‘What an exaggeration!’ Amelia thought to herself. Amelia was so embarrassed that she just wanted to
dig a hole and bury herself in it. In an attempt to conceal her embarrassment, she put food into
Courtney's bowl and urged her to eat quickly.
"You're right," Lucian agreed with Courtney, smiling.
This wasn't to say that Amelia refused to accept the compliments. She just couldn't handle it in front of
Lucian. She always blushed which was embarrassing. On the inside though, her heart was jumping in
joy.
"By the way, Lucian, I have a question for you and it's pretty straightforward." Courtney suddenly
became serious, raising her red wine glass.
Amelia couldn't help but feel scared at what Courtney was going to say.
"Go ahead. I'll tell you what I know." Lucian also raised his glass.
"Good. Cheers!" Courtney drank all the wine in her glass in one gulp. Then she flashed Amelia a
mysterious smile before saying, "I heard from Amelia that you two... That you two don't have a close
relationship yet."
Courtney thought that she'd get some courage if she downed all her wine but it didn't work as well as
she thought it would.
Amelia immediately knew what Courtney meant. Her face flushing, she hurriedly chimed in, "What are
you talking about? I bet it's just the wine talking."
Courtney wasn't as hesitant now. She stared at Amelia and added, "You really are an idiot. If I don't
step in to help you, you wouldn't do anything!"
Amelia was so embarrassed as she secretly shot Lucian a glance. She saw that he was smiling and
seemed to be very pleased.
Since they were sitting next to each other, it was hard to make out the look on his face besides his
smile.
"I made an effort to cook all these dishes and yet you aren't even eating! You're just talking!" She felt a
little flustered. She put more food into Lucian's bowl in an attempt to steer away the conversation to
something else.
"Lucian, I know it's none of my business and I shouldn't be interfering but Amelia was with that jerk for
five years. She hasn't been intimate with anyone except for holding hands." Courtney continued to sell
Amelia as if she was a product to be sold at the market!
Amelia was completely embarrassed. She put down her chopsticks and sighed.
Just last night, she and Lucian... Even just the mere thought of it turned Amelia's cheeks into a deep
pink hue.
"I know." He smiled broadly.
"You know?" Courtney was surprised. She pointed at Amelia whose face was red and asked, "You've
already..."
"Yes." Lucian nodded honestly. Embarrassed, Amelia couldn't even raise her head.
She tried her best to change the topic and the last thing she expected was Lucian openly welcoming
the topic by discussing it with Courtney in such ease.
"Okay, okay. I don't have to worry now! Cheers!" With a sudden burst of happiness, Courtney raised
her wine glass and drank it all up gallantly.
Upon noticing that Amelia had lowered her head probably out of embarrassment, Lucian put his hand
on her knees and squeezed it.
Amelia looked up and flashed him a smile, still blushing.
After lunch, Amelia accompanied Courtney for a walk around the SJ Garden. A little before dinner,
Courtney had to leave as she too had some guests in her house. When she left, the SJ Garden grew
quiet once again.
Amelia thought the first day of the New Year would be quiet. However, after dinner, Lucian drove her to
the central square where children, lovers, and families were strolling around. Seeing this lovely
scenery, Amelia hugged Lucian tighter. She couldn't help but be grateful for him at that moment.
"In the past, I would stay at home or go abroad during the Spring Festival. But this year is different."
Lucian looked up at the electronic screen hoisted up at the building as he spoke.
"Because I'm here?" Amelia answered with confidence. Her body was nestled against Lucian's rather
snugly.
"You can say that." Lucian looked at Amelia meaningfully. Under the shadow of the light, his eyes
looked deep.
Amelia was so happy that she put her arms around Lucian's waist and rested her head on his chest,
happiness filling her heart.
Lucian hugged her back and kissed her gently at the top of her head. The tenderness of his lips was all
she felt.
Around one in the morning, the number of the people in the square gradually dissipated. The bright
lights and the music remained as the young ones continued to dance. Amelia and Lucian were
absorbed in their own world—hugging and kissing as if there was no one around. Right at the middle of
the square was a fountain lit up with colorful neon lights. Admiring it, Amelia said, "Looks like I won't be
lonely in the city anymore even at night."
"Mrs. Amelia, we're not going home tonight," Lucian suddenly said once they got on the car. This left
Amelia confused as she thought they were heading home already.
