The car left the rich and noble villa district and drove off to Amelia's rented apartment.
Amelia didn't really plan on going back to that place at all. Staying in that apartment, she would think of
Jasper, which made her feel really sad. But she had no other choice. There was nowhere else for her
to go.
Upon pulling up in front of the apartment complex, Amelia acted completely snobbish towards Lucian.
"Mr. Lucian, my home is just in front of you. You can drop me off here," she said.
'We're only a couple by virtue of a contract. There's no need for him to actually pretend to be my
husband and escort me all the way inside, ' she thought.
Lucian looked around and saw that there were no residential buildings around. "Our agreement says
that I am your husband," he said to Amelia with a thoughtful smile on his face. "Perhaps, I should walk
you to the door," he continued.
Amelia shook her head. "It's true that we made an agreement, but we really don't have to keep up with
this husband and wife facade in private. Mr. Lucian, could you please give me some personal space?"
Amelia spoke out.
Lucian glanced at Amelia and said, "You just broke up with your boyfriend. In case things get too hard,
where should I find you then?"
Even though the way Lucian said this was calm and innocent, Amelia felt the words stab her deeply.
Arguing with Lucian made Amelia temporarily forget about her wounded heart. It was inevitable for her
to feel uncomfortable. She suddenly raised her head and wanted to speak out, but instead her words
were unable to come out of her mouth.
"What's wrong with you?" Lucian asked. He noticed that Amelia was looking out of the window with a
blank gaze. Out of curiosity, he also looked at the direction at which Amelia was looking. Lucian found
that Amelia was staring at a man and a woman hugging each other passionately.
"What a small world!" Amelia almost squeezed those words out of her teeth.
All of a sudden, Lucian felt that he figured out something about Amelia. He started the car, held the
steering wheel, and made a turn.
"What are you doing?" Amelia asked, feeling anxious.
"Haven't you heard the saying 'out of sight, out of mind'?" Lucian asked in a cold tone. "You are now my
wife. So, the SJ Garden is your home now," he said to Amelia.
For a while, Amelia was stunned. But when she stared at Lucian more, she felt warm in her heart.
For the past five years, Amelia had no place to go except the apartment. While the Mo family
accommodated her, Yolanda's mother only saw her as a sand that couldn't be squeezed out. Yolanda
bullied Amelia frequently, and that made Amelia wish she could just simply disappear. Later, she met
Jasper and he rented that apartment for her. Because of that, she naively thought the relationship
between them would strengthen and last. However, her love ended in a tragedy.
Remembering all of these made Lucian's words felt warm to Amelia.
"Amelia, I don't care who you love, but you have to listen to me!" Lucian said indifferently. Amelia just
stared at Lucian without a single word from her, making Lucian frown and sigh deeply.
Then, she bit her lower lip and nodded at Lucian. "Can I stay in your home for a couple of days?" she
asked, almost in a whisper.
Now that she and Jasper were no longer lovers, Amelia found no reason for her to stay at their house.
Besides, being there only made her lonely.
"It's your home. You can live there as long as you like," Lucian said. His face projected a gentle smile,
which showed his elegant and enchanted nature. Seeing this, Amelia couldn't stop but feel addicted to
his charm.
While she recognized that Lucian wasn't like Jasper, and even though he looked cold and his tone
didn't sound friendly, Amelia felt secure with Lucian's presence.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Lucian abruptly asked. Then he turned his face to the other side.
With a teasing smile on his face, he asked Amelia, "Do you think that I'm so attractive that you couldn't
help but fall in love with me?"
"Of course not!" Amelia denied quickly. While her face blushed red, the tone of her voice was filled with
dissatisfaction. "The fact that you are good-looking could never change my perception of your bad
character!" she said.
"Bad character?" Lucian argued. Lucian raised his eyebrows and looked at Amelia with disbelief. As
soon as he got what she meant, his smile widened. He deliberately made fun of her and said,
"Although you are a little thin, you look extraordinarily charming when you're drunk. When you stay in
the SJ Garden, you will definitely be more feminine!"
"Lucian! Have you no shame!" Amelia exclaimed. She frowned and then looked at Lucian warily. She
was obviously filled with anger.
With a warm smile on his face, Lucian suddenly became serious. "You're the first woman I took home
with me, and you're also the one I'm going to marry. Even though the bond between us is only under a
deal, this is definitely not a joke to me. In the future, I'll take care of you. I will give you some space if
you need. But still, think about it," Lucian sincerely said.
After Lucian finished speaking, Amelia was left speechless for about five minutes. She digested what
Lucian had just said as they arrived at the door of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
"What are we doing here?" Amelia said, pointing at the door of the Civil Affairs Bureau. She was
extremely confused and wondered what on earth Lucian wanted to do.
"Please, calm down," Lucian softly said. Lucian held Amelia's fingers, then took her hand before
heading into the Civil Affairs Bureau. He calmly told Amelia, "I've asked my assistant to take the
household register from Mo mansion." He stared into Amelia's eyes and then said, "We'll get married in
five minutes!"
