Since She Met Lucian

Chapter 71 Misplaced Jealousy

This was not the way Amelia wanted things to turn out. The seeds of guilt were quickly taking root inside her, creeping up her insides with thorny vines. She reached out to Lucian hesitantly and held on to his arm. "Was that really your mother's idea?" she asked in a small voice.

'Fannie doesn't like me? Why was she urging them to have a child?' she was wondering.

Lucian took notice of the trembling hand in his arm. "Amelia, I was just kidding," he said carefully, wanting the shadows in her eyes to disappear.

"Right. Of course. Whatever you say," Amelia answered. Lucian's expression had turned more grave as the seconds passed, and Amelia's apprehension grew with her uncertainty.

Sumptuous dishes appeared on the table one after another. Dinner went on with neither of them breaching the topic once more. Amelia focused on the food, but it even that felt lukewarm in her mouth.

Lucian was a regular in this restaurant, and so he was well-known among the waiters. On top of that, the Zhan Group owned shares in the business.

It was a quiet place, and Amelia was almost able to put off her worries with the warm and relaxing ambiance until a woman's voice broke through the momentarily found peace.

"Lucian, why did you take her with you?"

Amelia looked up from her plate and met her eyes.

The woman was vaguely familiar. Amelia had a faint sense that she had met this woman before, but where and when, she couldn't place. The stranger exuded the air of someone well-known— dressed in luxury brand clothes, with a tall figure and an undeniably beautiful face highlighted by her perfect make- up.

She moved closer to Lucian without hesitation, as if it was something she had done thousands of times before and threw a sharp glance at Amelia. "I don't think it was a good idea to bring her. At the very least, she should be wearing clean clothes."

Amelia tried her best not to flinch under the woman's scrutiny. She understood perfectly well what was happening.

It was true that she was wearing plain clothes. Oil stains dotted the otherwise clean fabric from cooking in the construction site. Then, as if on cue, she smelled hints of oil and smoke from her clothes.

But Lucian didn't seem to mind, so who was this woman to go off and criticize her? Amelia gripped the silverware as the beginnings of anger stirred up inside her.

"Jessie, what a coincidence! Have you eaten yet?" Lucian quickly noticed Amelia's sour mood and greeted the other woman instead.

But it did nothing to distract Amelia from her temper. Hearing his gentle voice of Lucian as he spoke to her, Amelia's annoyance flared dangerously hot.

"Lucian, we haven't seen each other in so long? You've been ignoring me you heartless man," Jessie answered, her voice soft and feminine.

Anyone who looked at them would have thought them the perfect couple. Amelia felt stabs of pain in her chest as she couldn't help but admit that Jessie matched Lucian well. Her lips trembled as she watched them, but she didn't want to seem like she was acting like a victim. Instead, she brought her attention back to her food, sending one delicious bite after another in her mouth. The food was definitely good, but it was like rubber in her mouth. There was no way she would be able to enjoy her meal when her heart weighed heavily in her chest.

"You are too busy. It would be difficult to meet you," Lucian said, continuing to eat.

Fine. The two of them could have a grand time together for all she cared. Amelia pointedly ignored them as they continued to talk as if there were just the two of them in the table.

She reached for her glass and drank water to swallow her food in one go.

"I heard that you got married? How is your wife? Is she pretty?" Jessie asked. The waiter kept serving dishes, and Jessie had also started to eat. She was acting so comfortable that Amelia felt like an outsider.

The woman called Jessie touched Lucian's arm from time to time as they talked. Lucian didn't seem to mind and just kept smiling at her.

At the sight her hand in his arm, Amelia gripped at the chopsticks in her hands. An ugly feeling started in her chest and gave a shiver down her spine.

She knew where the shiver had come from. She was utterly and undeniably jealous.

"She's right in front of you," Lucian looked at Amelia and introduced her with a smile.

Jessie's mouth fell open at Lucian's words. She immediately recovered and greeted Amelia politely the next moment. "I wouldn't have believed it if you hadn't personally admitted it, Lucian," she said.

"Jessie, don't scare her," Lucian said in a low voice as he reached over to fill Amelia's bowl with more food.

'This woman is really starting to get on my nerves,' she thought. She looked at the food that Lucian had put in her bowl and said, "I don't like these."

Lucian frowned immediately. Amelia was not usually picky with food, but soon his smile appeared again. "You don't have to eat it if you don't like it. Is there something else you want to eat? We can order more."

"Lucian, you have married a strange one," Jessie spoke, once again eyeing Amelia's clothes. "Not only is she unrefined, she seems to be temperamental too." Jessie said the words so casually as if she was just commenting on the weather.

The next moment, Amelia's chopsticks had stopped moving. Raising her eyes, she met Jessie with a fierce gaze and said, "Miss, don't you think you're being too touchy with my husband?"

She had not meant to raise her voice, but it had come out harshly, calling the attention of the customers at the next table.

"And?" Instead of letting go of him, Jessie only moved closer and linked arms with Lucian.

"What's your relationship with him?" Amelia asked in disbelief. She could no longer hold her temper when this woman was deliberately making a show of provoking her.