"Where are we going?" she asked in curiosity.
Wanting to surprise her, Lucian merely flashed her a mysterious smile as he playfully said, "Don't worry.
I won't do anything bad. I'm not going to sell you or anything."
"It doesn't matter. I don't mind either way," Amelia teased back, a naughty smile playing on her lips.
Lucian smiled in response.
The car stopped in front of a luxurious villa. Amelia savored the feeling of walking on the soft grass as
she looked up at the splendid buildings towering over them.
Upon entering the room, Amelia was immediately shocked by what she saw.
There was a glass of champagne and bouquet of roses on the table. On the floor were rose petals
formed into the shape of a heart. Inside it was her name and the words "I love you."
Amelia never would have dreamed for something like this to happen to her. She thought these types of
things only happened on TV shows. She was still in disbelief—everything was so dreamlike. Even
Lucian was more handsome than the actors on TV shows.
Amelia was left speechless—she was so overwhelmed with joy, her heart was overflowing. She
couldn't stop smiling.
Lucian felt that he owed Amelia a wedding ceremony so he asked help from Eric to arrange all of
these. They had rushed into getting married despite not having any foundation at all. He knew he'd only
forced Amelia into this marriage and he was aware how wrong that was so now, he was going to do
whatever he could to make it up to her.
The room was decorated elegantly which paired nicely with the aroma of the roses that filled the room.
There were photos of Amelia cooking hanging on the wall. Amelia couldn't help but be moved.
She hadn't known that Lucian had been taking photos of her in secret all this time.
He never failed to surprise her.
"Lucian, you're so sneaky!" She couldn't help but recall the first time they met where Lucian threatened
her with her photos. Here he was again taking photos of her but in a different way this time.
Lucian smiled and said, "Well, I can't ignore beautiful things."
Amelia couldn't help but think how Lucian wasn't holding back anymore.
Despite his boldness, he still looked more handsome than ever.
"By the way, when will you give those pictures back to me, Lucian?" she asked, seizing the opportunity
while he was still in a good mood.
Lucian had wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He leaned his head against hers and
flashed her an evil grin. "Depends on your performance tonight."
Amelia immediately blushed upon hearing this. She felt as if her ears were burning. "Lucian, you're so
flirty!"
Lucian tightened his grip on her and slowly moved his lips towards her ear, letting her feel his warm
breath. In a low voice, he spoke, "I'm afraid my wife won't like it if I'm too serious with her."
How could he say such sweet words so easily?
"Mr. Lucian, you're such an expert at sweeping girls off their feet. You must have a lot of experience,"
Amelia teased back in a seductive tone.
"Well, women would kill to be in your spot right now but you know, you're all I see." With that, Lucian
softly bit Amelia's ear.
Amelia's heart was fluttering despite still being a little angry at his teasing.
"Forget it. It doesn't matter if you don't return them to me. Most people in the city know that I'm your
wife. I'm not the one who's going to be embarrassed if anyone sees those photos." She was trying her
best to coax him into giving her the photos.
Unexpectedly, Lucian shamelessly said, "Don't worry. I'll collect all of them and enjoy them myself."
Amelia gritted her teeth as she stomped on Lucian's foot.
Lucian wasn't able to dodge so he grimaced in pain.
Amelia then grabbed the chance to escape from Lucian's grip. She moved to the side and gloated as
she watched Lucian wince in pain.
Upon seeing her gloat, Lucian seemed to have come up with an idea. Frowning, he pretended to cry.
"You can just tell me you know. You don't need to be so violent. My feet are probably so swollen now."
Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would have to act like a weak, little girl for whatever
reason.
Upon seeing Lucian so upset, Amelia anxiously rushed towards him. She got on her knees and said in
guilt, "Sorry, I... I didn't mean to..."
Lucian felt warm in his heart when he saw how concerned Amelia was. He continued, "It doesn't
matter. It doesn't hurt anyway." With that, he bit his lower lip as if he was trying to look like he was
tolerating the pain.
"How can you say it doesn't hurt? Take off your shoes. I'll go and see if there are any medicines you
can take." Amelia then tried to help Lucian take off his shoes. She still looked anxious as she did.
Not wanting her to cry, Lucian flashed her a grin. "Don't worry. I was just bluffing you."
He stood up, jumped a few times in front of Amelia to prove that his feet were fine.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda