In the kitchen, the half-cut vegetables remained on top of the chopping board, and their clothes were scattered across the floor. She raised her hands to cover her face, embarrassed by herself.Bending down, she picked up the clothes one by one. When she picked up Lucian's suit, her hands paused. It felt heavy. There was something inside.Reaching into his pocket, she found a palm-sized diary. The cover was the texture of craft paper and wasn't too thick. From the side, the paper seemed a bit worn by the writing inside.Reflecting on the diary that Lucian had mentioned before, her heart suddenly raced. She lost interest in preparing her supper and went straight to the living room with the diary in hand.Calista switched on the lamp beside the couch and sat down with her legs folded. She took a deep breath and began to earnestly flip through the diary. It started with the date, followed by the events.…"She was bullied by her stepmother and step-sister. She arrived at school with
Looking at the closed doors before them, Lucian reminisced about the last time they did this. The first time they got married, they had arrived at the marriage bureau separately and hadn't specified a date or time to meet. After taking their pictures and filling out the necessary forms, the two sat in silence in the hall until they received their marriage certificate. A passer-by would be forgiven for thinking that they were there to file for divorce. But this time was different from the last. Lucian gazed at the elegantly dressed woman beside him, and his lips naturally curled upwards. He held her hand and their fingers intertwined, just like a normal couple."No, I gave them money.""You gave them money, and they just accepted it?""Well, they didn't refuse it I guess."Calista couldn't believe what she was hearing. These couples must have valued ceremonies and celebrations if they had bothered to come so early and stand in line. But Lucian… had just bought their places… lite
"I'm not." Calista turned to look at Lucian, who was following behind with his hands full of bags. Sensing her gaze, he lifted his head and gave her a pitiful look, causing her to giggle. "Mom, please keep those skincare products for yourself. I have plenty at home.""Skincare products are like clothes to women. You can never have too many."Hearing this, Lucian couldn't resist and interrupted, "She's probably worried they'll expire. She has a whole drawer full of them. She can't finish them even if she used them to paint the walls."Selena turned around and playfully swatted him on the head. "Why are you interrupting when I'm talking to Calista? Why are you playing the troublemaker? Are you envious that our relationship might be better than yours?"Selena waved her hands dismissively, urging him to leave. "Hurry up and go cook. Don't be a bother while Calista and I are chatting. You're always spouting nonsense with your foul mouth. It seems like you're trying to provoke me every
After their meal, Selena wanted to take Calista for a stroll but Lucian interjected, his face filled with frustration. "Mom, we just got married again today. Can't you leave us some time alone?"Selena looked at him. Although she seemed annoyed, her eyes didn't contain the same disdain it did before. "I guess you're wiser now. Alright, I'll give her back to you." With that, she withdrew her hand from Calista's arm and gently pushed her toward Lucian. "Since you've already gotten your marriage certificate, now it's time to set a date for the wedding. Why are you taking so long to settle on a date? Are you trying to find some unique day with a total solar eclipse for your wedding?"Lucian was left speechless by her sharp words. Selena turned around and left, holding Henry's hand. The satisfaction from mocking Lucian was evident on her face. She had even posted a collage on her social media, featuring nine pictures. There were eight beautiful pictures of Calista, followed by a pictu
They were all small matters. So small, in fact, that he couldn't even remember most of them. But surprisingly, Calista still remembered them. Some of her most vivid memories were of the early days of their marriage.She remembered when he returned and the words he had spoken to her, though they weren't the most pleasant words. She also remembered how he led her through the chaotic underground boxing gym to confront her debt collectors to settle the debts that were suffocating her. She also mentioned that during that time, to her, he was glowing. During that time, Calista was still new to it all and not yet desensitized to everything. The slap from Zachary left her deeply upset. How could she be aware of someone following her? "Are you crazy? It was the middle of the night and you watched me cry instead of going back to sleep." Lucian's tone was nonchalant, having no intention of boasting. "It was midnight and the amusement park was in a remote area. It wasn't safe for a girl."
Calista looked at Lucian's pursed lips. He was staring up at the roller coaster's tracks. Although she couldn't see his facial expressions clearly from where she stood, she felt his grip tightening around her hand. "Are you scared?""No."Calista tiptoed and stretched her neck to see his face. "Really?"He answered so quickly that it seemed evasive. Lucian pulled her back gently with one arm around her waist to prevent her from falling. "Really."The queue started to move forward as the previous batch of riders came down from the ride. They walked forward with Lucian half hugging her. "Stand still. Don't fall." The roller coaster could only accommodate about 20 riders at once. There were still a lot of people queuing in front of them even though they bought VIP tickets.He couldn't recall if he had ridden this ride before. He had only come here once, but that was a very long time ago.The roller coaster had height requirements, so he probably didn't get to ride it back then. Be
Calista suspected that Lucian had pretended to be scared to make her worry. But as she observed him, she noticed that his legs had really turned to jelly. She stifled a laugh and helped him unbuckle his seatbelt. "Can you manage if I hold you?"The question seemed to hit a nerve. He looked at her sadly with his lips pursed. His Adam's apple bobbed. After a moment, a small sound escaped his lips. "Yeah."The rest of the riders had already left their seats. The pair were ushered toward the exit by the staff under the amused gaze of the onlookers. Calista walked out in embarrassment while Lucian maintained his cool and calm demeanor. He paid no attention to the stares of others. The staff locked the exit once they had left. As they descended the stairs, Lucian stumbled on his feet and almost fell.She quickly supported him with one hand and held onto the railing with the other. Despite how panicked Lucian looked, Calista burst into laughter. She hadn't expected that Lucian would
Calista was still in awe with the fireworks show even as she got into the car. The parking lot was congested as everyone was trying to clear out at the same time. Lucian looked at the sea of bright brake lights in front of him."I thought you didn't like to be so high profile. You could've just included our initials. Nobody would know that it was us then."The thought crossed his mind while he was designing it. However, he dropped the idea once he saw Calista's name placed in front of his.He spared her the embarrassing details, but a look of uneasiness flashed across his face. "I'm sorry. I overlooked it." But Calista didn't care whether there were names or not. She had just casually mentioned it. Back home, Calista threw her bag onto the coffee table and collapsed onto the couch. She had woken up early and spent most of the day at the amusement park. She had no desire to even budge once she touched the couch. Lucian went into his study to answer a call. "Officer Young."It