Since She Met Lucian

"Well, we can just sit in the hall," Amelia murmured.
"The lobby's already full and we shouldn't be hanging out there anyway." Jonny looked around the hall and found that it was
completely occupied. Then he looked at Amelia and asked, "What do you think?"
Amelia didn't know what to say.
"I just think it's too expensive." She smiled awkwardly as she explained herself.
"You're such a cheapskate! How is Lucian going to spend his money then?" Jonny teased, his eyes gleaming in amusement.
Embarrassed, Amelia lowered her head shyly.
Since they just had lunch, Jonny ordered some orange juice for Amelia and tea for himself.
"You seem to be distracted. Is there anything you want to tell me?" Jonny asked as he took a sip from his tea.
"What about you? Over the phone, you said it was something important. What is it?" Amelia couldn't restrain herself. She needed
to know what was so important that Jonny had to invite her for lunch.
"Weren't you going to ask if Lucian and I are on good terms?" Jonny suddenly said. Then he added, "We used to get along but
we grew apart. We're just civil with each other now."
Amelia blinked, still confused. She recalled that they were being teased as if they were brothers at Shelly's birthday party. She
didn't know what went wrong since then.
"What happened?" Amelia asked curiously.
"It's best if you don't know," Jonny answered evasively. Then he posed, "How well do you know Lucian?"
This left Amelia stunned. She thought for a while and couldn't shake off the feeling that she really didn't know him that well. She
knew that he was 30 years old, how tall he was, that he was strong and noble but other than, she came up blank. She didn't
even know when his birthday was. She'd met the Zhan family and had been informed of the assets of the family. The Zhan family
was the richest and most powerful in the city. Their assets were worth more than a billion.
With a slight smile on her face, Amelia remained quiet. After a while, she asked, "Is this the reason why you won't let me tell
Lucian that we know each other?"

If that was the case then things finally made sense including why Lucian seemed so upset last night.
"Not exactly, but I don't want you breaking off your relationship with Lucian just because of me," Jonny said, looking at Amelia
tenderly.
"Don't worry. Lucian isn't a narrow-minded," Amelia replied, smiling.
Her mind went to the romantic night they spent during new year's eve.
"What if he is?" Jonny retorted, a stern look in his eyes.
"Jonny, indeed we didn't have emotional foundation. But since I married him, I have to step up the relationship between us."
While it was true that she didn't know Lucian that well yet, she still knew him well enough to like him and be willing to put in the
work for their relationship.
Jonny seemed briefly disappointed. Still, he put on a smile and said, "I'm happy for you."
As much as he tried to sound happy, there was a tinge of pain and bitterness in his voice.
Amelia smiled lightly. She didn't want to think about it anymore.
When they left the coffee shop, it was dark outside as if it was going to rain.
Amelia was about to go back to the SJ Garden when she received a call from Lucian. She answered it in a hurry as a cold voice
came from the other line, "Where are you?"
He didn't sound pleased as if he knew she wasn't home.
"I got bored at home so I went out for a walk. I'm already on my way home," Amelia answered nonchalantly.
"Okay." With that, Lucian hung up the call.
Amelia suddenly panicked. She took a deep breath before starting the engine and driving home.
It was exceptionally cloudy then. Dark clouds hovered above the busy city.
Standing in front of the window, Lucian looked out of the darkness, growing more and more furious by the second.

When he arrived home, he found that Amelia wasn't there. Just as he was about to call her, he received a bunch of photos that
showed Amelia and Jonny out having lunch together.
He called her and tried to remain calm. He thought she'd just tell him the truth but she still lied.
He already felt uneasy about seeing Jonny yesterday at the Imperial Middle School. What more that they secretly had lunch
together?
They had bumped into each other across the hall and by the lakeside.
Upon thinking of this, Lucian's eyes dimmed. His eyes were sharp as knives while his fists were clenched in anger.
It started to rain as soon as Amelia arrived at the gate of the SJ Garden.
She parked the card in the garage, plunged her head into the rain, and then quickly ran into the villa.
Amelia's hair and clothes were wet because of the heavy rain.
Just as she was about to head to the bedroom to change her clothes, she suddenly felt a strong force grab her. Suddenly, she
was pulled into Lucian's arms. He was so strong that she wasn't able to resist.
Before she could do anything, Lucian had already taken her into the room. She wasn't able to relax until she'd been thrown to the
bed.
At this moment, Amelia completely lost her mind. When she came to her senses, Lucian's face was so close to her. He looked so
cold and indifferent—his eyes were like a black hole.
Amelia was so nervous that her hands began to sweat. Her whole body was shaking.
Her heart hurt with how Lucian was looking at her. She lowered her head guiltily, averting his cold gaze.
"Are you afraid of being found out?" Lucian practically spat as he forcefully raised her chin. Amelia was immediately met with his
glare.
Suddenly, tears began welling up in Amelia's eyes.
Lucian couldn't handle it—he loosened his grip on her out of pity.

What was he doing? All he wanted was to see her and he was treating her like this when she finally came back?
Even if he was angry, he shouldn't be taking it out on her.
He had always been rational but for some reason, he seemed to lose all rationality when it came to Amelia.
"Where did you go?" His cold voice echoed in the big room.
Amelia bit her lower lip. Just as she was about to speak, ready to tell the truth, Lucian then added, "You don't want to tell me
because of Jonny, right?"
Lucian's words hit her like a truck, leaving her stunned.
Where did that come from?
While she knew from Jonny that they weren't on good terms, she didn't plan on bringing it up lest he grow upset. The last thing
she expected was for him to bring it up himself.
She wondered whether she should tell him that she was with Jonny or not.
Shouldn't two people in a relationship be honest with each other?
Amelia then took a deep breath and blurted out, "I had lunch with Jonny today. That's where I was today when you called."
She looked firm and fearless.
Lucian shifted the expression on his face which did not go unnoticed by Amelia.
The gloomy weather outside reflected the intensity between them right now. She didn't know what to say next.
"Amelia, I can't believe this," Lucian said furiously—he was seething.
She felt as if she'd been knocked over—her heart was beating rapidly.
"Lucian, Jonny and I just talked. It's not what you think it is," Amelia explained anxiously with tears in her eyes.
"It's not what I think it is? And so what?" Lucian roared.
Amelia felt trapped. She didn't know what to do or say.

He didn't believe her. He thought she was lying.
To add to this, Jonny had asked her to keep their friendship a secret which entrapped her even more.
She thought if she tried to explain herself to Lucian, he might just think she's lying.
She was suddenly at a loss. She didn't know what to say. She looked at Lucian, with tears in her eyes.
"Stay away from Jonny. Consider this a warning." With that, Lucian released her and promptly left the room.
Amelia's jaw still hurt from Lucian's grip. She rubbed it gently with her hand as tears streamed down her face.
However, what hurt her the most was Lucian's words.
Things were going great between them. Now, it's like they were back to where they started. If anything, Amelia felt farther from
Lucian—more than ever.
When dinner time came, Amelia took a deep breath to calm herself down. She then prepared to head downstairs intending to
make dinner for Lucian. Lily lived far away from the city so Amelia asked her to take an additional two days off. She didn't want to
starve Lucian just because she wasn't in the mood even though he was still mad at her.
When she went downstairs, she didn't find Lucian. She searched everywhere—the living room, dining room, his study—but he
was nowhere to be found.