Chapter 202 First Kiss
Amelia has a mild case of germaphobia.
So she instinctively resists kissing.
When she was with Finn, they never kissed.
Honestly speaking, Finn was very considerate, especially toward her.
So when he noticed her resistance to further physical contact, he didn't do anything beyond holding hands and hugging.
So this was Amelia's first kiss.
And it was only after Samuel kissed her that she understood that "kissing" could be such a wonderful thing.
She vaguely understood that many things require being a bit bolder, taking risks, and experiencing them firsthand.
Like right now, she even felt a bit dizzy with happiness.
Samuel's mind wasn't racing as fast as Amelia's though.
He was just focused on kissing her.
Not only making himself comfortable, but more importantly, making Amelia comfortable.
So he kissed her with full concentration, not wanting her to think that kissing was something unpleasant.
That way, there could be a next time.
They didn't know how long they kissed.
Cars drove past one after another, and pedestrians walked by the car.
They were so close that Amelia's heart felt like it would jump out of her chest.
She finally couldn't help but push Samuel away.
"People will see us." Her voice was hoarse, like a purring cat.
Hearing this, Samuel wanted to kiss her again.
Looking down, he saw her lips were red, seemingly a bit swollen from his kisses.
He felt a bit regretful, thinking he had hurt her, but his heart was also excited—this was his first time kissing Amelia, and also his first time kissing a woman.
He somewhat understood why those men all liked flirting with women.
He used to think matters between men and women were boring, but now he realized he was the boring one.
He never knew there were such wonderful things in the world.
But whether to continue kissing—that was the question.
Samuel hesitated.
Just that one second of hesitation, and Amelia pushed him away.
Momentary courage was just that—momentary.
Looking at the pedestrians constantly passing by outside, her tiny bit of courage vanished completely, leaving only shyness.
Samuel didn't push her either, and finally started talking about serious matters.
"When I heard from Maeve about what happened between you and Steven, I almost went crazy with fear."
Amelia pulled at her lips.
"I'm fine now."
"I know, I just feel really scared thinking back on it."
Amelia also spoke honestly, "I'm scared too. Especially seeing Steven's charred body, I was thinking that if I hadn't arranged everything properly, the person burned would have been me."
Samuel gripped her hand tightly.
"Don't take such risks again."
"But I think some things are worth taking a risk for. Steven went crazy somehow and suddenly set his sights on me. This person has bad intentions—if I didn't get rid of him, he would always be a threat."
And now that she took this risk, that threat was completely gone.
Samuel wanted to agree, but also didn't quite agree.
The main reason was still his fear of something happening to Amelia.
He simply didn't respond to this, only saying, "Last time during Adrian's surgery, when that Kurt caused trouble, you asked me to investigate who was behind him besides Marlon. I looked into it. Today's incident, I also investigated on my way here."
He paused, looked at her deeply, and said, "There really is someone directing Marlon—it's Francis. This time too, he was the one who instigated Steven."
Samuel had his own intelligence network, especially in elite circles, possibly even stronger than Shadow Operations Division.
After losing Alice as his pawn, he cultivated other pawns around Steven, which was how he could investigate things so quickly.
Amelia's eyebrow twitched slightly.
Francis had set his sights on her.
From the several times he monitored her, she could tell Francis was an opponent not to be underestimated.
He was smarter than Leonard, and more calculating than Alton.
"You need to be more careful lately. If anything seems off, tell me right away. This Francis is not ordinary." Samuel said.
Amelia nodded and said okay.
When the car stopped at The Richardson Manor gate, it was already late at night.
Amelia was worried about Natalie and was still thinking about what excuse to use.
But Samuel said, "I already called for you, saying I invited you to karaoke tonight and you'd be back late. I also suppressed the news—they won't mention you at all."
He was so thoughtful.
Amelia was touched.
"Thank you."
"Just a verbal thank you?" Samuel looked at her deeply, his gaze moving to her lips.
Amelia knew how he wanted her to thank him.
She acted like she wasn't picking up on his hint and directly opened the car door.
But the next second, she suddenly turned around and quickly planted a kiss on Samuel's lips.
Before Samuel could react, she had already turned and fled.
Samuel sat there stunned for a long while.
Unlike the earlier kiss, this one, though just a quick peck, excited Samuel even more.
Because this was the first time Amelia had initiated a kiss.
This was even more significant than the earlier kiss!
Samuel sat in the car grinning foolishly.
Meanwhile, Amelia, who had "escaped" home, had cheeks flushed bright red, like the evening glow.
The heat took a long time to fade.
