Amelia noticed the silhouette of a girl wearing purple outside her room. She thought it was Courtney so
she rushed to open the door for her best friend. Amelia gasped in surprise. She was bewildered to see
that it was Lily who stood there and waited for the door to be opened.
"Hi, Miss Amelia. Were you asleep?" Lily asked when she noticed that Amelia was surprised to see her.
She felt worried that she had disturbed her in some way. She was visibly embarrassed, and yet in her
heart she was really happy to see Amelia again.
"No, I wasn't. Please, come inside." Amelia stepped aside so that Lily could get inside the room. She
wondered if Lily had an urgent message for her.
Lily entered Amelia's room timidly. She turned around to Amelia and said in a soft tone of voice, "Miss
Amelia, Mr. Lucian asked me to come and check on you." Amelia suspected that Lily's visit had
something to do with Lucian, but she wasn't sure exactly what. She and Lucian hadn't cleared the air
between them after what happened, so Lily was meaning to do something about it.
She motioned Lily to sit on the sofa then she briefly went to the kitchen to get some glasses and a
pitcher of cold water. The anticipation of what Lily had to say made her heart race. Her hand trembled
as she poured water into Lily's glass. The memories that she had of her time with Lucian flooded her
mind and the rush of strong emotions almost overwhelmed her.
Lily noticed Amelia's shaking hand so she gently took the pitcher from her with a smile and said, "Oh,
Miss Amelia! Please let me pour water for the both of us." Amelia smiled back at her and nodded as
she let the pitcher go. Lily took the pitcher with a steady hand and then noticed that the wound at the
back of Amelia's hand had not healed yet. She then poured water for both of them with a smile.
Although she initially thought that it was Courtney who had visited her, Amelia was really happy to see
Lily once more. Her visit felt like the visit of a sister and she felt relieved that she came.
She suddenly felt so close and comfortable around Lily. She turned to Lily and then said just as she
was putting the pitcher down to the table, "From now on, just call me Amelia." Amelia smiled broadly at
her after speaking. The care and love in their eyes at that moment were exactly what sisters felt for
each other.
Lily understood why Amelia wanted it but she couldn't find it in herself to agree to it. "I can't agree to
your request Miss Amelia. You're the young mistress of the Zhan family. You are the one that Lucian
loves the most."
She deliberately said the last sentence slightly slower in order to emphasize it. She wanted to end the
awkwardness between Lucian and Amelia as soon as possible.
She did nothing to dissuade Lily even though she would very much prefer that Lily addressed her as
Amelia. At length, she became curious to know what message Lily might have for her. "So, Lily, to what
do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?" Lily smiled at her instead of answering her question directly.
She talked about Lucian offhandedly that Amelia wondered if Lucian sent her to talk about him.
After a few statements about Lucian, Lily smiled broadly and then stuck her tongue out mischievously.
"By the way, Miss Amelia, I remember that last time, you said that you would go out for a few days.
What happened?"
Lily's smile faded slightly and she looked a little serious when she asked the question. Amelia thought
that her previous actions might have affected Lily more than she realized.
"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to lie to you. It's just...," Amelia started to say but her voice trailed off.
"Well, I'm not mad at you for what you did. I understand completely that you did all of it for the sake of
Mr. Lucian and the company. I actually admire you, you're a great woman!" Lily replied with a sweet
smile. Lily raised one of her thumbs to express how much she agreed with what Amelia did and her
smile showed how much she admired her.
Amelia never expected that Lily fully understood why she had to divorce Lucian, not like many people
who thought she did this to avoid being implicated in the situation.
"Now, I don't mean to speak ill of Miss Shelly, but I think that she was just hoping against hope. Mr.
Lucian had never really paid her any attention at all since the beginning," Lily said in a tone of
disapproval. Her face momentarily twisted into a look of chastisement that slightly surprised Amelia.
"Did he really do all of these things that I've heard to Shelly?" Amelia asked. But this did not amuse
Amelia at all. She felt that Lucian's actions regarding the situation were a little extreme and
inappropriate.
Lily nodded with a smile. "Yes, he did! Mr. Lucian's actions clearly show what he hates and what he
loves."
Lily's confirmation left Amelia speechless. She didn't know how to react.
But as a woman, she could almost feel the pain that Shelly felt. Despite what had happened, she never
felt hatred towards Shelly. She understood her as only a woman could.
Shelly loved Lucian so much and wanted nothing else than to be married to him. But the fulfillment of
her wish was met with coldness and indifference from Lucian. She obviously never expected that kind
of treatment from him.
