Chapter 23: Like Lucas, Better Like Siri
At breakfast, Brian looked at me like he wanted to say something but held back.
"Brian, what's up?" I asked.
"You and Lucas scored 98 on the relationship assessment?" Brian seemed worried and a bit curious.
"That stupid questionnaire is definitely inaccurate." I pouted unhappily.
Brian: "You and Lucas made the headlines. Did he tell the media to do that?"
I sneered: "Yeah, he's lost his mind!"
Brian asked hesitantly: "Yesterday you came home crying, was it because of Lucas?"
I stabbed the bacon on my plate hard and took a big bite, "Of course not! How could a man like that be worth my tears!"
"Exactly, he doesn't deserve it! Trying to have his cake and eat it too, in his dreams!" Brian cursed Lucas out, then asked me: "So what do we do about all this news?"
"Don't worry about it, someone's more anxious than I am." I took a sip of coffee and said calmly.
Sure enough, before 10 AM, Amelia posted on social media: "Lucas and I are good friends. He's married, and I'll only offer my blessings, not interfere. But I'll always remember everything he did for me and the happiness he brought me. As for Isabella, I don't really know her."
I opened the comments section. The top comment read: "First love is the most beautiful and profound. Don't give in to the homewrecker, fight bravely!"
Amelia replied to this comment with a "heart."
Grace reposted Amelia's post, saying, "I don't accept that ill-mannered woman, Bella, as Lucas's wife. Only you deserve to marry Lucas."
However, Lucas's comment about Grace being mentally ill had already spread, and opinions about Grace were split. Whether Amelia didn't see it or deliberately ignored it, she didn't reply to Grace.
My account was also buzzing, especially with Amelia's fans attacking me with all kinds of nasty comments.
I screenshotted all these accounts and comments, and sent them to Brian to boost his law firm's business.
Just then, Lucas followed me.
Lucas's social media account was basically for show. He occasionally posted watches and sports cars. People thought he was a low-key rich guy, and he actually had over 300,000 followers.
People didn't know Lucas's real identity was connected to gang forces, but Amelia's post had @'ed him, so now people knew who the "male lead" was.
His sudden follow made fans and netizens speculate about what it meant.
Then Lucas posted: "Answer my call @Isabella."
I stared at the screen, and after a while, I picked up my phone and unblocked Lucas from my blacklist.
Lucas's call came immediately: "Let's have dinner tonight, Opal Moon Hotel, how about it?"
"Why would I have dinner with you?" I asked reluctantly.
Lucas: "For our goals, mutual benefit—that's what you said yesterday."
I put down my phone, took two deep breaths, then held it back to my ear: "This morning's headlines were you too?"
"Yes, I saw them. Several articles were quite well written." Lucas sounded in a good mood.
"We're getting divorced next month. Is this really necessary?" I asked.
"Precisely because we're getting divorced soon, we should hurry up and prove we're in love," Lucas said.
"Don't you think that's contradictory? If we were in love, we wouldn't be getting divorced at all." I said coldly.
Lucas stopped trying to convince me, "5:30 PM, I'll pick you up. And don't block me again."
Without waiting for my answer, he hung up directly.
I was amused by his willfulness.
That evening, Lucas showed up at my door right on time.
He rang the doorbell. I hesitated about whether to pretend I wasn't home, then I saw him climb over the wall through the living room's floor-to-ceiling window.
I couldn't resist him and went out with him.
After getting in the car, Lucas examined my eyes.
I asked what he was looking at. Lucas said: "Yesterday a reporter photographed you coming home with swollen eyes. I bought the photo."
"How much?" I spoke to him in a businesslike tone.
Lucas frowned: "Don't worry about it."
Alfred looked at Lucas and me through the rearview mirror. We sat at opposite ends of the back seat, each looking out our own window, with a large space and a long silence between us.
Alfred tried to ease the atmosphere: "Mrs. Valeri, when you cried yesterday, Mr. Valeri was actually very worried about you."
Before he could finish, Lucas and I interrupted in unison: "I didn't!"
Lucas and I looked at each other.
Me: "I didn't cry yesterday, my eyes were just uncomfortable."
Lucas: "I wasn't worried about you. Alfred's talking nonsense."
Alfred was deflated.
I asked: "Does Amelia know you're having dinner with me?"
Lucas: "You and I are acting; it's fake. She'll understand."
Alfred exposed Lucas to me: "Mrs. Valeri, actually, Mr. Valeri has been avoiding Amelia lately."
I raised my eyebrows slightly, instinctively gripping my purse strap tighter, "Really?"
"It's because I've been too busy!" Lucas told Alfred to shut up, "I don't need to avoid anyone."
He asked me: "What about your fiancé?"
If Lucas hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about my engagement to Jonathan. "What about it?"
Lucas warned me coldly: "Before we officially divorce, you'd better not be photographed by the media with him."
"Don't worry, if we are photographed, I'll buy the photos." I shot back.
The conversation fell into awkward silence again because of my response.
We ate a silent dinner. The atmosphere probably wasn't what Lucas expected, and his expression grew more and more serious.
After eating, I asked him: "Did you arrange reporters outside?"
Lucas answered: "Two of them."
I nodded, took out my lipstick from my purse, carefully reapplied it using my compact mirror, then walked up to Lucas and leaned down to kiss him.
Lucas's lips trembled slightly. I pulled back a little, and he immediately followed, catching my lips like capturing prey, pressing hard against them.
His hands held my waist, forcefully and urgently pulling me into his arms.
I pushed him away hard. Lucas looked at me, stunned and dissatisfied.
"That's enough. Don't wipe your mouth, remember to let the reporters get a shot later." I tucked the loose strands of hair behind my ear and walked out of the private room first.
Lucas's face darkened, his fists clenched tight, "You were just acting?"
"What else?" I finally got my revenge, feeling triumphant: "Isn't that the whole point of you inviting me to dinner?"
Lucas pressed his lips together, looking at me with a heavy gaze.
The reporters staking out the parking lot emerged, immediately spotting the lipstick on Lucas's lips, looked around, and took a few photos.
"Isabella, have you and Mr. Valeri gotten back together?"
I asked him back: "Do you think it's cold today?"
The reporter answered, puzzled: "It's very cold today."
I looked at Lucas, "The weather is very cold today."
Lucas nodded: "It is indeed cold."
I pulled out my phone, "Siri, the weather is very cold today."
Siri said in a low, mechanical male voice, gently: "The current temperature is 48.2 degrees Fahrenheit. I suggest you wear warm clothes, stay warm, and be careful not to catch a cold. If you'd like a cup of hot chocolate, I can provide information about nearby restaurants."
I put away my phone and smiled slightly: "Did you hear that? Siri cares more about me than Lucas does. Rather than getting back together with Lucas, I'd rather spend my life with Siri."