"I'm fine," Amelia quietly responded as she withdrew her hands.
While her eyes were dry, her voice indicated that she was on the verge of tears. Notwithstanding what
she was feeling, she decided to force a smile in order not to make Lucian feel guilty. "If that will make
you feel better," she started, evidently avoiding Lucian's gaze, "I guess I have nothing else to say."
Lucian felt a painful pang in his chest. What Amelia said and what happened during the press
conference were things that he never anticipated would happen.
He admitted that while he had been curious about the nature of Amelia and Jonny's relationship, he
had never doubted her love for him.
'But now... what is happening? What is going wrong?' he asked inwardly, confused and frustrated.
"Amelia..." he finally said. His voice was quiet and his tone was grave. "Tell me the truth. What are we?
Were you just... playing with my feelings?" An expression of hurt, exasperation, and disbelief contorted
Lucian's beautiful face. No matter how much he tried to stay strong and composed, his emotions were
overwhelming every bit of his spirit.
Upon hearing Lucian's question, Amelia's head shot up. Her eyes met his, and she immediately saw
how cold his gaze was. However, behind his menacing glare, she noticed that his eyes were bloodshot,
and that he had unkempt stubble on his chin. She also realized how thinner and more stressed out he
looked as compared to the last time she saw him.
Because of that, Amelia couldn't help but tear up.
"Lucian! Don't talk to Amelia in such a rude tone!" Jonny warned, moving in front of Amelia as if to
protect her.
With Jonny's sudden intervention, Lucian became fired up with rage. He turned his gaze to Jonny and
asked, in a tone so cold one would shake, "Why are you so hell-bent on taking everything I have?"
Jonny straightened his stance in defiance of the visibly angry Lucian. "Just accept the reality, buddy,"
he said with a dismissive tone. He then wrapped his arm around Amelia and whisked her away from
Lucian.
Claps from someone watching the events unfold trickled slowly. Shelly quickly came over with her head
high and a smug expression on her face. Because of her extremely lavish ball gown, she looked like a
victorious princess. With a malicious smirk on her lips she said, "Oh wow, what an incredibly realistic
rendering of a disaster that is about to happen!" Her voice echoed throughout the whole hall, loud and
clear.
"At this point, you even intend to become my sister-in-law?! Stop being such a pathetic bitch!" she
added.
Amelia knew that the more she tried to explain her side to Lucian, the more complicated things would
be. 'I am not willing to risk that, ' she thought, feeling powerless. 'I'd rather him hate me to the core
forever than cause any more damage. And besides... he will be marrying Shelly.'
"Lucian," Shelly continued, her tone still pointed. "Don't be sad. A woman like her who only cares about
fame and fortune will receive what she deserves one day!" She then turned to Lucian, a sweet smile
lighting up her face. It was her way of comforting him.
"You better shut your nasty mouth, Shelly!" Jonny shouted, anger evident in his voice. Upon hearing
Jonny's voice, the previously arrogant woman suddenly became meek and agreeable. She gently
wrapped her arm around Lucian's, as if looking for protection and comfort.
"Dear brother, please do not think that you can do anything you want just because you won't inherit
An's property. That woman will never marry into An family!" she said, a gloating smile on her face.
"Amelia and I have a place to live, Shelly. You don't have to worry about that," Jonny responded in a
cold tone.
"Planning to live together, huh? Isn't it too soon for that?" As she said that, Shelly looked at Amelia
from her head to her toes with much contempt. With obvious disgust in her voice, she said, "You know
what, dear brother? Never mind that. I have an advice for you: hold a wedding as soon as possible. I
am sure that if that girl gets pregnant before your marriage, she will claim that Lucian is the father of
the baby she's carrying. I do not want that to happen."
Amelia wasn't able to hold her anger in. On the top of her lungs, she screamed, "You!" As much as she
wanted to say and do worse things to Shelly at that moment, seeing the expression on Lucian's eyes
stopped her.
He had already misunderstood her. There was no point in fighting Shelly, or in trying to prove that she
was right in front of him.
Amelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few seconds, she opened them and said in a
very calm tone, "Thank you for your concern, Miss Shelly. Jonny and I will consider your advice." With
that, she turned around and left. She didn't know what Lucian was going to think about her after
everything that had happened, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to get out of that place.
The whole thing had become a nightmare to her, and the last thing she wanted to consider was
Lucian's feelings.
If she had to be ruthless, she would be this time. 'For my own good this time around, ' she thought.
Lucian could only stare at the receding figures of Amelia and Jonny. "Lucian, don't be sad," Shelly
suddenly whispered. "I'm here with you." There was a smug smile on her face. Soon enough, she was
leaning on him in an attempt to flirt. In her sweetest voice possible, she said, "It's a good thing we
wouldn't be able to see them every day."
Lucian, however, was not in the mood for Shelly's games. Quickly, he removed her from his body and
told her coldly, "When you get home, tell your father that I am accepting your family's help."
This took Shelly by surprise. She never thought that Lucian would agree to her father's terms, but here
he was, telling her to tell her father he would push through with the deal.
"Lucian, is that true?" she earnestly asked, as she once again seized Lucian's arm to shake it gently.
"Yes," Lucian answered flatly. Despite his answer, there was sadness in his eyes that Shelly had never
seen before.
That night, Amelia learned from the news that Lucian was going to marry the daughter of the An family.
Her shoulders slumped, her eyes moistened, and she felt both anger and sadness well up inside her.
Not wanting to keep it in, she channeled all her negative emotions on the remote control on her hand—
she threw it on the ground and stepped on it. When that didn't help, she resigned to the fact that all she
could do was cry. Just as she was about to do that, her phone rang.
It was Courtney. Amelia guessed that she must have seen the news.
As expected, the moment she picked up the phone, Courtney laid it all on her with no repercussions.
"Hey, Amelia!" she shouted on the other end of the line, shock in her voice. "Is Lucian really getting
married to the daughter of the An family?"
Amelia had to quickly compose herself in order not to alarm her friend. Biting her lips, she responded,
"Yes." The heartbreak was making her chest painful. 'Isn't this what you want? This is what you want!'
she thought, trying to calm herself down.
"Okay, I'm not going to ask you how you are," Courtney said on the end of the line. "But... do you want
to go out for a drink? If you want to. I will accompany you! Damn it, my treat!" Despite Courtney's
efforts to sound enthusiastic as if nothing was wrong, she wasn't able to hide the concern in her voice.
Amelia looked out the window beside her. Everything was dark, except for the distant streetlights that
were twinkling like stars. Cars were passing by occasionally, but aside from that, the night was
peaceful. According to Jonny, he had bought the villa two years ago but no one had lived in it since
then. He told her that he wanted her to move in to clean it up for him and to bring life to it.
"What are you saying?" Amelia responded, forcing an annoyed tone. "I'm not upset at all. Why would I
drink?" Looking at the lights seemed to have calmed her down.
"Well, if you say so," Courtney said cautiously. "But if anything happens, just call me, okay?" "Yeah,
yeah," Amelia answered. Courtney then hung up the phone.
Silence. While she stood in front of the windowsill as she looked at all the lights in the city far away, she
felt alone. When she saw the news a while ago, a huge wave of sadness hit her hard and it had not left.
She didn't dare think about Lucian because she knew that it would send her on a downward spiral.
Because of that, in her mind, she kept him at bay so that she wouldn't have to face the reality that the
man who owned her heart would be marrying someone else.
Within a week, the Zhan Group once again became profitable. Lucian began to appear in various
business activities, and every time he did, only one person was next to him: Shelly. They were playing
their part as a newly engaged couple and they looked happy to be with each other.
Amelia stood in front of the television and saw them smile at each other from time to time. They
seemed to have a tacit agreement.
An interviewer had asked Lucian about the date of his wedding with Shelly. He answered that it would
be held that weekend. As a follow-up, the interviewer asked which celebrities were invited, but Lucian
said that he wanted the ceremony to be simple, and that only the immediate families from both sides
were coming.
