Chapter 159: Goodnight Kiss Under the Moonlight
Lucas stood under the tree, holding the trunk and looking up at me.
The silver moonlight was cool and bright, illuminating the slight upturn of his lips.
I wiggled my feet again and pointed at those gift bags, asking, "What are those?"
Lucas grabbed my ankle, his warm palm pressed against it.
"I didn't know if you were happy with the jewelry from earlier today. Alfred said you didn't smile when you left, so I picked out a few more gifts. I wanted to hang them on the tree for you to come get."
Just like the New Year's gift he gave me.
"I picked these gifts by myself," Lucas said. "Do you know the story of the tree spirit?"
"Of course I do. I'm a born and raised Dawnharbor person too." I kicked his arm with my toes. "Let go of me."
"No," Lucas said.
My heart gave a little jolt, as if something had struck it.
I pressed my lips together and kicked him again. "Come up."
Lucas climbed up the tree in no time and sat down beside me. He glanced toward the villa and asked, "Will Gale and Marcus notice me?"
"If they catch you, just climb back over the wall."
Lucas was about to laugh when I pointed at the wall and said, "Before, some boys who were interested in me would climb over that wall to see me. For a while, my family would often catch those boys here, warning them to stay away from me—also worried they might break a leg and their parents would come make trouble."
Lucas couldn't laugh anymore.
"Were there a lot of people climbing the wall?"
"Yeah, I'm good-looking and come from a good family. It's not surprising that many people liked me."
Lucas snorted.
I couldn't help but smile, looking into the distance. "But I never sat in this tree with any of them."
For several seconds, Lucas didn't react. I wondered if my voice had been too quiet and he hadn't heard. I glanced at him and found him staring at me intently, the light in his eyes brighter than the moon above.
Lucas's right hand covered my left hand that was resting on the branch. He leaned close to me, his forehead touching mine, and said thoughtfully, "I think I'm starting to understand what you want."
I blinked, looking at him in confusion.
Lucas didn't explain. Instead, he brought up what happened during the day.
"Did Sophie upset you? At the stables before, was it also because of her?"
I leaned my head back, a bit annoyed. "We had such a nice atmosphere going, and you have to bring up another woman?"
"I want to know what I did wrong." Lucas could be stubborn sometimes. He said, "Sophie told me I shouldn't have gone after her, that it would upset you."
"Oh really?" I drew out my words. "Then why did you go after her?"
Lucas explained, "I didn't go after her. I just wanted to ask why she deliberately did things that would make you misunderstand—it's not like her."
I asked listlessly, "So what did she say?"
"She said she didn't, that I was misled by Karen's words."
I rolled my eyes. "You believe that?"
Lucas pressed his lips together. "You're right. With such a nice atmosphere, we shouldn't waste time talking about other people."
I felt Lucas still didn't understand why I was upset.
"I'm tired. I'm going back to sleep." I said irritably, bracing myself on the branch to jump down when he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"Wait."
The moonlight fell on his eyelashes, casting faint shadows.
"Goodnight kiss."
My heartbeat inexplicably skipped a beat.
The next second, he pulled me close and kissed me gently.
The moonlight was bright, and the leaves rustled in the wind.
It was a very light kiss, like a beam of moonlight landing on my lips.
In the quiet night, only our breathing remained, along with the gently swaying shadows in the tree, and Lucas's possessive yet restrained affection.
Morning sunlight fell on my pillow. I opened my eyes, a faint smile unconsciously on my lips.
At breakfast, both Gale and Marcus looked at me a couple of extra times. Julie teased with a smile, "In such a good mood today? What nice dream did you have last night?"
"Nothing." I picked up my milk glass, avoiding her probing gaze, my ears slightly warm.
Just thinking about last night's goodnight kiss in the moonlight under the tree made my lips curve up—I couldn't suppress it.
After breakfast, we got in the car and set off. Starting today was the three-day hunting competition.
The Valeri family originally wanted to hold it for five days, but they didn't have enough money. If other families hadn't helped share the costs, they might not have been able to hold it for even one day.
Of course, the rumors might be exaggerated, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the Valeri family's embarrassment.
Around nine o'clock, we arrived at our destination.
The hunting grounds were several times larger than the lawn party Lucas had taken me to before.
An endless expanse of green plains stretched into the distance, meeting dense, deep forests at the horizon. When the wind blew, waves of grass rose and fell, carrying a wild and bold atmosphere.
People from all sides gathered, with tents, flags, and vehicles scattered about. The atmosphere was both lively and tense.
Before noon, the host gave a long speech—official and boring content that kept making my mind wander.
After the speech came the opening warm-up race. Ten prey animals, each tagged with one of the five major families' crests, were released simultaneously. Each family sent one person to compete, and whoever brought back their prey intact first would win.
"Is there a prize for winning?" I asked Gale.
"The winner gets to host the next hunting competition," Gale said.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Didn't they already agree on a rotation order for hosting?"
Marcus yawned. "Everyone knows the warm-up race is just for show."
Lunch was also arranged by the Valeri family—a self-serve barbecue party, completely unoriginal.
The charcoal sizzled, and the aroma of meat mixed with spices drifted through the air.
The noise of voices, along with upbeat music, made the atmosphere much more interesting than the morning ceremony.
Each family had an independent camp. My family was assigned a very remote location, but Jonathan and Karen came, Jacqueline came too, and Jonas was at his family's camp—he just came over to say hello before having to go back.
To prove he had separated from the Valeri family, Lucas participated in the hunt under his personal influence and was also assigned a camp.
He set up his camp right next to my family's.
Richard, Lionel, Sophie, Fiona, and Loris came to hang out with him. With so many people, even the most remote corner couldn't stay quiet.
Gale and Julie sat together. Julie ate her barbecue in small bites while Gale carefully wiped the corner of her mouth, his eyes gentle. Marcus and I tactfully didn't disturb them.
Marcus joined Karen, Jonathan, and Jacqueline at a table, noisy and full of laughter.
I sat in Lucas's camp, directing him to grill meat for me.
Sophie skillfully mixed dipping sauce again and placed it in front of Lucas and me, smoothly sitting down across from us.
"Bella, I made one for you too. I don't know if it suits your taste." She smiled generously and thoughtfully, but I wasn't falling for it anymore.
Lucas put the grilled meat skewers and sausages on a plate on the table. Sophie immediately happily picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, eating with a satisfied expression.
"As expected, Lucas's grilled meat is the best!"
Then she reached for a second piece, using the same trick to try to take all the meat. "I'll take some for Richard and the others to try."
"Don't touch it." Lucas stopped her. "I'm not your chef. This grilled meat is for Bella."
He looked at Sophie, his tone blunt and a bit impatient. "If you want some, grill it yourself."