Thus, it was no surprise that when Amelia stayed in Jonny's villa, Shelly begged her to tell her how she
could win Lucian's affection. It was a very awkward situation that still made Amelia cringe whenever
she remembered it.
"Mrs. Amelia, what's wrong?" Lily asked when she noticed that Amelia suddenly became quiet and
stared blankly at nothing. Lily reached out to Amelia's hand and shook it a little.
Amelia came back to herself and then smiled. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine," she said as she turned to Lily
who started to look worried.
Lily looked relieved instantly. She smiled and then took the first aid kit from the side table and then said
sweetly to Amelia, "Let me clean your wound and apply medicine to it."
Amelia did not find it in her to refuse Lily's kind offer. She watched as Lily gently cleaned her wound
and apply medicine to it. "Didn't you mention before that you wanted to go back to your hometown and
have business with your boyfriend?" Amelia asked with a concerned tone as she watched Lily.
Lily frowned slightly and then sighed. But she quickly recovered and smiled back at Amelia. "His family
doesn't agree with it. He thinks my family is poor and that I am bound to be a maid," Lily replied. She
forced herself to sound cheerful as she spoke although the tone of disappointment and sadness could
be heard from her voice.
"Thus, I was really left with no other choice," Lily added. Amelia felt a little angry. But she decided to
push her anger aside and comforted her instead, "Don't be sad. You are still so young! You will
eventually find the right person for you!"
"Just like you, when you met Mr. Lucian!" Lily replied back cheerfully. Amelia felt that the story of her
and Lucian was an inspiration to Lily.
But remembering the time they met brought bittersweet memories to her. She felt a little embarrassed
so she tried to change the topic. "We haven't spoken for a few months and it feels good to talk with you
again!"
Courtney never returned that day. Amelia called her but she never answered her call. She sent a text
message as a reply to Amelia's call that said that she had to stay at her house that night. She then
reminded Amelia to go to bed early.
The next morning, Lucian came to pick her up as he promised. Lily hailed a taxi and went back to SJ
Garden. Lily approached Amelia and whispered something to her just as she was about to ride the cab.
She told her to go back soon.
"What did Lily say?" Lucian asked Amelia as Lily's cab drove away. Amelia kept quiet and went into the
passenger's side of Lucian's car instead as Lucian held the door for her. He made sure that her seat
belt was fastened before he wore his. He then glanced at her flat abdomen. The thought of Amelia
being pregnant with their child brought a smile to his face that he was unable to conceal.
Amelia blushed because of what Lily said but also because she was sitting close to Lucian once more.
Because of this, she barely moved nor turned to Lucian. Her whole body felt stiff.
"Do you disapprove of my actions?" Lucian asked. He looked straight at her pretty face and he
suddenly felt self-conscious of what he said to her.
Amelia noticed the anxiety in Lucian's face and wanted to say something. She wanted to say no but no
words came out of her mouth.
Although Lucian always listened to her, he still got angry especially when he felt annoyed about
something. She realized that even though she could ask Lucian for help, she thought it best not to say
anything that would affect his mood in any way.
Amelia immediately noticed that the door had already been repaired when they arrived at her
apartment where she was attacked. It was kicked open by her attacker who forced himself into her
apartment.
They approached the door and Lucian knocked on it. A young man opened the door and greeted them.
Amelia was immediately confused why it was not the landlady who opened the door. Lucian noticed
Amelia's confusion and said to her, "He's the grandson of the landlady."
"Grandson?" Amelia replied in amazement. She remembered Mrs. Chen mentioned that her husband
passed away a few years ago and that they never had any children. She wondered how they could
possibly have a grandson if they never had a child. Amelia asked where Mrs. Chen was. The puzzled
look on her face never went away even after Lucian's explanation.
"When Granny heard that you'd be back today, she went to the market to buy some food," he
explained. The young man looked like he was seventeen or eighteen years of age. He looked charming
whenever he grinned and his two tiger teeth showed.
'What is going on?' Amelia asked herself. She looked at Lucian as if some of the answers that she
sought was on his face.
"Come on in," the young man finally said. Lucian stared back at her with his gentle eyes but said
nothing.
Amelia walked slowly into the apartment and looked around as if it was the first time that she saw
everything. It was all the same as before. It had only been a day and two nights but the place felt
strange and alien to her. Like there was a darkness that hung over the place.
"My granny regretted what happened very much. She couldn't understand how she was able to get
herself to do what she did," the young man revealed to Amelia. The grandson introduced himself as
Mond as they walked in. He apologized to Amelia several times for what happened and in behalf of his
grandmother.
"Can you tell me everything you know about what happened?" Amelia demanded as she turned
towards Mond. Lucian stood beside her but said nothing. He wanted Mond to tell what happened.
