Lucas continued to gaze at her face, speaking seriously, "Aveline, think about it carefully. Are you really at a loss?"Aveline hesitated for a moment. If she thought it through, it didn’t seem like she was losing out at all.Lucas was the one putting in the money and effort, and on top of that, he only wanted to sleep with her. His skills in bed were undeniable, and he brought her considerable pleasure. It was just a matter of spending a bit of time in bed with him. Besides, it wasn’t like it was their first time. There wasn’t much to be conflicted or to struggle over.After a pause, she replied, "I need to think about it."Lucas nodded. "Let me know when you’ve made up your mind."Aveline didn't respond, turning away and leaving. Lucas watched her retreating figure, a faint smile slowly appearing on his lips.Just then, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen—it was Baron calling."Yes?" he answered.Baron’s voice was respectful. "Mr. Tudor, we’ve investigated what Mrs. Tu
Zachary smiled wryly. "Never mind, just follow your own instincts and decide for yourself."Aveline watched the children playing, falling deep into thought. What did she really want? The truth was, she did want to know what kind of people her biological parents were.So, maybe she should dig deeper, take a look, and see where it led. Who knows? Perhaps she was destined to have parents after all. Once she made up her mind, the uncertainty faded away.That evening, after taking a shower, she sent a message to Lucas. “I have something to discuss with you. Can you come over?”It hadn’t even been five minutes before there was a knock on her door.Aveline got up, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Before she could say anything, Lucas leaned in, cupped her face, and kissed her. Her body stiffened, but she didn't resist. After all, she had asked him to come over to talk about this, hadn’t she? He seemed to know exactly what she meant.“Mm… the door,” Aveline managed to
Lucas leaned in closer, his face only inches from hers. Seeing her cool, indifferent expression, he smirked slightly. "Aveline, are you just pretending not to know me now that you’ve gotten what you wanted?"Aveline frowned, "When did I ever pretend not to know you?""Then why won't you let me have a kiss?" Lucas countered.Aveline was at a loss for words. She pushed him away and stood up, saying, "Lucas, what we have is just a transaction. I hope you won’t complicate it with anything else. It won’t do either of us any good."Lucas looked at her overly composed face and chuckled, "But I think it does me a lot of good.""Will you do what I asked or not?" Aveline demanded, clearly frustrated by his persistence."Of course," Lucas replied as he moved closer to her, his voice soothing, "Since you asked, I’ll do it, and I’ll make sure it’s done perfectly."Satisfied with his answer, Aveline turned and left. With Lucas’ help, she wouldn’t have to worry about sending Hilda away. She decide
Aveline had decided to completely ignore him.However… she glanced up at him just as he finished another phone call.“Hmm?” Lucas noticed her gaze and looked back at her with an easy, relaxed expression. The coldness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a gentle warmth that seemed to draw her in like he wanted to melt her with his gaze.Fortunately, the walls around her heart remained firmly in place."I'm going to see Zane," she said.Lucas nodded. "Go ahead."Aveline continued, "You've been tormenting his son. Won't you feel any guilt when you see him?"Lucas gave a faint smile. "Are you asking me to release Bobby?"Aveline replied, "I still believe he's innocent."Lucas' deep, intense eyes studied her carefully. "Aveline, Zane has already taken the money. Whether Bobby is innocent or not doesn't matter much anymore."Aveline felt the urge to argue but found herself at a loss for words. He was right. Zane had given up on his son. What could she, an outsider, possibly say? Za
Lucas held her tightly, feeling the weight of her sadness pressing between them. “You’ll find them,” he murmured softly. “And if they disappoint you, you can choose to walk away.”Aveline closed her eyes for a moment before finally speaking. “Let go of me, please. I need to take a walk.”Lucas released her, relieved to see that her expression had calmed. Arthur Town was small, and in just a short walk, Aveline reached the end of the street. Beyond lay an open field, where she stood on the roadside, letting the cold wind wash over her.Lucas watched her from a short distance when his phone rang. He answered, “Yes?”Baron’s voice came through, “Mr. Tudor, we've confirmed that the guards were sent by Juliet, the heiress of the Cooper family. Juliet once stayed at the orphanage in Arthur Town. Over the years, Hilda has kept in close contact with her. In fact, for the past few months, Hilda had been staying at one of Juliet’s properties.”Hilda had claimed that someone had taken Aveline
Juliet's expression grew more tense, her gaze fixed warily on the doorway. "Who are you?" she demanded.But there was no answer from outside."Hello? Are you still there?" Juliet called out, taking a few cautious steps forward.Still, no response came.What' was going on? Where did they go?Juliet decided to open the door, and the next second, a shadowy figure burst in, pushing her back into the room and quickly shutting the door behind them."Ah!" Juliet screamed, scrambling away, her face a mix of fear and suspicion as she eyed the intruder.It was a man, wearing a hat and mask. He didn’t make any sudden moves, just calmly removed his hat and mask."Don't be afraid," he said, "I'm not here to hurt you. I told you, if you want to deal with Aveline, I can help you."Juliet's eyes widened in shock. She pointed at him and exclaimed, "You look so much like Lucas! What’s your relationship with him?"The man was none other than Leo."You can call me Leo," he replied, "I have no relationshi
Gernard hadn't expected Lucas to be so direct.He wondered if Lucas had any sense of boundaries.Gernard frowned slightly as he looked at Lucas and said, "Naturally, it's something between her and me, and it has nothing to do with you."Lucas, however, replied with a half-smile, "I don't believe you."Aveline ignored Lucas and said to Gernard, "Let's go over there."A short distance away, a small park lay bathed in warm sunlight, a few people leisurely strolling along its paths. The air was filled with a light breeze, just enough to feel refreshing without a hint of chill."Alright."Gernard nodded and walked with Aveline toward the park. After a few steps, he glanced back at Lucas with a look of mockery in his eyes.Lucas just stared at Aveline for a long moment before sighing in resignation. What else could he do? Right now, she was his queen, and he had to keep her happy!In the park, Gernard asked, "Have you made up with him?"Aveline shook her head. "No."Gernard looked at her, p
Aveline glanced in the direction of the warehouse. Hilda was still banging on the door. She didn’t seem worried about getting caught anymore, thinking she had Aveline cornered and was now acting with reckless confidence.Aveline hesitated for a moment, then walked over and opened the warehouse door.Hilda’s face was full of irritation. “Why haven’t you sent me away yet? Aveline, do you not want to know who your real parents are anymore?”Aveline’s expression remained cold as she looked at her. “If you don't want to tell me, I can find out myself. I don’t need you anymore. I might as well call them to take you away now.”At this, Hilda’s eyes widened. “You… you can’t do this, Aveline! I’ve raised you all these years. You can’t be so ungrateful!”Aveline let out a mocking laugh. “You did take me in, but any debt I owed you was canceled out when you kept trying to sell me off. And now you want to lecture me about gratitude? Where do you get the nerve?”“You—”Hilda was struck speechless,