Since She Met Lucian

Chapter 26 An Unexpected Kiss

As Lucian's eyes dimmed in indifference, he said coldly, "What would you do if I left?"

If he had said that in a different way, it would be touching instead it sounded more like he was growing impatient.

Lucian was acting so strangely. Didn't the woman say that she was going to see Lucian that night? It was only natural for Amelia to assume that he wasn't coming home with her.

"I'm going straight home after work. I can take a taxi. Don't you have a date tonight? Won't she get mad if you're late?" Amelia said sarcastically, averting her gaze.

"Do I sense some jealousy?" Lucian said coolly.

Amelia could tell that he was just being sarcastic.

"So childish!" With that, she picked up her bag and turned to leave.

Lucian sat on the sofa and smiled happily to himself.

In the elevator, Amelia stared blankly into nowhere, her back sweating profusely.

The silence in the elevator induced Amelia to think about the kiss again. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't realized that Lucian was already standing behind her.

The last time Lucian kissed her was in front of Fannie and Nicholas. At that time, she wasn't very pleased with him. While he was handsome, she found that kiss to be completely unnecessary. However, today, she felt different. Her heart was beating faster and she felt restless. It was as if she couldn't hold herself together in front of him.

"Here we are," Lucian said plainly.

Amelia was trembling, still feeling a bit embarrassed.

She couldn't sit still because she couldn't shake off the feeling that the entire city was making fun of her.

The moment they walked out of the building, Amelia noticed a woman in red waving excitedly at Lucian, grinning from ear to ear.

Amelia attempted to put some distance between her and Lucian to avoid the awkwardness, not wanting to cause any trouble.

Most people were getting off work around this time. While Amelia stood in front of the building idly, people stared at her just like they did that morning. However, this time, she wasn't getting off a luxurious car which caused her some anxiety. She wondered what other people say about her.

"Lucian, I've been waiting for you for half an hour." The moment Lucian approached the woman, the woman warmly embraced him and passionately kissed him. What a sweet scene.

Amelia pursed her lips and looked away. 'Lucian may be handsome but he could never make up his mind. I sure don't want to date someone like that,' she thought to herself.

"What? Why is Sasha kissing Mr. Lucian in front of Mrs. Amelia? How dare she?" a woman commented as she passed by Amelia.

"Keep your voice down. Mr. Lucian might hear you and he could fire you," her colleague responded, tugging at her sleeve. Then she whispered, "Sasha comes from a very wealthy family too. She's known Mr. Lucian since forever. If it weren't for his mother, they probably would've gotten married already!"

The female employee deliberately said mysteriously, but her words were clearly heard by Amelia.

Her heart skipped a beat and she was inexplicably sad.

She suddenly felt all her justifications and excuses collapse.

Even though they were just acting, she still cared, didn't she?

No wonder Lucian didn't come back last night. They were getting along. Could Lucian be ending their deal already?

She had been looking forward to this moment for a long time already but now that it was here, she really didn't know what to do.

"What are you thinking about?" Noticing that Amelia hadn't followed him, Lucian walked over to her and grabbed her by the arm. He led her toward Sasha and introduced them, "Sasha, this is my assistant, Amelia."

"Hello." Sasha greeted Amelia with a big smile on her face. Amelia couldn't help but think, 'Is she a model? She's sexy and she has that gorgeous smile. She looks like a queen!'

It was no wonder that Lucian liked her. Who wouldn't be charmed by such a beautiful lady like Sasha?

"Hello," Amelia said in a low voice as she reached out her hand timidly. On the inside, she was already panicking.

"Lucian, your assistant is very beautiful," Sasha commented, still smiling.

It seemed that Sasha didn't know about her deal with Lucian. If she knew, she probably wouldn't be as kind to her.

"Thank you." Amelia was a little embarrassed. Since Lucian introduced her as his assistant, this meant that she had no reason to stay there and be the third wheel. Lucian obviously wasn't going to tell Sasha that he was married. She took advantage of the brief pause and said, "Mr. Lucian, Ms. Sasha, I need to leave. Enjoy yourselves tonight."

She smiled very sincerely. Before Lucian could speak, she had already turned to leave.

When she'd crossed the street, she heaved a sigh of relief followed immediately by a wave of sadness.

She sat on the platform, feeling distressed.

It turned out that Lucian was already in love with someone else. No wonder he was so anxious about their deal. He only wanted to get his mother to shut up so he could wait for his true love to return home. It seems that his fake marriage to Amelia was his way of buying time before Sasha came home.

