"Dianne, you're usually the most excited when we talk about handsome guys," said Shirley. "Why are you so quiet today? It's so strange." The corners of Dianne's mouth twitched slightly as she said, "You said it. I'd get hyped up over handsome guys. Lucas isn't handsome to me. Naturally, I have no interest in talking about him." Shirley and the other elderly ladies stared at Dianne dubiously. Layla couldn't stop herself from joking. "Do you still have cataracts affecting your vision? Lucas is more good-looking than some of the actors out there. Yet you're telling me that he's not handsome? There must be something wrong with your eyes."Dianne stole a glance at Chelsey before putting on an indifferent front. "Nevertheless, I don't think he's handsome." Shirley clucked her tongue as she nudged Dianne. "It seems you've become pickier to the extent that you don't think Lucas is handsome.""I simply think he's not that good-looking," Dianne said. "The Somners' son looks s
A soft smile hung on Timothy's lips as he walked into the room. He gave off the energy of a calm yet amiable nobleman. "Good evening, ladies." He greeted. Shirley, Cassie, and Layla swooned the moment he opened his mouth to speak. Shirley was the first to recognize who he was. "You're Timothy, aren't you? I had lunch with your grandmother some time ago." "Yes. Pleased to meet you," he said with a nod. He then headed straight for Chelsey and said, "I came here for dinner, but I heard that you were here, so I decided to join you. You don't mind, right?" "Of course not," Chelsey said. She contemplated if it was a genuine coincidence or if he had deliberately learned where she was. She couldn't outright refuse him in front of so many people, so she agreed to let him have dinner with them.Timothy took a seat beside Chelsey and smilingly said, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Dinner's on me today." Shirley, Cassie, and Layla's gaze wouldn't stop moving back and fort
Lucas glanced around at the people in the room. "Good evening," he said. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Yates!" Shirley, Cassie, and Layla said in unison. They would've started fangirling over him if it weren't for their age. Timothy turned a blind eye to Lucas and started scooping up some dishes and serving them on Chelsey's plate. Chelsey, on the other hand, chose to ignore Lucas completely and continued digging into her food. She didn't expect to meet him here. The best she could do was to feign ignorance to avoid trouble. Compared to her three friends, Dianne seemed pretty calm. She quietly looked Lucas up and down. He was, undoubtedly, charming and would be a perfect match for Chelsey. After glancing at Chelsey, Dianne realized that Chelsey seemed to be avoiding Lucas' gaze. Dianne pitied Chelsey even more now. Meanwhile, Lucas was upset because Chelsey was ignoring him. Still, he didn't show it on his face. With a smile, he turned to Michael and said, "It's so lively here
Unfortunately for Michael, Shirley didn't plan to go along with the flow."Stop daydreaming, you fool." She laughed. "Chels doesn't like you." "I don't think I'm that bad of a person," Michael retorted. "I'm fit and handsome. I'm good at my job, and I even have abs. How can you be so sure that Chels won't fall for me?"Michael was blissfully unaware of Lucas' gloomy face, which was ever-darkening as time passed. Instead, he kept on bragging about himself to grab Chelsey's attention. Meanwhile, Chelsey could only smile politely in response. Eventually, Shirley couldn't take it anymore. She interrupted him by saying, "Now, now, that's enough. Chelsey's becoming a mother soon. Stop embarrassing yourself, Mike.""What? Chelsey's gonna be a mother at this age? She's still so young!" Michael exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.He recalled Chelsey being only a few years younger than him. He reckoned that she was probably only 22 or 23 now. Michael hadn't heard about her
Chelsey swore that the air in the room had turned tense because of Lucas. Shirley was the first to notice that he persistently stared at Chelsey. She nudged Layla, who sat beside her, and signaled for her to look at Lucas. Layla then noticed it, too. Lucas' gaze was simply too conspicuous. So, Shirley and Layla assumed that Lucas and Chelsey knew each other and that their relationship was complicated. As Dianne was seated beside her, Layla lowered her voice and asked her, "Does Chelsey know Mr. Yates?"Dianne's heart skipped a beat at the question. Out of reflex, she said, "No. Why would Chels know him? She doesn't know him." Layla was skeptical, though. "But he's staring at her all the time. Maybe he has an eye for her." "Really?" Dianne raised her eyes to look across the room. Lucas was indeed staring at Chelsey. Pissed, Dianne stared daggers at Lucas and said, "Why don't I tell all of you a story?""What kind of story is it?" Shirley asked, puzzled at Dianne's su
Shirley said, "Mr. Yates doesn't seem like that kind of person to me, though." Dianne looked nonchalant. "The more he doesn't seem like it, the higher the probability he's one. He doesn't seem like a reliable person to me." Dianne became more straightforward in her speech after drinking several glasses of wine. It was Layla who realized that something was amiss. "Dianne, was the scumbag you mentioned earlier actually Mr. Yates himself?" Layla asked. When Layla gave it some thought, she thought that it did sound like Dianne was accusing Lucas of being a scumbag. However, Dianne didn't admit it. She simply took another sip of wine and said, "Let's stop chatting and start eating. The food's cold already." Although she didn't answer the question, Layla had a hunch that the scumbag Dianne mentioned was none other than Lucas. After all, she and Dianne had been friends for several decades now. After enjoying the meal, Chelsey felt bored, so she went out for a walk. Timothy a
"The person beside her must be her husband then!" Michael thought. He thought it was awfully embarrassing of him to say those words when Chelsey's husband was right beside her at that time. He felt the urge to punch himself in the face."It's fine," Chelsey told him. "I'm going to take a walk. See ya." She waved him goodbye and walked with Timothy to the other side of the lake. Lucas could only watch as she left. Although he stood rooted to the spot, his heart was far away as it had followed after her when she walked away. …After walking for a while, Timothy sent Chelsey home because Dianne and her gang would be late in returning home that night. When Dianne arrived home, she headed straight to Chelsey's room and said, "Chels, you must not forgive Lucas. Don't let him fool you again. He's a scumbag. Us Jensons can afford to support you and your baby." Chelsey could still smell the alcohol off Dianne when she spoke. "Thank you, Grandma," she said, touched by Dianne's
Dianne wasn't amused. "Don't call me Grandma. I'm not your grandmother, and I don't want to hear anything about the mess you made. Chels doesn't want to see you, so don't come here anymore." Despite typically getting his way in business matters, Lucas now found himself being reprimanded by an old lady. Feeling awkward, he pursed his lips in thought before saying, "Mrs. Jenson Senior, it was my fault for letting Chelsey down in the past. But now, I only want to protect and care for her." Dianne glanced at him, skeptical. "You sure know how to sweet talk your way through things, don't you? Chels is safe at home. We'll look after her, so you don't need to do that." After a moment of silence, Lucas said, "You might not know that Chelsey was abducted twice and that I was the one who saved her each time.""Chels was abducted?" Dianne's heart leaped into her throat as anxiety wrapped its claws around her heart. "When did that happen?" "It happened once when she was about 1