章節 12: The Girlfriend
Lucian made that call to merely irritate Valerie, believing she must have gone to bed. He didn't exactly think that she would show up.
That's why he was shocked when he saw Valerie stand out of his apartment at one thirty, holding the tub of ice-cream. Her condition, however, drew his attention more.
Those eyes of hers were bloodshot, and she looked haggard. Even though Valerie tried her best to not appear unkempt, the fact that she was drained out couldn't be hidden.
Lucian saw her completely intact around two hours ago. Why did look like as though she had fought an arduous battle within that period of time?
His lips curled up, and he commented, "One would think you brought the ice-cream after going through intense turbulence."
Valerie gave no response. She didn't trust her voice to be stable.
Pushing off the tub to his hand, she turned back, about to leave, when she stumbled. She embraced herself for the fall, but the grab of her hand prevented that. Lucian's hold made it possible for her to stabilize herself.
Once done that, she slapped his hand away. The sound was loud and made Valerie feel guilty immediately.
"Don't touch me," she said— a little too loudly. Her breathing grew to become slightly haggard.
Lucian frowned, staring at his hand.
Before he could respond, Valerie rushed out from there. For a second there, he thought she felt terrified. Finding that to be absurd, he shook his head.
°°°
The day of the engagement was tomorrow, and the Gray family invited them for dinner. Only Arnold Davies and Valerie went, not letting rest of the members string along in order to make the situation less troublesome.
Probably having an understanding of their complex family situation, the Gray couple didn't make it awkward.
When Valerie arrived at the Gray mansion with her father, she was warmly received by Alicia, who always had a lot to say. Valerie found the cheerful woman to be pleasant and intently listened to everything.
Ranging from stories of Lucian to their daily lives, Alicia recounted about everything and didn't mind the silence from Valerie.
Jonathan Davies chimed in on the conversation occasionally too when he had something interesting to mention.
This made Valerie think back to the days she used to feel envious of Lucian for having such a warm family, but now, that wasn't there anymore. She only felt happy he was born into such a family. This is what he deserved.
As for her, how could someone as tainted as her have something so pure?
Lucian, however, wasn't present. Alicia made calls to the man to which he responded by saying that he would be home by dinner time. Apparently, his shoot dragged on for too long.
Because of the comfortable atmosphere, Valerie hardly realized that the time for dinner had arrived. This made a sense of loss settle inside her.
And Valerie knew that this was going to be the last time.
This engagement between them can't happen.
Valerie was aware she shouldn't have dragged it to today, but she couldn't help herself. It was hard for her to bring up the matter of dissolving the matter.
No matter how much her father threatened her, Valerie did not care. Her position was important to her, but that was only because it let her protect Lucian. It didn't matter to her if that would wipe that bright smile from Lucian's face.
The housekeeper brought over the food when Lucian finally arrived, and he wasn't alone. On his hand was a woman— a very familiar one at that.
Amelia Stone.
Although caught off guard for a second, Valerie wasn't exactly shocked. It wouldn't be Lucian if he didn't attempt to create any trouble today.
"Glad that I made it on time for dinner," he commented, "it would have been a pity to miss it."
His actions made Alicia seethe as though she would make this his last meal. He remained unfazed by his mother's glaring eyes.
Smiling at his mother— clearly challenging her— he expressed, "I brought my girlfriend along. It wouldn't be an issue, right?"
Valerie's eyes fell on her father. His jaws were clenched tightly; he hated it when others disrespected him. But knowing how Lucian was Alicia's precious son, he wouldn't dare to voice out about it.
As for Valerie, she did feel a pang in her chest but repeated in her head that no matter what the case was, she should be happy for Lucian if this made him content. And judging from that look in his eyes, he looked as though he was having fun.
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