered wine. When the wine was delivered, Lucius requested they be left undisturbed. The server agreed and before he could leave, Adriana asked the server to leave the wine bottle.

"It's the right thing to do," Lucius said once they were alone again. "The man's sentence, after his trial, was Arkham. The jury...the citizens could see..he needed help. Intensive therapy. He wasn't sentenced to death...which is what Bruce has in mind for him. I believe that what we did for him was exactly what needed to be done to rehabilitate him. To change his life for the better."

Adriana nodded and finished her first glass of wine quickly. Lucius didn't understand why she was so stressed.

"He knows, Lucius," Adriana said.

Lucius was quiet for a moment.

"Knows what?"  he asked.

Adriana couldn't even bring herself to say it.

"Are you sure?" Lucius asked.

"Well.." Adriana started to pour another glass. "He asked me if I was raped and told me that he knows how Arsenio came to be, and it sounded like he wants me to get therapy...so yes I'm pretty sure."

Lucius watched her continue to drink.

"He wont tell me who told him or how he found out," Adriana said. "What do I do now?"

"You relax," Lucius said and reached for her hand. "We did not exactly go into this with a master plan. The only objective is to get him out of the country safely, which I can do in less than a week. Bruce has been watching me very closely, he doesn't know I know that, so I've had to be careful."

"And that's it?" Adriana said, sounding frustrated. "Relocate him, then everything will be fine?"

"Well, I wasn't saying that-" Lucius started to speak.

"I never wanted him to know," Adriana said. "Now..everything is different. Our marriage...he's treating me differently. What if this is how things will be from now on?"