Adriana’s eyes widened as she pointed at him. "You..."
But midway through, she stopped. ’If he really wanted those things... he wouldn’t have revealed them so openly.’
The realization settled in her mind, and a soft smile ford on her lips. He wasn’t flaunting wealth; he was telling her.
Eugene, anwhile, was completely stunned.
’Soone spent that much... just for him to be with her?’
He looked at Adriana again, but this ti, his gaze had completely changed. It wasn’t her money that shocked him... it was her presence, her composure, her personality.
’...I misjudged her.’
He had initially assud she was just an ordinary girl, but now he realized how shallow that judgnt had been.
Monts later, after completing the purchase, Peter directly transferred ten million dollars to Adriana’s account.
Adriana frowned slightly and turned to him. "I will send it back."
Peter imdiately shook his head. "No. This is compensation. I would have taken this exact amount from Eugene anyway."
Eugene’s lips twitched at those words, but he didn’t argue. Silently, he transferred ten million dollars to Peter.
Peter, however, wasn’t finished. He looked at Eugene and said calmly, "You lost the bet. So transfer the ownership of this shop to Adriana."
Before Eugene could respond, Adriana waved her hand dismissively. "I don’t need it."
Her gaze flicked toward Eugene briefly as she added, "Otherwise, soone might call a gold digger again in the future."
The sarcasm in her tone was subtle but sharp enough to sting.
Eugene froze for a mont before exhaling slowly. He wiped the corner of his lips and said sincerely, "I apologize for my earlier judgnt."
Adriana gave a small nod. "At least you’re self-aware."
Eugene hesitated, then added, "I had so... bad experiences before. That’s why I..."
Adriana raised her hand, stopping him mid-sentence. Her expression turned firm. "That still doesn’t justify your behavior."
She held his gaze steadily as she continued,
"Even if I were a gold digger, Peter chose . That was his decision. You should have respected that... or at least trusted his judgnt. But you didn’t."
"Whether it’s because of your past or not, I don’t know," she went on, her tone softening slightly but not losing its edge, "but holding onto it like that will only turn it into trauma."
With that, she reached out and held Peter’s hand, her fingers gently intertwining with his. Without another glance at Eugene, the two of them began to walk away.
It was clear that she had no intention of staying any longer.
Eugene stood there, watching their backs as they left. Her words echoed faintly in his mind.
’Why do they feel so familiar...?’
A strange feeling stirred within him, sothing both distant and close at the sa ti. It felt as if he were looking at soone from his past, his first love, yet at the sa ti, she felt different... stronger, more complete.
He frowned slightly, shaking his head.
’What am I even thinking...?’
Adriana wasn’t his type... at least, that was what Eugene kept telling himself. She wasn’t soone he should even be looking at. She was his nephew’s fiancée.
’What am I even thinking...?’
With a frustrated sigh, he raised his hand and rubbed the side of his head, his fingers pressing gently against the faintly aching spot from the accident he had suffered just two weeks ago.
A dull throb pulsed beneath his touch, as if reminding him that sothing inside him hadn’t quite healed. Ever since that incident, his mind had felt... off.
It was as though a stranger had taken residence within his thoughts.
He had always been indifferent toward won, his interest dull and detached, but now... now he found himself noticing Adriana. That alone felt wrong. Unnatural.
’Out of everyone... why her?’
......................
Later that night, while his thoughts remained tangled and restless, another chain of events was quietly unfolding elsewhere.
It was just another ordinary day for Lucas. Suddenly, a knock broke the silence.
One of the staff mbers stepped in and said, "Sir, there’s a delivery girl outside. She says there’s a parcel for you."
Lucas frowned slightly. "I didn’t order anything."
Curious yet mildly annoyed, he stood up and walked out.
As he stepped into the hallway, he saw the delivery girl standing there, holding a neatly packed bag of food.
"I didn’t order this," Lucas said flatly.
The delivery girl shook her head quickly. "Sir, your fiancée has been sending you als these past few months. This is from her."