As her rationality gradually returned, her thoughts drifted back to Francis.
Francis had somehow, at some point, suddenly set his sights on her.
She had hidden her identity well—most people could only find out she was a doctor at Shadow Operations Division and couldn't investigate further.
Had Francis already discovered something, or was he just guessing, testing her capabilities?
Amelia thought it was most likely the latter.
Shadow Operations Division was very united—he couldn't find out she was the leader of Shadow Operations Division.
So he could only be testing her abilities.
If she wasn't capable, she would have died in the car accident Steven arranged.
If she was capable, she would survive.
Francis didn't lose anything either way, and would instead have a clearer idea that she wasn't just for show.
As for why Francis suddenly targeted her, it was probably because she was part of the Richardson family, which meant the Porter family, and she, as a Porter family member, was now too close to Samuel.
Francis was really cautious.
Even though the Richardson family had already "declined," he wouldn't let Amelia become a threat.
He must have more moves planned.
Amelia thought of his brother, Leo, still in prison.
Would Francis use Leo to set up a third trap against her?
Probably not.
After all, they were brothers.
But then again, you never know.
After thinking it over, Amelia decided to be cautious and asked Frank to help her monitor the prison situation.
If Leo was released, she needed to know immediately.
After doing all this, Amelia finally washed up and lay down.
But she couldn't fall asleep.
She thought about kissing Samuel again, her face burning hot.
But soon she remembered Steven's charred body and the terrible smell in the air at that time.
Her back went ice cold.
The next day when she woke up, Amelia was awakened by Natalie.
Natalie looked very anxious.
"Amelia, you're awake?"
"Amelia! How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"Amelia, I'm not going to work these next few days, I'll stay here with you."
Amelia struggled to lift her eyelids and asked in confusion, "Why are you all in my room?"
Natalie's eyes reddened, almost tearing up.
She held Amelia's hand and said, "You had a fever and were unconscious for two days, drifting in and out."
Grant also said, "Amelia, this isn't home, this is the hospital."
Only then did Amelia realize she was in the hospital.
But the next second, she anxiously grabbed Grant's sleeve.
"What day is it today?"
"Friday."
Amelia's heart clenched tightly.
"What time is it now? Morning or afternoon?"
Seeing her growing more anxious, Grant quickly answered, "Morning, 9:10 in the morning."
Hearing this, Amelia breathed a slight sigh of relief.
There was still time.
The tight string in her heart relaxed slightly.
Natalie asked in confusion, "Amelia, what's wrong, do you have plans?"
"Yes, I'm invited to a reception, today. But the reception doesn't start until 4 PM, so there's still time."
"What do you mean there's still time? Your fever just broke, you just woke up. If it's not too important, cancel it. Let's focus on getting you healthy first." Natalie said.
Amelia looked at Natalie very seriously.
She didn't say anything, but Natalie already understood from her eyes.
This reception was very important.
Natalie sighed.
"At least finish your IV this morning before going home."
Amelia smiled.
"Thank you, Mom!"
Natalie was worried about her and put her safety first, but was also smart enough not to delay Amelia's important business.
Having such an open-minded mother, no wonder her brothers were all capable and upright people.
They just had bad luck.
Amelia's return simply brought them the luck that originally belonged to them.
If they weren't capable, no matter how hard Amelia worked or how strong she was, she couldn't make rubble shine like diamonds.
"Where's Lucas?" Amelia looked around the hospital room.
All her brothers were there, and Liam had come too, though to avoid suspicion, he was still in a wheelchair.
Only Lucas wasn't there.
Grant answered, "He's at the company. Yesterday when you were unconscious, he was here the whole time. This morning when your fever broke, the company kept calling him, so he left. He's been gone less than half an hour. Should I call him back?"
Amelia shook her head, "No need."
She just needed to make sure Lucas would also attend the reception.
Sending Lucas back to the company was probably Max's idea.
Amelia had made it very clear to Max that Lucas must attend the reception.
"Oh, and your friend came to see you too." Grant said.
"Which friend?"
"The girl you brought to have dinner with us at Lakeside Hotel last week."
Amelia understood.
It was Faith.
Probably because she'd been unconscious for two days and they couldn't reach her, so they sent Faith to check on the situation.
Just as they were talking, Faith came again.
She was carrying a thermos.
"Amelia, you're finally awake!"
Amelia smiled slightly and said to the others, "I want to talk to Faith alone for a bit."
"Perfect, we'll go talk to the doctor."
"I'll go see if there's any good fruit to buy and bring it back for you."
Everyone quickly left.
Leaving the space to them.