"What did you just say?!" Amelia exclaimed. She stared at Lucian as she covered her mouth with one
hand. Her eye opened wide in surprise. Amelia was about to have a nervous breakdown.
"Even though this is just an act, we might as well make it believable," Lucian calmly said.
"You bastard! You are taking advantage of me! Do you think that those photos can control my freedom
in life?" Amelia said. "Well, I can do whatever..."
"Sir, this is the household register you've asked me to get from the Mo mansion," a man in a formal suit
said as he walked towards Amelia and Lucian. The man gave a salute to Lucian before handing over
the residence booklet to him. Amelia's anger hadn't dissipated yet.
She was completely baffled. She didn't think that Lucian could easily get the household register.
In the Mo family, even though Vernon loved Amelia very much, he had to conceal his love for her
because of her stepmother, Sophia. He just let Sophia and Yolanda bully her as they pleased.
"Eric, you did a good job this time!" Lucian said to his assistant. Then Lucian grinned from ear to ear
before glancing at Amelia, who was still in a stupor. "I thought Mr. Vernon would be so angry that I
marry his daughter. I didn't expect that he would let this happen so quickly," he said.
Amelia's face was pale and her eyes were turning red with anger. Her fists were clenched.
"Mr. Lucian, you are so generous. There is no reason for anyone to refuse a ten million check," Eric
Chen said. He then smiled at Amelia and introduced himself, "Mrs. Amelia, my name is Eric Chen. I'm
the assistant of Mr. Lucian. Nice to meet you."
'Ten million? I can't believe that he would use money to force my father to agree!' Amelia thought to
herself.
'Since he's so rich, why couldn't he just pick someone to marry from the streets?'
"Lucian, are you crazy?" she angrily said to Lucian. She couldn't understand why a handsome man like
Lucian would become crazy just to get married.
Lucian looked at Amelia's face and slowly said, "Since your father has agreed to our marriage, thanks
to my generous gift, you don't have to make a fuss about it. I'm not a patient man."
In disbelief, all Amelia could do was let out a sarcastic laugh. "I really hate arrogant, rich men. Do you
really think that I will follow your orders?" Amelia said. After her birth mother died, Amelia only hoped
for a family that loved each other. Her father, who was the only one related to her, didn't even pay much
attention to her marriage. Because of this, she felt really disappointed.
Suddenly, Eric Chen was whispering something to Lucian.
"Amelia, I know you're feeling hopeless now. But I'm telling you something. Your ex-boyfriend, Jasper,
is going to take the money. When your father hesitated, he took the check and happily said that he
would use the money to hold a grand wedding ceremony with Yolanda!" Lucian said to Amelia.
"Jasper would take the money?" Amelia painfully asked. Her heart hurt so much that it felt like she was
shot by a gun. Amelia couldn't even cry because of the pain she was feeling inside of her.
'Jasper again! He destroyed me and even attempted to trade my happiness for his own wedding, '
Amelia thought to herself.
Amelia shook her head in pain and said nothing.
"Don't you feel reconciled?" Lucian asked. His hands were on Amelia's shoulders.
She did feel reconciled.
She could feel her anger welling up in her chest. She comforted herself with the idea that Vernon hadn't
agreed to be bribed, which meant that somehow his daughter was still important to him.
"I promise I'll marry you, but please take back the ten million." Amelia didn't seem as angry anymore.
She gazed back at Lucian.
Lucian's heart beat quickened when he heard her make the promise. However, the feeling was gone as
soon as it came.
He had to tell himself that this was just a deal and that he couldn't fall in love with her.
When they got out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Amelia seemed to be out of spirits.
"I'll keep the marriage certificate. You might lose it if you do. You're too absent-minded." After he put
away the marriage certificate, he asked, "Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?"
She was hungry, but she wasn't really in the mood to eat. So she just ignored him.
"Amelia, you're my wife now even in the eyes of the law. It's my responsibility to take care of you, so
please answer me." He sounded a little angry.
Hearing this, Amelia looked up and answered, "I'm not really in the mood to eat right now. I'd like
something to drink though."
Lucian was so taken aback that he remained silent. Meanwhile, Amelia thought Lucian would get mad
at her, so she was surprised when he said, "All right. We can celebrate our marriage while we're at it.
Let's go!"
"I don't like western food!" Amelia said as she looked out of the car. He had pulled over in front of a
western restaurant.
"It's a combination of Chinese food and Western food. I'm sure you'll love it," Lucian said patiently.
Amelia murmured something to herself in doubt, wondering why on earth Lucian had asked her to
marry him.
"Mr. Lucian, welcome!" A waiter came up to them as soon as they entered the restaurant. With much
enthusiasm, he said, "Your table's ready, sir. This way, please."
The room was luxuriously decorated. Amelia couldn't help but look around in admiration. While she
was distracted, Lucian suddenly took her hand and said with a smile, "You said you wanted a drink,
right? You can drink as much as you want today. Even if you get drunk, you don't have to worry. I'll take
care of you."
Amelia was planning on having a drink or two. But upon hearing what Lucian had said, she suddenly
hesitated.
Who knew what he would do to her if she ended up drunk?
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