Amelia found herself at a loss as to how to adjust to the situation. Part of it was because she didn't
know all the details of what happened and why it all happened in the first place.
"My grandfather died almost five years ago. Before his death, he accumulated a large debt from
gambling. Because of this, my grandmother used up all of their savings to help pay off some of my
grandfather's debts after he died. It was because of his uncontrollable gambling that my parents
decided to abandon my grandparents. But I can't stand not to see my grandmother anymore so I
always come to visit during my vacation."
"So what happened that night wasn't an accident? The man who attacked me colluded with the
landlady...your grandmother?" Amelia asked in disbelief. She looked stunned. Her eyes became wide
as she briefly shook her head.
What made it even harder for her to believe what she just heard was because the landlady was always
so kind to her and treated her like she was her own granddaughter. She could not believe that she
would collude with people who wanted to hurt her.
"Even though my grandma was involved, there was someone else who was pulling all the strings
behind the scene. At first, that person bribed a fruit dealer and then got my grandma to agree with the
plan with the promise of money," the young man narrated with a sad tone. Tears rolled down his cheeks
when he was about to finish speaking.
Amelia felt something grip her heart as she found her hands tightly clenched to each other. Different
strong emotions bubbled up inside her that she fought hard to conceal but was unable to.
"Amelia, I made a further investigation of the matter. I came to you because I did not want you to worry
and be sad," Lucian confessed to her. He knew that everyone felt bad about what happened. And he
knew that he had to bring Amelia back so that she could have some kind of closure. He knew that
she'd still feel involved and tied to it unless she had that closure. He also knew that it was very hard to
convince her to leave the place even if it was for her own good.
Amelia stared at the wooden floor and smiled bitterly. "What she did was not decent at all. I'm sure you
understand that, don't you?"
"Miss Amelia, please don't be angry with my grandmother. She was overwhelmed by my grandfather's
debt, especially since my parents have also abandoned her. She had no one else that could help her.
That's why she was forced to do it. And I know for a fact that she is suffering inside because of what
she did," Mond explained to Amelia. He felt like he should kneel down and plead for her forgiveness for
his grandmother.
Amelia walked to her room without saying another word to Mond. She opened her suitcase and started
to arrange her clothes inside one by one.
Lucian held Mond's shoulders tightly with his right hand to comfort him as Amelia started to fold her
clothes inside her suitcase. "This has nothing to do with you. Do not worry, I will handle it."
Folding her clothes suddenly made she realized that she didn't live here long and yet she had to pack
more than she had expected.
Lucian approached her quietly from behind. "Just put everything you need there and leave it. I will have
Frank come over and pack it up for you," he suggested in a casual tone. He reached out and gently
held her busy hands. She did not resist his advances. She could feel the love from Lucian's touch and
it made her weak. "I know how kind-hearted you are. And the true reason why you now feel
disappointed and sad was because you treated the landlady as family. It's OK, that's perfectly normal to
feel that way. Now, I want to do something that could make you feel better and put this unfortunate
event behind you for good," said Lucian.
"I'm just a little sad and disappointed regarding what happened," Amelia said as she nodded. She
started to sob as she spoke.
"While it's normal to feel sad about what happened, it wouldn't be a good idea to be too emotional right
now. You're pregnant. It's not good for you and the baby to dwell on something like this," Lucian
explained in the same gentle voice. Lucian's words soothed her and comforted her. She felt her sorrow
and worry faded away as she listened to him.
Amelia stopped crying and wiped away her tears. She then asked Lucian to just let it go.
She knew Lucian well and she knew that he would not stop investigating the matter and would even
take it to court.
"I already paid for the debt that she owed, but she has to apologize to you. Her actions made it
possible for you to get hurt in this incident," he said to her as he rubbed her shoulders to make her feel
comfortable. Amelia noticed that Lucian still looked depressed and angry about the incident.
"I wonder where they took that wretched man?" she asked. The memory of the bearded man made
Amelia shiver and made her heart beat faster.
"When I see him again, I will eat him alive!" Lucian said angrily slamming his fist against his open palm.
Amelia thought that he looked childish and it made her want to laugh but she decided to hold her
laughter back and smiled instead. She agreed that her attacker needed to be taught a lesson.
"Don't worry, I have people who would make sure that he rots in jail. And there are people in jail who
are waiting to teach him a lesson or two," Lucian declared coldly.
Lucian's sudden seriousness chased Amelia's smile away.
"What about the man behind the curtain?" Amelia wondered who could be so cruel and wicked to frame
her using such a despicable method.
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