Amelia knew she sounded like a petulant child, throwing a tantrum. But at this moment, she couldn't care less. She had borne this quietly for the past minutes but she'd had enough.

"Amelia, calm down. We haven't finished eating yet," Lucian said, smiling at her. With that, something inside her snapped. Did he think this was funny?

And he asked her to keep eating? Was he seriously telling her to stay while getting this treatment?

Amelia wanted to scream in frustration. Her eyes were stung, but she blinked them to stop her tears. Putting down her silverware, she said in a low voice, "Enjoy yourselves. I'm going home."

This had gone far enough. As she stood up, however, Lucian called out to her.

"Amelia, please sit back down. Let me introduce you two properly," he said.

Amelia's temper was really blowing over the roof now. However, she sat down as he told and smiled. "You're right, Mr. Lucian Zhan. We went here together after all. We should go home together as well."

Lucian knew that he was going to be in hot water if he didn't resolve the situation quickly. Amelia had used his full name on him. That could only mean trouble.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Amelia, this is my cousin, Jessie. She is a TV host. You might have seen her show before." Lucian smiled at her as he spoke.

"What… what did you say?" Amelia answered with wide eyes. Jessie was grinning at her with a wicker gleam in her eyes.

"I should be calling you sister-in-law, but it seems that you don't like me all that much," Jessie laughed. Amelia couldn't believe that they were having fun at her expense. She couldn't wrap her head around what just happened.

"I… I'm sorry... I didn't know you were his cousin..." she stammered out an apology, feeling embarrassment rise to her cheeks. Lucian, that devil, didn't even tell her anything about it.

Right at this time, Lucian came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "It doesn't matter. Now that you do know, everything is fine."

He spoke with a straight face, but Amelia knew he was still laughing at her. Her husband had the time of his life watching her get jealous over another woman.

Amelia felt that she had been utterly played. Her earlier embarrassment was once again quickly being replaced by annoyance, but she held herself back. She didn't want to cause a bigger scene.

"I'm innocent," Jessie quickly claimed. "I can see that you love my cousin very much and you're an honest girl. I'm quite satisfied with you," she said with a smile.

Amelia's face relaxed a little upon hearing her words. Still feeling a little embarrassed, she said, "I thought you looked familiar when I saw you just now. That's why. You are the news anchor of the noontime news in the city!"

She seldom watched the television. At most, she glanced at the news from time to time, but it would be difficult not to remember Jessie. She was incredibly eye-catching.

"I'm flattered you remember me." Jessie was truly a pro at what she does. She was able to trick Amelia into believing her act from earlier. Before she left, she said to Amelia, "My cousin is a good man. I'm sure he will treat you well."

Amelia blushed at her words. It was true. Lucian came off as a cold, heartless man, but on the inside, he was warm. People kept their distance from him, but those who were close to him knew who he truly was. He was far from the arrogant, heartless person everyone else seemed to make him out to be. He was a boss who cared for his employees and an affectionate husband.

"Well, that was a surprise. If it weren't for that episode just now, I never would have thought you were that interested in me, Amelia," Lucian said, returning to his seat with a mischievous smile on his lips.

Amelia's face flamed up at his comment and was unable to return the jab. Instead, she lowered her head and refused to meet his eyes.

For what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, she escaped by focusing on the food at the table. She wouldn't have to talk if she was eating. Completely ignoring what Lucian had said, she filled her bowl with food. Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

Lucian, of course, knew what was going on in his wife's mind. Holding back a chuckle, he grinned and watched her pointedly ignore him and eat. Remembering the possessive anger that flashed in her eyes earlier, he sank back to his seat, satisfied and thinking it was worth all the trouble.

Upon their return to SJ Garden, Amelia went straight upstairs and took a shower. After changing into clean clothes, she stood in front of the mirror and inspected herself for a long time. Suddenly, a voice echoed inside her, magnifying her doubt, 'Are you a woman, Amelia? No makeup, plain clothes, no...'

"Ah! I don’t care," she muttered to herself, drying her hair harshly with a towel. Who cares? Was she really worried about Lucian not liking it? Did she want to please him that badly?

Lucian found her in that state, staring at herself in the mirror. Quietly, he walked over and stood behind her. "Someone's narcissistic," he laughed behind her.

His reflection from behind her caught Amelia by surprise. She whirled around and gave him a stern look, not saying a word, and looked back at the mirror.

"You must have been tired today," Lucian hugged her from behind and whispered in her ear in a gentle voice.

"Yes, but I'm really happy too," she answered, forgetting all her anger at the sound of his voice. Today had been good. She felt like she did something meaningful.

"You did great, Amelia," Lucian praised. Then, he let go of her and said wearily, "I have to take a shower. You should sleep."

Amelia watched Lucian disappear into the bedroom and went back to stare at the dressing mirror.

The two of them really got along well. It was as if they had been married for a long time.

They had already moved forward as well, having slept together in the same bed. It was difficult that first night, but now that they had cleared that hurdle, Amelia felt even more comfortable with him. She didn't mind sleeping beside him at night. In fact, part of her was looking forward to it. She got into bed and held the mobile phone at hand, pretending to play with it.

After Lucian walked out of the bathroom, Amelia kept her eyes glued on the screen, willing herself to calm down.