Chapter 8

The next day arrived as quickly as possible, and Avelina slowly blinked her eyes open. She stared at the ceiling and feeling much better compared to yesterday, a deep breath fled her nose.

       "I feel really hungry," she muttered under her breath, and with all the strength she could gather, she sat up on the bed. She quickly grabbed her belly, which still hurt from the kicking she received, and groaned in pain. She unhurriedly stood to her feet and wobbled towards the door. She grabbed its handle and turned it, but a stressed expression appeared on her face as she realized that it was locked again.

       "Hello!!!" she yelled, hoping someone would hear her, but no response came. "Hello!! I am hungry! I am really hungry!" She furiously slammed her hands on the door, causing Lucas, whose room was next to her, to avert his gaze from the book in his hands.

       He listened again, just to be sure that he was hearing her voice, and once he confirmed that he was he stood up from the chair. He tossed the book on his bed and made his way out of his room, then ambled towards Avelina’s room and turned the door handle to open it.

       "Avelina," he called out. Avelina, who was still by the door, immediately pulled the door handle.

       "Lucas. I-is that you?" she inquired in a teary voice.

       "Yes. Are you okay, in there?" Lucas asked in concern.

       "I am really hungry," she pleaded.

       It has been two days, and she hasn’t had anything, not even water. A low sigh fled Lucas' nose, and he walked away from the door. He proceeded downstairs to the kitchen and turned to the housemaid.

       "Young master," the head maid, who was quite chubby with red hair, bowed slightly in respect.

       "Give me the key to Avelina’s room," he said to her, and the head maid, whose name was Cherry, lifted her head to look at him.

       "But m-master… your father said-"

       "Does it look like I care?" Lucas questioned as his black eyes scowled at Cherry. Knowing that she shouldn’t mess with him, Cherry immediately pulled out the key from the pocket of her pants. She handed it over to him, and Lucas walked towards the fridge. He yanked it open and grabbed a bottle of water.

       He made a quick sandwich and turned to look at Cherry. "Make some proper food and take it to Avelina, understand?" he ordered, and Cherry nodded. He proceeded back upstairs and strolled toward Avelina’s room. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, then moved to step inside. But at that moment, Rosalia walked out of nowhere with an angry expression on her face.

       "Lucas!" she yelled his name, and Lucas turned his head to look at her.

       "What is it?" he questioned.

       "Are you seriously about to feed her? Father gave instructions not to!" She scowled at him.

       "You want her to starve to death?" he asked.

       "Well, I don't care if she does. She dared to hit me. She deserves it." She shrugged and Lucas shook his head at her. Without bothering to reply to her anymore, he proceeded to hand the food and water to Avelina, but Rosalia, who wouldn’t let that happen, furiously slapped the food away from his hands, causing it to fall to the ground.

       "Roselia!" Lucas growled at her and moved to react, but just then, one of the young maids with blonde curly hair rushed up to them both.

       She slightly bowed to them. "Young master, young miss, Your father requests your presence downstairs. There is an important guest." She reported, and a slight frown emerged on Lucas’s face. He glanced at Avelina, and without saying a word, he made his way downstairs, with Roselia following behind him.

       They stepped down the last stair, and the instant they strolled into the living room, they halted. Their eyes fell on none other than Lucian, who was clad in a white shirt and black suit pants, seated with his legs crossed and his hair wrapped up in a neat bun as usual.

He lifted his head, immediately sensing their presence, and his green eyes looked at the two.

       "Mr. Lucian." They quickly bowed to him, but Lucian, who saw them as irrelevant, ignored both of them. Leon, who was standing behind the one-man sofa that Lucian was seated on, rapidly fluttered his eyes and sealed his lips, resisting the overwhelming urge to laugh. Mr. Ferguson shook his head at them, and they quickly moved to take their seats on the long sofa he was seated on. He shifted his gaze to Lucian and folded his arms.

       "So… I believe you are here with something important to say," he began.

       Lucian lifted his head from his phone and arched his brow at him. "I am here based on what we tackled the last time you came to my house." His deep voice resounded through the entire living room.

       "So what is your decision?" Mr. Ferguson asked.

       A deep breath fled Lucian’s nose, and a half smile emerged on his face. "I have yet to make a decision, which brings me to the reason why I am here."

       "What reason is that?" Mr. Ferguson lifted his brow at him.

       "Well, before I make my decision, I'd like to see your daughter first," Lucian stated.

       Lucas and Roselia, who still had no idea that the supposed man whom Avelina had slept with was Lucian, glanced around with confused expressions on their faces.

       "Who? Me?" Roselia interrupted, and both Mr. Ferguson and Lucian glanced at her.

       "Not you." Mr. Ferguson shook his head at her and returned his attention to Lucian.

       "What do you mean by "you want to see her first?" he inquired.

       "Well, I want to see her, so I can make my decision whether I want to marry her or not," Lucian replied, and a bewildered glint flickered in both Lucas and Roselia’s eyes.

       Marry her? they both wondered.

       "I am not sure if you can see her—"

       "Ferguson, if I do not see her down here in less than twenty minutes, I will leave, and your stupid reputation can flush down the toilet." He scowled before Mr. Ferguson could finish his words.    

       Mr. Ferguson gaped at him and his hands secretly balled into tight fists. "Alright. You will see her then."