Chapter 78: Please, Don't Ignore Me
"Like hell you will!" Lucas's face darkened instantly.
"If you make a wish like that, I'll burn down this damn tree!"
My fingertips went cold. Lucas's temper exhausted me.
"Are you going to burn your grandfather's health along with it?" I asked coldly, then walked to the side, wanting to finish Harold's task quickly and leave.
Lucas took a deep breath and shot a sharp look at Amelia. "When did you get here?"
Amelia flinched, her eyes reddening, but she didn't answer directly. She just bit her lip, looking wronged.
Lucas had no patience to deal with her. His voice turned icy as he called out a name. "Santos, explain!"
Alfred grabbed Santos by the collar and dragged him in front of Lucas.
"Am I your leader, or is Amelia your leader?" Lucas stared down at Santos, his intimidating presence suffocating everyone around him.
Santos's face went pale. "You! My only leader is you!"
Lucas questioned him, "Then why did you tell Amelia where I was?"
Santos trembled all over. "I didn't! It wasn't me!"
Amelia turned her face away, as if that would keep Lucas from taking his anger out on her.
Lucas's voice grew heavier. "Alfred, tell him where he went wrong."
"Yes!" Alfred spoke up immediately. "First, Mr. Valeri's private schedule must not be leaked to anyone! Second, making a mistake and refusing to admit it—that's adding mistake to mistake!"
Santos, perhaps having held in his resentment for a long time, suddenly raised his head and shouted back, "Mr. Valeri, I just think Amelia is better suited for you! You've been good enough to Isabella for three years, but now she keeps getting you hurt, ignoring you, slapping you, embarrassing you in public—she doesn't deserve you at all!"
Santos's voice wasn't quiet. Adrian wanted to rush over and punch him, but Cole held him back, glanced at me standing there silently, and shook his head.
Lucas completely lost it. He grabbed Santos by the collar, his eyes fierce like he wanted to devour him. "Who the hell do you think you are! My business is none of your concern! Get lost! From now on, you're no longer part of Northern District!"
"No!" Santos looked at him in terror. "I was wrong, Mr. Valeri, please give me another chance!"
Alfred spoke up in a muffled voice, "Mr. Valeri, Santos's loyalty is beyond question. He's just too stupid. For the sake of all the times he risked his life protecting you, forgive him this once. I'll teach him properly."
Lucas let go of Santos's collar, closed his eyes, and thought for two seconds. "Demoted from Caporegime to Soldato. One more mistake, and never appear in front of me again."
"Yes!" Alfred dragged the ashen-faced Santos aside.
Amelia had already retreated to a flower bed not far away, looking up at the ribbons on the tree as if none of this concerned her.
But I didn't miss the flash of satisfaction in her eyes when she said those things earlier.
She was retaliating, returning the favor for my threat that day.
Looks like just scratching her face was still too easy on her!
Amelia snuck a glance at me, got scared by what she saw, and quickly walked several steps in the opposite direction.
I wrote a wish for Harold's longevity on a ribbon, then wished for health and good fortune for my three brothers, and stood on my tiptoes to tie the ribbon to a branch.
After finishing all this, I turned and left without hesitation.
"Bella!" Lucas caught up.
"Amelia's still over there!" I reminded him irritably.
"So what? I don't care where she is!" Lucas followed me closely.
I didn't stop walking. An empty cable car came up, and I stepped in. Adrian and Cole followed right behind. The car could only fit one more person, and Lucas forced his way in.
"Adrian, push him out!" I glared at Lucas and ordered loudly.
Lucas dodged Adrian nimbly, but Cole blocked my way. His combat skills were much higher than Adrian's. Lucas had no intention of fighting in the cable car. He sat across from me, his gaze boring into me over Cole, who stood like a wall between us.
I frowned and stared expressionlessly at the ocean outside the window.
"Everything before was my fault. You can be as angry as you want, you can stab me again if you want." Lucas pulled out his gun and pointed it at his own chest.
"Are you trying to threaten me with this again?" I exploded in anger.
"Then tell me, what should I do?" Lucas tapped the gun barrel against the center of his chest where I'd stabbed him, then tossed the gun at Cole's feet.
He'd removed the weapon threat, but Cole still stood firmly in front of me. He probably wouldn't let his guard down even slightly until we were back on land.
Lucas looked at my profile. "Bella, if you want to lose your temper, I'll lose my temper with you. Please, just don't ignore me."
Anger and disappointment still swirled in my heart. The scenery before me gradually blurred. I had no energy to argue with him.
"You said before you were investigating Amelia. Have you reached any conclusions?" I asked.
"Amelia isn't the person who actually saved me. I want to find my real savior." Lucas's right index finger tapped rhythmically on his knee. "Bella, were you also in Silverpine Town during that time?"
Suddenly, the smoothly moving cable car shook. All the lights on the cable line went out, and the car stopped moving, suspended in mid-air.
"What's happening?" I instinctively grabbed the handrail beside me.
"Don't be scared."
Adrian and Cole were examining the cable line and checking the car. Lucas had somehow moved to my side.
He didn't sit down, but stood in front of me.
Alfred was in the cable car behind us. I saw him pressed against the glass like a gecko, looking at us with concern.
Lucas made a phone call, then told me, "Power outage. The control center is trying to figure it out. Until the power's back, we can only stay in the cable car."
I thought this was really bad luck. Lucas held my hand and asked, "Are you scared?"
"No. Let go of me." I tried to pull my hand back, but Lucas used my momentum to move closer.
Cole grabbed his shoulder in time. "Mr. Valeri, please stay away from Ms. Sorelli!"
Lucas clicked his tongue in displeasure and shook off Cole's hand. He didn't come closer to me, but he didn't leave either, and he didn't let go of my hand.
The sun slowly sank into the horizon. I never imagined that the first time Lucas and I would watch a complete sunset together would be under these circumstances.
The evening breeze slipped through the gaps in the cable car. The temperature dropped noticeably.
Lucas sat down beside me, blocking the cold wind for me. My mind was unsettled, so I let him hold my hand as the coldness in my fingertips was gradually driven away by his warmth.
About an hour later, a dull sound of machinery colliding came from the distance. The suspended car suddenly shook slightly.
My body swayed with it, and I awkwardly realized I'd somehow fallen asleep leaning on Lucas's shoulder.
Lucas had his eyes half-closed, his body language relaxed, as if holding me made him completely content.
Moments later, the cable car started moving again, slowly advancing.
My stalled relationship with Lucas seemed to shift in that moment, too.