She couldn't help but feel used by Lucian. However, when she recalled her original intention in agreeing to this deal, she realized that she too had used Lucian in her own way.

If she truly helped in getting Sasha and Lucian back together then she wanted the credit for it.

Amelia decided to think of this whole situation in this perspective to give herself some relief. It was still pretty early so she called up Courtney and invited her to have dinner at the hot pot restaurant. Then she sent a message to Lily telling her that she wasn't coming home for dinner.

When evening fell, the streetlights shone the streets that were jam-packed with cars and people. Amelia and Courtney sat on the street, each holding their own cocktail and a stick of barbecue. They chatted as they ate and drank.

"Amelia, can you imagine what would happen if you showed up on the front page of newspapers looking like this?" Courtney guffawed at the sight of Amelia—sitting on the streets, mouth covered in oil and chili paste.

"That's right. A lady of the Zhan family is out on the streets!" Amelia joked.

"Don't worry. They definitely already have a photo of you and it's going to be all over the news tomorrow. At least, the barbecue shop's going to get some exposure! It'll be a big hit!" Courtney

responded, letting her imagination run wild.

They originally planned to have hot pot for dinner but the restaurant was so crowded that they had to resort to eating barbecue in the streets.

"By the way, is Kent working in the Zhan Group now?" Amelia stayed in her office pretty much the entire day. The building was so huge that there was almost no chance of her meeting him.

"He reported to the HR department yesterday. I heard he did pretty well." Courtney lifted her glass of cocktail and said with a smile, "Let's drink to that! To happy lives in the future!"

Happy life... To Amelia, that phrase was practically meaningless.

She was already jaded from her mother's death and Jasper cheating on her didn't really help with that either.

She never really actively searched for happiness or maybe she just hadn't met someone who would make her happy.

"Cheers!" She raised her glass to her mouth and started downing her drink.

Courtney however seemed shocked. She asked, "Are you not happy, Amelia?"

"Why would I be unhappy?" She wiped the wine stain on her lips with the back of her hand, looking very calm.

"Then why did you just chug your drink? Isn't Lucian going to get mad at you if he sees you this drunk?" Courtney had assumed that while Amelia had the freedom to drink, getting drunk was an entirely different thing.

After all, the Zhan family had a lot of rules. She was just worried about what would happen to Amelia if she broke any of them.

"We've known each other for years. I know you don't like being controlled by other people and I don't really know how well the Zhan family is treating you. I guess all I'm trying to say is that if you're not happy, please tell me. While I won't be able to do anything about it, I can at least offer you my home. You're free to stay with me if you want," Courtney said sincerely, looking at Amelia who was already drunk—the flushing of her cheeks gave her away.

"Thanks," Amelia choked out, feeling a lump in her throat. She suddenly realized that Courtney was all grown up now. Courtney wasn't the same girl she was ten years ago.

Amelia knew she had to face whatever was going on in her life head on. This was the only way she was going to grow.

Amelia was sober enough to hail a taxi. Courtney was still concerned about her. She walked toward her and tried to support her. "Where's your phone? I'll call Lucian and ask him to pick you up."

"Please don't!" Amelia stopped her immediately. She paused and said, "He has an important appointment tonight. I can take a taxi home."

She dug her nails into her palm as a way of waking herself up.

"You took several bottles of wine when I wasn't looking. I'm sorry but I just can't let you go home by yourself." Courtney wasn't comfortable with Amelia taking a taxi by herself so she offered, "Why don't you stay at my house tonight?"

"I have to go to work tomorrow," Amelia explained, shaking her head.

Although the SJ Garden wasn't exactly her real home, she just wanted to go there right now. She wanted to go to the place where Iris's portrait rested. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Well, you're married now after all. You're not my responsibility anymore. I'm just your friend," Courtney finally conceded. When they had successfully hailed a taxi, she gave the taxi driver a few reminders before sending Amelia off.

Amelia was indeed drunk but not drunk enough to not know what happened when she arrived at the door of the villa in SJ Garden. She felt her stomach churning as she leaned against the door for support, getting ready to vomit. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist. Frightened, she raised her head and tried to level herself to prevent herself from vomiting. The bile got stuck in her throat making it harder for her to breathe.

The tears in her eyes reflected the moon, making it seem like dazzling stars emitting a faint but pure light.