Chapter 265: Fury

Lucas was now completely blinded by jealousy, unable to listen to reason, his emotions spiraling out of control.

"Reason? When I see you two standing there talking peacefully, I can't be reasonable! Aria, you've kept a place for him in your heart—otherwise you wouldn't tolerate him appearing in your life again and again!"

Right there at the music academy entrance, in front of scattered passing students, they erupted into the most heated argument since they'd met.

Aria looked at the out-of-control Lucas before her, her heart turning completely cold.

She suddenly understood—some knots couldn't be untied with apologies.

Lucas's deep-seated insecurity and possessiveness were ingrained.

He could accept her scarred past, accept the suffering she'd endured.

But he could never accept that her life had once contained someone as significant as Larry.

Even though this person posed no threat to him whatsoever, he still minded, even losing control over it.

The argument lasted over ten minutes, both caught up in emotion, neither able to suppress their grievance and anger.

Aria was exhausted, her whole body weak. She didn't want to fight anymore.

She didn't want to be trapped in romantic turmoil during the critical period before the Arts Festival, didn't want her hard-won peace of mind torn apart again by suspicion.

She finally looked at Lucas, her voice weary yet resolute.

"My conscience is clear. Believe me or don't."

That sentence made the agitated Lucas freeze instantly.

Seeing the disappointment and distance in her eyes, he panicked.

After venting his emotions, his rationality slowly returned, and he immediately realized he'd ruined everything again.

Once more, his immaturity and suspicion had hurt the person he loved most.

Intense regret flooded through him.

It wasn't that he didn't love her—he loved her too much, pathologically, unable to tolerate even the slightest potential risk.

He immediately restrained all his hostility, softening his attitude. He stepped forward to take Aria's hand, his voice panicked.

"Aria, I'm sorry. I lost my mind, my emotions got out of control. I shouldn't have suspected you. I was wrong. Please don't be angry. I'm just so afraid of losing you. I can't stand seeing you have any connection with him, even just one sentence—I can't bear it."

Aria took a light step back, avoiding his touch.

She didn't get angry again, didn't argue anymore—she was just cold inside, tired, no longer wanting to debate right and wrong.

She was silent for a long time before saying softly, "I'm done fighting, done arguing. Let's just leave it at this for now."

She didn't say they were breaking up, didn't cut ties with him, but this attitude was more suffocating than any argument.

They stood there in a stalemate, the atmosphere oppressively tense.

Finally, Aria was the first to relent, choosing to temporarily move on.

Not because she'd forgiven him—she was simply too exhausted to continue this draining struggle.

With the Arts Festival approaching, she had neither the time nor energy to waste on endless relationship conflicts.

"I can let this go for now, but Lucas—your issues have never been resolved. If you act like this again, I really won't tolerate it anymore."

Lucas nodded vigorously, his eyes full of urgent promises.

"Never again, truly never again. This time I'll completely change. I won't overthink anymore."

He apologized desperately.

On the surface, they'd barely reconciled, returning home together, temporarily restoring peace.

But only Lucas knew that the obsession and resentment in his heart hadn't diminished—it had grown deeper, more twisted because of this encounter and argument.

He apologized with his mouth, but his heart remained convinced:

As long as Larry was alive, still in this world, he would forever be the sharpest thorn between them.

He was sick of this insecurity, sick of losing control over this person again and again.

He wanted a permanent solution, wanted Larry to disappear completely from Aria's world, eliminating any possibility of chance encounters.

After spending just one day with Aria, confirming her emotions were stable and her training was normal, Lucas secretly went to find Larry's location without telling her.

He'd looked into Larry's current situation—he'd also opened a restaurant back home.

Upon arrival, he stood at the shop entrance, looking at the simple name on the sign, the dissatisfaction and hostility in his heart surging wildly again.

Why?

Why did this person get to hurt Aria for half her life, make her suffer every hardship, then walk away unscathed, living so peacefully?

Why was the peace he'd tried so hard to protect always overshadowed by this person?

Lucas's mind completely unbalanced, the most extreme thoughts taking root.

He didn't want to endure anymore. He wanted to destroy this peace directly, force Larry to leave completely, to never appear in anyone's sight again!

Lucas walked straight into the shop, found a staff member, and spoke coldly.

"I'm buying this place. Name your price—I'll pay whatever. Sign the contract now, transfer it immediately."

The staff member froze, having never encountered such a situation, and immediately went to notify Larry, who was busy in the kitchen.

When Larry emerged, he still carried a faint aroma of cooking.

Seeing Lucas, there was no surprise on his face, no hostility—only the calm of someone who'd seen through everything.

He understood Lucas's mindset too well.

Nothing more than possessiveness at work, minding his existence, wanting to completely eliminate this threat.

Larry's tone was indifferent as he directly refused.

"Sorry, not for sale. I didn't open this shop to make money, so please leave."

That simple sentence completely ignited Lucas's long-suppressed rage.

He laughed coldly under his breath, his emotions nearly out of control.

"Not for sale? Larry, you've already repaid what you owed her. Everything between you two ended long ago. Why can't you just disappear completely?"

After those words, Lucas couldn't suppress the madness in his heart.

He stopped negotiating and started destroying things.

Tables and chairs, dishes, display items, even freshly made pastries—he violently swept them all to the floor one after another.

The sound of shattering echoed throughout the small shop.

Delicate dishes smashed to pieces, tidy surfaces reduced to chaos.

In moments, the clean, cozy shop was reduced to complete wreckage in just a few minutes.

The staff were too frightened to intervene, completely at a loss.

Larry just stood there quietly, not stopping him, not getting angry.

His eyes didn't show even a flicker of emotion.

Only after Lucas had completely vented, standing amid the wreckage, breathing unsteadily, eyes full of hostility—

Did he finally speak slowly, his tone as flat as if discussing something trivial.

"If you want me to disappear, there's no need for all this. I won't be reopening this shop anyway."