Lucas’ brows furrowed deeper. Without another word, he took out his phone and dialed Jules.
As soon as the call connected, he asked, "Did you send food for ?"
There was a brief pause before the answer ca, no.
Lucas’ expression turned colder as he ended the call. He looked at the delivery girl and said, "My fiancée didn’t send anything."
The girl frowned, visibly confused. "That’s impossible. I checked the details. It’s definitely for you. Please accept it, sir... otherwise my paynt might get affected."
Her voice carried a hint of anxiety, almost desperation.
Lucas’ patience thinned. "Leave it at the door if you want. It’s not mine. Or you can just eat it yourself."
He turned to leave, but the delivery girl quickly stepped forward, stopping him. "Sir, please take it. I’m not soone who would steal or mishandle an order. I work honestly."
Hearing the sincerity in her voice, Lucas paused, his irritation still evident but slightly restrained. "Fine."
He extended his hand and took the package. "I’ll give it to soone else."
Just as he was about to walk away again, she spoke once more, hesitantly, "Sir, there’s sothing else I wanted to tell you..."
Lucas’ expression darkened instantly. "What now?"
Before she could even finish her sentence, he pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and pressed it into her hand. "Keep it."
He gestured dismissively toward the exit, his tone sharp. "And leave."
At the sa ti, he signaled his security. "Make sure she’s escorted out."
The girl fell silent, her lips tightening as she looked at the money in her hand. Without another word, she turned and left.
For Lucas, the incident was insignificant, so trivial that it slipped from his mind almost imdiately.
The next day, however, things took an unexpected turn.
Lucas sat in the back seat of his car, casually scrolling through ssages, the city passing by outside in a blur of honking vehicles and humid air.
Suddenly, the car jerked violently.
A sharp screech echoed as the driver slamd the brakes.
Before Lucas could react, raised voices filled the air.
Frowning, he stepped out of the car. What he saw made him pause.
It was the sa delivery girl.
She stood beside her slightly damaged scooter, arguing heatedly with the driver. "Look at this! You’ve caused so much damage. You need to pay for it!"
Lucas glanced around, his eyes quickly assessing the situation. After confirming the lane and direction, it was clear that the fault wasn’t theirs. She had co from the wrong side.
Calmly, he walked toward her. "If there’s a problem, we can call the police."
The girl turned to argue back, but the mont her eyes landed on him, she froze. "You...?"
Lucas looked at her with mild confusion. "Do we know each other?"
Her expression shifted instantly, a mix of anger and disbelief. "You don’t rember?"
There was a faint tremor in her voice, sothing between frustration and disappointnt.
Lucas shook his head indifferently. "If my mory serves right, I don’t know anyone like you."
The detachnt in his tone was unmistakable.
The girl clenched her fists slightly. "How can you forget? I’m Kayla. The one who delivered your food this morning!"
Lucas gave a small, dismissive nod. "I don’t have that good a mory."
Then, as if the matter were already resolved in his mind, he added, "Now, should we call the police?"
He even began dialing.
Seeing this, Kayla panicked. "Wait! Alright, forget it."
She hesitated for a mont before continuing, "Just give a thousand dollars as compensation, and I’ll let it go."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, his tone turning colder. "You were the one at fault. Why should we pay?"
Kayla let out a soft chuckle, though there was calculation behind her eyes.
"If the traffic police co, they’ll side with . And then I can charge you ten thousand instead. Right now, I’m giving you a good deal."
She even softened her expression, putting on an almost playful, innocent look. To an outsider, it might have seed like she was being cute, almost as if she were close to him.
Lucas wasn’t amused.
"I don’t see the need," he replied coldly. "If you think you deserve compensation, call the police."
He gestured to his driver, who imdiately got back into the car. Lucas followed, settling into his seat without sparing her another glance.
Kayla stood there, stunned. ’He didn’t even hesitate...’
She had thought he would at least show so rcy. Instead, he left without a second thought.
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