The questions kept pouring in—majority were nice, but some wanted to attract controversy. That was
when a question about Amelia came up.
"Mr. Lucian, your ex-wife Miss Mo is now a member of the An family. Will you invite her to your
wedding?"
Caught off-guard by the question, Lucian's expression suddenly changed. Soon, however, he was able
to gain his composure back. He smiled cautiously and said, "Of course!"
The interview continued and it became obvious that Lucian had a disdain for questions that involved
her. The reporters quickly caught wind of it and used it to their advantage.
The more questions he answered about her, the nastier he got. Soon, Lucian's voice was ringing in her
ears. 'Is it because I am sensitive when it comes to him since I know everything about him?' she
thought, eyebrows furrowed.
When lunchtime came, Jonny came over and brought many delicious dishes for her.
Although she was in a bad mood, she didn't have the heart to turn Jonny down. Recently, she had
been having a big appetite and she was ready to eat everything that was served to her.
"I'm a jobless but I'm still able to eat these kinds of food. I'm going to be a fatty soon if you don't stop
doing this," Amelia told Jonny in a joking manner as they ate together.
"And so what? I think you look more beautiful with a little bit of weight on you," Jonny sweetly
responded. Hearing such considerate answer made Amelia blush. She also felt that that gave her
permission to eat more.
Though embarrassed, she began to open the box containing a lobster. However, as soon as the aroma
of the cooked seafood hit her nostrils, she began to feel dizzy and nauseous. Soon enough, she rushed
to the bathroom in order to vomit.
Concerned, Jonny quickly followed Amelia into the bathroom to check on what was going on. Amelia
was retching violently over the sink, and all he could do was to massage her back in hopes of helping
her.
After a few minutes of vomiting, Amelia finally stopped. Despite feeling incredibly embarrassed, she
turned to Jonny with a smile on her face and said, "I guess I just ate too much."
Jonny, on the other hand, didn't say a word. Instead, he quietly helped her back to the living room and
poured a glass of water for her. When he was sure that she was okay, he gave her the news.
"Amelia, Lucian and Shelly will have a banquet in the hotel tomorrow and she invited us two. Do you...
want to attend that?" He knew that Lucian and Shelly were a sensitive topic for her, and so he
approached it with much caution.
Unfortunately, Amelia could never be ready for such a question. Her hand began trembling and she
blinked more times than usual because of uneasiness. With a helpless look on her face, she asked
Jonny, "I'm sorry, but do you think it would be a good idea if I attend that?"
That moment, Jonny understood that her answer was no.
He didn't see any issues with it, but Amelia was not him. She still had feelings for Lucian.
"Well, listen to your heart," Jonny responded. He had no plans on forcing anything on her.
After a few minutes of silence, Amelia finally spoke, "Sure. Let's go."
She and Jonny had to maintain their relationship for a certain period of time, at the very least.
Otherwise, if anything wrong happened between them, Lucian and Shelly would be suspicious. Despite
all her efforts of controlling herself and her emotions, everything seemed to be going out of control no
matter what.
"Amelia," Jonny started, concern on his face. "You know that you don't have to care for anyone's
feelings except your own, right?" He knew that things had been hard for her, and he wanted to help her.
Amelia smiled. "I know that. This is me caring about what I feel. I want to wish them well."
Compared with what Jasper did to her, this time, she felt no regrets, no unwillingness or anger. Instead,
she felt sorry for Lucian. After she said so many things that disappointed him, she knew he hated her.
Because only two families were invited to attend the Lucian and Shelly's banquet, Amelia dressed very
casually. She wore a thin coat, a pair of jeans, and the white sneakers that she usually wore. Her hair
was simply tied up in a tight bun on top of her head. Despite not dressing up, she looked beautiful and
pure.
What was more was that despite not putting on any kind of make-up, she looked as good as those
women who had their whole face done. Her skin was as delicate as a baby's, and her big eyes were as
alive and expressive as the flowers blooming in the spring.
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